Times are tough, and no one knows that better than season five American Idol winner Taylor Hicks.
TMZ is reporting that tickets to Hicks’ show at L.A.’s Roxy on Sunset have been reduced from $36.50 to FREE! (and can we just say, we’ve been to the Roxy, and it ain’t big).
In the last few hours, a bunch of tickets wound up on goldstar.com–a website which claims to offer ticket discounts because, "not every show sells out, so instead of letting seats go empty, venues list them with us to sell to our members."
Now, instead of offering the usual half-price discount, Hicks tix are being given away for nothing.
Being an American Idol may make contestants famous, but it doesn’t necessarily help in the romance department.
Not only is season six victor Jordin Sparks, 19, single, but so is reigning champ David Cook, 26, and season five winner Taylor Hicks, 32.
The Time Of My Life singer is lookin’ for love after his split from fellow Idol alum Kimberly Caldwell in December. He confesses his ideal date involves “staying home, watching movies, and ordering a pizza.”
What does he look for in a girl?
“Nice, confident, funny,” the kind, caring Idol tells me. “Attractive’s always a plus. I don’t know. I don’t really have a type.”
After David wraps up his first solo tour in April, perhaps he’ll have another chance to find his perfect match.
Meanwhile, Taylor took his search for love to Live! With Regis and Kelly when he appeared on their “Dating With The Stars” installment last month.
Why does he find dating difficult?
“You’re moving around a lot,” the charming Southern gent tells me. “That’s kind of tough. You’re traveling and people are wanting your time. Your quality time is pretty important, you know? But when Regis and Kelly called me, you do it for good fun. In the dating world, I guess you’ve gotta put yourself out there.”
His ideal leading lady would be “funny, and she has to like great food and travel. I think entertaining most of all.”
What’s Taylor’s perfect date?
“Great entertainment and great food – whether it be movies or music or Olympic soccer.”
What’s the biggest lesson he’s learned in love?
“Patience. You just have to be patient and let things happen. Let it ride. Don’t force it.”
Never fear: Taylor’s not alone during his quest for love. His buddies keep him in line.
“Friends always keep you on your toes,” he says of their input.
Perhaps casting directors for The Bachelor should look no further than these eligibles to appear in their next installment.
Check out OK!’s visit to the American Idol Experience opening held at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.:
All seven American Idols descend on Disney’s Hollywood Studios for The American Idol Experience opening held Thursday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
It’s the first time the winning superstars have ever been together!
It’s certainly a cause for celebration: Carrie Underwood and David Cook duet on Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way during the show, which features a handful of real-life competitors vying for the prized ticket. “Carrie looks amazing and I’m just stoked to be here,” David says. Watch OK!’s exclusive video!
What advice would Carrie give wannabe contestants?
“Do whatever you love,” the All-American Girl singer says. “Sometimes the judges may tell you you shouldn’t do it for living, but if that’s what you love, you shouldn’t give it up. So no matter what happens, if you get the magic ticket, the fast-track ticket, use it — even if you don’t, still sing.
One thing Carrie won’t be trying? Her hockey-playing boyfriend Mike Fisher’s sport. (He swings for the Ottawa Senators.) “I can’t play hockey at all,” she laughs. “I can’t even fake.”
Kelly Clarkson — who tells me her slim physique can be attributed to wearing black and not white — gives the attraction her stamp of approval.
“This is pretty cool,” the My Life Would Suck Without You singer says, turning her attention away from Michael Johns. “It’s the first time we’ve actually all been together, so it’s like a family reunion.”
Jordin Sparks can’t believe her eyes. “It’s really creepy how close to the show the attraction actually is,” she says. “It’s got the lights and the fog and the music and the judges. It’s really, really weird, but it was a lot of fun.”
What’s something the No Air singer has lost? Her love for Chris Brown, who likely ended his career by messing up OK! darling Rihanna. “It’s pretty much gone now,” she tells me.
Meanwhile, Paula Abdul has one regret tonight. “I just wish they would all sing,” she says. “It would’ve been fun to hear it.” She adds, “There’s a lot of déjà vu going on. I got a kick out of watching the success of the Idols.”
What tunes would Phil Stacey suggest picking for this attraction?
“You should definitely choose a Celine Dion song or a Whitney Houston song,” he says. “No, I’m kidding. You should do Disney songs. You should get up there and do Can You Feel The Love Tonight or A Whole New World. You’re at Disney World! You’re only going to get the opportunity to do that once.”
Although Kellie Pickler, Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson and Simon Cowell send regrets, the sizeable Idol turnout also includes a giggly David Archuleta, purple-haired Diana DeGarmo, newlywed Ruben Studdard, tan-and-fit Taylor Hicks, talkative Bo Bice, friendly Ryan Seacrest, jovial Justin Guarini, shy Fantasia Barrino, Idol alum-turned-Rascal Flatts songwriter Chris Schleich, tattooed Carly Smithson, Aussie Michael Johns, chatty Ace Young, dreadlocked Jason Castro, Southern gentleman Josh Gracin, zany Sanjaya, slimmed-down Mandisa and mom LaKisha Jones.
