Music Industry Expert- Clay is a HOT commodity

From the CH:
From the It's Really Not Just Us Files...

Spoke to a friend of mine tonight from my music industry days in Nashville. I haven't talked to him in quite a while. He's done everything with practically everybody. U2, McCartney, Elton John, Springsteen, Rolling Stones, Jackson Browne, Phil Collins, Moody Blues, Santana, Matchbox 20...names keep coming, I could go on and on. He's a musician, songwriter, engineer, producer...truly brilliant and deeply inner connected.

Right away I'm dying to talk to him about Clay, get his reaction. I don't have to wait at all. He asks what I'm up to and I tell him. Of course Clay comes into the conversation.

"Now there's a guy who's going places," he says.

"You think so?" I ask.

"Oh yeah. He is THE buzz right now. And in the circles he's really kind of a mystery."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know at first with the Idol thing it was like, okay, flash and burn...fifteen minutes and poof. But he shocked the hell out of everybody when they really heard him. He's got a voice that made everybody pretty much drop their pants."

(I'm seriously biting my lip now.)

He continues. "You know the music industry right now is floundering...it's all over the place. Sure, it has it's peaks and valleys, but there's no defining element. I'm telling you...he could be it. There's a buzz and it's everywhere, at every level. I hear it in the studios, I hear it from the execs, I hear it from musicians...this kid is shaking the rafters. He's going to be around for a long time, and he's already a force to be reckoned with."

"So why won't they play him on the radio?" I ask.

"Radio is and has always been a mafia. With what he's got...who cares if he's on the radio? Ten years from now...hell, two years from now he will be so huge that will be a joke. People are already begging."

"Begging?"

"He is one of the hottest commodities around. But I hear he is very selective. That's the best sign of all. He either has a good head on his shoulders, good management...or both."

"So...do you like him?"

"I have to admit, at first I didn't pay much attention. But then I caught him on some late-night show. Don't remember which one. I was riveted. I couldn't believe his stage presence. And that voice! It just does something...I don't know, he grabs you somewhere, takes something vital and leaves you...I honestly don't know how to describe it. He's a superstar...no doubt about it. I wish I had a piece. So does everyone else."

I have been floating ever since this conversation. We know...we've always known. But now they know, too.