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Kimmel: Clay "Arrested for STEALING OUR HEARTS"

From the CB:
Jimmy was talking about the upcoming Primetime Live American Idol Special and some of the Idols "shady" pasts. He put up mock mug shots of:

Bo - Arrested for Drug Posession
Scott - Arrested for Domestic Violence
Corey Clark - Arrested for Battery
Trenyce - Arrested for Theft
Jared Andrews- Arrested for Assault

Then he got funny and started making up stuff:

Diana DeGarmo - Arrested for Double Homicide
Kelly - Arrested for Public Urination
Ruben - Arrested for Assaulting a Red Lobster
William H - Arrested for Singing
Justin G - Arrested for Unauthorized Afro

And then at the very end he said:

Clay Aiken - Arrested for STEALING OUR HEARTS!!

Clay in latest US Weekly and InTouch

Scans: US Weekly May 9 , InTouch May 9

Picture of Clay Testifying in Front of Congress

These were from April 14, when Clay testified to urge congress to raise funding to UNICEF.

Clay's Fanclub has Ringtones

If you are a member, check it out: CLAY'S FAN CLUB

New Photoshoot Picture from Clay's Official Fanclub

Clay makes it to ElleGirl's Sexiest Guys List

From the CB:
Newest ellegirl magazine (June/July) just arrived - did everyone else know that Clay's #31 on their 50 sexiest guys list? Maybe I just missed reading about it, but it was a nice surprise for me.

Clay confirmed for role in Disney Movie

The Internet Movie Database is now showing Clay as a vocalist on it's credits list for the upcoming Disney full-length animated film to be called Rapunzel Unbraided (2007).

AI Contestants Carrie and Vonzell kissing Clay, and more result show pictures

MORE HERE. Aren't they cute together?

Clay spotted on American Idol Again Tonight

He was in the audience for tonight's result show, wearing a white sweater.

Claynation members quoted in E! Online article

Clay Goes Plastic
Entertainment - E! Online

By Sarah Hall

Now Claymates have a new way to show their affection for their favorite singer: They can carry him in their wallet.

In an apparent effort to lure teens with the power of plastic, Mastercard has launched a new line of debit cards complete with American Idol season two runner-up Clay Aiken's mug across the front.

Called MYplash cards (an acronym for my plastic cash), the cards offer parents a way to teach their children about the responsibilities that come with possessing a credit card.

The cards, which cost about $28 to acquire ($16.95 for the card, $11.99 for the membership), need to be preloaded with funds (minimum $10 deposit required). Racking up debt is not a possibility, as card owners can only spent predetermined amounts of money.

Some fans in the Claymaniac.com forum were excited at the prospect of having yet another method of proving their devotion to the "Measure of a Man" singer.

"Oh! That's really cool! I want one! But I might have to do some convicing [sic] to get one! I could use that my 17 birthday is in 3 months and it could be a very good present!" one poster enthused.

However, the apparent majority of Claynation was bothered by the fees bundled with the card. Aside from the aforementioned costs, the MYplash card carries a monthly $2.50 membership charge, plus fees associated with each reloading of the card.

"Guess it's good that Clay's getting some publicity from this, but no matter whose mug is on it, this card is a bad deal for any fans willing to shell out a minimum of $50 plus to get it," a poster mused in the ClaytonAiken.com forum. "Never figured him for 'everyone's doing it, I will too' kinda popstar...not my 1st choice for a Clay endorsement deal, & just because this one doesn't go over well doesn't mean Clay won't get other, better offers (for him AND the fans). Just shows that Clay's fans know a bum deal when they see it, that's all."

The majority of posters concurred, though some worried about potential Aiken backlash as a result of the card.

"I understand many fans can not afford to get the card (myself included right now) but I am shocked by all the negative posts about it," another poster responded. "I personally don't think it is good to continue to harp on how bad it is to get this card.....and why is Clay agreeing to being on it. I certainly hope the press doesn't pick up this aspect of the card and how no fans are buying it and how they question why Clay endorced [sic] it."

Oops.

For non-Idol fans, the cards come in Xzibit and Simple Plan varieties as well. No word on whether those fans recognize a "bum deal when they see it" or not.

Meanwhile, the show that made Aiken a household name will soon be probed in a special ABC Primetime Live report that the network says will "explore explosive claims about behind-the-scenes activities" at Idol headquarters.

Said "behind-the-scenes activities" are said to include past American Idol contestant Corey Clark's claims that he had an affair with Paula Abdul. Clark was booted from the first season of the show after his undisclosed criminal record was unearthed.

According to published reports, Clark has been pushing a tell-all book proposal of late, detailing a side of Idol fans didn't see.

