From tittletattle:

"American Idol" champion Taylor Hicks has signed a contract with 19 Recordings Limited and Arista Records, according to a published report. Simon Fuller, the creator of the British import, owns 19 Recordings Limited, Billboard.com reported on Wednesday.

The singer - who polled 36.4 million votes in last week's final - is now on the same label, Arista, as 2005 finalist Carrie Underwood.

Hicks, 29, said: "I want to get a quick turnaround on my album. Get it on the shelves within the next five or six months, by the end of the year, something like that."

A two track CD featuring his show stopping finale, 'Do I Make You Proud', and a cover of the Doobie Brothers classic, 'Takin' It to the Streets' was 5th on Billboard's charts today and has already become Amazon.com's fifth-biggest music seller - two weeks before its official release on June 13.