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From ETonline.com:Taylor Hicks and the Idols on Tour!
June 29, 2006
It is just days before the Pop Tarts™ Presents American Idols Live Tour begins on July 5 in Manchester, NH at the Verizon Wireless Arena, and the season five "American Idol" Top 10 are busy rehearsing for their summer-long performances -- but not too busy to talk to ET about life after the "Idol" competition.
"I freaked out about it a little bit," "Idol" crown-holder TAYLOR HICKS tells ET when asked how it feels to have a No. 1 single with "Do I Make You Proud." "I was in a minivan a year ago making about $50 a night playing bars, clubs and the occasional wedding. The music that I am making now and that I am going to get to make is special."
But fame hasn't gone to his head. "Somebody said, 'Just go out and stand by the ocean and realize how small we all are,'" he explains about his down-to-earth attitude. "You have to be grounded and stay true to who you are. If you aren't, everything falls down around you."
Taylor's tour-mate, 16-year-old LISA TUCKER, agrees that the Alabama-born singer hasn't changed. "Taylor is the same person that I met during Hollywood week. He hasn't changed at all," she says.
When asked, most of the Top 10 say they were surprised when they learned that second-place runner-up KATHARINE McPHEE revealed that she had an eating disorder. But not MANDISA. She told ET that she knew all along.
"We talked about it back when we were in the Top 24," the plus-sized "Idol" competitor admits. "I was very vocal about my struggle with weight and so she pulled me to the side and let me know she identifies with what I am going through. She told me she had gone through a treatment facility and she was healthy. I am so proud of her. She wasn't ready to talk about it at that time, but now she is and I think a lot of young people are going to benefit from it."
Mandisa isn't the only one that thinks Katharine's story may save a few lives. "I think for her to go public with it is a great thing," says third-place finalist ELLIOTT YAMIN. "It can inspire hope for other young people."
The upcoming "Idol" tour is going to be grueling, but the gang is good to go. "It is time. We are ready. This is what we have been waiting for since making it into the Top 10," Mandisa says succinctly for them all.
Katharine McPhee fans around the world