Raleigh Ice Cream Shop Donating 1st Day Sales to BAF

The newest ice cream shoppe in Raleigh announced that they are planning to donate all of their first day earnings to Clay's Bubel Aiken Foundation. The new Cold Stone Creamery opens November 5 at Poyner Place, a brand new shopping plaza in northeast Raleigh.

Will Clay be there?
By SAM LAGRONE, Staff Writer
The Raleigh News & Observer

It may be chilly when the new Cold Stone Creamery at Poyner Place opens, but the intention is heartwarming. On Nov. 5, the franchise will send all of its first-day sales to The Bubel/Aiken Foundation as part of its grand-opening celebration.

The organization, headed up by North Raleigh All-Star Clay Aiken, is dedicated to helping integrate children with developmental disabilities into mainstream life.

The cause is good, but odds that our North Raleigh idol will be in attendance are bad. Still, the Cold Stone crew has other fun stuff lined up for their opening, like DJs and balloons.

Poyner Place shopping center is near the intersection of Capital Boulevard and Interstate 540, behind Triangle Town Center.

The new location, near the Sumner Boulevard entrance into the shopping center, is the second in Raleigh, adding to the Alexander Place Promenade location.

First an ice rink, then batting cages and a skatepark -- and now go-karts.

The Factory, the Athey-plant-turned-fun-time-retail-center has opened a track for the zippy little buggies earlier this month.

Kelly and Dennis Hines, a Wake Forest couple are looking to expand their location to include video games and miniature golf.

The Factory Go-Karts are open daily off the intersection of U.S. 1 and U.S. 1A.

Also at The Factory is the Armadillo Grill, now open for burrito business. The new Wake Forest restaurant opened its doors the first of October, bringing its never-older-than-two-minutes tortilla guarantee.

It'll join The Village Deli in the outparcel fronting Main Street.

The location will be the chain's fourth. The Triangle chain also has stores in Raleigh's Glenwood South area, Carrboro and Durham. For more information, visit www.armadillogrill.com.

Goodwill Industries is making inroads to open a location in Alexander Place Promenade near the intersection of U.S. 70 and Interstate 540.

They've pulled deeds for the land. No word yet on when they'll break ground on the project.

So far Goodwill has five retail stores in North Raleigh and one in Wake Forest. For more information, visit www.goodwill.org.

Nationally the nonprofit has around 2,000 stores.

New Photo

StubHub.com, a concert ticket auctioneer has this unseen picture of Clay wearing a Gap turtleneck sweater.

Thanks to Clayboard members for the heads up!

Idolonfox.com Asks "Who has the most powerful singing voice?"

Time to vote for Clay!

If you think Clay has the most powerful voice, of the idols, go to idolonfox.com and cast your vote for him!

JBT 42nd Bestselling Concert Tour This Summer

Pollstar is reporting today that Clay's Jukebox Tour, where he covered songs from the past 50 decades was the 42nd bestselling concert tour, with an average gross of USD$165,719 and an average of 4,113 tickets sold for each of the 14 shows Pollstar tracked. The tour included 24 dates in the United States and one lone date in Canada. Congratulations Clay and the Jukebox Tour!

Clay's LA House Sold

Clay's former LA house has been sold for a reported $2.5 million, says the Los Angeles Times. Clay listed the house in March. Clay is now living in Raleigh.

A Picture To Make You Smile

iluvuclay of the CB has posted this cute picture from the Jukebox Tour this summer. Don't you just want to hug him?

Click to enlarge:

Claymates Gather Around iPod Video

Positive mention in this article about the new Apple iPod video from ComputerWorld.com.

