Taylor Hicks Says Winning “American Idol” 20 Years Ago Was a 'Whirlwind' for Him (Exclusive)
Taylor Hicks Says Winning “American Idol” 20 Years Ago Was a 'Whirlwind' for Him (Exclusive)
Staff AuthorWed, April 29, 2026 at 8:52 PM UTC
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Taylor HicksCredit: Erika Goldring/Getty -
Taylor Hicks is reminiscing about his American Idol win
Hicks finished first on season five of the show, sharing with PEOPLE how proud he is of the cultural milestone
Hicks will soon go back on Idol, teasing a return to the show on his social media recently
Taylor Hicks is marking a major milestone — and reflecting on just how "green" he was when he won Season 5 of American Idol.
It’s been 20 years since Hicks won a major recording contract with Arista Records and the title of "American Idol" in May 2006. Speaking to PEOPLE ahead of heading back to the show for a live performance on May 4, Hicks, now 49, said the experience itself still feels surreal.
“I guess when you see just how long the show's been running, you see the winners over the years, and you definitely start doing the math a little bit," Hicks says of the milestone. “But at the same time, it's been a whirlwind since my win in show business. I mean, I'm coming up on almost 23 or 24 years in show business, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.”
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Taylor HicksCredit: Vince Bucci/Getty
For Hicks — who will release his new single, "The Mirror," on May 4, the same day he will perform on American Idol — the show wasn’t just a career boost, but the realization of a lifelong dream.
“I mean, it was the greatest platform ... The dream that I had when I was a little boy, in making it and being an entertainer, was realized on American Idol and [with] that win,” he says. “And I'm very nostalgic about going back on the show and seeing everybody.”
With his win, Hicks became the first male American Idol champion to be featured on a Grammy-winning record and the first to secure a Las Vegas residency. His season was one rife with other big names, too — including runner-up Katherine McPhee, and Chris Daughtry, who came in fourth.
“I feel like I have most of the top 10 in my cell phone still, and I do keep up with everybody as much as we can,” he tells PEOPLE, adding that he’s proud to see many of them still thriving in the industry.
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Part of what makes their season so memorable, he says, is the unique cultural moment it captured — one that looks very different from today’s social media-driven landscape.
“People learned how to actually text message on my season. I mean, literally, they learned how to text on their phones watching American Idol in 2006 on season 5," he says.
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He continues: “It was just when the communal aspect of social media was just forming. And that's what's really another nostalgic thing for me, is [that] we were a part of history. And I must say, we made for some great television."
Revisiting old footage only reinforces how special that moment was — and how much he’s grown since.
“Yeah, I do see myself [in old clips], but I also see a really green apple,” Hicks says with a laugh. “I mean, literally, Idol is a crash in show business in six months.”
The leap from local performer to international star happened almost overnight, he adds.
“I went from playing to 50 people in my little bar called the Oasis in Birmingham to touring Southeast Asia in seven months,” he recalls. “So that's the kind of impact that Idol made for me at that time.”
One moment, in particular, stands out as a turning point.
“Being on Asian Idol in Jakarta, Indonesia, and being on that show and performing outside of the U.S., that was kind of my Beatles moment, so to speak,” he says.
In the years since he won Idol, Hicks has expanded far beyond music, taking on roles in theater, television and film — including starring in Shenandoah at Georgia's Serenbe Playhouse and touring as Teen Angel in the Broadway musical Grease. Offstage, Hicks has leaned into his love of Southern food, opening SAW's Juke Joint in Birmingham, Ala.
And now, with a return to American Idol on the horizon, he says he's embracing both the past and the future.
“I'm really excited to be around the contestants. I'm excited to hear those voices live,” he says. “And mostly just soaking up all of the vibe and the nostalgia of really being blessed to be back on after 20 years and still kicking.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
