What To Know
- It’s been 20 years since Taylor Hicks won American Idol Season 5 in 2006.
- The singer reflected on how much the singing competition has changed and gotten harder since then.
- He also revealed what’s currently making him happiest.
It’s been 20 years since Taylor Hicks won American Idol, and he’s acknowledging how much being on a singing competition show has changed since then. Hicks admitted that it was easier to win American Idol back in his day, compared to now.
“Luckily for me, American Idol was the only game in town,” Hicks told Fox News Digital. “I think the last talent show that was on television was Star Search. And once Idol became so successful, I think America’s Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance … there’s all these entities that kind of popped up that you really have to compete for now. So I think it’s tougher for contestants on shows like that [today] because they’re kind of spreading the love.”
And while Hicks said he’d be down to mentor contestants, he has no desire to compete on a show again. “I’m not going through that bubble,” he laughed. “I could be a very good mentor.”
Two decades after American Idol, Hicks is continuing his music career and credits growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, with being part of the reason he’s stayed so grounded
“It is a blue-collar town. You know, I think it would be kind of like growing up in Pittsburgh or something,” he explained. “Boston … I love to go there and perform because I got a pretty big constituency in blue-collar towns. I think it’s a testament to the people that live there, the hard work, my family … I had a really, really good, hardworking base of Birmingham folks that I love and I still get to see.”
He added that his faith makes him happiest these days as well. “I’m really happy that, you know, I can be in the business that I will always love to be in,” Hicks continued. “Over the years, the arc of my career, I am going on 20-something years in show business, and I am very, very fortunate to be able to be in the business I love. I don’t go to work every day. I love what I do and am just very blessed.”