The video iPod: Cool, yes, but...
By Ken Mingis
Oct 13 2005 - 1:02pm

I'm of two minds when it comes to Apple's latest must-have iPod. No doubt, it's going to be a hit -- but it's not something that I personally must have -- at least, not yet. Apple has basically taken the old iPod photo and added video capabilities, allowing you to download videos, film shorts and, of course, the latest episodes of several ABC network shows, including Lost and Desperate Housewives. But the problem, if it really is a problem, with video is that you have to actually watch it. It's not like music, which you can listen to while doing other things like, uhm, driving, walking or working out. Even music can be a bit of a distraction, depending on the task at hand. But try pumping iron while keeping an eye on the latest episode of Lost, and you're likely to wind up with a barbell across your throat.
In other words, I think it's cool hardware and I'll probably wander down to the nearest Apple Store next week to check out the new video iPod -- if there any left by the time I get there. For now I'll stick with my iPod mini. (Although the idea of being able to cram the newest iPod with my favorite home-made digital videos and using it to show them off on the nearest TV has some appeal. Of course, that requires buying the optional dock. But as a transport device for videos, it doesn't get much more handy than this.)
Having said that, I realized late yesterday that my own needs -- or lack thereof -- aren't really an indicator of how well the video iPod will do. The canary in the coal mine on this? My mom. Before I'd even gotten home from work, she'd passed on two e-mails from her fellow Clay Aiken fans about the video iPod. Faster than you can hum Solitaire, I pictured mom and her "Claymates" gathered around the little 2.5-inch screen bopping along to Clay's latest video. Mom may be a bit more mature than Apple's target demographic, but if she's already passing on e-mails about the new iPod, I can see where my Christmas shopping is likely to take me. And in that, I'm sure I'm not alone.

2 New Idol DVDs Out Nov. 22

Clay will be appearing on 2 new American Idol DVD's, both instores November 22. The discs, being released by Capital Entertainment are priced between $14 and $25 and include 'how the top 2's have changed' along with performances from all four seasons.

Buy the DVD's at Amazon.com.

Mention at Idolhabit

Clay was mentioned at the Idolhabit blog today. An excerpt appears below.

American Idol: Clay Aiken and The "Useless Celebrity" Mode
Clay Aiken, beloved by millions, is almost as famous with his fans for his bon mots as for his singing.

One of the pearls of wisdom to come out of Mr. Aiken's mouth was something along the lines of: whatever the vicissitudes of life after American Idol, he was dead-set against becoming just another "useless celebrity."

As we ponder what Clay might have meant by the term "useless celebrity," it's perhaps enlightening to look around at the most recent useless celebrity feuds.

High Praise from Music Exec

The CB's Kimmer44 posted this recap of a conversation she had with a record label executive about Clay:

I work at the front desk for 8 radio stations and I answered the phone today and a rep from a major record label (I can't say which one) but specializes in country music called. He asked for several people with our country station and once he had spoken with Program Directors and Producers, he started chatting with me and asked me what music I was listening to these days. I asked, "You mean personnaly?". He said "Yes". I was so excited to have a conversation about Clay that my pulse quickened and my heart started to race. I said "Clay Aiken" and waited for the response. He said, "Really...My wife just loves Clay.". He then asked me if I have seen him in concert and I said, "Well, just last year I saw him 11X and have seen him 2X this year. He chuckled and said, "Just a few, right? How is he in concert?" I said, "you can not ever fully aprreciate Clay without ever seeing him in concert." He wanted to know if he was touring now or any time soon, so I gave him the 411 on the JNTII. He then said that he had majored in music and voice and that Clay has a wonderful voice and has one the the best voices around. He also said that he was really glad that he has had such great success and that he really deserves it. I was on cloud nine that such high praise was coming from another record label (other than RCA).

I think this speaks volumns and we should all say a collective...."YES"

Make Your Own Clumpkins!

Diane Austin of Clay Aiken The Ideal Idol has a cute idea for this Halloween! What about a Clay'O'Lantern?

ClayMyMidlifeCrises has posted these profiles which you can print out to help you carve your very own Clay'O'Lantern!

Clammy Award Winner Announced

The 2005 Clammy awards have come to a close!

You can see the complete list of winners by clicking the appropriate link:
People's Choice, 2005 Clammy's.

