NEW YORK, NY (Arista Records) - Arista Records/19 Recordings' artist
Taylor Hicks takes a giant step up into the next phase of his musical career, as his self-titled first album for the label enters the Billboard 200 albums chart at No 2, after an explosive first week Soundscan sales total of 298,199 units. Hicks will kick off his first tour in support of the album on Wednesday, February 21st, in Jacksonville, Florida at the Florida Theater with dates currently scheduled to run through April 27th in Kansas City, MO.
Underpinning the out-of-the-box success of the album was a busy schedule of television appearances that began last month on ABC's 20/20, the American Music Awards (as a presenter), and NBC's Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Plaza in New York. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Taylor sang the national anthem prior to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Ford 400, as part of the Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Immediately surrounding the album's December 12th in store date, Taylor visited NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Dec. 1st); ABC's Good Morning America (5th), Live with Regis & Kelly (6th), and The View (11th); CBS's The Early Show (12th); MTV's TRL Countdown, the syndicated Martha Stewart Living and Dr. Phil, and TNT's "Christmas In Washington" (all on the 13th); and NBC's The Megan Mullally Show (14th).
In his own unique down-home way, Taylor is expanding his audience past the 36.4 million tv viewers who watched the May 24th finale of the fifth season of FOX's American Idol, and the "Soul Patrol!" legions who cast more than 63.4 million votes for him as the winning performer. The new album reaffirms the eternal power of pop, soul and R&B in the hands of a new young star, who prompted Vibe magazine to rave, "Taylor Hicks is the embodiment of the last fifty years of popular music."
TAYLOR HICKS TOUR DATES
Feb-21 Jacksonville, FL Florida Theater
Feb-22 Tampa, FL Tampa Theater
Feb-23 Coral Springs, FL Coral Springs Center for the Arts
Feb-24 Orlando, FL Universal Studios
Feb-27 Mobile, AL Mobile Civic Center
Mar-2 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues
Mar-3 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre
Mar-4 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
Mar-6 Huntsville, AL Von Braun Center
Mar-9 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle
Mar-10 Birmingham, AL Alabama Theatre
Mar-25 Minneapolis, MN Mystic Lake Casino Hotel
Mar-27 Green Bay, WI Weidner Center
Mar-28 Milwaukee, WI The Pabst Theater
Mar-29 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Mar-31 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Apr-3 Boston, MA Avalon
Apr-6 New Haven, CT Foxwoods Casino
Apr-7 Westbury, NY North Fork Theatre
Apr 12 Lancaster, PA American Musical Theater
Apr-17 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
Apr-24 Columbus, OH The LC Pavillion
Apr-27 Kansas City, MO Ameristar Casino
