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Today, I was going through the newspaper when I noticed an advertisement for an upcoming performance by the touring group of Grease. Besides being shocked that Grease still has a touring group, I was also somewhat astonished to see Taylor Hicks, a former American Idol winner receive top billing. Not as one of the leads or one of the secondary characters, but as Teen Angel, who Wikipedia notes is a “one-scene character.” Instead of having hits on the Billboard Hot 100, he’s travelling the country to sing “Beauty School Drop-Out.”
But Taylor Hicks isn’t alone in this phenomenon. Past winners Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino have also been pushed back into the hall closet in the house of Idol history. And their stories can give us one vital lesson that should be remembered at all times:
Success is something that must be maintained.
Whether you’re determining how to market yourself to potential employers, starting out at a new job, or coming off the high of a new promotion, make sure that you have a quantifiable list of consistent achievements. Whereas former Idol contestants might fall off the pop charts, you might fall of the path of an upwards career trajectory. In a workplace environment, you should always make sure that your successes and achievements are not only measured, but are noticed.
If you are looking for work, you might have to find alternate ways to show success – through starting your own business, volunteering, blogging or refining your portfolio. If you can show that you are continuously developing your skills and are not resting on your past laurels despite your employment situation, you will become a more attractive candidate to employers.
And hopefully you’ll avoid being buried on page seven of the “Arts and Leisure” section.
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Comments
10.15.09
A post that uses Taylor Hicks as a plausible example of career maintenance? Good work!
10.15.09
I have a lot to say about this. I hope you will read it and understand.
Before you pick out a person to use as an example you really should know a little more about them and their history.
I seriously doubt there is a man in show business at this point in time working harder than Taylor Hicks to maintain a career. You simply have no idea what you are talking about. After American Idol, Taylor made the decision to own his own soul instead of being owned by idol. Maybe that was wrong. You would need to know more to make an informed decision on that. He lost all of their support and in fact in my opinion they worked againist him , making an example of what happens if you don't toe their line.
If it weren't for Taylors willingness to work nearly 24/7, his talent and diversity, making it possible for him to do other things he would not be around at all today. Taylor was given credit for Grease making an extra $150,000 a week by Broadway.com. Not to shabby, I would say. Makes him worth quite a bit to them, I imagine. He worked out a deal where he could also present his own music and sell his own album and merchandise at the shows. On top of that he is doing at least one tour show of his own each month and doing the biggest share of the publicity for the show.
He recently sold out the Beau Rivage, had two incredible shows at the Workplay in Birmingham with old friends Billy Earl McClellan and Ona Watson. He is talented and extremely hard working. There is nothing wrong with the concept in your article but you picked the wrong person to use as an example. You really should talk to Mr. Hicks or pick up a copy of the July,2009 Birmingham magazine and find out what he is really doing.
In fact Mr. Hicks would make an excellent example of how to maintain a career againist incredible odds.
A little research goes a long way.
10.16.09
GoSavant - Thanks for the comment! Extended metaphors are one of my favorite things!
Ann - I've received a few comments about my choice of examples, so I would like to clarify this: Taylor Hicks won a reality TV contest viewed by millions, yet was not able to leverage the entire fan base into sustainable record sales like other winners, including Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Carrie Underwood, and more recently, David Cook.
While devout fans may know his more recent activities (and I am in no way disparaging him for them or in any way trying to paint him in a negative light), casual fans and occasional listeners will most likely know only two things about him: his "Idol" victory and his poor debut record sales. For me, the newspaper article became the third.
He has been overshadowed by non-winners like Chris Daughtry, Jennifer Hudson, and Clay Aiken. Regardless of the circumstances of his career, the momentum created by his initial success should have propelled him forward at a different trajectory than what occurred. But Mr. Hicks is not even the issue.
The point of this post was to serve as a reminder that in show business or the workplace, you're only as good as your most recent effort. And when compared with your peers (in this case, past "Idol" winners), you need to stand out with achievements that are not only quantifiable, but get you noticed (in the example's case, by the general record-buying public, in business, with one's superiors) and serve as a way for you to leverage further advancement and success.
I understand that as a fan of his music, you may feel upset by the comparison. But please note that it was made in service to a point about furthering peoples' own careers and personal development, not as a jab at the artist himself.
10.16.09
Mr. Weitsman I do want you to understand that I understood perfectly.
My comments were not as a fan of his music. It was a reaction to an unfair comparison. I know from your post that is seems perfectly fair to you and I understand that. But when you say "regardless of the circumstances" you have no idea what those were.
10.16.09
"casual fans and occasional listeners will most likely know only two things about him: his "Idol" victory and his poor debut record sales."
The Taylor Hicks CD, which was his debut album, was certified Platinum. I would hardly call that poor sales.