2 Years Since Measure Of A Man

AD: Los Angeles

AD: Atlanta, GA

Clay in Entertainment Weekly Article

A few Clay mentions in this EW article about Comedy Central's new show, The Colbert Report. An excerpt is posted below:

Self-Examination
Fake journalist Stephen Colbert, star of a new Comedy Central spoof, ruminates on his Southern roots, his former colleague Jon Stewart, and even Clay Aiken

On Comedy Central's Daily Show spin-off, The Colbert Report (Monday-Thursday, starting Oct. 17 at 11:30 p.m.), newly promoted pundit Stephen Colbert will debate a worthy foe -- himself -- in a recurring segment called "Formidable Opponent." Entertainment Weekly asked the real Colbert to warm up by interviewing his comic equal, also himself. (Claymates, please e-mail him directly.) -- Mandi Bierly

STEPHEN (INTERVIEWER): How will you know if the show is a success?

STEPHEN (SUBJECT): Well, it's cable, so you can't measure success by ratings or personal income. But when the phone rings and it's Clay Aiken on the other end inviting me to sing ''The Little Drummer Boy'' with him on his Christmas special...then we'll know we've had an impact.

"How Many Claymates Are Needed To Change a Lightbulb?"

How Many Claymates Are Needed To Change a Lightbulb?
Clayboard Edition

The Clayboard's minisoda has posted this hilarious post, answering the question "How many group poster does it take to change the light bulb". If you recall, the CB had a similar discussion in 2003.

We thought it was cute, so we're bringing it over.

From the CB's minisoda:

I gotta say when I read this, I thought about the Clayboard. Mods, if I put this on the wrong sub-board, please move it accordingly! Thanks and enjoy!

How many group posters does it take to change a light bulb?

1 to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has
been changed

14 to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and
how the light bulb could have been changed differently

7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs

27 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about
changing light bulbs

53 to flame the spell checkers

41 to correct spelling/grammar flames

6 to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb" ...

another 6 to condemn those 6 as anal-retentive

2 industry professionals to inform the group that the proper
term is "lamp"

15 know-it-alls who claim *they* were in the industry, and
that "light bulb" is perfectly correct

156 to email the participant's ISPs complaining that they are
in violation of their "acceptable use policy"

109 to post that this group is not about light bulbs and to
please take this discussion to a lightbulb group

203 to demand that cross posting to hardware forum, off-topic forum, and lightbulb group about changing light bulbs be
stopped

111 to defend the posting to this group saying that we all use
light bulbs and therefore the posts *are* relevant to this group

306 to debate which method of changing light bulbs is
superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of
light bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are
faulty

27 to post URL's where one can see examples of different light bulbs

14 to post that the URL's were posted incorrectly and then
post the corrected URL's

3 to post about links they found from the URL's that are
relevant to this group which makes light bulbs relevant to
this group

33 to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety
including all headers and signatures, and add "Me too"

12 to post to the group that they will no longer post because
they cannot handle the light bulb controversy

19 to quote the "Me too's" to say "Me three"

4 to suggest that posters request the light bulb FAQ

44 to ask what is a "FAQ"

4 to say "didn't we go through this already a short time ago?"

143 to say "do a Google search on light bulbs before posting
questions about light bulbs"

1 forum lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from
now and start it all over again....

Here is the 2003 edition lightbulb post (author unknown, e-mail me if it's you)

How many Clay fans does it take to change a lightbulb?

1001...

1 to change the light bulb and post it to the group that the bulb has been changed.

14 to respond and share similar experiences.

7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs.

12 who claim that they wanted to change the light bulb, but couldn't get backroom passes.

24 to acclaim that this is the best performing light bulb, ever, in the history of light bulbs.

2 'fans' who claim that they really, really love the light bulb, but question the 'kind of light' that it puts out.

2 trolls who claim that they know the light bulb personally, and that the light bulb would be shocked if it saw what we were saying about it.

51 people to tell the trolls that if they don't like the light bulb, why on earth do they post on the light bulb thread?

2 to point out spelling errors and grammatical errors in postings about changing light bulbs.

3 to flame the spell-checkers.

11 to write reviews of how effective and efficient the light bulb changer was.

1 to inform the others about how if you hold the light bulb up to the light just right, you can see the filament.

29 people to offer advice on how to best photograph the light bulb and demanding to see a little more filament.

2 people who share that they go to sleep at night staring into the bulb's light.

