Taylor Hicks Debuts At #1

The Taylor Hicks single "Do I Make You Proud" sold 228,000 copies and debuts at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. That's much better than the last two winners -- Carrie Underwood (169,000) and Fantasia (142,000). In fact, in a way "Idol seemed to be slipping into just a TV show with the music as barely a sidelight. (That's an exaggeration, but still.) Now Hicks has rejuvenated it to a degree, almost tying Kelly Clarkson's 236,000 and yet no where near the phenomenal numbers of runner-up Clay Aiken, who sold 393,000 to winner Ruben's still-terrific 286,000. Whew, that's a lot of numbers. On top of the album charts: Busta Rhymes with his latest. Chugging along just fine is the "Cars" soundtrack and Disney's TV movie "High School Musical." Obviously, kids wanna rock.