Taylor Hicks For Taylor Hicks, winning “American Idol’s” blockbuster fifth season was just the beginning. Hailed as “part Stax, part Motown and part honky-tonk” by The New York Times, Hicks’ intoxicating blend of soul, blues, country, and rock & roll quickly rendered him a household name as he progressed to the show’s record-breaking finale in 2006, an historic television event which drew an audience of more than 200 million viewers. Hicks immediately followed his Idol victory with a #1 Billboard single and an RIAA certified Platinum debut, and soon went on to make history as both the first male Idol champion featured on a GRAMMY-winning record (Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Blow Your Pants Off’), and the first to land a prestigious Las Vegas residency. A versatile artist, actor, and advocate, Hicks has since ventured into theater and television, touring as Teen Angel in the popular Broadway musical “Grease” in addition to appearing on “Law & Order: SVU” and hosting “State Plate,” his own food and travel show now entering its third season on the INSP television network. Hicks’ passion for southern cuisine also led him back to his native Alabama, where he opened up Saw’s BBQ & Juke Joint, a restaurant recently crowned one of the “25 Best Barbecue Spots in America” by Men’s Journal. After a lengthy hiatus from recording, Hicks returned in 2017 with “Six Strings and Diamond Rings,” the first single since his beloved 2009 sophomore album, “The Distance.” The stirring, stripped-down track offers up a tantalizing preview of Hicks’ highly anticipated third album, a deeply personal, roots-inspired collection recorded at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground studio in Nashville with contributions from Robert Randolph, Keb Mo, and Widespread Panic’s JoJo Hermann. Produced by Hicks along with GRAMMY-winning guitarist Bryan Sutton (Garth Brooks, Brad Paisley), the album is due out later this year and will bring Hicks back on the road for extensive touring. www.taylorhicks.com