4 creative people to create cute emoticons of the light bulb dancing, singing and 'stripping', etc.

6 people who fill up their post with 50 light bulb emoticons thudding to the floor.

26 who beg for the link to the video of the light bulb being changed.

87 people who want to see the light bulb put on the short, tight green tee-shirt.

93 people who want to see the light bulb rip the short, tight green tee-shirt off.

11 people counting the number of tugs, yanks and deep knee bends it took to change the light bulb.

15 to argue whether the light bulb should be 'soft white', a 'black lite', or the new GE 'Reveal' bulb.

10 people who want to see the light bulb run its fingers through its threads.

4 people to explain the best way to examine the shadow cast by the light bulb.

1 who screams,"OMG OMG OMG! What is that move??" everytime the light bulb flickers.

3 who swear that the light bulb winked at them! (and only them!)

11 who want to know what's going on between the light bulb and that socket.

9 who wonder what the light bulb meant when it said, "Ahm screwed!"

7 to ask moderators to lock the thread because of the 'Ahm screwed’ controversy.

56 who want to know when the light bulb will be allowed to dump the lampshade and shine on its own.

21 who speculate on how long the light bulb will last.

36 who speculate on how long the light bulb's filament will 'l a s t '.

43 who wonder if the light bulb hangs to the left or to the right.

1 to start a campaign to write RCA to let them know how to best handle our light bulb's (OLB) career.

2 people to keep us updated on the light bulb sales ranking on Amazon.com.

27 to post website addresses where one can read articles or see photos about the light bulb.

14 to complain that the website addresses are incorrect and post correct ones.

3 to post progress reports on the campaign to write RCA to let them know how to best handle our light bulb's career.

17 to hit the panic button when our light bulb (OLB) starts to drop in the "which do you prefer, incandescent, hallogen, flourescent, or candlelight, poll!

20 who post that they can't help crying every time they even see the lightbulb.

37 who say they liked the light bulb before it was changed.

37 who say the light bulb definitely 'glows' brighter after it was changed.

42 who tell everyone to stop being so hard on OLB, because it has had a very grueling few months and has given us its all.

12 "bumpers" bumping because the light bulb topic needs to stay on page 1.

1 who complains that there are too many threads on the subject of changing light bulbs.

44 to write to the administrator to complain about the light bulb discussion and its inappropriateness to the group.

118 to defend the relevance of the light bulb discussion.

11 to "leave the group forever" because they can't handle the
light bulb controversy .

1 to ask "What is the light bulb discussion all about-- did I miss something?"

New Studio Shot from Fashion Week

A new photo from last month's Fashion Week in New York has been posted by AOL.

This photo was taken backstage at the Kenneth Cole fashion show which Clay attended September 9 at Bryant Park in New York City.

Click to enlage.

Invisible a "Stalker" song?

Seacoastonline.com music editor Heather Mackenzie says Invisible might be a good 'stalker' song.

Stalker songs - the perfect way to show you care
By Heather Mackenzie
singleontheseacoast@yahoo.com
Single on the Seacoast Archive

There are dozens of ways of telling someone that you LIKE-like them. You can buy them a drink, or dinner. You can send them flowers, or write them a love letter. You can stand outside their window with a boom box over your head that's blaring "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. Or you can make them a little CD with songs handpicked to show how much you care. Personally, I wouldn't choose songs like, "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker, or "I Will Always Love You," by Whitney Houston. No-I'd take another route.
Stalker songs.

I'm tempted to add Clay Aiken's "Invisible." I've never actually heard the song, but its lyrics include, "If I was invisible/ Then I could just watch you in your room/ If I was invisible/ I'd make you mine tonight," and that's too creepy, even for me. Besides, isn't it supposed to be, "If I were invisible"? Doesn't he have a copy editor?

Get Stuck With Clay (In An Elevator) Is Cool

Elle magazine published its annual 'cool list' today and Clay made the list as the coolest person to get stuck in an elevator with.

