I have tickets to see Taylor Hicks in concert on August 31 at the House of Blues in Dallas, TX. So I thought it would be a good idea for me to finish up my "A trip down memory lane" series before the concert. But considering my track records, I make no promises.
Since it's been 107 days since I posted part 2 (and 172 days since I posted part 1), here are the two links so you can catch up.
A trip down memory lane, part 1
A trip down memory lane, part 2
Go ahead and get caught up. After all, if you read it you will better understand my lunacy.
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As a reminder, I'll share with you what I thought about his performance for each night both then and now. Please remember that all opinions are my own, which means they are 100% correct. The fact that I have since done a complete 180 of my opinions doesn't change that they were then, and are still now, correct.
Last time I ended with Taylor's Top 16 performance, in which he sang Takin' It To The Streets. The song was proceeded by Taylor in a bunny suit.
And it left me with a desire never to hunt Easter eggs again.
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First up: Taylor sings "Livin' For The City" during the Final 12 night (3/14/06).
I did watch this show that night, and was extremely impressed with Taylor's vocals. At first I thought he had started the song a little too high for his voice and was going to have to strecth his vocals at the end, but it turned out he did a great job. I still didn't get his moves on stage and found myself wishing he had just sat on a stool to sing this song.
Looking back, this was the first time I had to honestly say that Taylor had talent. Removed from most of what I referred to at the time as his "weirdness," I found myself liking him. Even so, I wasn't about to let on to Steff that I liked his performance. After all, he wasn't Ace Young or Kevin Covais. And they were who I was rooting for.
I did agree with Steff on one thing about this night: we both raked Simon over the coals that night about the way he critiqued Taylor's performance. What was with Simon's drunken-dad-at-a-wedding comment anyway? He ended it with a decisive compliment, but it was soured by the way he started it.
Next up: Taylor sings "Not Fade Away" during the Final 11 night (3/21/06).
I loved how Taylor walked into his meeting with Rod Stewart. And not having heard the song before, I thought it was a slower song and was looking forward to it.
But then the music started and Taylor started dancing.
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Although the song wasn't as energetic as some of the other songs he had already done, I found myself being turned off by this performance. I think part of the reason I didn't like it back then was because I already knew deep down that Kevin Covais would be going home after the voting that night (which he did).
Looking back at it now, this is not one of my favorite Taylor performances. And I don't really know why that is. I think maybe I agree with Randy that it was too simple of a song, sort of bland melody wise.
Next up: Taylor sings "Trouble" during the Final 10 night (3/28/06).
I was still upset about Kevin Covais being cut the week before, and hadn't paid much attention to the show so far this night. But I did happen to flip to the show just as Taylor and Ryan started talking.
And then they showed the kid who had dyed his hair gray.
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I turned off the TV that night and swore off American Idol again for the season. Obviously I turned it back on again, but that was because Ace Young was still in the competition.
Looking back, I like this performance now. It was a simple song, done while standing at a microphone. Taylor demonstrated that night that his vocals could carry him. No weirdness, no strange dance moves, no looking like someone having a seizure after staring at his Nintendo game for 18 hours straight. Just a simple, straightforward, vocal performance.
So that completes Part 3. Next time, and I promise that I will do it within the next few days, I will look at Taylor's next three performances.
While you wait for Part 4, leave me a comment and let me know what you think of these three Taylor performances. And let me know what you think of my thoughts of Taylor at the time.
Tags: Taylor Hicks, American Idol, Birmingham, Alabama
