Thursday, May 25, 2006

Marketing Taylor Hicks

Like any West Coast person with a passing interest in American Idol -- curious enough to know who won, not committed enough to watch two hours of filler -- I checked CNN.com a little after 7 pm.

Congratulations, Taylor Hicks. I say this with some amusement, because I'm thinking about those poor record producers who now have to make a marketable Taylor Hicks album. (I've got a mild case of McPheever, but part of me wished that Elliott Yamin joined Taylor in the finals to create a music honcho's ultimate nightmare.)

My guess is that Taylor's appeal is mostly visual, and by that I mean that America enjoys watching him convulse as he performs. (I'm not knocking the act; Joe Cocker had a lucrative career doing something similar.) But will that enjoyment translate to a CD track?

It wouldn't be so bad if his presumably pop album got an infusion of gospel and blues. But I'd probably restrict his use of the harmonica to one song. (I'm getting this nagging feeling that we'll be subjected to an unnecessary remake of "Life is a Highway.")

As a white Southern soul man, he has some crossover potential. Not like Elvis, though he'll certainly be hyped that way. And the purple jacket? Gotta see more of that. Say, let's call the album Jacket Required. Taylor, if you can get your handlers to agree to that, I'll write my very first song and let you sing it. I've already got a title: "What the hell is a Sussudio?"

5 comments:

Robert said...

you just checked CNN for the result? A likely story.

Courtney said...

We turned it on for the last fifteen minutes, and were shocked and pleased enough to shout out, "There's Prince!" As for Taylor, meh.

Neel Mehta said...

Rob: I realize that much of what I say takes certain liberties with truth and reality, but CNN.com posted the result a few minutes after 7pm Pacific time.

Quinn: I recorded the finale; maybe I'll watch the Prince part. So at least this explains Taylor's purple jacket.

K-Lyn said...

Forget Prince...I was mezmorized by his back-up dancers. How did they keep all that fake hair on top of their heads?

I watched about 20 minutes worth of the show and am still suffering medley overload. Death to the medley! I kept waiting for "clang clang clang went the trolley"

bgppjk - obvious code for 'big purple jacket'

Anonymous said...

Whence all the Taylor bashing? I love Taylor--he's sexy, sweet, and unashamed to show just how into the music he is. Plus, he's fun. I came to view AI only most reluctantly. But, once my kids talked me into watching with them, I found myself hooked on Hicks almost immediately. I'll buy his CD.

ahickschick