EXCLUSIVE: Taylor Hicks, the latest “American Idol” hopeful from Alabama, said his soulfulness will help him stand out from the 23 other singers in the reality show competition. Producers announced the finalists Thursday.

Hicks, 29, is the second-oldest contestant this season; Mandisa (yes, one name), a songstress from Antioch, Tenn., is older by just five days, he said. That experience means Hicks may have an advantage over the others, some as young as 16.

“Considering I’ve had more years performing, playing every honky-tonk imaginable in the Southeast, that’s helped a lot,” said Hicks, by phone today from Hollywood.

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Self-induced depression can be a good thing, despite what the happy pillmakers would have you believe. Two New York folkies brought their solo-but-supportive acts Wednesday night to Moonlight Music Cafe for a dark, dreary acoustic set.

Sam Shaber and Edie Carey performed in turn their songs of longing and solitude for a 95-minute show, interspersing music with banter to lighten the mood.

Can you have a good time at enduring somber tunes? Sadly, yes.

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A couple of weeknight events at Moonlight Music Cafe in Vestavia Hills caught our attention.

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Our pals Mike and Mandy over at Our Place have a fun contest under way: a weekly scavenger hunt.

Updated

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The WB and UPN are joining forces, as the networks combine to form The CW. In Birmingham, this will affect the two Sinclair Broadcasting-owned stations, WB-affiliate WTTO-21 and UPN-affiliate WABM-68, come September.

No word yet on how the merger will affect, if at all, WTTO’s SEC football games through Jefferson Pilot or WABM’s SEC basketball coverage. Also, CBS affiliate WIAT-42 has provided a 9 p.m. newscast for WTTO since October, after Sinclair’s failed Newscentral program signed off, leaving several WTTO employees without jobs.

Updated.

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One of the high points of the Birmingham scene in 2005 was well-dressed YPs (that’s young professionals) sipping cocktails, snacking on fancy finger foods and admiring artwork. Art on the Rocks was the place to be, even if it was in, of all places, the city art museum.

Such success was surprising, probably even to the organizers, for the new monthly venture. And it was brilliant. Thousands of people actually paid $10 a head to visit a place they can see for free six days a week. Free food, cash bar, DJ, music act, craft activity and the most important ingredient, fun.

Can anyone, even the museum itself, match that initial success?

UAB’s Alys Stephens Center thinks so, and brought in an informal focus group to shape its plan. At stake, a piece of the growing YP entertainment market in Birmingham.

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As you while away the remaining hours till Christmas, let’s review some cheery holiday posts you may have missed …

Plus, we found the true meaning of Christmas, and Easter, and even Flag Day, on someone’s windshield today.

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The second Christmas party of our two-party outing was a down-and-dirty raucous affair. If the corporate party had been plesantries and pie, this other outing was hipster-ish and crowded.

We drove to Park Lane restaurant in Mountain Brook and snagged the last parking space within the village limits. Outside, it was freezing, as the huddled throngs of smokers puffed away. Inside, it was a mad scene.

Anything to get out of this cold and into a … hot chocolate fountain?!

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We love a good party, so December is our chance to swing with the best. Though we’re at our best staked out in a quiet corner with an adult beverage and surrounded by friends, we can be lured out to the bigger affairs through:

• open bar;
• people we haven’t seen in forever;
• open bar;
• door prizes;
• open bar;
• awkward moments;
• and open bar.

Join us on our recent two-party jaunt. Party all day, and party all night. (That joke never gets old.)

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Through the years we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

One of my favorite stories ever in the Birmingham Post-Herald was a true holiday gem: the real tale of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

The song is lovely because it touches upon the wistfulness of the holiday season, almost a lament. And yet, it remains a personal favorite among all the Christmas classics.

Erin Shaw Street wrote this December 1999 story. Birmingham native Hugh Martin, the composer partnered with lyricist Ralph Blane, talks about tussling with Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra over one little tune.

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“The “Muckfuppet” shoot took 10 hours, 24 people, one diner and one award-winning script — all for a five-minute movie.”

I’ve been doing PR work for my friend’s movie, “Muckfuppet.” We shot the five-minute romantic short all day Sunday at a Southside diner, and I blogged about the behind-the scenes action on the movie’s blog site.

(Yes, I even cheat on my own blog. But it didn’t mean a thing, honest.)

The site for Kenn McCracken’s movie has the full script, a special mashup movie and the aforementioned blog.

Next up, developing the film, editing and all kinds of post-production fun. With a little luck, this Sidewalk award-winning script will be an entry at Sidewalk 2006.

Garrison Starr has been haunting Birmingham stages a lot this fall, with another gig coming up in December. Her Tuesday show at Moonlight Music Cafe in Vestavia Hills featured something different: guitar in the round, with Michelle Malone and Nini Camps.

The two-hour show was a feast of blues, folk, rock and pop with a lotta Lilith in the mix.

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Cary Brothers shouldn’t be confused with the Statler Brothers or the Wayans Brothers. He’s just one man, with a band, and a whole lotta love from “Scrubs” star and “Garden State” auteur Zach Braff.

New “Blue Eyes” performed at a CD release party at WorkPlay Thursday night.

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The Alabama Ballet can make the impossible look easy onstage, though we know hard work and determination went into the performance. So why not go behind the scenes to see how dancers interpret a classic for today’s audiences?

Such is the premise behind Alabama Public Television’s latest documentary, “Alabama Ballet: The Making of ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ “ While the hourlong film shows fleeting glimpses into the some of the labor in putting on a performance, viewers will gain little insight into what makes this company or this performance unique.

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Nickel Creek, the bluegrass trio from Southern California, rocked, plucked and harmonized its way into listeners’ hearts again. The group graced the Alabama Theatre Friday night.

This was my third time to see the band (once before at the Alabama, and also at Samford University) — and the performance is better each time.

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