THE COOL KIDS
According to the "second annual cool survey" published in the November issue of Ellegirl magazine, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson are the coolest couple (even though they're rumored to be splitting), Marc Jacobs is the coolest designer, an iPod is the coolest thing you could ever buy, grandparents are the coolest old people (the runner-up was Axl Rose) and Clay Aiken was voted the coolest person to be stuck with in an elevator.

Autographed LTS and TV Guide Being Auctioned Off

A signed copy of Clay's New York Times bestselling memoirm, Learning to Sing is being auctioned off by the Rock 'n' Roll Relief Auction benefiting Katrina victims.

Rock 'n' Roll Relief Auction Underway
Bid on signed guitars and more to help hurricane victims.
By Krista Desens

LOS ANGELES, CA Thursday Oct.13.2005 /netmusiccountdown.com/ -- Here's a chance to help hurricane victims and score some excellent rock memorabilia at the same time.

Now through October 31st, you can bid on autographed guitars, posters and other cool stuff as part of the Rock 'n' Roll Relief Auction

Virgin Megastores has joined with cMarket.com to hold this online fundraising event to benefit victims of the recent hurricane disasters.

Among the items currently up for auction are an autographed Simple Plan poster, an autographed Sean Paul poster, a promotional display signed by the members of the band Cold, a t-shirt and poster autographed by Dolly Parton, and a Bon Jovi autographed guitar. There are also signed items from Brian Wilson, Keith Urban, Aerosmith, Clay Aiken, Everything But the Girl, Switchfoot, Institute and more.

It's also a good idea to check the Rock 'n' Roll Relief Auction site every day because new items will be added and featured everyday.

Some of the hottest items up for auction will be on display at various Virgin Megastores around the country, so feel free to stop by and check them out.

All proceeds from the Rock 'n' Roll Relief Auction go to the Red Cross. For more information or to place a bid, visit www.rocknrollreliefauction.cmarket.com.

In an unrelated auction, a signed copy of Clay's July 2005 Cover TV Guide is also being auctioned off by Step Up, "nonprofit dedicated to strengthening resources for women & girls."

Clay on Canadian TV Show "E-Talk Daily"

Clay's interview with Canadian Television (CTV) while on tour in Toronto in August (finally) aired today on CTV's flagship entertainment program, E-Talk Daily.

The reporter talked about how Measure Of A Man exceeded all expecations in terms of sales and how Clay was the idol, even though he 'lost', saying "He went from nobody to hot body". Clay said "Three years ago, not one girl was screaming my name... it's surreal". E-Talk also talked to Clay about the new album, noting it will have a nice "Canadian flair", with Victoria, BC's Jaymes Foster-Levy as producer. When asked about whether he was ever embarrased on stage, Clay said "it's still to come".

Video is available at ATCA.

Andy Abad, New Music Director

Andy Abad will be the new music director for Clay's Joyful Noise Tour 2005, as Clay reported to fanclub members in his weekly blog. S'Von Ringo was Clay's musical director for the past 3 solo tours.

From the CB:

I was so happy to see Clay's new blog and wish Andy and his family all the best with their new addition!

However, I did read that Andy is now the musical director. I wonder what has happened to Savon :( Is he no longer with Clay, maybe this change is just for JNT 2005??

If anyone knows this info, please post-do not speculate.
If this has already been posted, sorry to repeat-mod, you may delete.

Clay #10 at Pollstar

Clay jumped up 11 spots to #10 at Pollstar (concert listing website). Clay dropped to #36 at Lycos. Please keep searching for Clay at Pollstar and Lycos!

Mention in AI5 Article

Clay and Kelly were mentioned in an article about the upcoming season of American Idol. An abridged version appears below.

'IDOL' WORSHIPPERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Auditions take place in Las Vegas for upcoming season

Wannabe stars with their blankets and pillows from as far off as Florida gathered within this hallway of dreams as early as 11:30 p.m.

"If they were called back again, they would audition before the show's judges Wednesday to win a chance to star in the series that made Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken pop radio regulars."

Katrina UNICEF PSA's

Clay has recorded a UNICEF public service announcement for Hurricane Katrina, as part of his role as a UNICEF ambassador. Clay is also working on this year's Trick or Treat campaign.

