And the stories on Idol never end:

from Hollywood.com:

Idol Winner's Pot Bust Dismissed
By WENN| Friday, May 26, 2006

GalleryHOLLYWOOD - American Idol winner Taylor Hicks almost missed out on a place in the TV talent show's finals thanks to a pot bust.

The soulful singer, 29, almost became the latest subject of a scandal to mar the Idol stage, but producers discovered a drugs charge against Hicks when he was 21 was dismissed.

Hicks even confessed to driving under the influence of marijuana, according to the arresting Alabama police officer's report, but the case was delayed two years and then dismissed in 2000 for "want of prosecution."

Idol producers have been tough on contestants with police records and those who try to hide past misdemeanors have been routinely disqualified from the show.

Gray-haired Hicks became the fifth American Idol winner when he beat fellow finalist Katherine McPhee in Wednesday night's end-of-season showdown.

'Idol' Runner-Up Gets a Call from Spielberg
By WENN| Friday, May 26, 2006

GalleryHOLLYWOOD - American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee has a movie career to look forward to after finding a fan in director Steven Spielberg.

The California girl lost out to Taylor Hicks on Wednesday night, but she might become a winner after movie mogul Spielberg requested a private audience with the stunning brunette.

Backstage after the Idol final, McPhee told news show Extra, "Steven Spielberg would like to have a meeting with me. That, for me I think, was the thing that really made this last week calming for me.

"I just was like, 'Wow, Steven Spielberg would like to have a meeting with me.' That's incredible! I think that was the moment where I turned to a couple of my close friends, who have been through this competition, and I was like, 'I don't know if winning is the best thing for me.'"

Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.
- Anthony Bourdain