yeah, dat's right, i vote.....you gotta' problem wit' it?

So I'm washing our cars Saturday afternoon and our next door neighbors stop in front of our driveway. They rolled the passenger-side window down, started pumping their fists and yelled out "SOUL PATROL!" Apparently Meg, who babysits for them, mentioned to them that I voted for Taylor Hicks every Tuesday night for 2 hours solid. Busted.

HOWEVER, they did say they tried to vote for Taylor for about 30 minutes and couldn't get through. AND some other neighbors also tried and couldn't get through. So it's not just me. But now people are blaming me for tying up the phone lines.....

A year ago, I would have said I'd NEVER vote for ANYONE on American Idol. It's a television show, it's entertaining, and I hope my favorite wins. End of story. But a few months ago there was this guy that auditioned who was different. He didn't seem to fit in with the others. He had *gasp* grey hair. He sang the first few notes of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna' Come" and I told the bride, "That's my winner, right there!"

Now, let me address an issue that's come up at our house. SOMEONE accused me of having a man-crush on Taylor. UNTRUE! That's just sick. I'm a fan, that's it. Just like I'm a fan of Billy Joel, Michael McDonald and Ray Charles. So there.

The format is supposed to be like this tonight: Taylor won the coin toss last week and chose to go second. They each will be doing either 2 songs they've done on the show already, OR one song they've done AND a new one of their choosing, PLUS what they show calls the "winner's single" (the single that's released by the winner the day after the winner is declared). Sources tell me that the G-bomb will be dropped tonight. What's the G-bomb? It's a little song Mr. Hicks does in honor of a guy named Ray Charles called "Georgia". Fans have been wanting him to sing it all season, but he's been saving it for the right moment. Tonight is that moment, and there's a good chance that he closes the show with it. If you haven't heard Taylor's version, click here. (Click on "MP3 Downloads" on the right-hand side of the screen, might be down towards the bottom. Then look for "Georgia (Full Version)".)

Tonight's vote will undoubtedly be close. My hope is that Taylor gets enough votes to win because he deserves it. He's proven week in and week out that he's got what it takes to make it in the music business. And this Soul Patroller will be doing his part to help him win.....