Possible 2nd Raleigh Christmas Concert to include non-NC residents

Far-flung fans feel invisible
N.C.-only policy for Clay Aiken concert stirs discord
By MATT EHLERS, Staff Writer
News & Observer

If Clay Aiken is on stage, there's a good chance that DeDe Hicks is in the audience. Hicks has seen Aiken in concert 29 times -- and she carries memories from each show -- but his performances at this year's N.C. State Fair stand out because they were in his hometown. "Being there, watching him perform, it feels like you're a part of everything," said Hicks, who lives in Memphis, Tenn. " Everybody who doesn't live in Raleigh and is a huge fan would love to live in Raleigh."

So when she found out that attempts would be made to restrict tickets to North Carolina residents for his Dec. 12 performance at the BTI Center for the Performing Arts, she wasn't happy. "At first I was honestly hurt. I didn't know what he was trying to do. I felt excluded," said Hicks, 30.

Big Doings in Clay's World

Tickets for Clay Aiken's Dec. 12 performance at the BTI Center for the Performing Arts will go on sale at 10 a.m. today. See www.ticketmaster.com, visit a Ticketmaster outlet, or call 834-4000. Tickets will be restricted to eight per customer, up from the six originally announced. They will range from $47.50 to $75.

But if you can't snag tickets, don't fret. You will have plenty of opportunities to experience Clay in the next few weeks. The guy is all over the place.

He made the cover of TV Guide on the strength of Sunday's appearance on the American Music Awards (it starts at 8 p.m. on ABC) and the Dec. 8 "A Clay Aiken Christmas" on NBC.
His Christmas album, "Merry Christmas, With Love," arrives Tuesday, and so does his memoir, "Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life."

And she had company. Aiken-related Internet message boards have been bouncing around the pros and cons of the policy since it was announced.

Tickets for the performance will be limited to phone and Internet orders paid for with a credit card attached to a North Carolina ZIP code. In-person transactions will be available only at North Carolina Ticketmaster outlets. Meymandi Concert Hall will seat about 1,600 for the concert.

The policy came about after local fans complained that out-of-towners snapped up a large number of the State Fair tickets via an Internet ticketing process. The request came from Aiken via his management, said Jim Lavery, BTI general manager.

The North Carolina-only policy was welcome news for local admirers, but "it's causing some friction with fans across the nation," said Dawn Graham of Fuquay-Varina, who helped organize an Aiken fan convention in Raleigh earlier this year. "I think he was trying to give back a gift, but I'm not sure he realized it could backfire."

Non-North Carolina fans have complained that their money is as good as anyone else's, and that the fans who travel tend to be the most loyal and shouldn't be shut out. Locals have said they should have the chance to see him sing; after all, they were some of his very first fans.

In the end, Hicks -- who drives a car with a "CLA AKN" license plate -- thought on it and decided she wasn't upset about not being able to buy tickets.

"I will still follow him to the ends of the Earth, but I don't know if I'll ever come back to Raleigh," said Hicks, whose house features a three-room shrine to the singer. She wouldn't want to go against his wishes to see local folk in the audience.

But if North Carolinians snap up those tickets quickly, out-of-staters may have a chance to see him in Raleigh after all, Lavery said.

A second show has been slotted for Dec. 13 in Meymandi. That show will happen only if organizers see that tickets for the first show sell especially quickly. And there might not be much notice.

"They'll make that decision depending on how the first show sells," Lavery said. "They could add it 10 minutes after it goes on sale."

Ladies, start your computers.