Taylor Hicks, Our Idol

I grew up being taught this saying over and over, “No pain, no gain.” It’s a cliché but one that applies to anyone and to most situations. Taylor Hicks’ visit to Manila wasn’t any exemption.

For someone whose day begins at 12:00 P.M. in the afternoon, whose timid ways make striking up conversations with people hard and whose hesitant manners make her an easy target for cunning buyers in supermarket lines, competing for limited stubs to the Ayala Malls concert was not exactly the perfect place for me.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm at 4:45 a.m. in the morning. My head was still heavy because it wasn’t my routine especially on school breaks. But, once I got a glance of the Taylor Hicks concert flyer that I posted on the ceiling, I immediately got out of bed and got dressed to go to the mall.

Two weeks back, when I first saw the flyer, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Taylor Hicks is coming to Manila. I seriously thought it was a mistake. So, I checked several sites that could clarify this but I only got more news and details on his visit. From this moment on, I was determined to catch him live. Who would have thought he’d come to Manila? Even after poor airplay and lack of proper promotion of his album which for me was one of the best I ever held and listened to, he’d choose to visit the Philippines. I thought it was definitely unbelievable but wonderful.

I arrived in the mall at 6:35 a.m. No one was around yet and then I got word from the security guard that stubs will be released at 11:00 a.m. I was four and a half hours early. I admit I was frustrated but I had to do the sacrifice. I thought, this may be the first and last time I’ll see Taylor live (well, as well all know it won’t be ;) ).

At around 8:00 a.m., there were more people coming in. And the group grew by the minute; each one eyeing on the concierge that distributes the stubs. I couldn’t say I deserve it more than the other people who also made the same sacrifice to get stubs but I thought to myself, I was first here and so I think I deserve to get the good passes particularly one with a meet and greet opportunity. Forgetting my introverted ways, I pushed myself to the concierge and started the line for everyone to follow. If it was the supermarket, I’d gladly make way for other buyers since I have the luxury of time and opportunities. But for this one instant, I didn’t have that luxury and I just felt I needed to meet Taylor. I just had to.

I thought people would fight their way for my spot but that didn’t happen. Actually, newcomers were approaching and asking me for details about where they should line up for stubs. I truly couldn’t believe the people I’ve met during the waiting period. I remember perfectly a couple approaching me and asking me about details of the stub distribution. But minutes later, the conversation shifted to topics other than Taylor like our hobbies, our dreams, concerns. The small talk blossomed into a beautiful conversation that I rarely had with people I just knew. Now, we’re constantly communicating through SMS. And we’re up until now good friends.

When I got my stub and exited the line, I was surprised with the number of people waving back at me as I was leaving. Some I didn’t even know by name but I guess they were grateful for the little help I assisted them with. They may not have been my friends now but I’m just happy that I was able to give them assistance because like me, I knew they wanted to see Taylor Hicks, the American Idol live.

As I was in the perimeter of the venue already, I recognized the people I’ve lined up with earlier that day. They never forgot to flash a smile as they saw me. I smiled back for I know this moment was something we’ve all longed for. My back and legs were still hurting from the exhaustion and long waiting and I’m sure they were experiencing the same thing. But at that moment, it didn’t really matter because we all knew we were in for a great show.

The moment Taylor Hicks stepped on stage, I was shaking in excitement and as I looked around, everyone was screaming, cheering hard; enchanted by the American Idol that we didn’t think we could even see and meet. I and the couple beside me were quiet, still trying to let the experience sink in. Then when Taylor starts singing, we shook the shock off and screamed our lungs out. Realizing we had a late reaction, we giggled for a moment then turned our attention back to the Soul Man.

In between numbers, I would always look around trying to catch the expression on people’s faces. All I could see was joy, happiness, excitement, jolliness and fulfillment. I couldn’t blame them for I experienced those same emotions myself. The atmosphere was encouraging, merry and jovial. You could just lose yourself and be in tune with Taylor’s beautiful music. And his performance? It kept us hooked the whole time.

Seeing Taylor Hicks perform live made me forgot how tired I was and how terrible my past few weeks before that day were. I used to rely on reviews made by other SPers for a glimpse of how great Taylor was live. Now, I can’t believe I am writing this article to share with all of you. Still amused and grateful for that opportunity, I am carrying on with life with a memory and realization that I came out of this experience a better person with more friends and a witness to the greatness of Taylor Hicks, the American Idol, our idol.

