LOS ANGELES – Some pop stars want fame and money. "American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks just wants to ride the tour bus. Hicks gets to do just that on the "American Idols Live" cross-country tour, which kicked off Wednesday in Manchester, N.H. The tour, which reunites Hicks with castmates from the fifth edition of the hit Fox show, ends Sept. 24 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
"I've always wanted to be on a bus. ... My home has been on the road since even before `American Idol,'" the 29-year-old Alabama native told AP Radio in a recent interview.
As a struggling musician en route to his next gig, Hicks had hoped to travel on his own tour bus one day.
"You would see buses on the road in Alabama going to their next destination, and I would always dream about being on one and now I have the opportunity," he said.
These days, Hicks says he prefers to travel rather than stay at his Birmingham apartment.
"It's been there and it's been nice to come home, but (I'm) only there for a few days and I'm on the road," he said. "So a tour bus with some good, cold iceberg lettuce is probably where I'm gonna stay."
"American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee was sidelined with severe bronchitis and laryngitis for Wednesday and Thursday's tour shows, Manchester's Verizon Wireless Arena announced.
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