Taylor Hicks Sues Over iTunes Releases

AUGUST 23--"American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks has sued a Tennessee music producer to halt the online distribution of songs the grey-haired crooner recorded five years before copping the reaAUGUST 23--'American Idol' winner Taylor Hicks has sued a Tennessee music producer to halt the online distribution of songs the grey-haired crooner recorded five years before copping the reality TV crown. In a lawsuit filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Alabama, Hicks charges that William Smith recently sold three of his songs via Apple's iTunes music store (a copy of Hicks's complaint can be found below). In an interview, Smith told TSG that after Hicks auditioned for him, he recorded the songs (which Hicks had written) in June 2001 with the help of Nashville session musicians. Smith said that he subsequently shopped the songs to 15 different labels, but none were interested in signing Hicks. Last month, Smith informed Hicks's attorney of his plans to market one of the songs, 'The Fall,' on iTunes, noting that 'anything in his past that would reflect negatively upon him will stay there' as long as 29-year-old performer did not 'go negative' against him. When asked if his July 24 e-mail was a veiled threat geared to forestall a copyright lawsuit, Smith denied that it was a 'blackmail attempt.' Smith said that he would not seek to hurt the performer's reputation, adding that he has previously turned down five-figure tabloid offers to speak about Hicks's sexuality and his prior drug use. 'Taylor was a young musician, so you can imagine what he was involved in,' said Smith. In response to Hicks's complaint, Judge Virginia Emerson Smith yesterday signed a temporary restraining order barring distribution of the songs by Smith (who has yanked the titles from iTunes). Hicks's first post-'Idol' recording, 'Do I Make You Proud,' landed atop Billboard's Hot 100 list upon its June release and Arista Records is scheduled to release his album in November. (7 pages)