"Paula Abdul will not dignify the false statements made by Corey Clark with a response," Abdul said in a statement to Access Hollywood. "Mr. Clark is an admitted liar and opportunist who engages in unlawful activities. He is communicating lies about Paula Abdul in order to generate interest in a book deal."

Though the ABC special doesn't air until May 4, Abdul's coworkers Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest have launched preemptive denial campaigns about the allegations.

"There's no underhandedness going on behind the scenes," Cowell told Extra. In response to Clark's allegations, Cowell stated, "I do think they're rubbish. I think this guy's out there to publicize a book.

"Paula, to be fair to her, will spend more time backstage with the contestants giving encouragement and everything else. But, that's not a bad thing!"

Seacrest addressed recent rumors about Abdul's wacky behavior on the show.

"I've never seen her take a pill, I've never seen her take medication," Seacrest told Extra. "She's never told us about these problems that are out in magazines...but we hope she's back on track."

For the record, the diminutive "Forever Your Girl" singer said last week that she had been diagnosed with a rare neurological condition that causes chronic pain and that her seemingly odd behavior of late was the result of finally discovering the proper medication to treat the disorder.

Idol fans may straight up learn if there's more to that story next week when ABC airs its Fallen Idol expos.

Clay on Oprah Pictures

HERE. The Show will air in May.

Clay mentioned on Canada's largest radio station, Toronto and Montreal

From the CB:
Hubby just told me that the morning crew (Roger, Rick & Marilyn) talked about Clay's new Mastercard Debit Card. It was all positive and they even mentioned the Claymates and said something along the lines of "If you've been under a rock for the past 2 years, Claymates is the term for fans of Clay Aiken". They also mentioned his website and that if you want one of the cards, that's where you go to sign up!
My goodness! This card sure is getting a whole LOT of publicity...even up here in Canada!

Also:

From the CB:
A radio station in Montreal mentioned Clay this morning. They first said that he has a debit card that is available for teens who cannot be trusted to carry a credit card. Then they went on to say many more really great and positive things about Clay. They called him a mega star, heart throb and told about the new album he's recording and about the summer tour. And they said that he's the most successful contestant from AI 2.

Clay on AI pictures

Pictures of Clay with Randy, Simon and Paula are up at WireImages.

Clay just appeared on American Idol

Clay just appeared in the audience on American Idol. Ryan Seacreast mentioned something about Clay missing his socks and it was because he came in second. He was wering a green sweater and blue pants.

Fox to pursue legal action against ABC, over AI Voting Story

READ MORE

Happy Birthday MK!

To my special CDD friend, ClassAktMK

Clay Testifies in front of Congress

Congressional testimony in support of increased UNICEF funding
Clay Aiken, U.S. Fund for UNICEF National Ambassador

The following testimony — urging Congress to increase the U.S. Government's voluntary contribution to UNICEF for the next fiscal year — has been submitted to the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations, United States House of Representatives.


Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate this opportunity to submit testimony regarding the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). I am Clay Aiken, U.S. Fund for UNICEF Ambassador. On behalf of supporters of UNICEF across the United States, I respectfully ask the Subcommittee to provide $130 million as the U.S. Government's voluntary contribution to UNICEF for Fiscal Year 2006.

First, I want to thank this Subcommittee for providing $125 million as the U.S. Government's contribution to UNICEF for Fiscal Year 2005. The bipartisan leadership of this Subcommittee on funding for UNICEF and for international children's issues deserves to be commended.

Supporters of UNICEF's global work for children are encouraged by the Administration's request for an overall increase in international affairs funding for Fiscal Year 2006. We urge you to include an increase for UNICEF's core activities for children as part of this increase.

The well-being of the world's children clearly must be a priority of U.S. foreign policy. Nearly 11 million children die each year before their fifth birthday — about 30,000 children a day — mostly from preventable causes. Four million of them die in their first month of life.

More than 30 percent of children in developing countries — about 600 million — live on less than $1 a day. About 150 million children under five — one in four — are malnourished. At least 30 million children in the developing world are not immunized against preventable killer childhood diseases such as measles, polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tuberculosis and tetanus.

