Interview with Boston Globe

New interview with the Boston Globe. Cute!

A very Aiken Christmas
December 5, 2005

Clay Aiken, guardian angel? The ''American Idol" runner-up has cast himself in a Michael Landon-esque role in his holiday tour, which arrives at the Orpheum tomorrow night. In between crooning ''O Holy Night" and ''Jingle Bells," he helps a widow find some Christmas spirit in the pageant-cum-pop-concert. If Aiken was a true angel, however, he would be helping Justin Guarini. Maybe next year. This year the infamously nice Aiken was happy to phone us from Pittsburgh and chat about the current production.

Q: I was reading a little bit about the show, and it sounds a little dark. There's a widow who's depressed on Christmas, and a neglected kid who wanders in on her. Am I getting this right?

A: You're getting it right, but you're looking at it in a dark way. I would not see it as dark at all. I think it's a very classic Christmas-type tale. If you think about it, most Christmas shows start with someone who doesn't have the Christmas spirit, and then they gain it by the end of the show. Are you coming to see it?

Q: I'm not sure. I think that's the night I'm mulling cider.

A: I think you should see it, because it's not very dark at all. It starts out gloomily. Hmm. That's interesting. I'm going to have to watch it tonight and see if it looks that way.

Q: You sound like a really nice, polite guy . . .

A: [giggles]

Q: . . . I'm wondering if you've ever been tempted to call Ruben Studdard and say, ''I may have come in second place, but I'm starring in TV specials with Barry Manilow and playing stadiums, and you're playing the grand opening of the Burger King in Anaheim"?

A: Ohhhh. Wait a minute. No, no, no. I'm proud of both of us. There's no way. If I said that, you know what would happen the next week? I'd start singing at grand openings for Burger King. We've each had our own successes in different ways. I think Ruben is thrilled with what he's doing. He's working on his next album. It's interesting -- a lot of times people assume that I've done better. But he's had better radio play than I have by far. It's all a matter of perception.

Q: You were on the cover of a Christian magazine last year talking about being a God-fearing pop star, but I was on your website and found that you're selling Clay Aiken thongs for 10 bucks a pop. Where does that fit into being a good Christian pop star?

A: First of all, do you think that Christians don't wear underwear? Of course they do!

Q: A thong is a bit more skimpy than underwear.

A: We started that because when I was on the ''American Idol" tour we had a lot of people that for some reason wanted to throw underwear at me on stage. So we decided as a joke a few tours back to sell underwear. They sold so well that we had to keep selling them. The religious right is very vocal in their opinions, and no one seems to have a problem with it. I have a very religious family, and they're not concerned about it at all. Because you know what? People who love God wear underwear also.

CHRISTOPHER MUTHER