The CB's MariaLuvsClay reports:

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet already, but here goes.
I was listening to my local radio station in Toms River, NJ - WOBM.
Right after the news at 2:00, I hear "Hi, this is Clay Aiken for UNICEF."

I couldn't beleive my ears. I don't remember everything that he spoke about, but he encouraged all listening to donate to help those touched by Hurricane Katrina.
The message was approximately one minute long. It was great to hear him!

Merry Christmas With Love Doing Well @ Amazon

Merry Christmas With Love jumped up to the 800's yesterday on Amazon.com. The CD was 're-released' for this holiday season and have been sighted in stores again. Target is currently offering the disc for $9.99, as we reported on Saturday.

Sexy Geeks!

People Magazine Online has a new photo gallery of sexy geeks. Our Clay was on of them! Other sexy geeks included Adam Brody (of FOX's The O.C.), Chris Martin (of Coldplay), Jon Stewart (of The Daily Show) and Zach Braff (of NBC's Scrubs)

PhotoSpecial
CLAY AIKEN, 26
Why he's geeky: The 2003 American Idol runner-up may be a chart-topping superstar, but he describes himself thus: "Was a nerd. Am a nerd. Will be a nerd. Forever."
Why he's sexy: His big heart (he co-founded the Bubel/Aiken Foundation to help disabled children) has won Aiken legions of devoted fans, a.k.a. Claymates. "Women want to take care of me like I'm a little boy," he says. "They want to tuck me in."

AD: Bubel Aiken Foundation

2 for the price of 1 ;)

Merry Christmas With Love Instores Again

The same version of Merry Christmas With Love has been 're-released' to stores for this holiday season. Target currently onsale for US $9.99.

Article About Claymate's Funcenters

A nice write up was posted by the Temple hospital about Clayfan's recent efforts to buy hospital fun centers (containing a Sharp AQUOS Liquid Crystal Television, Nintendo GameCube and DVD player). The Temple Hospital (located in Philidelphia) received its fun center in August.

LTS 2004's #2 Bestselling Music Memoir

We got a fantastic update today from the Clackhouse's Goood Baby Brush about sales of Clay's book, Learning to Sing, Hearing the Music In Your Life. The paperback version hits selves November 29.

LTS Update

Got some interesting numbers and info from LPB today.

Bookscan has released it lists of bestselling titles for 2004. Clay was #2 in his category (Biographies: Music).

To date, Clay has sold 91,575 books in sales recorded via Booksales.

Just for those keeping score at home (although it's long since reached the sad stage), Simon and Randy have sold 36,736 and 4,674 to date, respectively.

We also have the first sales numbers in for Fantasia's biography, released on 9/30.

Most books go on sale on Tuesdays; Fantasia went on sale on Thursday, so her numbers can't be considered a full week of sales. Regardless, her first week bookscan sales for LIFE IS NOT A FAIRY TALE were 1,574.

For perspective we can compare these numbers to two other Music bios out right now, Wynona Judd and 50 Cent. This is Winona's first week of sales as well. She sold 8,232 and will be #10 on the NYT List. Of course, she also had an appearance on Oprah 10/25. 50 Cent sold 5,741 his first week, just over 4,000 his 2nd week.

These numbers really underscore just how well Clay's bio did last year. His first week sales were 21,146; 2nd week were 9k+ and 3rd week 8,483.

I actually think those of us who pushed so hard for first week sales for him can take a little bit of ownership of how well it did. The internet fandom may be too small to really effect CD sales or even ticket sales, but we are definitely large enough to have an impact on book sales. Everyone who begged, pleaded, lectured, reminded, cajoled, harrangued, etc. for the importance of first week sales (and you know who you are) had a hand in those 21,146 sales. The 21,000 in sales put him at #2 on NYT and at the top of all the major bookseller lists, enough to get him great in-store visibility (and great sales) for the next few weeks.

So, is it too early to talk about the paperback rollover going on sale November 29, 2005? *g*

Asian Earthquake

Support Clay's Organization - UNICEF.

