Bachelor No. 1: Taylor Hicks Lets Loose

The 29-year-old American Idol is single – and looking. Who for? A woman who can 'let her hair down and can be who she is and is not pretentious about anything'

Originally posted Tuesday June 13, 2006 04:00 PM EDT

"The best flirting technique would be not to flirt at all and just let it happen," says Hicks. Photo by: Robert Trachtenberg

As a 6'1" rocker, getting the girl has never been a problem for Taylor Hicks. Even before American Idol, "we'd go out and girls would ignore everyone else," says friend Chris Horner. "A waitress once asked Taylor what I wanted to eat. She wouldn't look away from him." During the show, that sex appeal won Hicks – whose first single is just out – fans so fervent they use a made-up word to describe his effect on them ("thud," which means to swoon).

Still, he's no player. He told executive editor Liz Sporkin and senior editor Lisa Arbetter he's ready for love. "I've been in a bubble," he says. "There's been no time. Now I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with the right woman."

More on Taylor Hicks

• Bachelor No. 1 Taylor's Prom Date Reminisces