Taylor Hicks (album)

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.[7] The first single from the album was the ballad "Just to Feel That Way".

Taylor Hicks
Studio album by
Taylor Hicks
ReleasedDecember 12, 2006
RecordedOctober–November 2006, EMBLEM/Castle Oaks, Calabasas, California
GenrePop, blues rock
Length41:14
LabelArista
ProducerMatt Serletic
Taylor Hicks chronology
Under the Radar
(2005)		 Taylor Hicks
(2006)		 Early Works
(2008)
Singles from Taylor Hicks
  1. "Just to Feel That Way"
    Released: February 5, 2007
  2. "Heaven Knows"
    Released: May 28, 2007
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Billboard(mixed) [2]
Entertainment Weekly(C)[3]
Los Angeles Times[4]
Popmatters[5]
USA Today[6]

The album debuted at the number two spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 298,000 copies in its first week.[8] 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 second lowest selling debut album by an American Idol winner, after Kris Allen and Lee DeWyze's debuts.[9] The album has sold 704,000 copies as of December 2010.[10]

Album background

Recording for the album took six weeks, between October to November 2006, right after the culmination of the American Idols LIVE! Tour.[11] 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.[12]

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.[7] Hicks would have been the first person to record in the studio since Charles himself.[13]

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"[14] 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.[15]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Runaround"Loren Gold, James Renald3:13
2."Dream Myself Awake"Rob Thomas3:38
3."Heaven Knows" ( This song contains samples from "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles and "Ain't That Peculiar" by Marvin Gaye)Cory Rooney, Makeba Riddick, Kara DioGuardi, Matt Serletic, Ray Charles, Pete Moore, Smokey Robinson, Bobby Rogers, Marvin Tarplin3:35
4."Gonna Move" (Paul Pena cover)Paul Pena4:22
5."Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" (Marvin Gaye)Marvin Gaye, Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield3:32
6."Give Me Tonight"Taylor Hicks, Kevin Kadish, Brandon Jane, Leah Crutchfield, DioGuardi, Serletic3:34
7."Just to Feel That Way"Lindy Robbins, Jess Cates, Emanuel Kiriakou3:11
8."The Maze"Scott Cutler, Anne Preven2:47
9."Places I've Been"Diane Warren3:29
10."Soul Thing" (This is a reworking of the original version from Hicks's previous album, 2005's Under the Radar)Hicks3:20
11."The Deal" (This is a reworking of the original version from Hicks's previous album, 2005's Under the Radar)Hicks3:17
12."The Right Place"Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance3:16
Available exclusively on selected CDs at Wal-Mart.
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
17."Hell of a Day" (This is a reworking of the original version from Under the Radar; it also contains an additional verse)Hicks3:40

Singles
  • "Just to Feel That Way"
  • "Heaven Knows"

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[18] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Allmusic review".
  2. "Billboard review".
  3. "Entertainment Weekly review". Archived from the original on May 16, 2008.
  4. "Los Angeles Times review".
  5. "Popmatters review".
  6. "USA Today review". Archived from the original on March 12, 2007.
  7. Newsome, Melba (December 6, 2006). "Overnight Star? Well, It's Been a Long Night". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2006.
  8. Cohen, Jonathan. Taylor Hicks Unveils 2007 Tour Plans, Billboard, December 27, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2006.
  9. Barnes, Ken. Daughtry chief chart beneficiary as overall sales slide, Idol Chatter, USAToday.com, 2008-01-16. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
  10. Mansfield, Brian (December 8, 2010). "Idols maintain chart presence with guest appearances, compilations". USA Today.
  11. Interview on the Paul and Young Ron Show, November 21, 2006
  12. Colurso, Mary (December 8, 2006). "Giving It His Heart and Soul". The Birmingham News. Retrieved December 11, 2006.
  13. Caramanica, Jon (November 2006). "You Don't Know Me, But I'm Your Brother". Vibe Magazine. pp. 127–129.
  14. Moss, Corey (January 24, 2007). "Taylor Hicks Excited About Chris Daughtry's Success, 'Obscure Covers'". MTV. Retrieved January 24, 2007.
  15. "Artist Chart History — Taylor Hicks". Billboard.com. Retrieved August 31, 2007.
  16. "Taylor Hicks Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  17. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  18. "American album certifications – Taylor Hicks – Taylor Hicks". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 6, 2021. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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