Woo-hoo! David Cook, David Archuleta, Fantasia, Sanjaya and Jason take a spin on the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster during the afterparty held on Sunset Boulevard. No lines, no waiting!
As Kat DeLuna’s Whine Up plays, Idols enjoy blue martinis, chicken, steak, garlic mashed potatoes, sushi and the signature American Idol dessert.
Disney certainly treats its Idols well: Ace (and girlfriend Allison Fischer) “hit every ride in about seven hours, and then hit the rides we liked again.” Phil took his five-year-old daughter Chloe on Space Mountain. “It’s intense, and she actually tried it,” he says. “It was frightening for me, but she wasn’t crying at all. She loved it.” LaKisha’s five-year-old daughter Brionne would ride Space Mountain the following day. “She can’t wait to get on it. She’s a little daredevil.”
Still, some might call singing in front of hundreds of people in The American Idol Experience daring.
“I think anybody who gets a chance should absolutely do it,” David Cook says.
Bonus: I worked at Disney Hollywood Studios as part of the Walt Disney College Program, so this is quite a homecoming! I could be found sweeping Sunset Boulevard, the street on which this party is held. It is incredible – and the uniforms are still the same.
Taylor Swift may be country’s hottest new star, but if there’s one dream she hasn’t accomplished yet, it’s putting on a pair of scrubs and waiting to hear the words "action!"
The blonde beauty tells AOL Music’s TheBoot.com that her ultimate fantasy is to appear on Grey’s Anatomy.
"That would be my absolute dream," she says. "I would love to do it if it was very well written and witty. I would love to be in some sort of supporting role."
Swift says her role model at the moment is Faith Hill. "It just blows me away that she can be so incredibly beautiful and talented and such a huge star," she says. "Every time Faith talks to me, she’s incredibly sweet."
Taylor may be beautiful and talented, but the singer says she still has embarrassing moments. "I have them all the time," she says. "Mostly it has to do with me being tall. I’ll always be hitting my head on the side of a car or going through a door. I think I’ve gotten minor concussions from hitting my head on things."
She also says people confuse her for the opposite sex! "In the beginning when I was on the radio tour and doing free shows, people would introduce me as Taylor Hicks, because that was right when he won American Idol," she says.
Along with releasing his latest album, Early Works, Taylor Hicks has been keeping quite busy: The winner of American Idol season 5 recently moved to NYC, and is just finishing up a stint as the Teen Angel in the Broadway production of Grease. OK! spoke with the salt-and-pepper crooner about his new life and love in the big city.
How Taylor is adjusting to life in New York City: Very slowly. Coming from Alabama, there was a quite a change dealing with the people, the traffic and the pace. The pace, there’s such a fast pace up here. I love getting around and seeing the sights, the different kinds of people. It’s really cool.
Taylor’s craziest NYC story so far: I got lost in Central Park. One of the first weeks I was here I thought I knew my way around New York City, I ended up actually getting lost in Central Park. That’s a big dark forest. I was on the street in the big city, then all of a sudden, I’m lost in this dark forest. I was a little nervous to [ask anyone for help]. It was in the middle of the day. I don’t know what I would have done if it was night. That would have been pretty scary.
On dating in NYC: It’s been really tough… If you go out with a big group of friends, and you see another group of people that you know, it’s basically like one big date… I think it’s really cool because it takes the edge off it.
Taylor’s type of girl: I think down to earth is always key. It’s always good to be down to earth, Musical, not nessecarily she has to play a musical instrument or be Mary Poppins, but definitely fun to have a good time with. You never there, there are plenty out there right now so I’m definitely I’m actively seeking. What he’s like on a date: The perfect date is being who you are. I don’t think where or how, I think great food and great service in a restaurant always helps. But even just, I think really showing a true colors. And really being a Southern gentleman.
How breakups help him write songs: I wrote a song called "The Fall," which is on the CD I just released called Early Works. I wrote it for a girlfriend I had at the time. Basically the two albums I had prior before I won American Idol, [I] put them together and released them nationally. There’s a few songs on that particular album that I’ve written for breakups. If you get a good breakup, breakups are easy. You can write a good song.
His celebrity crush: I think Anne Hathaway. I think that she’s a classy lady, which is always a really attractive quality.
The hardest part about being on Broadway: The schedule. You have to have a lot of discipline to know that you’ve got to go to work the next day. The idea of going to work and being in the frame to entertain a lot of people and be on you think about that.
Joining the ranks of Clay Aiken, Fantasia Barrino, Diana DeGarmo and Taylor Hicks, heartthrob singer Ace Young will soon become the latest American Idol contestant to make it big on Broadway when he joins the cast of the hit musical Grease.