Written by: Belle_Marquez
Manila, Philippines

Trinoma Videos by Erik (AKA Crescendo)

More vids from Trinoma courtesy of Dr. Fred

The Maze (he tagged this with about 4 different songs, phenomenal)

"Do you feel it? Ain't no woman like the one I've got....Easy, I'm easy like Sunday morning! Givin' it up for your love, right now, let's get it on...."


The Maze by Taylor Hicks

Harp Action ( Ending of Taking it To The Streets)


Harp Action TITTS taylor Hicks


Thanks Erik for sharing these videos of Taylor Hicks, I'm sure your experience upon seeing him LIVE was very, very positive!

Just To Feel That Way


Just To Feel That Way by: Taylor Hicks from webchic00 on Vimeo.

The Right Place


The Right Place by Taylor Hicks

Takin' It to The Streets


Takin' It To The Streets

Do I Make You Proud Yes, Taylor, you do!


Do I Make You Proud

White Christmas (this has become one of our favorite Christmas songs, sorry Bing Cosby!)



White Christmas

Taylor Hicks and his Filipino band

When Taylor Hicks made the announcement that he was going to spend some of his days in December performing in some Asian country, it was hardly news in the US but it sent a wave (make it a tsunami) of excitement to the Soul Patrollers living in Asia especially, the Philippines. A small country in the Pacific consisting of about 7,100 islands and about 77 different dialects. It is a very tiny country, but such a big market for music. As a matter of fact, it is one of the countries in Asia that is a TEST market for music. If your music "makes" it in the Philippines, chances are, it will "make" it everywhere else (given that the artist is promoted properly, ha!)

This announcement came as a pleasant surprise because no American Idol champion had ever visited the country before. We had Elliott Yamin, Constantine Maroulis and a few others but they were not the grand champions. Taylor Hicks' mall tours in the Philippines was a conclusion of his appearance at the first ever Asian Idol held in Jakarta, Indonesia on December 16th. For the first time, all of Asian nations saw what Taylor Hicks looked and sounded like after thinking he had disappeared after the AI Finale in May of 2006. When he was peforming, he was receiving enthusiastic cheers from the crowd. Since Asia is the biggest continent, you better believe a lot of people saw him and were delighted to see him again. Good for Taylor!

Although Taylor Hicks NEVER got the promotion that he should have gotten and we may never know why he did not get his fair shake of promotions that the rest of the Idols, winners and non winners alike are enjoying, Taylor's visit was warmly received by the Filipino people and it is fair to say that his mini concerts were considered hugely successful considering how short the notice was.

But without the people around Taylor who worked so hard to get him to the Philippines and the band that were chosen to play with him, the concerts would not be as successful. So, we would like to take this opportunity to thank those people who worked with Taylor during his visits here. These are the seasoned, well known, session musicians in the country today. The band sounded as if they had played with Taylor for a long time now because they gelled really well together. Until now, it is so hard to believe that they only rehearsed with Taylor once, only several hours prior to the first show in Glorietta on the 18th of December. Taylor Hicks sounded flawless partly because of his accompaniment, the bandmembers which consist of musicians who are sought after in the Philippines' music scene today. Total professionals and highly skilled in their craft.

Louie Ocampo - 1st keys and Musical Director
Marvin Querido - second keys and Arranger
Mike Agorrilla - drums (He's an LA-based Filipino-American session drummer)
Tots Tolentino - sax
Bobby Taylo - bass
Ric Mercado - guitars
Rickson Ruiz - percussion (Taylor was suprised to see a 20 year old boy in his band)
Elke Saison-Ortiz and Eugene Cailao -- backup vocals

The Soul Patrol would like to thank each one of you for the phenomenal job that you did for Taylor Hicks' concerts in Manila. You all have left an indelible mark in the hearts of the Soul Patrol and most especially Taylor Hicks. We look forward to seeing you perform with Taylor Hicks again in the near future. And when that happens, we will be there again, cheering you on and spreading the word of your greatness in all of Soul Patrolland.

Here are a few "thanks yous" and words of PRAISES coming from the Soul Patrol members from all over:

KarinP: No one would ever know that they had such a short time to rehearse with Taylor. The band was amazing from what I saw on the many videos that were posted.

Ragsqueen: It's hard to believe that the band had little rehearsal time with Taylor! From what I've had time to watch, they were awesome and very tight! Congratulations to them on this accomplishment!

COCHEM: Would this band be considered to be Taylor's band for the whole Asia tour early next year?...If so that would be awesome.....They really gelled in only a couple hours, days.....just think if they had a month or so together....

Mouser: The professionalism of the band was apparent..............and Taylor just went with the flow. They did a superb job of picking up Taylor's vibe in such a short period of time. Great musicians and the two vocalists were a welcome addition to the mix.

tygrlillie: Add my thanks as well. It's tough to keep up with the guy, even a layperson like me can see that. They did an amazing job, bravo.

