For Taylor Hicks, winning "American Idol's" blockbuster fifth season was just the beginning.Hailed as “part Stax, part Motown and part honky-tonk” by The New York Times, Hicks’intoxicating blend of soul, blues, country, and rock 'n' roll quickly rendered him a householdname as he progressed to the show’s record-breaking finale in 2006, a historic television eventwhich drew an audience of more than 200 million viewers. Hicks immediately followed his"American Idol" victory with a No. 1 Billboard single and an RIAA®-certified platinum debut, andsoon went on to make history as both the first male "American Idol" champion featured on aGRAMMY-winning record (Jimmy Fallon’s Blow Your Pants Off), and the first to land aprestigious Las Vegas residency. A versatile artist, actor and advocate, Hicks has sinceventured into theater, television and film, starring in Serenbe Playhouse's 2019 production of"Shenandoah," touring as Teen Angel in the popular Broadway musical “Grease” in addition toappearing on “Law & Order: SVU” and hosting the INSP series “State Plate,” which won theCynopsis TV Award for Best Reality Series (Travel). Hicks’ passion for southern cuisine led himback to his native Alabama, where he opened up SAW's Juke Joint, a restaurant crowned oneof the “25 Best Barbecue Spots in America” by Men’s Journal.

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