These are among the challenges that have been targeted by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for 2015 and by the United Nations General Assembly's Special Session on Children of 2002. In response, UNICEF has adopted a Medium-Term Strategic Plan that commits its resources to securing results for children in the following five priority areas:

To ensure that every child is fully immunized and receives essential nutrients that protect health;
To promote integrated early childhood development, ensuring every child the best possible start in life;
To ensure that every girl and every boy completes a quality primary education;
To work to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and to ensure that children and young people already affected by the disease are cared for; and
To work to ensure that all children grow up in an environment that protects them from violence, exploitation, abuse, and discrimination.
Building upon more than 58 years of experience, UNICEF has organized its programs, partnerships, alliances, advocacy work and internal operations around these five organizational priorities. While much work remains to be done, some impressive gains have been realized:

Immunization efforts supported by UNICEF help to save the lives of nearly 3 million children a year. Today, three out of four children are immunized before their first birthday, which is a dramatic increase from the early 1970s when fewer than 10 percent were vaccinated.
UNICEF is the largest supplier of vaccines to developing countries, providing 40 percent of the world's doses of vaccines for children and spending $348 million on vaccines in 2003.
UNICEF-led efforts have helped protect over 41.5 million women from maternal tetanus, and maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) has been eliminated in 108 of 158 countries.
In 2002, UNICEF helped protect 10 million Afghan children against measles, and administered doses of vitamin A which is essential to the functioning of the immune system and helps prevent blindness.
Spearheaded by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, Rotary International, and other partners, the campaign to eradicate polio vaccinated more than 500 million children in 2002.
Thanks to global efforts by UNICEF, Kiwanis International and other partners, 70 percent of the world's households now use iodized salt, which protects 91 million newborns from iodine deficiency disorders.
In Afghanistan in 2002, UNICEF conducted the largest education campaign in its history, making it possible for 4 million children to return to school, including more than one million girls.
In 2002, UNICEF supported programs in 58 countries — up from 30 countries in 2000 — to help parents avoid passing HIV/AIDS to their children.
UNICEF, the largest purchaser of mosquito nets in the world, spent $18 million in 2003 on nets and insecticides to combat malaria.
The appropriations provided by this Subcommittee to UNICEF's core resources have helped to make this kind of progress possible. The contributions to UNICEF's regular resources enable UNICEF to be well-positioned in the field to meet the health, education and protection needs of vulnerable children. This makes UNICEF an effective partner for initiatives with the U.S. Government, with other international partners, with non-governmental organizations and with the private sector.

The U.S. Government's voluntary contribution to UNICEF's regular or core resources supports the essential foundation of UNICEF's work and makes it possible for UNICEF to make a measurable impact on saving children's lives and improving the quality of those lives. The funding provided by this Subcommittee is joined by contributions from other donor nations that form the structure that sustains UNICEF's country programs around the world. It positions UNICEF to help the United States in international emergencies and humanitarian crises (such as the tsunami crisis), conflicts (such as in Iraq and Afghanistan), and emerging threats to the well-being of children.

The tsunami crisis in Asia reminded the American people of the value of UNICEF's work for children. And the American people have been generous in responding to UNICEF's appeal for help. To date, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF has received over $112 million in contributions for the tsunami relief.

The funding UNICEF has received allowed UNICEF's humanitarian relief work to begin immediately and to be sustained. UNICEF's response in the areas impacted by the tsunami has included:

Emergency immunization to prevent deadly childhood diseases;
Supply of clean, safe water and provision of basic sanitation;
Special feeding for malnourished children and pregnant women;
Care and counseling for traumatized children; and
Provision of education kits and rehabilitation of schools to ensure the return of children to school as soon as possible.
More than 600 UNICEF staff have been on the ground in affected countries, assisting the humanitarian relief effort and working with local authorities and community-based organizations. Survivors have received over 2,000 tons of UNICEF supplies. As a result of efforts supported by UNICEF:

Very few children in the affected areas have died from preventable disease — probably the most important indicator of an effective immediate response;
Up to 90 percent of children have returned to school, most within the first month;
Most vulnerable communities now have reliable systems for accessing clean water; and
Almost all separated or vulnerable children are receiving protection, such as shelter, food and clothing, family tracing, and psychosocial counseling.
But the work is not over. UNICEF is dedicated to the long-term recovery of the nations affected. It expects to spend a minimum of $300 million on this effort over the next three years. This longer-term work will include the restoration of schools, health centers, safe water systems and other essential services that keep children alive and well.

I recently returned from tsunami-ravaged Aceh Province, where I saw utter devastation. Miles of nothing where there once were homes, schools and communities. But that isn't all I saw. I also saw hope and resilience. I saw children learning in schools, whether those schools were tents, or camps or blankets by the beach. I saw computers that had been used to trace missing children being packed away, because most kids have been reunited with relatives or are being cared for in safe environments. And I saw surviving boys and girls returning for the first time to the water's edge, where they sang and danced and started finding their smiles again.

But maybe most important of all is what I didn't see — hundreds of thousands of children dying from water-borne disease due to the contamination of all water sources. I didn't see that because UNICEF and its partners responded to this emergency with speed and efficiency, providing clean, safe water to help prevent outbreaks of disease that could easily have doubled the number of deaths.