"A day after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake killed about 22,000 people in northern Pakistan and India, government officials pleaded Sunday for international assistance to help dig survivors from the rubble, take them to hospitals and begin repairing the country's shattered infrastructure." -CNN

DONATE NOW

Transcript of Interview With WireImages @ LK Event

A transcript of Clay's interview with Wireimages at last week's Larry King event held in LA (view pictures) has been made available.

From the CH:

I tried to transcribe the Wireimage interview as best as I could. He speaks so fast!

In rehearsal for Christmas tour, my Christmas tour goes out early this year in November and so we're in the middle of getting ready for that. It's kind of an annual thing for us, my favorite thing to do all year long so umm, rehearsals for that are pretty hectic right now and we're also in talks and trying to figure out exactly what we're gonna do on the next album and when we're gonna put it out.

Interviewer:How do think you've changed in the last few years if you've changed at all (except having more $$ in the bank account)?
Clay:I dress a little better. Umm, I don't really know exactly, I mean I'd like to think that I didn't change too much. I think your surroundings can change you if you let them change you and I kind of don't want that happening to me so I'm actually movin' back to North Carolina so I can get out of this whole (motions to surroundings)

All stuff we already knew...lol

Clay on AI Christmas 'Reunion' Show?

The Clayboard's ashtash24 reports that Clay may be part of an American Idol Chirsmas reunion type show, featuring previous Idol winners and runner-ups. Let us stress that this is a rumor, so please treat it as a rumor until it is confirmed.

From the CB:

Let me preface this by saying that I am a big Anthony Fedorov fan and he had a live chat with his fans on Friday. I wasn't able to be a part of it, but he mentioned a possible christmas special in the works. Someone else posted on AFC that Con mentioned a christmas special with the AI4 folks and past idols. Here is what she said:

****In a recent radio interview my sister heard online, Con said that since AI4 was such a fan favorite, Fox may be putting together for some kind of reunion show for it later on this year. I guess kinda like the AI2 tour special, but they'll actually get these guys together again. But then
he also said if they don't do that, there'll be a Christmas Special with himself, Carrie, Bo, Clay, Kelly, Fantasia, etc. the usuals. *****

Anybody heard anything about this? Any Con fans on here that can confirm he said that?

Ash

AngerCounty.com Editors Declare "Clay is the best vocal talent of this generation"

In an article about Ashlee Simpson's lipsynching on last year's Saturday Night Live, editors at AngerCounty.com, a country music site, offers high praises for our Clay.

Abridged version of the article and reade responses:

Saturday Night... Live? Ashlee Simpson: Take Two
Ashlee Simpson "performs" on Saturday Night Live again tonight, almost a year after she was caught lip-synching on that same show. Fans and viewers were outraged by the taped vocals and spoke out loudly on Ms. Simpson's site, and here at AngryCountry. While we wait to see what gimmick she pulls to try and prove she's really singing this time, we take a look back at her not so 'Live" performance and the reaction from those who saw it:

Saturday Night Live was not as "Live" as people expected last night. Musical Guest Ashlee Simpson poorly lip-synched her first song, and then a technical glitch or mistake led to the wrong vocal track being played for her second performance proving her fraud as she stood there confused while her recorded voice filled the airwaves . Simpson's band picked up the slack, attempting to save the show as Ashlee walked off the stage. Just a minute in (on a musical segment usually four or more minutes long) SNL pulled the plug, cutting quickly to a commercial.

Although she'd initially blamed her band, Ashlee Simpson took full responsibility Sunday for her lip-synching snafu on "Saturday Night Live," saying that her voice was ragged from too much work.

Reader Response
The Ashlee Simpson fiasco on SNL was inexcusable...but her "excuse" was the best...the band started playing the wrong song!!!! Ummm, didn't they rehearse 2 songs? I have no respect for "artists" that are successful because of studio recording enhancements and cannot perform live... Now....have you been to a Clay Aiken performance? The kid is better live than on any of his recordings. How many others can stake that claim? Gloria

Editor's Response to Gloria: Yes, I have seen Clay Aiken perform in concert and I agree completely. Clay is easily the best Pop vocal talent of his generation.