ay bw vid from HI ENERGY on Vimeo.

Quote:But for those who do, it is lucrative. Each star is said to get $125,000 for agreeing to do the show, three weeks of rehearsal prior to the start and for the first two episodes, even if they are eliminated on week one. After that, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the amount increases per episode: $10,000 an episode for weeks three and four, $20,000 an episode for weeks five and six, $30,000 an episode for weeks seven and eight and $50,000 an episode for the final two weeks.

Quote:I should call it what it is - being a musician and experimenting and not caring about anything else but what’s hiding inside and what I need to get out, no matter how long that takes. I need to make what I think is shit, which will be nothing close to shit. It’ll just be free.

Quote:He doesn't look the part of your average American Idol winner with his salt and pepper hair, and he doesn't sound it either with his unique blend of country, R&B, jazz and rock'n'roll. Since garnering an unbelievable 63 million votes back in 2006, Taylor Hicks has remained the humble Alabama boy who doesn't forget this roots, when he was playing, not so long ago, to empty roadhouses.

Of these hard beginnings, he once said, "Not being taken seriously can be a good thing. It stokes the fires." Now, that he has "fame" under his belt, it seems the next thing to stoke his fires is battling the stereotype of just being another one of those ballad-belting reality TV stars.

In his memoir, he explored the "two-sided gig known as American celebrity." After many years of big arena shows around the world, his first independent album under his own record company came out in 2009. Now he'll spend the fall playing intimate venues like ours. And on a recent live chat through his website, he also admitted he's "looking forward to having some time off, for sure." Good luck with that, Taylor.

"Obviously he got famous through American Idol which I think in a way is holding him back when he's really very talented," says Olsson. "So it'll be interesting to see what people think of him."

Taking it to the Streets-Chukchansi 08/26/2010 from gina thomas on Vimeo.

The Deal from gina thomas on Vimeo.

Quote:Cox, along with that reality show singer guy Taylor Hicks, has agreed to promote the state in a new campaign that’s hoping to win visitors back. Both Birmingham natives, Cox and Taylor will talk up the Southern state, Cox primarily focusing on her Gulf Coast childhood memories. The actress plans on shooting the commercial after she wraps Scream 4, which she’s currently filming in Michigan.

Hicks, who has a lot more free time on his hands, has already filmed his PSA.