American Idol Season ‘5′ Adventure – Part ‘2′
HOLLYWOOD WEEK- TAYLOR MAKES THE TOP ‘24′
The first official sighting of the “Zodiac Killer Eyes”
CONTESTANT # 74094
He made it through !
The Famous Harmonica Walk
I am trying to remember back to when I first started to search anything Taylor on the internet. I remember running across some of the very first message boards and dutifully signing up so I could have just one place to find all things Taylor. I don’t quite remember when Gray Charles started up, ( can someone help me here with this one ) but when it did I immediately went there everyday to find out what I could about Taylor. What I do remember is coming across two MP3’s from Under the Radar at an NPR Radio site where Taylor had done an interview. After I listened to the songs I immediately went to the sight that was selling it, which was Lasers Edge, and ordered my copy. Two weeks later I had the copy in my hand and boy was I immediately sold on him.
Now as for the night of the Top ‘24′, I remember watching Idol anxious to see if he had made it. Wow, when he walked out of that elevator playing the now famous Harmonica Walk, I was convinced that this guy was very serious about letting everyone know who he really was as a musician. Not yet understanding Taylor’s ability to know where he is at all times, on a stage, during a performance, I was amazed at how well he had timed that whole walk. What a smart way of getting around the no instruments rule that Idol had, concerning the contestants. This would prove to be the first of many times that Taylor pushed the AI envelope to it’s very limit.
The Taylor that we were seeing then was still the unpolished product. Just looking at the hair cracks me up now thinking about all the hair transformations that he had gone through. A friend of mine had once said something very funny about Taylor, his hair and his many haircuts;
“You can give Taylor a $400 haircut and he will still manage to make bangs.”
I hope you are enjoying this walk back in time. Please feel free to put down your memories and thoughts as well.
RSS - Posts
I’m only commenting to say this is a great thread but I’m thinking everybody is still on the What Make’s Taylor Run? thread.
I remember watching the Harmonica walk, and thinking -man I hope he makes it- they had great contestants that whole season, but I really wanted to see where this guy was going. LOVED the harmonica- smart! I don’t think I was totally sold at this point, but he had my interest.
I also did much the same- googled, came to GC- even though I was a member, I never posted there- mostly because being ‘new’ to the online ‘fandom’ thing. I also joined TOSP at that time, posted there and had a small voice there. That’s where I landed for a long time. It was fun to check in there on Idol nights, discuss performances, and quirks, and get the latest news. That was probably the thing most keeping me hooked – the ’selling’ came later
Being from Alabama he was on my radar from the very beginning and I was rooting for him. But the ones from the audition stage that caught my attention were Paris and Lisa. I thought they were both phenomonal. But once Taylor hit Hollywood I was hooked and became more so each week. With Taylor it is not just the voice, it’s the performance, the charisma, something hard to put your finger on.
He killed 2 birds with 1 harp. If he didn’t make the 24, at least Bham and surrounding area would know who he was. If he did make the 24, he knew people had seen something they had never seen before. I took notice. He was such a character and his enthusiam over making it was contageous. We got to see his expressive face and feel his emotion. That harp walk served him well leading up to the contest. Cunning move on Taylor’s part.
Loved the harp walk, but I thought he made an idiot out of himself after they told him he was in when he bust out into song and all the gyrations. I know, I know, he was caught up in the excitement of the moment, but i was embarrassed for him.
And yet….he kept holding my attention. There was something about him that just fascinated the hell out of me. I remember there was a video somewhere of Simon, Paula and Randy at their table in Hollywood talking about which contestants they would choose for the top 24. I remember Simon saying something to the effect of “on the one hand I think he’s totally wrong for this show and on the other I can’t wait to see what he’s going to pull next” (paraphrased). You couldn’t see which contestant he was referring to, but it had to be Taylor.
I have to agree with you, Seven Days, rewatching Taylor’s reaction after he made it to the top 24 was way over the top, even by Taylor over the top standards. I kinda wish he would have just said sweet or cool and started playing his harmonica as he walked out. Apparently, based on Taylor’s own words, he chose to be a completely different character onstage than off. I would love to know what his friends thought of some of his more over the top antics. It’s hard to believe that Taylor never had watched Idol before but somehow was able to put together such a successful strategy for winning it. One part of the strategy was to stand out and he made sure he did, for better or worse(for worse,in this case)