Say what you want about the "singing competition" behemoth that is Fox's "American Idol," but one thing is hard to deny. Year after year, millions of text-happy fingers, sometimes to the apparent chagrin of the show's trio of judges, seem to vote the unexpected.

Take season five champ Taylor Hicks. He's 30, and his gray hair and no-frills attitude don't exactly scream "cash cow."

Even now, as he tours the country in support of his self-titled debut record, Hicks is obviously keeping a much lower profile than other Idols: Original winner Kelly Clarkson is a multi-platinum tabloid queen and Carrie Underwood is a Top 40 golden girl with several product endorsement deals and an NFL boyfriend.

Heck, even Chris Daughtry, the rocker dude who lost to Hicks, is breaking records with the fastest-selling CD ever by a new artist. (He's sold almost 3 million records to Hicks' 692,000, according to Soundscan data.)

Hicks, on the other hand, has just been making music.

That's the reason he and fellow "forgotten idol" Fantasia -- currently earning raves in Broadway's "The Color Purple," as far from the Top 40 charts as one can get -- may outlast some of their Idol peers in the music business.

Hicks and Fantasia seem grounded in reality -- not reality TV.

Hicks is a guy who grew up in a tough Southern household, penning his own lyrics and music on guitar and harmonica long before his "Soul Patrol" voice matured and his face was delivered to millions of American households.

Even now, Hicks has likely performed in a lot more rowdy bars than he has packed arenas.

He goes his own way -- which makes a musician who's more than TV-made.

We've seen what happens when Clarkson tries to break the mold by demanding to write her own songs for this year's "My December." Her public flare up with record mogul Clive Davis, who also signed Hicks, proved that it's a difficult road.

But Hicks has been walking it all along.

Next weekend, Hicks will perform at our own St. George Theatre as part of his seemingly endless post-Idol tour, which he calls his "one continuous ball of soul." We asked Hicks some questions in preparation for his performance.

Q: So you've been on tour for a while in support of this record. How is performing live on the road different than performing in front of a live audience for a TV show?

A: There's no commercial breaks.

Q: Ha ha. OK. Anything else?

A: Well, you know, that show is a show. It's produced. I guess I just have a hand in my production now, you know? And how I want to produce my own songs.

Q: So you do have a certain amount of control of your own ship now?

A: Your record deal is separate from your TV show deal. Ultimately, you're the artist, and you're the boss. I've been in this business 10 years, and it took me 10 years to realize that I call the shots. It's my career. This whole thing about "American Idol" having its grip on you and all that, I think that's a bit of a misconception.

Q: You came out with a memoir recently ("Heart Full of Soul," Crown, $24.95). How did that come about?

A: I figured there were some things in the book that fans have wanted to know about me that journalists haven't had the creativity to ask.

Q: (Silent wince.) Like what?

A: I mean, just, you know, the background stories and childhood stories. It's good to have a story in your own words as opposed to somebody else's. And a lot of the things that I've learned to apply to music, you can apply to everyday life. I'm basically livin' the American dream, and I think people would be interested in knowin' how that came about.

Q: I read somewhere that your hair started turning gray at age 13. Did you catch any flack for that as a young person?

A: Yeah, I think everybody kind of looked at me funny, like, "What's going on with this guy? Why is he going gray?" But I don't think it hurt me too bad. There was a little bit, but not too much.

Q: What's been the scariest moment for you since you came out with this record?

A: I think national anthems have been a little nerve racking. It's an environment that's not stage and music -- it's a cappella. It's a tough song. (Note: Hicks cites Ray Charles and Whitney Houston as favorite anthem artists.)

Q: You grew up in Birmingham, Ala. How would you say that community, that place, has shaped your path?

A: I think a lot of the music that has come through there has definitely helped my musicianship. The people down there, they can't be fooled. So you have to really learn your chops. You either got it or you don't down there. And they know that. It's obvious by people coming to see you. I've been making money down there as a working musician since I was 19, luckily enough, and there, you realize you have a talent. Because if you didn't have a talent, nobody would really pay for you to do it.

Q: I know that you grew up around various levels of alcoholism. I'm wondering if you have anything to say to people in terms of advice, who might be experiencing the same thing in their home.

A: Good question. Know that it is a disease, and the more you know about the disease, the better off you're going to be.

Q: Is it something you've ever struggled with yourself?

A: Personally, no. And it's funny that I say that, because I've been in bars for 10 years. But I think I've been around so much alcohol that I think I've been turned off by it in a sense.

Contact AWE music writer Ben Johnson at bjohnson@siadvance.com.

Taylor Hicks live

When: 8 p.m. Aug. 18

Where: St. George Theatre, 35 Hyatt St.

How much: $45-$61

More information: 718-442-2900, ticketmaster.com, stgeorgetheatre.com

Hicks' Picks:

Musicians he'd like to work with: Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, John Mayer, John Legend

"I think they're great contemporary songwriters. They've got good music, and that's what I like to gravitate toward."