Brad Hicks, right, reacts as his son, Taylor Hicks performs on the television show,"American Idol," on April 18, 2006, at Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Hoover, Ala. Hicks' brother, Sean Hicks, left, and Hicks's friend, Steven Niven, center, look on. Taylor is among the final four finalists on the show
Ah! Yes, that's him, I think -- the young man in the ball cap. Well, that's one more mystery explained! :)
American Idol - What Was Up With Toni Braxton?
http://www.realitytvmagazine.com/blog/2006/05/american_idol_w_4.html
The American Idol 5 finale proved to be one of the most star-studded American Idol finales ever. While Prince showed up as a surprise guest and performed two songs, it’s actually another star’s performance that has American Idol viewers buzzing. Or perhaps, the better description might be lack of performance. Toni Braxton joined Taylor Hicks on stage for a duet of “In The Ghetto.”
However, for much of the song, Toni Braxton’s voice was barely audible and her lips often seemed to out of sync with the words of the song. Some viewers have been speculating that she either forgot the words of the song and tried to cover it up by letting out the occasional “whooo” or she was merely doing a poor job of lip syncing the entire song. Another possible explanation circulating is that she might have been having microphone problems.
Whatever the reason, Toni Braxton delivered the most bizarre performance of the night. At one point during the song, Braxton also grabbed Taylor Hicks' hand, pulled it forward, and appeared to start rubbing it on her hip. The surprise move by Braxton looked to have caught Hicks completely off-guard. It might have not have been so surprising on another song, but the subject matter of "In The Ghetto" hardly lent itself to sexy dance moves. Some American Idol message board posters are also speculating that producers cut the duet short due to Toni’s lack of vocals and sexy dance moves.