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In a brand new interview with AOL television editor Geoff Bennett, Taylor Hicks gave some insight into his favorite song off his new and recently certified platinum album, his thoughts about Simon Cowell and life in general. Here are some excerpts:

Congrats – I heard you were recently certified platinum.

Yeah – recently – that’s real cool.

Speaking of your music, what’s your favorite track on the CD?

I like how Soul Thing came out. You know that’s off my earlier two albums I released – “In Your Time” and “Under the Radar”. I just had a vision for that song and that vision came alive on this album.

Is your album any different than it would have been if you weren’t on Idol and [without the Idol influence]?

I tried to keep the hands out of the pot as much as possible with this album – one producer, one A&R, one artist. I think that really helps to keep the focus on the direction the artist wants to go.

What role will ‘Idol’ play in your future? Do you plan to distance yourself or move on?
I’ll definitely go back this year. I’m watching a little bit of it now when I can and definitely like being a viewer.

Do you buy into the controversy that the judges are meaner and more insulting to the contestants this year?

No, everybody gets their opportunity to sing. And if you feel like you’ve got that opportunity, you gotta take it.

Simon Cowell was on ‘Oprah’ a couple weeks ago and said you wouldn’t have won if it weren’t for your gray hair. Do you get tired of hearing him talk trash — even now after you’ve won and released an album?

(Laughs) I don’t think I’ll ever hear the end of it. But that’s OK, you know. It’s tit for tat. We’ve always been like that.

So you don’t think there’s any malice involved?

I think it’s just Simon being Simon.

 

What was the first thing you splurged on after you got your deal?

I bought a camera — a Cannon EOS 30. It’s a really nice camera. I wanted to document all that’s going on, and I got to with this camera.

I hear you have a book coming out. What’s it about?

It’s called ‘Heart Full of Soul.’ It’s a memoir about the story of Taylor Hicks. It’s got a little bit of ‘Idol’ stuff in it and some stuff that people can take with them.

Your tour starts soon, right? How is that going to be different than what we’ve seen on the show and the ‘Idol’ summer tour?

The tour starts Feb. 21 in Jacksonville, Fla. But I’m an instrumentalist — I play guitar and harmonica. I think things are going to be a lot looser and musical

Now a question submitted by an AOL user: Hazel Parrish of Carolina Beach, N.C. wants to know if you feel your popularity has changed you? If so, in what ways?

My situations have changed, but I haven’t. I spent 29 years being a nobody, so I’m pretty good about who I am as a person, and I’m not going to change that.

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