Repeatedly I’ve risked mockery by suggesting that Taylor Hicks is the man America needs to bring back Huey Lewis style bar-rock. Give this champ an undeniable song, a video full of football players and a well-placed saxophone, and everybody’s gonna yell “Fore!” But my pleas in the name of aging alcoholics who don’t want to go country or metal have potentially fallen on deaf ears, as the leader of the Soul Patrol is taking his pipes to Broadway. Hicks will be playing the “Teen Angel” in Grease for three months over the summer, amusing and delighting Great White Way visitors of questionable taste who wouldn’t know quality Spuds-rock if it bit them in the news. Tay, dude, you’re above this!

“It’s a big number, and, you know, I’ve made some pretty grand entrances before,” Hicks told The Associated Press on Thursday. “And this one is probably the grandest entrance I’ve had in my career.”

…”If you’re gonna be a great entertainer and you’re gonna be a great performer, than these are the things that you have to do to season yourself in that manner,” said Hicks, who views this “opportunity of a lifetime” as a way to improve his “Idol”-tested skills.

…Hicks’ self-titled, post-”Idol” album, released in December 2006, has sold a respectable 702,000 copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan data. But it didn’t reach the 1 million mark or register a hit song, unlike previous “Idol” winners.

This summer, Hicks intends to finish up a follow-up album — on his own terms.

“I’ve had the creative freedom and the time to write some of the best music that I’ve ever written in my whole life. … The options are unlimited and there has been some great interest now that I’m a free agent, so to speak,” he said.

Taylor, the road to success is laced with synth-horns. Trust me!

Soul patrol!

Taylor Hicks to play Teen Angel in Broadway’s `Grease’ [AP]
ERIC CLAPTON – Pretending (Edit)(Album Version) [YouTube]