Girl4Reba: Please send them my thanks as well. I thought they were fantastic, everyone of them!!

cbeans: They did a great job playing with Taylor. I was very impressed with their talent and ability to learn the songs and fall right into place with Taylor. Its a sign of a awesome leader, and amazing band talent. Tell them we really do appreciate them.


Maestro Louie Ocampo:




Marvin Querido



Elke Saison-Ortiz




Eugene Cailao



Rickson Ruiz



Bobby Taylo



Mike Agorrilla



Tots Tolentino and Ric Mercado

Taylor Hicks in Manila: a Video Recap



latest Article about Taylor Hicks by Inquirer.Net

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20080101-109828/Idol_sings_the_blues_in_Manila

‘Idol’ sings the blues in Manila

By Fran Katigbak
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:07:00 01/01/2008

MANILA, Philippines—It’s not easy singin’ the blues to an audience whose daily dose of music comes from skinny teenyboppers, booty-shaking divas and bling-clad “boys from the ’hood.”

Not if you are gray-haired and inclined to play the harmonica or if your dancing looks drug-induced.

But just as he defied pop stereotypes when he won “American Idol” Season 5, soul singer Taylor Hicks also proved it pays to stay true to his style and brand of music.

Filipino fans, even those as young as 6, watched the 31-year-old artist in a series of shows recently sponsored by the Ayala Malls in Manila.

At the show in TriNoma, Hicks was in his element singing tracks from his self-titled album as well as songs he composed early in his career. Of course, not to be missed were the Alabama native’s harmonica-playing and the manic, footloose moves that became his trademark on “AI.”

The chemistry was apparent between the artist and the all-Pinoy band led by composer Louie Ocampo, who had arranged the songs in the program. In fact, the audience would erupt in cheers and wild applause each time Hicks and Ocampo matched antics on the harmonica and keyboards.

The rest of the band had the chance to shine as well. At one point in the show, Hicks introduced each member who then worked up a brief solo on his or her instrument.

Perhaps the only hitch was the fog machine, which produced more artificial smoke than necessary. A wide screen should have been installed to project close-up video shots for the benefit of those behind the VIP/special-pass area.

We also wish Hicks had walked to the audience in “Taking it to the Streets,” like he did on the “AI” finale, but we understand the danger it might pose to security.

The mini-concert put the spotlight on the 2006 “American Idol” as artist and performer. Soulful, energetic, passionate with his music, Taylor Hicks has, indeed, given us reason to be proud of him.

(Sidebar Note)

Correction to this article: Mr. Marvin Querido arranged all the songs with Mr. Louie Ocampo as the Musical Director.

The Soul Patrol in the Philippines

Taylor Hicks had a great time in the Philippines and I knew that he was going to find the Filipino people highly receptive of his visits there! A long time ago, I predicted that Taylor Hicks would have fans in that country because Filipinos love old school music and old school style singing! We love Karaokes and Videokes and we never have gatherings without singing and dancing in them. The funkiest the dance moves are, the better it is. The older the song is, we will find a way to revive it, and make it new. Hence, Taylor Hicks fits right in. As much as we also embrace the newer songs, we are always nostalgic, and long for older songs to get played. We have kids as young as 5 year olds who can belt out songs like Release Me and Cuando, Cuando from Engelbert Humperdinck. Haha! In other words, music is a way of life.

The success of Taylor Hicks' mini tour in the malls in the Philippines may not be reported in the U.S. entertainment sections of our media here, because I think Jamie Lynn Spears' teenage pregnancy is much more imporatnt, I guess. (rolls eyes) But this is a remarkable achievement for Taylor Hicks and his Soul Patrol in the U.S and in the Philippines. The Philippines felt priviledged to have been Taylor's first ever tour outside of the States. So, as a Filipino myself and a long time Taylor Hicks supporter, I would like to thank Taylor Hicks and his management for letting the Filipino people experience for themselves that magic that is Taylor Hicks. And for his SP here in the US, based on a lot of the comments I received about Taylor's reception from the Filipino people, they are happy and relieved that Taylor was well loved by Asians, and the Filipinos in particular. There seemed to be a little apprehension on the fans here in the US when Taylor announced his appearances in Asia. I'm glad those worries are no more.

We look forward to his next visit and this time, with a longer promotion and more radio airplay of his songs, you can bet that the Pinoy SPs will be mobilized and they will even be making more noise and the love for Taylor Hicks will even be shown more.

Soul Patrol, Mabuhay si Taylor Hicks!