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Image credit: Bonnie Raitt: Henry Diltz: Corbis; Taylor Hicks: Fox; Ray Charles: Derick A. Thomas/Corbis

Taylor Hicks

''Idol'': Whose career should Taylor Hicks know?

ROLE MODEL Bonnie Raitt

BAD INFLUENCE Ray Charles

PROFESSIONAL PLAYBOOK Taylor's brand of southern-fried music has been a refreshing change of pace for Idol's fifth season. But make no mistake: There is only one Ray Charles, and no amount of swaying, humming, or self-hugging will turn the gray-haired dude into Ray 2.0. Thankfully, though, in recent weeks, Taylor seems to have backed away from his not-quite-flattering imitation of the blind soul legend, gravitating toward a style that's all his own (loved the dancing on ''Crazy Little Thing Called Love,'' by the way). In fact, if Mr. Hicks needs an artist to look up to, might we suggest Raitt, who's topped the charts, racked up Grammys, and won the admiration of her fellow artists without ever compromising her swampy blues-rock sound.

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Originally posted Apr 24, 2006
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