Taylor Hicks is an anomaly in the "American Idol" world.

He's 29, which is practically AARP-eligible in the pop world. But with the fifth season "Idol" crown and a No. 1 single ("Do I Make You Proud") already behind him, the Alabama native thinks a little seasoning has been to his benefit.

"I think it has a lot to do with it," says Hicks, who's just released his self-titled debut album on Arista/19 Recordings. "I think you need experiences to connect with the audience, because the audience is going to have been through their experiences, and anything you can draw comparisons to or relate to and be on the same page, the better off you're going to be."

Even, he adds, if it means having a little gray hair.

"I've had people try to steer me another direction from the color aspect," he says. "But I'm just . . . What you see is what you get."

What we get on "Taylor Hicks" -- produced by two-time Grammy winner Matt Serletic (Collective Soul, Santana) and featuring writing contributions from Rob Thomas, Bryan Adams and Diane Warren -- is true to the Soul Patrol roots Hicks displayed on "Idol."

In particular he pays homage to his hero, Ray Charles, including a bit of Charles' "What'd I Say" in his "Heaven Knows" and recording "The Right Place," an Adams track written for Charles shortly before his death.

"I just fell off the deep end when I heard Ray Charles; I caught the disease, so to speak," says Hicks, who also covers the Marvin Gaye-written "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" on the album. "That guy could evoke so much emotion in his voice. I just started studying; I listened to every Ray Charles album I could possibly find, and reading about him and studying and listening to his music and connecting emotionally."