‘Very Blessed’: Taylor Hicks Looks Back On AMERICAN IDOL Win 20 Years Later

Published: June 19, 2026

By India McCarty

Twenty years later, Taylor Hicks reflected on his AMERICAN IDOL win and how things have changed for both him and the show’s contestants over the past two decades.

“I guess when you see just how long the show’s been running, you see the winners over the years, and you definitely start doing the math a little bit,” he told PEOPLE of reaching the 20-year mark. “But at the same time, it’s been a whirlwind since my win in show business. I mean, I’m coming up on almost 23 or 24 years in show business, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

View this post on Instagram

Hicks, who won the show in 2006, called AMERICAN IDOL “the greatest platform,” saying the show helped him “realize” the dream he had had since he was a child.

“I went from playing to 50 people in my little bar called the Oasis in Birmingham to touring Southeast Asia in seven months,” he shared. “So that’s the kind of impact that IDOL made for me at that time.”

Hicks also spoke to Fox News about his IDOL win, telling the outlet that he had it easier than hopeful contestants do today.

“Luckily for me, AMERICAN IDOL was the only game in town,” he explained. “I think the last talent show that was on television was STAR SEARCH. And once IDOL became so successful, I think AMERICA’S GOT TALENT, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE…there’s all these entities that kind of popped up that you really have to compete for now. So I think it’s tougher for contestants on shows like that [today] because they’re kind of spreading the love.”

The singer also spoke about how he stays grounded, calling his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama “a blue-collar town” with “a really, really good, hardworking base of Birmingham folks that I love, and I still get to see.”

“My faith [makes me the happiest],” he continued. “I’m really happy that you know I can be in the business that I will always love to be in. Over the years, the arc of my career, I am going on 20-something years in show business plus, and I am very, very fortunate to be able to be in the business I love, and I don’t go to work every day. I love what I do and am just very blessed.”

In an interview with AL.com, Hicks emphasized his gratitude to AMERICAN IDOL for the “opportunities” it has afforded him.

“What a great blessing that my name was called in that instance,” he said of his win. “I thank God every day for that. I felt like I won the national championship. And I knew, as a proud Alabamian, that we like our winners.”

Two decades later, Hicks is still grateful to the show that made him a household name.

Questions or comments? Please write to us here.

Add Movieguide® as preferred on Google