Question: Taylor Hicks was born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 7, 1976, to Bradley Hicks and Pamela Dickinson. He and his family moved to the suburb of Hoover when he was eight years old. His hair started turning gray by the time he was 14. His parents divorced, and stepmother Linda shared custody of their son until he became of age.

Hicks auditioned for American Idol in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 10, 2005. Hicks passed the audition with the approval of judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, but not Simon Cowell, who said that Hicks would never make it to the final round. On Hicks's first performance for the voting public, Cowell called back to this quote, admitting he was wrong.  On the May 10, 2006, results show, Hicks along with Katharine McPhee and Elliott Yamin, were announced as the Top 3 finalists. On May 12, Idol producers brought Hicks to Birmingham for a weekend of promotional events including television interviews for the local Fox affiliate, a downtown parade, concerts, and an audience with Governor Bob Riley. May 12 was proclaimed "Taylor Hicks Day" and Hicks was given the key to the city. Also on May 12, Gov. Riley issued a proclamation making May 16 "Taylor Hicks Day".  Hicks was named the new American Idol on May 24, 2006, winning the title over McPhee, with over 63.4 million votes cast in total. The proclamation was aired to a worldwide audience of 200 million television viewers. With his win at age 29, Hicks became the oldest contestant to win American Idol. He was also the first male contestant to win the competition without ever being in the bottom two or three, as well as the first Caucasian male winner.  In June 2006, Ford Motor Company, the show's major sponsor, signed Hicks to promote Ford's "Drive on Us" year-end sales event. He was also named Hottest Bachelor by People magazine for 2006, appearing on the magazine's cover.

Using a quote from the above article, answer the following question: Did he do any music after American Idol?
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Answer: 


Question: Hubert Neal McGaughey Jr. was born on July 30, 1958, in Jacksonville, Texas, to a Filipina American mother and Irish-American father. Inspired by the variety of music that his parents listened to, which included country, rock, disco and R&B, McGaughey first sang in his church choir before founding an R&B band. He later switched his focus to country music, performing in various bars and clubs in Texas. McGaughey, after attending junior college near his hometown, found work selling shoes at a shopping mall.

He then signed to Atlantic Records in 1990, changing his surname to McCoy per the label's request, as fans had already begun to refer to him as McCoy. His debut album, At This Moment, was released that year. None of the three singles made the country Top 40, although the lead-off single "If I Built You a Fire" was a Top 20 country hit in Canada. The other two releases were the title track, a cover of Billy Vera and the Beaters' hit song from 1987, and "This Time I've Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me", which was co-written by Earl Thomas Conley and originally recorded by Conway Twitty. McCoy continued touring and developed a "reputation for exciting, freewheeling live shows."  A second album for Atlantic, Where Forever Begins, followed in 1992. This album produced his first American Top 40 country hit in its No. 40-peaking title track, followed by "There Ain't Nothin' I Don't Like About You" at No. 57, and "Now I Pray for Rain" at No. 26. The album was also his first entry on Top Country Albums, at No. 58.  Working with producer Barry Beckett for the first time, McCoy released No Doubt About It in 1994. The album produced his only number 1 country hits in its title track and "Wink", both of which also made minor entries on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also earned a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and gold certification from the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). Its final single was "The City Put the Country Back in Me" at No. 5.

Using a quote from the above article, answer the following question: What was one of the things he first produced when he signed with them?
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Answer: His debut album, At This Moment, was released that year.


Question: Norquist grew up in Weston, Massachusetts. He is the son of Carol (nee Lutz) and Warren Elliott Norquist (a vice president of Polaroid Corporation), and is of Swedish ancestry. His brother, David Norquist has served in senior posts in Republican administrations at both the United States Department of Defense and the United States Department of Homeland Security. Norquist became involved with politics at an early age when he volunteered for the 1968 Nixon campaign, assisting with get out the vote efforts.

Prior to the November 2012 election, 238 of 242 House Republicans and 41 out of 47 Senate Republicans had signed ATR's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge", in which the pledger promises to "oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rate for individuals and business; and to oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates."  The November 6, 2012 elections resulted in a decline in the number of Taxpayer Protection Pledge signatories in both the upper and lower houses of the 113th Congress: from 41 to 39 in the Senate, and from 238 to "fewer than ... 218" in the House of Representatives. According to journalist Alex Seitz-Wald, losses in the election by Norquist supporters and the "fiscal cliff" have emboldened and made more vocal critics of Norquist.  In November 2011, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) blamed Norquist's influence for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction's lack of progress, claiming that Congressional Republicans "are being led like puppets by Grover Norquist. They're giving speeches that we should compromise on our deficit, but never do they compromise on Grover Norquist. He is their leader." Since Norquist's pledge binds signatories to opposing deficit reduction agreements that include any element of increased tax revenue, some Republican deficit hawks now retired from office have stated that Norquist has become an obstacle to deficit reduction. Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY), co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, has been particularly critical, describing Norquist's position as "[n]o taxes, under any situation, even if your country goes to hell."

Using a quote from the above article, answer the following question: Who passed the pledge?
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Answer:
41 out of 47 Senate Republicans had signed ATR's