American Idol

The Los Angeles Times reports that reigning American Idol king Taylor Hicks has settled a lawsuit he filed last week against a Nashville producer over the rights to three songs he wrote and recorded before becoming a phenom on the FOX series this spring.

Under the agreement, Hicks gained possession of the master recordings of his material, documents filed in federal court Tuesday reveal.

The lawsuit was filed and put to rest in Hicks' hometown of Birmingham, Ala. In exchange for receiving the rights to his songs, which he alleged were released on iTunes by ex-producer William Smith illegally, Hicks agreed to cease further legal action against the producer.

Smith recorded Hicks several years ago and recently tried to market the songs. He claims he intended to give all royalties to Hicks, and only released the songs to show the true abilities of the American Idol winner. No money will change hands under the agreement.