Pop Stand

Taylor Hicks opens the door to the green room a few hours before his show Thursday evening in the Seneca Event Center at the Seneca Niagara Casino. He's tall, 6'1", and much thinner than he was on the show. He seems even thinner than he was on last season's finale a few months ago. Despite the famous gray hair, he looks and seems much younger than his 30 years. He's eating a banana from the stock of healthy snacks  in the room, which include fruit, cereal and milk. He's wearing a loose black T-shirt emblazoned with the words "I speak jive," jeans and black suede New Balance shoes. He takes a seat on one of the couches, props his feet on the coffee table and starts talking.

With his own band, he played "a lot of the South. Slowly but surely I was expanding my territory, but that would have probably taken 30 more years to get up here. I might have been stark white by then. The conventional route, that's the way it works. Unconventionally, something like [American Idol] happens."

About Simon: "It kind of just got to the point where [I thought] he says what he says. I think I was in a position on that show that if he said something good it was for me, and if he said something bad it was [good] for me. I might have been one of the only contestants he's ever gone up against where I think he was in a no-win situation. I think people got mad that he would say something [bad] like that about me, which created controversy and stirred the pot, and I think people kind of went with me when he said something good about me. It was a pretty lucky situation to be in."

About his dancing on stage: "I like to call it soul aerobics."

Can he go out in public? "With a hat on, I can, but with a hat off, there's no way. I like to go to places to where people aren't looking for it. You go to somewhere like New York or L.A. or destination spots and people are always wondering who's coming around the corner, but if I show up in Oklahoma City on a Friday night, I'm going to get away with having some beers and hanging out. With the hat on, though. Hat always has to be on, and I get tired of wearing hats. That's a trade off I don't like."

About fame: "I pinch myself every morning. I'm really blessed. There are a lot of things that have to come into play for you to catch a break in this business; your stars have to really line up, so I'm really thankful for that. I say that a lot. Sometimes I'll be sitting on my bus and I'll think to myself,  [amazed tone]  'This is my tour bus!'"

To read my review of Taylor Hicks' sold-out concert Thursday night, check out this link.

-- Anne Neville