New Zealand Magazine features Clay and NZ Clay Fan

Clay and Clayboard member, NZClay is featured in the New Zealand magazine called New Idea, with a circulation number of aprox 140,000. It is NZ's premier women's magazine.


My Secret Obsession

A Whakatane woman has followed Clay Aiken’s rising star ever since he lost to Ruben Studdard in American Idol.

Clay Aiken has been providing a bridge over troubled waters for Whakatane woman Helena (I've left out Helena's last name for her to retain some privacy). Helena first fell in love with the American Idol runner-up last year. As one of Clay’s biggest fans, she has all his CDs, his autograph and collects anything she can get her hands on about her idol.

But, at 38 years old, she is not your typical teenage groupie. In fact, Clay is the first pop star Helena has ever been obsessed with.

“I have never followed anyone quite so closely,” admits Helena. “He grew up quite insecure, and I was a bit like that – I can relate to him. He seems so normal.”
“I like that he is intelligent. He has a degree in special education and works as an ambassador for UNICEF, and I admire that,” she adds.
Helena was struck by Clay’s voice and when he became one of the final few on American Idol, and immediately joined other Clay Aiken fans on the Internet. She discovered 20 serious New Zealand fans and met American fans when she travelled to the US last year where she went to six of Clay’s concerts at a cost of about $100.00 each. But she was lucky enough to meet Clay at one of the venues.
“Our American fans told Clay’s bodyguard that we had come all the way from New Zealand, so he let us into a “meet and greet” at a gig in Baltimore,’ says Helena. “It was pretty fast. He joked around with us quite a bit, and then we had our photo taken with him.”
Helena says the singer transforms into a ball of energy on stage. “He is all over the place, bouncing around all over the stage.”
She discovered Clay had a traumatic childhood. His father was abusive to his mother, and Clay lived with a distant stepfather.
“At school he was bullied because he was not the sporty type. He was a bit of a nerd.” Helena explains.
Helena has made new friends with other Clay Aiken fans. But his Kiwi fans are disappointed at the lack of promotion of his CDs.
“He is not well promoted here,” says Helena. “But he is becoming more and more popular in the States. His star is not fading at all.