EW article about our soul man.

American Idol
Gray Area
Taylor Hicks may have snagged the top prize, but why isn't his newest CD selling like an Idol?
Buzz up!More
SOUL MAN Hicks tunes up his career
Jim Wright/Montage
All About
Taylor Hicks

By Shirley Halperin
Does selling 650,000 copies of a debut album qualify as a flop? Season 5 American Idol winner Taylor Hicks has taken a beating in recent weeks because his self-titled major-label debut hasn't performed as well as first outings from Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, or even Ruben Studdard. So what happened?

For starters, adult contemporary discs often take longer to catch fire. The first single from Hicks' album, ''Just to Feel That Way,'' has yet to crack Billboard's Hot 100. ''We have it tougher than any other Idol because of Taylor's physical appearance and taste in music,'' says Hicks' manager, Jon Leshay, who adds that Taylor Hicks is a big departure from the type of pop numbers he performed on Idol. ''His songs will have to earn their way onto Top 40 radio,'' admits J Records executive vice president Tom Corson. ''[The] single only got started a few weeks ago [and] it's slower than we anticipated. But we're patient. Taylor is willing to slug it out.''

Apparently so: Industry buzz suggests that Hicks may have done just that when J Records execs gave their creative input as he recorded his album last year. ''Word got around that he pissed people off,'' says one insider. ''He would harp on this notion that he'd been doing music for 10 years, but if he were any good, he would've had a deal nine and a half years ago!'' (To be fair, Hicks did record two self-released efforts.) Resistance to the label's ideas may have hurt his support internally. While Hicks could not be reached for comment, Leshay says the charges are blown out of proportion: ''This is a guy learning how to cope with attention and still trying to be himself. Maybe that hasn't been manifested by [previous winners].''

I've heard so much about Taylor's cd. How many did he sell? I seriously want to know. I'm of the opinion that our soul man is simply pimping himself for a grander stage and that means he is going to "rock our socks off".

well Chris Daughtry also was in music 10 before idol if he was has good as poeple think he is he would had a record deal 9 and 1\2 years ago without idol.
that is a very old article and they wrote to belittle taylor because they hate him.

:tsk: I can not understand why the press like to belittle our soul guy so much. It really makes me mad. By the way, I think Taylor actually sold more than what is quoted in this article. I am not sure of the true numbers. Chris Daughtry only sold tons because they wanted him to win that season and I think Clive went out of his way to promote him. Taylor on the other hand received hardly any promotion or radio air play. I know I requested his music here alot but the stations would not play it because either they did not have a copy or because of some legal bull crap. All in all, Taylor did go gold with "Under The Radar" while he was on American Idol which says alot for those of us who appreciate good soul music. I personally can not stand listening to Daughtry and always turn the channel when he comes on if I am listening to the radio. I am also getting sick of hearing Jordin so much. I did not care for her cd that much except for one song. Don't get me wrong she is a good singer but frankly I wish other idols who did not win the title would get fair treatment with these radio stations which is why normally I just listen to my cds.

Regardless of the press, Taylor is and has been my top favorite "idol" ever since I first heard him sing. Just simply adore that soul man!

How did this article resurfice? It really doesn't matter to me what the media thinks of Taylor, He's the Best that AI has had to offer and I'll defend him regardless, Some say he's a failure and not half the artist that Kelly, Carrie and Chris are, but I beg to differ, Regardless of what he's sold and plans on selling, he's a success because he's doing what he loves to do and his voice is being heard, whether the media likes it or not, Taylor is here to stay, But I also think the media has changed their tune a little when it comes to Taylor, the negative press is not as bad as it once was and for that I'm grateful..

As for Taylor first Cd, this was his total world wide as of July 9th I think,,
Taylor Hicks Taylor Hicks 795000 826800
www.worldwidealbums.net