"The point of this post was to serve as a reminder that in show business or the workplace, you're only as good as your most recent effort. And when compared with your peers (in this case, past "Idol" winners), you need to stand out with achievements that are not only quantifiable, but get you noticed (in the example's case, by the general record-buying public, in business, with one's superiors) and serve as a way for you to leverage further advancement and success."
Not always true. You've morphed all occupations together with an across the board rule. Do your studying, Andrew. Study marketing trends since the Depression. Some of the most successful businesses started up in the Depression and during recessions. Why? Because they took the "in your face" approach. Studies show that the more a business is in your face, the better sales are. People remember not the product you produced, or your latest achievement, but that they saw you or something about you. Have you ever wondered why certain Etsy crafters are very successful while others fall by the wayside? The market is flooded. They need to stand out. And some of them do that with blogs, on Twitter-anything to be in the public's face. The same rings true for music artists. When Paul McCartney sang at the Superbowl, his CD sales shot up the next day. This is very common. Happens all the time. His song was not new. It had nothing to do with his "recent effort." It was simply because he was in people's faces. Your post rings true for some things, such as the mechanics of the regular workplace, but it does not ring true for all occupations.
10.16.09
Let's expand this analogy and find out exactly why Taylor Hicks can teach you about career maintenance, and why in fact it would be a good move to emulate him career-wise:
Let's say "Joe" works hard to develop his sales skills for 10 years and finally meets a sales goal which means an automatic job promotion. The problem is Joe has gray hair and management decides that co-worker Judy would present a more appealing image to their customers and subsequently sell more of the company's product. So while Joe is given the honorary title he earned, the company decides throw all company support behind Judy, give her the best routes and the best promotional materials. As a result, Judy sells more product for the company. She is praised publically at company meetings. In contrast, Joe gets no sales leads and no backup, and no public recognition for respectable sales despite little support from the company. People start asking 'What happened to Joe? He was so promising.'
At this point Joe is understandably fed up. He comes to the realization that he will never get proper support or get anywhere from the company he is currently working for. He decides to take the leap away from the Fortune 500 company and start his own small widget sales company. Joe sets up the business, works 80 hour weeks, hooks up with a supportive partner, and does very well for a small independent widget sales company. His annual sales are much lower than the Fortune 500 company he quit, but he owns the company and takes a larger percentage of sales revenue. Still, people perceive him as taking a step down, even while at the end of the year, "Joe" is listed as one of the top 10 earners of widget sales, right in with all the Fortune 500 companies
The moral is this: careerism as touted on this blog is a dead end method of making another man rich. If you are clever and talented and hardworking, your best bet is to strike out on your own ASAP like Taylor Hicks did. He is actually someone to emulate in the business world. Excerpt from Birmingham Magazine:
"Once Hicks won American Idol, he fulfilled all of the obligations he had under the original agreement and then he went out in search of a new destiny. “We met with [record industry legend] Clive Davis to discuss future deals and we made a mutual decision to part ways with American Idol,” Douglas says.
“At that point we had our own touring company set up for Taylor. We set up two national tours for Taylor as a solo artist,” Douglas says.
“It was a good-size national theatre tour so that he could keep developing as a national touring artist, but under Taylor’s control as a business entity. Both tours were profitable. In 2007 he had the 27th highest grossing tour.
That gave us the financial lift to start our own company.” Modern Whomp Records was born, along with a touring and merchandising company, all controlled by Taylor Hicks.
Taking advantage of new tools in the entertainment industry and new developments in the way artists reach audiences, Taylor Hicks took control. “Taylor is instrumental in all of this. He is very attentive to detail.
He wants to be totally in control of the artistic side—having more control over what comes out,” Douglas explains. “Gaining total control was important, and this way made the most sense.”
The music has always been paramount to Hicks. The latest album is being supported nationwide by Hicks’ (starring)role in the national touring company of Grease. In city after city, he plays the role of Teen Angel singing “Beauty School Dropout” on stage. Then he will play club dates late in the evening, playing the music he loves to a totally different audience.
Add in the regular media interviews and you have a potent marketing mix to build an audience. The goal is to sell his album steadily for the next 18 months, releasing two or three singles, while performing on the stage. “He stays very, very busy,” Douglas says.
“My management has really kept up with the cutting edge of how an artist gains an audience. That’s not easy because it is an ever changing mode of business in the recording industry. My antenna is always up for wisdom after all these years on the road,” Hicks says."
Full story here: http://bhammag.com/bhammag/people_hotlist.aspx
10.31.09
I was always under the impression that Taylor's debut album eventually went platinum and the single released from it went gold. From what I've heard, he received lucrative offers not only from Broadway but movies and TV. He chose "Grease" because it would give him a chance to not only better understand the theater and acting but be able to promote his songs onstage after the play and conduct shadow concerts. This he has been able to do quite successfully.
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