Charitable Idol Fans

I’m hearing that Katharine McPhee fans from all over the US and overseas collected a total of 611 copies of her single for the children at St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.

In the meantime a group of Taylor Hicks fans are raising funds for one of Taylor’s favorite charities, Studio by the Tracks. If you are interested in making a donation, check out Project Heart and Soul’s website.

Studio by the Tracks “offers free art classes to special needs teens and adults, particularly those with autism, and emotionally conflicted children.”

Taylor Hicks’ Book Deal 

Wednesday, I posted a tidbit about a possible book deal for Taylor Hicks.  The deal has been confirmed today by People magazine and the New York Post:

The New York Post reports that Random House’s Crown imprint paid Hicks an estimated $750, 000 advance for the memoir, which, according to Hicks’s agent, Alan Nevins, will be ghost written by David Wild, whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone.

The book, Heart Full of Soul, should hit shelves in spring 2007, the Post reports. In it, Hicks, once a struggling singer in Alabama clubs, will chronicle the obstacles he overcame on his road to success.

Middle School Blues

Taylor Hicks was interviewed by Linda Ellerbee for a Nick News special she produced on the oh-so-very “special” and “fun” middle-school years.  Do you guys still remember being a ‘tween?  After all these years I’m still trying to forget! Heh.

The special, The Worst Years of My Life, airs on the Nickelodeon Network Sunday, August 20.  Ellerbee also interviewed Jon Stewart, Tony Hawk, Cynthia Nixon and Megan Mullally for the program.

thanks xocys and Lisa B.