In a media age that prizes youth, he was the oldest singer in the competition at 29. His premature thatch of gray hair made him look 39. And his spasmodic dance moves, though energetic, made choreographers cringe.

But Hicks could sing. His soulful renditions of Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" and Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City" nearly brought down the house. He had passion, he was fun to watch and he was different. In the end, that was enough.

"It was definitely an uphill battle for me," said the unlikely "Idol" champ this week by phone from Burbank, Calif., where he was rehearsing for the upcoming "American Idols Live" tour. "Towards the end, I started having some good confidence and believing in myself.

"As each week [of the show] goes by, the competition becomes more intense. And the greater the intensity, the greater the nerves. It was a very nervous time there, the last two or three weeks, but it was also very fun," he added.

"You really get into a good groove. You use the camera, and the camera becomes more your buddy as opposed to your nemesis."

The "Idols" tour kicks off Wednesday in New Hampshire. But first, Hicks has a rather big engagement Saturday night in Provo, where he'll co-headline the "Stadium of Fire" extravaganza before more than 40,000 people at Brigham Young University's LaVell Edwards Stadium.

The gig will be Hicks' first visit to Utah.

"I hear it's a beautiful place and I can't wait to see it," said the Alabama crooner, ever the Southern gentleman. The show also will mark his biggest live audience ever. "It's going to be different singing for an audience that's 40,000 to 50,000 live as opposed to 40 million and a camera," he said. "I'm looking forward to it."

The patriotic-themed evening also will feature country singers Lee Ann Womack and Keni Thomas, Air Force parachuters, tribute bands to ABBA, the Beach Boys and Queen, Raven (star of the Disney Channel's "That's So Raven") and 1,000 dancers plus, of course, a fireworks show.

But Hicks may be the event's biggest draw. The daily rate of Stadium of Fire ticket sales quadrupled after Hicks' involvement was announced earlier this month, said Taylor Macdonald, executive director of America's Freedom Foundation, which presents the show.

"The level of excitement has skyrocketed," Macdonald said. "The number of people calling from out of state has really grown. We're getting a lot of calls from people in California, from Virginia, from Texas."

Hicks will join others onstage for an opening production number and a finale, Macdonald said.

He also will perform a mini-concert in which he'll sing three songs - one of them sure to be "Do I Make You Proud," his single that debuted last week atop the Billboard pop charts.

Several Utah radio stations are playing the formulaic ballad, which seems destined to become a graduation-day anthem.

"It's getting great response," said Rusty Keys, program director for Salt Lake City's K-BEE (98.7 FM), which caters to a mostly female listenership. The question, Keys, believes, is whether Hicks can sustain his momentum. "Right now he's riding the 'American Idol' wave. But if the next song stinks, where is he going to go? A lot of it has to do with what the next record is. If he continues to put out good songs, he'll have a nice career."

Hicks said he'll begin recording his solo album after the three-month "Idols Live" tour wraps this fall. The record will contain a mix of covers and original songs, some possibly written by Hicks himself. Think soul-blues-country chestnuts like "Georgia on My Mind" - a song he wanted to sing on "Idol" but didn't.

"I'm looking forward to recording some better music," said Hicks, a veteran of the Southern bar-band circuit who has two previous records on tiny independent labels. Asked which singers' careers he'd like to emulate, he said, "The John Legends and the John Mayers of the world. And the careers of legends - Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, B.B. King. If I could accommodate both, I'd be good to go."

For now, Hicks is still adjusting to the demands of his exploding fame, which landed him on the cover of People last week. Four months ago, he was an unknown; now he's chatting on "Larry King Live," dueting with Snoop Dogg and being mobbed by hyperventilating fans in airports. Unlike his ebullient, "Soul Patrol!"-shouting stage persona, the singer on the phone this week sounded reserved and a little weary.

"The whole thing has been interesting, to say the least," said Hicks, who sometimes wears hats in public to hide his trademark salt-and-pepper hair. "Yeah, I'm getting used to it, you know. It's been a gradual process from the beginning of the 'American Idol' auditions up until this point. I'm just very grateful that the opportunity happened. And I'm looking forward to seeing where the next part of my career takes me."

griggs@sltrib.com

Hear Hicks

"American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks, above, will perform in the "Stadium of Fire" extravaganza Saturday at Brigham Young University's LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. The show begins at 7:30 p.m., and seats are still available. Tickets range from $35 to $100 and are available by calling 801-422-BYU1 or visiting http://www. byutickets.com. The patriotic show is part of the America's Freedom Festival.