American Idol Contestant Taylor Hicks

Born October 6, 1976, this Libra hails from Birmingham, Alabama, and moved to Hoover, Alabama when he was "knee-high to a grasshopper." His parents, Brad (a dentist) and Linda Hicks have one other son, Sean, who attends Georgia Tech. Female fans will be glad to know that Taylor is still on the market, and has never been married.

After attending high school in Hoover, AL, where he participated in basketball, but not the music program, he went on to Auburn University for a spell, majoring in business, marketing and communications. While there, he met some fellow musicians and formed the Passing Through Band. He left before graduating and moved to Nashville, TN to pursue a music career.

He has a CD entitled: Under the Radar. Crediting Ray Charles as a musical influence, which is evident every time he moves onstage, he never had any formal training; but he started to sing "when he started to crawl," according to www.americanidol.com. Taylor would always carry a tiny statute of the icon whenever he would go onstage. Because it was lost or stolen recently, he's in search of a new one.

Although it seems like was born with his trademark locks, he started to go gray at age 15, according to his grandmother, Jonie Hicks. He has been teased about it quite a bit, but has no plans to color it. One fan has a website called "Gray Charles ~ The Taylor Hicks Weblog."

Taylor's take on music is simple: "It's music, man. If music is in your heart, you feel it, you play it, you sing it, you perform it, you bust your buns doing it. That's what its all about!" He wanted to attend the American Idol auditions in Memphis, but when they were cancelled due to Hurricane Katrina, he auditioned in Las Vegas instead. And thank goodness he did! What a breath of fresh air, this "Ray Charles-Joe Cocker love child." He certainly caught America's attention from the very first time we saw him.

This silver fox is every bit the "Southern gentleman." With an unpretentious air about him, he comes to us every week in the same charming, humble, and adorable manner. Taylor has the potential to be the last man standing when the winner is announced on May 24, 2006. Until then, America will be watching, cheering, and hopefully, voting!