Taylor Hicks has taken step two on his "American Idol"-fueled career, signing the record contract that comes with winning the hit show.

The gray-haired crooner inked a pact with music mogul Clive Davis in conjunction with 19 Recordings Unlimited, the label managed by "AI" creator Simon Fuller, it was announced Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Alabama native's recording of two songs — "Do I Make You Proud," which he performed in the show's finale, and a soulful cover of the Doobie Brothers classic "Takin' It to the Streets" — will be released in stores and through digital outlets on June 13.

With Davis' guidance, Hicks is expected to release a full-length album later this year.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Davis, who has molded the careers of previous "Idol" winners, said he thinks Hicks has charisma and a unique singing style that will help him establish his pop audience.

"He definitely has his own sound," Davis told the AP. "He does have that gift, you know who it is when you hear him."

Taylor Hicks, the new "American Idol," has busy days ahead with tons of interviews and talk show appearances and his first single, due June 13.

Then, there's a tour with fellow finalists and after that, an album. But, what he really needs, he says, is time to take a nap.

He's been so busy being celebrated, in fact, that he hasn't had much time to actually work on his music career, Zap2it.com said.

On that album he's eager to get into, Hicks says he wants to stay true to what he was on the show -- a soulful performer influenced by legends like Ray Charles and Elvis Presley. His goal, he says is to "make music real again."

He said his "vision as an artist is to inject more feeling into popular music."

 

Fox was triumphant in the TV ratings with the finale of "American Idol," and got a jumpstart on the summer season.

An estimated 36.4 million people watched Taylor Hicks voted as the fifth "American Idol." On May 24 - the final day of the traditional TV season - it was the third-biggest audience for a televised event this year after the Super Bowl and Academy Awards.

Fox premiered the summertime competition "So You Think You Can Dance" the next night. Although that audience was only 10.7 million, it ranked 14th among last week's prime-time shows - a promising start for a summer series, according to Nielsen Media Research.

For the week, Fox averaged 14.8 million viewers (8.8 rating, 16 share). CBS was a distant second with 9 million viewers (6.0, 10), followed by ABC at 7.3 million (4.8, 8), NBC at 6.3 million (4.3, 8), UPN at 2.1 million (1.4, 2), the WB at 1.9 million (1.3, 2) and the i network at 400,000 (0.3, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision had 3.3 million viewers (1.7, 3), Telemundo had 780,000 (0.5, 1) and TeleFutura had 500,000 (0.3, 1).

Elizabeth Vargas had a solid performance in her final week as ABC's "World News Tonight" anchor, with Charles Gibson taking over that job on Memorial Day. ABC was in its closest competitive position to first-place NBC's "Nightly News" since August.

"Nightly News" averaged 7.8 million viewers (5.6, 12), "World News Tonight had 7.5 million (5.3, 11) and the "CBS Evening News" 7 million (4.9, 10).

A ratings point represents 1,102,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 110.2 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of May 22-28, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 36.38 million; "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 31.78 million; "House," Fox, 25.47 million; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 19.96 million; "Lost," ABC, 17.84 million; "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 15.51 million; "Deal or No Deal" (Monday), NBC, 14.21 million; "24," Fox, 13.75 million; "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 13.28 million; "The New Adventures of Old Christine," CBS, 13.06 million.

CONTESTANTS. Songs. Cheering. Simon. Paula. Randy. Burt Bacharach. Dionne Warwick. The artist currently known as Prince. And finally, Wednesday night, after two hours of glittery solo and group singing performances, a winner: Taylor Hicks was chosen as the new ``American Idol." He wins a record contract and at least 15 minutes of Idol fame.

Why the obsession over a television show?

Maybe because it's high school all over again, these years when big dreams of glossy success are wholly appropriate.

``American Idol" is a big lush high school talent show. Popularity matters -- fiercely. Winning means looking and sounding great every time the camera gazes. There are beauties, nerds, talents, and fat kids all competing for the spotlight.

Even better than in high school, the millions who have no chance of winning matter because they have the destiny-shaping power of voting. In the final showdown, millions of voters weighed in, most choosing Hicks and his soul sound over Katharine McPhee. The tribe -- to borrow a phrase from ``Survivor," a very different show -- get to speak without leaving the comfort of their couches and cordless phones.

And just as in any adolescent contest, the voting is not always kind nor merit-based. Pretty faces can beat out good voices. One off song can doom a would-be star.

This leads to high school-style intrigue. Fans claimed a conspiracy was afoot when Chris Daughtry was voted off the show, despite his talent. Last year, tabloids speculated about who was the teachers' -- or in this case the judges' -- pet, when a contestant said he was having an affair with Paula Abdul, a judge. Did they? Paula says no. But like a good high school rumor, the possibility floated on.

Like the fashions? Go to Idol's website and shop for the contestants' clothes, from their leather jackets to their evening gowns.

