Taylor Hicks, 29, was named American Idol, beating out Katharine McPhee for the title. An estimated 17 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49 watched the fifth American Idol finale. That's almost one-fifth of the under-50 adult population!

The American Idol fifth finale was seen by some as the best yet, with surprise performances from stars such as Live, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton singing duets with the members of the Final 12.

An additional performace by Prince was generally seen as a statement of Idol's acceptance in the music world. The introduction of the "Golden Idol" awards brought back memories from the auditions, such as the return of "Crazy Dave" and even the foul-mouthed Rhonetta Johnson, while providing comic relief in the midst of the suspense.

 

Taylor Hicks is the second American Idol winner from the city of Birmingham, AL, and the fourth finalist with close ties to the city. Before American Idol, Taylor Hicks worked at a shopping mall and dressed up as the Easter Bunny for Easter and spring promotions. He decided to audition for American Idol while he was touring in New Orleans with his band, the Little Memphis Blues Orchestra, on the night Hurricane Katrina hit and used a ticket voucher to fly to Las Vegas.

Taylor Hicks has two albums, In Your Time (1997, Laser's Edge) and Under the Radar (2005, Laser's Edge).

Taylor Hicks passed the audition by the approval of judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, but not Simon Cowell, who said that Hicks would never make it to the final round. Taylor Hicks joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only winners of American Idol to never be in the bottom three or two.

The oldest American Idol ever, Taylor Hicks has a distinctive style of his own, with highly regarded mane of prematurely gray locks and a penchant for risky yet tasteful outfits. It's hard to believe but he had blond hair as a child, then his hair color turned dark brown/black as an adolescent, and started turning gray by the time he was 15.

As we mentioned, Hicks received more than any previous Idol winner. In fact, new American Idol got more votes than any president ever elected.

"...either there are more than 62 million Americans with too much spare time … or 20 million with a penchant for repeat dialing..." ABC politely pointed out.

In his native town May 12 was proclaimed "Taylor Hicks Day" and Taylor Hicks was given the key to the city. 

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