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You are right. Taylor Hicks is an original and completely out of the pop mainstream mold which is exactly why he has zero chance of winning. I love him, he's my favorite and I'd buy his record. But he is not the formulaic marketing star that they want to pump out millions of boring and unoriginal music to the masses. That is who wins this. It is not a singing competition, it is a marketing competition.

BTW, I've watched every episode of every season as I love music and love watching people perform to the best of their abilities. But this is not about the best singer/artist. Unfortunately.....

Also, as a dedicated fan of Bo last year, I was appaled at the complete lack of originality of his record. Sounds like every other "rock" song you'd hear on a top 40 station. I;m sure he had no choice as the "producers" and "A&R" men know best....right?

You've hit the nail right on the head my friend. What happened to Bo could well happen to someone as polished and experienced as Taylor Hicks.

As a huge fan of Taylor Hicks -- I find myself in a dilemma at this point in time. Why is that you might ask ? Well, on one hand, I want him to go far in the competition -- FAR ENOUGH TO GAIN NATIONAL PRMINENCE. BUT NOT FAR ENOUGH TO WIN.

Let me explain why ...

Simon calls him VERRY INTERESTING ( he even made this comment to Paula and Randy : 'Part of me asks 'what is he doing her, yet another part wants to know what he's going to do next ..'), and I believe I know why — It's because he doesn't know quite what to expect from Taylor based on his personality and style.

Here is the 64 dollar question --- What is Taylor going to do during performance time ? He's obviously a pro musician, he's got an interesting SOULFUL voice (not of the pop genre) and he seems pretty fearless. What will he do when some theme night doesn't fit his BLUES/SOUL style ? What will he sing when he hits say, DISCO NIGHT ???? THAT IS WHY SIMON IS CURIOUS.

So, folks, Taylor has a dilemma…. which is also a dilemma for someone who is a huge fan of his, namely —- ME.

If he pulls back to blend in, he might get further in the competition. But in doing so, he might be selling out his personal style.

Does he want to win this thing and get saddled with some crappy 19E pop album? Or does he want to be himself…16 year old voters be damned….and gain a smaller, but more appropriate audience for his own music by sticking it out for a few episodes ? *THAT* my friends, is my question.

That is why Simon said what he said — HE WANTS TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS as a learning experience in the music industry. This is just something he never expected and has not seen before.

I don't think Taylor should even be on American Idol, but I love that he is and I love that's he's awesomely divisive and I think he's going to prove himself to be pretty incredible next week. I think the fact that he's such an oddity for AI is exactly why they've let him through. Simon knows he'll have lots of fans as well as detractors ( expecially the teen crowd ) --- and this divisive phenomena WILL increase ratings.

My dilemma is I want him to gain the widest exposure so that some major record label (preferably NOT 19 entertainment) that UNDERSTANDS his genre will discover him and sign him so that he can CREATE the sort of music that people like me love and appreciate (to heck with the Justin Timberlake crowd, they are a dime a dozen too many ).

So I concur wholeheartedly with those who hopes he doesn't win but goes DEEP.

It would be terrible and a real "nails on the chalkboard" moment for him to win and on coronation night, forced to sing one of those Dianne Warren songs like : "A MOMENT LIKE THIS" or "ANGELS BROUGHT ME HERE". YUCK ( can you imagine Otis Redding singing songs like these ??). I DREAD HAVING TO SEE THIS. It would be like forcing Pavaroti to do rap.