I've watched American Idol a grand total of about 6 times, so the following opinion is based on frighteningly limited information and experience:  I think Taylor Hicks was a better singer before he won the competition.  Granted, the only episode I saw from the 2006 season was the one where he tried out.  So I didn't see any of the rest of the episodes where all the contestants got to compete against each other and perform on a big stage with a big band and everything.  So again, this is a very uninformed opinion.  But based on his performance and appearance towards the end of the show (from what I saw in commercials), they turned him into a George Clooney (or Matthew Perry) look-a-like pop star.  And compared to what he looked and acted like at the beginning, I don't think it was a good change.  Sure, he got his teeth whitened, he got a nice tan, and he bought a bunch of trendy clothes.  But essentially, that took away his uniqueness.  Originally, he was an oddly-speaking, gray-haired-but-young-looking, southern boy with an amazingly soulful voice that didn't sound like it was coming from his body.  The American Idol machine took that away from him and substituted the same old crap that comes out of every season of their show. #entertainment