Taylor Hicks (album)

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Taylor Hicks
Taylor Hicks cover
Studio album by Taylor Hicks
Released December 12, 2006
Recorded October–November 2006, EMBLEM/Castle Oaks, Calabasas, California
Genre Blue-eyed soul, blues, blues rock
Length 41:14
Label Arista Records
Producer Matt Serletic
Professional reviews
Taylor Hicks chronology
Under the Radar
(2005)		 Taylor Hicks
(2006)

Taylor Hicks is the eponymous major label debut album by the American Idol fifth-season winner of the same name. The album was released on December 12, 2006 in the United States by Arista Records in association with 19 Recordings Limited, nearly seven months after Hicks won the reality-talent competition in May. Hicks coined the phrase "modern whomp" to describe the album's sound—an amalgam of soul, blues, funk, and Cajun influences with a contemporary twist.[1] The first single from the album was the ballad "Just to Feel That Way".

The album debuted at the number two spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 298,000 copies in its first week.[2] Within one month of its release, Taylor Hicks was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping over one million copies. However, over a year later it had reached sales of only about 700,000 copies, making it the lowest selling debut album by an American Idol winner.[3]


[edit] Album background

Recording for the album took six weeks, between October to November 2006, right after the culmination of the American Idols LIVE! Tour.[4] The album, Hicks's first full-length endeavor, includes contributions from Bryan Adams, Diane Warren, and Rob Thomas, as well as a few of Hicks's originals which have appeared on his previous self-produced effort Under the Radar. Producer Matt Serletic had only heard about Taylor Hicks for the first time when he was approached for the Idol winner's project.[5]

Collaborations with other artists such as Robert Randolph and John Mayer were mentioned by Hicks in interviews, but failed to materialize due to scheduling problems and the goal to release the album before Christmas. Hicks had also been invited by the estate of Ray Charles to record at Charles's own historic 2107 West Washington Boulevard Studio (a.k.a. 2107-RPM) in Los Angeles, but those plans also had to be postponed until a future album.[1] Hicks would have been the first person to record in the studio since Charles himself.[6]

Fan blog Gray Charles, under contract with Hicks and his record company, gradually released first-hand details of the album, with Hicks providing weekly updates via audio blog. "The Runaround" was the first track premiered on Gray Charles on November 21, followed by "Dream Myself Awake" and "The Right Place", even before they were made available on Hicks's official website and MySpace page. The full album was made available for preview on the VH1 website on December 5.

"The Runaround" was originally intended to be the first single released from the album, and Hicks performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Martha Stewart Show in the run-up to the album's release. Instead, "Just to Feel That Way" was announced as the first "official" single after nearly two months. Hicks admitted that fan reaction to the album contributed to the decision. His second single release was "Heaven Knows"[7] The album's singles, "Just to Feel That Way" and "Heaven Knows" peaked at #20 and #19 respectively on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.[8]

[edit] Track listing

  1. "The Runaround" (Loren Gold, James Renald) – 3:13
  2. "Dream Myself Awake" (Rob Thomas) – 3:38
  3. "Heaven Knows" (Cory Rooney, Makeba Riddick, Kara DioGuardi, Matt Serletic, Ray Charles, Pete Moore, Smokey Robinson, Bobby Rogers, Marvin Tarplin) – 3:35
  4. "Gonna Move" (Paul Pena) – 4:22
    • This is a cover of a Paul Pena song.
  5. "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" (Marvin Gaye, Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield) – 3:32
    • This is a cover of a Marvin Gaye song.
  6. "Give Me Tonight" (Kevin Kadish, Brandon Jane, Leah Crutchfield, Taylor Hicks, DioGuardi, Serletic) – 3:34
  7. "Just to Feel That Way" (Lindy Robbins, Jess Cates, Emanuel Kiriakou) – 3:11
  8. "The Maze" (Scott Cutler, Anne Preven) – 2:47
  9. "Places I've Been" (Diane Warren) – 3:29
  10. "Soul Thing" (Hicks) – 3:20
    • This is a reworking of the original version from Hicks's previous album, 2005's Under the Radar.
  11. "The Deal" (Hicks) – 3:17
    • This is a reworking of the original version from Under the Radar.
  12. "The Right Place" (Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance) – 3:16

Bonus Tracks

  1. "Hell of a Day" (Hicks) – 3:40
  • Available exclusively on selected CDs at Wal-Mart.
  • This is a reworking of the original version from Under the Radar; it also contains an additional verse.
  • This is available as a digital download.

[edit] Singles

  • "Do I Make You Proud?" (Bonus Track)
  • "Just To Feel That Way"
  • "Heaven Knows"

[edit] Chart performance

For more details on this topic, see Taylor Hicks discography.
Chart (2006) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 2
Canada Top 100 43
United World Chart 5


[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Newsome, Melba. "Overnight Star? Well, It's Been a Long Night", The New York Times, 2006-12-06. Retrieved on 2006-12-12. 
  2. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. Taylor Hicks Unveils 2007 Tour Plans, Billboard, 2006-12-27. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
  3. ^ Barnes, Ken. Daughtry chief chart beneficiary as overall sales slide, Idol Chatter, USAToday.com, 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  4. ^ Interview on the Paul and Young Ron Show, November 21, 2006
  5. ^ Colurso, Mary. "Giving It His Heart and Soul", The Birmingham News, 2006-12-08. Retrieved on 2006-12-11. 
  6. ^ Caramanica, Jon. "You Don't Know Me, But I'm Your Brother", Vibe Magazine, 2006-11, pp. 127-129. 
  7. ^ Moss, Corey. "Taylor Hicks Excited About Chris Daughtry's Success, 'Obscure Covers'", MTV, 2007-01-24. Retrieved on 2007-01-24. 
  8. ^ "Artist Chart History - Taylor Hicks", Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-31. 


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