In a landslide victory, Hicks won Fox-TV's "American Idol" title in May and spent the summer touring the US with his fellow "Idol" finalists. Previously, the Birmingham, AL, native struggled for 10 years to make it in the music business, releasing two independent albums and opening for the likes of James Brown, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Drive-By Truckers, Robert Randolph and Keb Mo, according to Hicks' website.

Following the "American Idol" win, Arista Records founder Clive Davis signed Hicks and hooked him up with Grammy Award-winning producer Matt Serletic (Rob Thomas, Matchbox Twenty). The rush was on to get Hicks' self-titled album on the street before Christmas, and the singer worked 18-hour days to get it recorded in six weeks, according to the Birmingham News.

The silver-haired 30-year-old describes the album as "modern womp music." It combines the kind of soul, funk and blues inspired by his heroes, who include Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Van Morrison. Hicks covers songs by Marvin Gaye, Rob Thomas and others on the record, and performs a couple of his own.

Also included is a song that Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance penned for Ray Charles shortly before his death. Hicks said he was honored to have the opportunity to record a song meant for his own idol, according to Hicks' official blog, Gray Charles.

In addition to meeting the pressures surrounding his music career, Hicks has the added responsibility of living up to his People magazine title of Hottest Bachelor of the Year.