Taylor Hicks' Career Goes Idle

What a difference a year makes!

Just one year after being crowned "American Idol" in the usual media frenzy, Taylor Hicks performed at The Grove in Anaheim last night -- to little or no hoopla. Taylor who?

While paparazzi and fans staked out the nearby House of Blues to catch Britney's wigged-out mime-a-palooza, TMZ was the lone camera documenting the noticeably tamer crowd at the Hicks show. The Soul Patrol has left the building.

As America nears coronation of a new "Idol," Melinda Doolittle and Jordin Sparks should take heed: Sometimes when you win, you actually lose. Just ask Ruben Studdard.