Taylor will be the new ‘American Idol’

Taylor Hicks, 29, Birmingham, Ala.: Hicks didn't do anything to lose his status as the favorite. While he wasn't perfect, he was good enough to win.

The geriatric Alabama native opened the show with "Living for the City," a shrewd call in that his original version of the Stevie Wonder song was far enough in the past that the performance seemed fresh. It was enough to give him the early lead despite the fact that he wore a velvet purple smoking jacket that even Liberace wouldn't have been caught dead in.

His second song was Elton John's "Levon," a choice that didn't make it easy for him to win over the crowd. He played it a little too safe with his stage movements, which made it a duller than usual performance.

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He closed the show with "Do I Make You Proud," and for his fans the answer had to be a resounding "Yes!" The song itself isn't going to win any awards, but Hicks sold it with every fiber of his being. All season long, he's been the best at making himself stand out, and this final effort likely sealed the deal to win the "Idol" title.
Grade: A-
The judges, "Living for the City": "You know what I love about you? Stevie [Wonder] is the hardest thing in the world to sing, but you don't care how hard it is, because you made it your own." – Randy Jackson.
The judges, "Levon": "What may be 'pitchy' to you [Randy] is the essence of what Taylor is." – Paula Abdul
The judges, "Do I Make You Proud": "Assuming that I was right and the show was tied [heading into the final song], you just won 'American Idol'." – Simon Cowell
Odds of winning:  75 percent. Hicks has done better than McPhee throughout the competition, and he did better on Tuesday night as well. While nothing is certain, and there's always the dreaded telephone glitch to worry about, Hicks is in great position to be crowned the next 'American Idol' winner.

Craig Berman is a writer in Washington, D.C.

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