But here's a heart-breaking thing about high school and ``American Idol": They end -- with no promise of continued success. Winners can lose their fizzle. Losers mature into BMW-driving MBAs.

Fans can just move on, traveling in a merry caravan to next season's ``American Idol."

For Taylor Hicks, it's winning a handful of moonlight. It's lovely. And it's a better shot at a dream than he had before. But it's still only a shot. He'll need pluck and luck and loyal fans as he faces an even more grueling, untelevised contest of how to become a long-term American success.

Nashville, TN – 2005 American Idol winner Carrie Underwood continues to prove she is indeed America's darling as she follows last week's record-setting chart entry of her debut 19 Recordings/Arista Records/Arista Nashville collection, Some Hearts, with another sensational chart week. After only two weeks in stores, Some Hearts now tops the 500,000 unit sales mark according to SoundScan, with the album second only to superstar Kenny Chesney this week on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart.

Carrie's first-week album entry (which placed her at #1 on the country chart and #2 on the Billboard 200 all-genre chart, with more than 314,000 units sold) made SoundScan history as the biggest-selling debut album ever by a new country artist.

More remarkable still, Carrie has joined extraordinary company with the release of Some Hearts, as no female country artist in SoundScan history, with the exception of superstars Faith Hill and Shania Twain, has ever achieved higher first-week numbers on any album.

Radio continues to embrace Carrie in a big way, as well, with the disc's powerful lead single, "Jesus, Take the Wheel," climbing the country airplay charts at an amazing clip, already soaring to #11 Billboard and #12 R&R after only six weeks.

Critical acclaim for Underwood's debut has also surfaced from an array of outlets, with quotes such as:

"Underwood understands the difference between the [American Idol] competition's demand for vocal pyrotechnics and the interpretive requirements of songs for an album….a refreshing genuineness in Underwood's approach to material."
USA Today

"Underwood carves out her own niche with some help from Nashville players like producer-guitarist Dann Huff and songwriter Hillary Lindsey."
People

"Underwood will be a star because of her own considerable talents."
Billboard

"The big-voiced Oklahoman has the pipes, the look, the pedigree, and most important, the emotional resonance to sustain a professional career."
Amazon.com

Continuing an incredible string of major television appearances, Carrie will be featured on the December 1 edition of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, with more on the way over the next few weeks as the 22-year-old Oklahoma beauty performs on the December 6 FOX broadcast of The 2005 Billboard Music Awards, as well as Dr. Phil and TNT's Christmas in Washington (both airing December 14). With still more on tap, including the December 16 debut of her CMT – Country Music Television In the Moment special, fans can also look for Carrie in upcoming photo spreads in Allure and Teen Vogue.

So as it turns out, "American Idol" will be airing on Thursdays after all -- at least for a little while.

FOX has unveiled its full schedule for the fifth season of the talent competition, which will adhere to the format it adopted last year: After the auditions and the Hollywood training camp, the 24 semifinalists will split along gender lines, with the male and female singers performing separately each week until only six of each remain.

It's during that round that the show will make its way onto Thursdays. Starting Tuesday, Feb. 21, the semifinalists will sing in performance episodes on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the results of fan voting revealed in hour-long shows on Thursday.

Idol premieres Jan. 17 (8 p.m. ET/PT), with the first of seven audition episodes from San Francisco, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Denver and Greensboro, N.C. Two-hour episodes air Jan. 17 and 24, with one-hour shows Jan. 18, 25, 31 and Feb. 1 and 7 (8 p.m. ET/PT).

Singers who win the judges' approval will move on to Idol's Hollywood round, airing Feb. 8, 14 and 15 (8 p.m. ET/PT). The semifinalists — 12 men and 12 women — will be announced Feb. 15. The men will perform Feb. 21; the women, Feb. 22. The two men and two women with the fewest viewer votes will be eliminated in a Feb. 23 results show (8 p.m. ET/PT).

The top 12 finalists will be announced March 9, with the finals round starting March 14 (8 p.m. ET/PT).

Judge Randy Jackson says the best male and female singers appear to be balanced in ability this season.

"The kids this time probably want this worse than ever," he told reporters in a conference call. "There's quite a bit of interesting fighting and dialogue amongst the contestants."

Bice, 30, became ill on Sunday while rehearsing for a performance on the 2005 Radio Music Awards at the Aladdin Resort & Casino, said Roger Widynowski, a publicist for RCA Records.

"He didn't collapse but was rushed to the hospital," Widynowski said. "Bo is doing fine, and he's going back to Nashville today for treatment."

The Goo Goo Dolls will replace Bice in Monday night's live broadcast on NBC, said Carrie Simons, a spokeswoman for the network.

Bice was in Las Vegas with other Idol contestants in August when he underwent emergency surgery to repair a blocked intestine. The recovery time forced him to stop touring with the show.

Bice finished second on last season's Idol behind Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood. He released his first album, The Real Thing, last week.