Playing the part of tough-guy greaser Kenickie, Ace will be joining the cast of the hit revivial on Sept. 9, only two days after fellow Idol alum Hicks finishes his summer-long run as the Teen Angel in the show. Ace is slated to be with the show until Jan. 18, 2009.
"I want to invite all OK! readers to come see me on Broadway," the dreamy-eyed singer told OK! when we spoke to him about the good news.
Former American Idol finalist Blake Lewis has been dropped from his record label, Arista Records, a mere six months after his debut album, A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream), hit shelves.
"Arista Records will not be picking up Blake’s option and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors," the label tells OK!. "Blake is still with 19 Recordings."
19 Recordings, the entertainment company behind American Idol, manages the careers of many of the show’s alumni.
Blake revealed he was let go during an interview on MJ’s big blog, but isn’t bitter about the split.
"I think it’s a great thing," he said. "I never really wanted to be with a major label. I wanted to be with an independent record label, but…after American Idol, I was kind of forced into the deal, which is good because…I still got 80 percent control of my record and make a record that I was really proud of. But I wasn’t really happy."
Released in December, A.D.D. opened at No. 10 on Billboard, but subsequent sales have been tepid. The disc is now sitting just shy of 300,000 copies. To put the number in perspective, that’s only about 5,000 more copies sold than William Hung’s 295,000 total. However, Blake doesn’t see the album as a failure.
"I didn’t really have a single that did well on the radio and I still sold 300,000," he said. "I think it’s a huge success for me, so I think it went great. People are still picking up the record."
The 26-year-old beatboxer now joins Katharine McPhee, Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks — the former, a runner up; the latter two, AI winners — on the label-less sidelines.
There’s nothing better then being able to say, "I told yah so." That’s the sentiments Step It Up and Dance winner Cody Green must be having right about now. (And me too! I named Cody as a TV Hunk Discovered when the show premiered in April!)
The 27-year-old Canadian native, who currently stars in Grease on Broadway with Idol alum Taylor Hicks, almost got cut after Step It Up’s first dance challenge, but then went on to snag the $100,000 grand prize on its June 5 finale. Sweet!
I caught up with Cody at Taylor’s Broadway premiere after-party in New York City’s Planet Hollywood. There, he filled me in on his newest co-star, his hardest Step It Up routine and what he plans to do with all that dough!
How does it feel to go from almost being tossed off the first episode to winning Step it Up and Dance?
You know, every week it changed. One week you were in favor with the judges, then you weren’t. I felt good about all of the challenges. Even the weeks where the judges weren’t as happy about it, I felt a made a good impression on the guest judges. I didn’t feel I was in danger of going home.
What was your biggest dance challenge?
The stomp challenge. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Trying to coordinate banging the garbage cans together while dancing while doing it all on the beat, my brain was going all over the place. It took a lot for me not mess up.
And the most fun?
I think it was Tina Landon’s choreography to Rihanna’s Umbrella. We rehearsed on a rooftop and there was helicopter flying above us and the sun was setting. It was really surreal.
What are you going to do with your prize?
I’m going to pay off some bills, of course. I’m going to put some money into teaching and giving some master classes and doing choreography, which I love. I’d also like to set up a little scholarship back at home at my mother’s dance school for the kids when they go do competitions. And I’m hoping to transition to a new show this fall.
What would you like to dance in next?
I want to play Riff in the Broadway revival of West Side Story this fall. I auditioned for it, but I haven’t heard back from yet. Regardless, I’m looking forward to that show coming out.
Taylor Hicks has joined Grease as the Teen Angel. What did you think of his opening night performance?
It’s a lot to jump into. He has to stand in that ice-cream cone [structure] he’s in for about 15 minutes before he has to sing. Then all sudden, it opens up and the lights are bright and right on you. But he’s been really great. He seems like a really cool guy.
Twilight: In OK!’s official New Moon collector’s edition, check out everything from a timeline of Robert and Kristen’s romance – including photos of the two meeting each other’s parents and holding hands in Paris – to OK”s Ultimate Twi-hard Quiz.
Taylor Swift: Country’s new golden girl scoops up four CMA Awards and becomes the youngest artist ever to win Entertainer of the Year. Read Taylor’s response, and commentary from country icons.
Britney Spears: The singer takes a yacht trip with her two sons, Sean and Jayden, and her boyfriend/manager, Jason Trawick. See OK!’s photos of the developing happy family.
Lindsay Lohan: After her wild week of partying and disheveled appearance out shopping in L.A., friends say Lindsay may be in danger of self-destructing.
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<p><em>The American Idol Experience is now open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.</em></p>
<p><em>*Video production by Chris Morran. </em></p>
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Joining the ranks of Clay Aiken, Fantasia Barrino, Diana DeGarmo and Taylor Hicks, heartthrob singer Ace Young will soon become the latest American Idol contestant to make it big on Broadway when he joins the cast of the hit musical Grease.
There’s nothing better then being able to say, "I told yah so." That’s the sentiments Step It Up and Dance winner Cody Green must be having right about now. (And me too! I named Cody as a 
