Heart Full of Soul

An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way

With a Bible belt twang and a shock of gray hair, American Idol winner Hicks resembles nothing less than the other tweeny pop stars churned out by the television megahit. In this inspirational autobiography, Hicks reveals that, before capturing televised glory (and more votes than George Bush in 2004), he spent years playing to nearly-nonexistent road house audiences. Though his passion is for soul music, Hicks's life reads more like a discordant country ballad: formative years were spent shoplifting Otis Redding music, fabricating report cards and distinguishing between the "teddy-bear drunks and mean drunks" in his family; later, he turned to blind ambition and dime-store mantras like "embrace my oddness" to keep himself singing to empty venues. Behind-the-scenes Idol dirt is spare; Hicks discusses feelings of isolation while taping, the infamous purple jacket and the songs he chose to sing, but says little about relationships among other contestants, fans or judges. Still baffled by his sudden fame, Hicks has a charmingly humble, if not particularly dynamic, voice best summed up in his standard reply to people who stop to tell him he looks an awful lot like Taylor Hicks: "Yeah, you know, it's funny, I get that all the time."

—Publishers Weekly

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My life has been all about believing in what lies just around the corner. After winning American Idol and recording my first commercial album, it still feels like the best is yet to come.

For the longest time, during some rough boyhood years in Alabama and the grind of performing on the road, the odds against me were discouraging. But there was always a voice inside telling me it was going to get better.

Mom and Dad certainly started out with good intentions, but early on, as their marriage went south and I went in whatever direction was necessary to avoid the fallout, I realized my life was going to be up to me.

Thinking back, my first step toward singing for a living was stealing an Otis Redding album when I was nine. What I heard on that platter was life-changing, and pretty soon I was learning to play the harmonica, which, I can assure you, didn’t attract many female fans—in fact, any fans at all.

I eventually decided that not being taken seriously can be a good thing. It stokes the fires. Maybe the reason I like soul music so much is that it inspires with its pain. The best artists, like Ray Charles, reach out and say, “You’re not alone, brother.”

In all my years on the road—trying to make it in Nashville and those Southern honky-tonks known as the “Chitlin Circuit”—I never thought it would take an act of God to push my destiny into the right groove. But as you’ll hear, it was nearly getting washed away by Hurricane Katrina that led to my Idol tryout. And what happened next was a little bit like when Alice dropped down that rabbit hole—just substitute Simon Cowell for the Mad Hatter.

In Heart Full of Soul, I share some life stories that will hopefully inspire you—give you a sense of my philosophy and how it drove me. For example, I talk about my good friend who died in a tragic accident and the prediction he made that tugged at my thoughts throughout Idol’s qualifying rounds. I also discuss what it was like when I realized Eminem has it right: when you only have one shot, you’d better lose yourself in the music.

A lot of great fans lined up behind me the night of the Idol finale. This book is about the strange path that led me to that pop-culture moment, and the sharp directional changes that occurred after that phenomenal night, including touring America, producing an album, and experiencing that two-sided gig known as American celebrity.

I hope that some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way will help you, especially if the shot you’ve been yearning for is just around the corner.

—Taylor Hicks

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Taylor Hicks is one of the most beloved and popular American Idol winners of all time.

From the start, Hicks’ material on the mega-hit show set him apart, with a unique take on Southern soul, R&B, country, and blues. Sixty-four million votes were cast and nearly 37 million American viewers and more than 200 million viewers worldwide tuned in to crown Hicks the Season 5 winner of American Idol, making it one of the most-watched TV events of the last decade.

Hicks’ star continued to rise after he stepped off the Idol stage. Less than three weeks after his Idol victory, his debut single, “Do I Make You Proud,” entered at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, Pop 100, and Single Sales Charts. Coinciding with the single’s release, a cover story named him People magazine’s “Hottest Bachelor of the Year.” His self-titled album (Arista), debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and was quickly certified RIAA Platinum. In 2007, Hicks penned a brisk-selling autobiography Heart Full of Soul (Random House). Hicks is the first male Idol winner to be featured on a Grammy Award-winning album, Jimmy Fallon’s Blow Your Pants Off, which took home the 2013 Grammy for Best Comedy Album.

On Broadway, Hicks starred in the hit musical Grease as Teen Angel, and when asked to join the national tour, happily agreed. The 18-month tour connected him with fans across North America.

In June 2012, Taylor Hicks began his residency at Bally's Las Vegas. As a testament to his musical talent and showmanship, Hicks will continue to bring the roadhouse to the Las Vegas Strip with a yearlong extension through 2013 at a larger venue, Paris Las Vegas, making him the first Idol winner in history to secure a long-term residency in Las Vegas. Hicks has since rapidly evolved into one of the most popular acts in the city. He will have an exclusive commitment to Caesars Entertainment, bringing his soulful ballads to other Caesars properties across the country throughout the year.

On August 30, 2012 Hicks performed at the closing night of the 2012 Republican National Convention, playing to a crowd of 18,500 delegates in Tampa, Florida, and a national TV audience of over 30 million viewers.

Hicks, who hails from Birmingham, Alabama, had music on his mind from childhood. As a young adult, he became a fixture around the Southeast, playing concerts and club dates with visiting stars like James Brown, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Robert Randolph, Keb’ Mo’ and Widespread Panic, among others. Hicks also released the independent albums In Your Time and Under the Radar. Later, these albums were compiled and released by Vanguard Records as Early Works.

Hicks has also performed with artists like Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Gladys Knight, Earth Wind and Fire and The Allman Brothers, appearing in concerts worldwide.

In addition to headlining at Paris Las Vegas and other Caesars Entertainment properties all over the United States, he is currently in studio working on his first country album.