May 24, 2006

Birmingham’s Taylor Hicks was announced as the winner of “American Idol” in its fifth season. Following his “Idol” win, Hicks released a self-titled album on Arista Records later that year. Hicks’ style can be best described as a mix of rhythm and blues, blues, country and pop. Hicks began singing professionally as a teen, performing and touring the Southeast. His resume expanded to include Broadway and Las Vegas shows. In 2009, he went on a national tour in “Grease” and later became the first “American Idol” winner to secure a long-term performance at a Las Vegas casino. In 2016, he branched into television as host of an original series called “State Plate.”

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Birmingham native and “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks performs in June 2006 at City Stages, an annual Birmingham concert festival that ran from 1989 to 2009. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of The Birmingham News, photograph by Linda Stelter)

Singer Taylor Hicks attends FOX’s “American Idol” finale of the farewell season at Dolby Theatre on April 7, 2016 in Hollywood. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

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