It should be emphasized that over one-third of UNICEF's global resources are generated in the private sector. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF works in the United States to help encourage private sector contributions. Our efforts are enhanced through partnerships with a variety of individuals, corporations, foundations and service organizations. UNICEF's innovative partnerships with organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Kiwanis International and Rotary International are examples that are known to this Subcommittee. In this regard, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports the funding requests submitted to the Subcommittee by the Vaccine Fund, Kiwanis International and Rotary International. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF also supports the requests for child survival and maternal health advocated by the U.S. Coalition for Child Survival and the Student Campaign for Child Survival.

American advocates of UNICEF's work for the world's children salute the bipartisan support this Subcommittee consistently has provided for child survival and for UNICEF. In view of the budgetary challenges faced by the Subcommittee, we encourage you to continue your historical leadership to ensure that children are a priority of U.S. international assistance programs. We believe that UNICEF is an indispensable partner of the United States on initiatives to save and to improve the lives of vulnerable children around the world.

The United States has secured the appointment of former Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to be the Executive Director of UNICEF. We look forward to her leadership. She deserves to undertake this responsibility with solid, undiminished support from the United States Government for the work of UNICEF.

We believe that now is the time for additional funding from the United States to strengthen UNICEF's capacity to meet the ongoing needs of children. Helping UNICEF truly extends the reach of the American people in assisting children everywhere. We respectfully ask the Subcommittee to provide $130 million for UNICEF's regular resources for Fiscal Year 2006

ClayAikenKids.com Opens

A new website for our younger Clay fans.
http://www.clayaikenkids.com/

CNN Comments on AI Voting

From the CB:
There was a story on the expose that ABC will do on AI, & they talk about the Paula, Corey affair & other things. Then they say that the voting might be rigged & mention that there was a lot of evidence of phone tampering in the Clay/ Ruben contest. This was the commentators words, not ABC, so I'm not sure if that will be included in the expose.

Clay might appear on Oprah in May

Oprah promotion makes Lincoln stop
By The Lincoln Journal Star

Oprah's Wildest Dreams bus made a stop Monday morning in Lincoln.

It wasn't Oprah Winfrey on the bus, but Clay Aiken, a 2003 American Idol runnerup, said Harpo Productions spokeswoman Carly Ubersox.

And the stop at Lincoln East High School was to make a dream come true for Britney and Bethany Wekesser, senior twins.

Ubersox would disclose no more about the visit Monday, but said the show will air some time in May.

Clay Aiken Fanclub Boards in Good Hands

Our very own CN has been nominated as a new fanclub board mod! Congrats!

From CN:
Yes, that is me. I had actually *thought* my SN was taken because I only registered halfway under ClayNation the day the club launched and then I had to close out the screen because I didn't have my CC handy! Then when I started over, it said that my SN was already taken. I thought that someone had taken it while I was getting my CC!!! . But I contacted support there and they fixed it for me. You can contact me by email if you need to, it is listed on my profile as well.The invitation to join the Fan club message board staff came as a really huge surprise for me, and to be honest, I had reservations. Serious reservations! But I thought about it and said, there's got to be a reason for this, and said yes, I will give it a shot.We're all new there, learning the ropes, but the three other co-mods there are really wonderful ladies and I'm grateful for this opportunity to work with them and help out any way I can.As for the concern about time commitment, we're all just figuring out how much time commitment is needed and what the pace is like. I suppose we'd add new staff if it is needed, but that is all up to the Fan Club administration.Thanks for all the support and confidence. It means more than you know! Love, CN

Clay Heads Back to Studio in May

American Idol’s Clay Aiken Added to
Champlain Valley Fair’s 2005 Concert Series
Reserved seats for pop singer go on sale April 28 at Flynn Ticket Outlets

Clay Aiken, “American Idol” star and “Prince of Positive Pop” music, will perform at the 2005 Champlain Valley Fair on the Coca Cola Grandstand stage Monday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m.

Since appearing on "Idol," the Charlotte, N.C., native has been capturing hearts worldwide with his wonderful voice and boy-next-door looks. The "Idol" runner-up's debut album, "Measure of a Man," was released in fall 2003 and quickly climbed to the top of the Billboard Top 200 charts. His 2004 album "Merry Christmas with Love," also did very well with sales, and he is returning to the studio in May to begin work on his next album.

The Aug. 29 concert, presented by WCAX-TV, is part of the 2005 Champlain Valley Fair Concert Series. Tickets go on sale for “An Evening with Clay Aiken,” at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 28 at all Flynn Ticket Outlets. Tickets are $37.50 and $33.50 plus applicable service charges. They are available by calling (802) 863-5966 or online at www.flynntix.org.

Aiken joins country superstars Alan Jackson (Aug. 27) and Tim McGraw (Sept. 4) on the Fair’s top-name concert entertainment schedule.