Sept 15 08
SHN NEWS

American Idol's Taylor Hicks to star in GREASE
Producers of the 2008 Tony Award nominated new Broadway production of GREASE announced that American Idol Season Five winner, TAYLOR HICKS, will star in the national tour of the show. 

This production of GREASE, presented as a part of the 2008-2009 Best of Broadway season, will play the Golden Gate Theatre in March and will feature songs from the smash hit 1978 motion picture performed for the first time ever on stage.

TAYLOR HICKS made his debut on Broadway in the role of Teen Angel this past summer. Mr. Hicks achieved widespread fame in 2006 as a contestant on the hugely successful FOX singing competition American Idol.  On May 24, 2006, Hicks was named the winner of the fifth season of Idol with over 63.4 million votes in total.  Winning the title over Katharine McPhee, the announcement was made during the live finale episode which aired to a worldwide audience of over 200 million viewers.

Immediately following Idol, Hicks signed a recording contract with 19 Records Limited / Arista Records.  His debut single, Do I Make You Proud, debuted in the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and was subsequently certified Gold.  His eponymous debut album, Taylor Hicks was released on December 12, 2006 and debuted in the #2 spot on the Billboard 200 charts and was later certified as a Platinum Album.  After signing a book deal with Random House, Hicks memoir Heart Full of Soul: An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way was released in July of 2007.
photos of Taylor Hicks courtesy of Larry Busacca/Getty Images; show photo by Joan Marcus

link:
http://www.shnsf.com/news/article.asp?key=1738&subkey=365