Untrained American Idol Winner Taylor Hicks Proves Raw Talent Can Beat Competitor's Conservatory Training

Idol loser Katherine McPhee admits to 'overthinking everything' that comes with extensive performance training. Meanwhile, Hicks -- who never had a music lesson in his life, but has been performing for the last ten years -- wins.

Essex, NY (PRWEB) May 26, 2006 -- Taylor Hicks, newly named this season’s American Idol, is a 29-year-old college drop-out who has never taken a music lesson in his life. A fan website quotes his grandmother, Joni Hicks, as saying Taylor came running up to her at age twelve, yelling ‘Grandma, you’ve got to hear this,” then singing Otis Redding’s, ‘Try a Little Tenderness’. His father remembers a similar incident with a harmonica about the same age.

Taylor, who is 29, has been playing in front of audiences since college, hitting the ‘chitlin circuit’ and the Florida panhandle primarily, with his own Taylor Hicks band. Hicks has also played venues such as The Playboy Mansion.

.. if I start getting advice from other vocal coaches, whether it be my mother or a friend, then I overthink everything instead of going out there and being me

There’s no substitute for being in the trenches, actually performing. You can train and study all you want, but until you’re in the moment with an audience, learning how to build that relationship with your songs, you’ll never grow as a performer.

McPhee admitted in an msn.com interview that professional training can be overrated. She said, “.. if I start getting advice from other vocal coaches, whether it be my mother or a friend, then I overthink everything instead of going out there and being me,” she said.

Creativity expert and author Suzanne Falter-Barns, whose website, www.howmuchjoy.com coaches aspiring artists how to live their dreams, agrees. She attributes Hicks’ triumph over McPhee to his extensive performing experience.

“There’s no substitute for being in the trenches, actually performing. You can train and study all you want, but until you’re in the moment with an audience, learning how to build that relationship with your songs, you’ll never grow as a performer.”

America voted and the vote went to the seasoned pro.

For immediate information or interview, please contact
Suzanne Falter-Barns

For immediate information or interview, please contact
Suzanne Falter-Barns
www.howmuchjoy.com/pressroom.html
518 963-8927
518 569-6649 (cell)

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taylor hicks american idol katherine mcphee creativity expert

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