shadylil's 2005 Year-In-Review

The Clayboard's shadylil posted this fantastic recap of Clay in 2005.

2005: The Year in Review
Well, Happy 2006 to you, too, Clay!

Each year, your internet fans follow you around, we attend your concerts, we watch you on TV, we download your appearances, we make audio, videos and montages, we talk about you on the message boards and over our dinner tables. In other words, Clay, you're a good time. But we'd be remiss if we didn't do our year-end review of all things Clay Aiken in 2005.

The year started off with us not knowing when we'd see you again. Frankly, we were panicking. The Great Nap of '05 looked as if it might become reality. However, you managed to pop up here and there, now and again, and we got to feed our addiction.

You looked gorgeous and rested on the Rose Bowl Float on New Year's Day, not too much hair product, just Natural!Clay! at your best. Who would have thought that a disaster in Southeast Asia would have brought you, and us, to a greater understanding of the world? After the Tsunami, we saw you on an NBC Tsunami Relief Fund Drive, on Larry King Live raising awareness, doing a PSA for the Cartoon Network singing, Give a Little Bit. You were in the Downtown Raleigh Development Video. Yes, quite a few of us either got our hands on it or else we downloaded it from the internet. Hey, it's Clack! Yeah, you know our words.

In February, you got to play Kenny, a character on 'Scrubs' who talked about leaky cows, meatloaf hair, sang a new song for us, won the contest, yet eventually got fired. For one of your first acting gigs, you did good, Clay, really good. You then appeared on Kimmel, which we always appreciate because you and he work well together. You got mentions on all the major entertainment shows throughout January and February, and you capped off the winter months with a Gala Benefit in Hawaii for 'Voices for Change' and as a guest speaker at the Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities.

We didn't see much of you in March and we were missing you. A lot. But you were off saving the world, or at least bring awareness to a part of it that, for a lot of us, just wasn't in our thoughts. You went to Banda Aceh as an Ambassador for UNICEF to see first hand how our dollars were being spent in the aftermath of one of the worst natural disasters the world had seen. While there, you saw sights that you probably never imagined you would see. We can't imagine how that affected you or what your feelings were while there, but we're sure that it was not an easy trip for you. Thank you for going, and for bringing back awareness on how our dollars were spent.

We didn't see a lot of you in April or May, either. You flew under our radar when you gave Congressional Testimony to increase the 'U.S. Government's voluntary contribution to UNICEF for the next fiscal year before the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations in the United States House of Representatives'. Good for you, Clay. This is, what? your second visit to Capital Hill testifying before Congress? Good job, Clay, good job. You surprised some lucky fans by helping their 'Wildest Dreams' come true on Oprah and gave us a stunning rendition of I Will Carry You. You were kind of busy on April 16th, planting trees with the Best Buddy program, then as the keynote speaker at the Fearless Caregiver Conference in Fort Lauderdale, and capping the day at the Florida Voices for Change Gala Benefit.

You appeared on a segment of The Dr. Phil Show talking about bullies and you attended American Idol as an audience member.

By this time, we were really missing seeing you on a pretty much constant basis, however, the message board part of the "Official Clay Aiken Fanclub" opened and an amalgamation of your fans, from all parts of the internet started to gather there. What an interesting experience that board is. You got your angel-wingers, your smutters, the positive police, the negative nellies, the analytical, the cheerleaders, the comics and many, many, many posters in-between. We had to learn how to get along with each other. Was it instantaneous? Heck, no! In fact, we're still learning how to get along, but evidently, this is the way you want your board to be and we appreciate that. We appreciate the openness of the board, we appreciate that it doesn't have to be all sweetness and light, that we are free to have our own opinions whether or not those opinions are flattering to you. And the blogs. You remember them, the weekly blogs? Well, we didn't quite get them weekly, but we've noticed a change in how you communicate with your internet fans. It happened over the summer but we feel that you seem to be more comfortable with us now, talking to us as friends instead of this faceless, nameless mass that screams for you during your concerts.

Then we found out in May that you went to Uganda for UNICEF. Most of us can't imagine the horrors that those families are living through over there. And it's not something new, it's been happening for 18 years! You saw it up close and personal. Again, we can't imagine how that's affected you, but once again, thank you for bringing awareness of this horrific situation to those of us who were unaware.

June found you as one of the narrators on the Discovery Channel's The Greatest American and the end of the month launched the Official debut of the Fanclub. About the fanclub, Clay. Can we talk? There are several areas that need your attention, at least according to a majority of your internet fans. First, you really need a biography and discography. If someone who is unfamiliar with you clicks on the website, where can they go to learn about you? Second, you need to add some video and audio. It's been six months and we don't have any yet. We'd love to get some 'behind the scenes' video of the 2005 tours. And the contests, OK, contest, are a little, shall we say, lacking? Maybe that's a bit rough, but a lot of us think that you'd rather hear the truth from us then have things couched in flattering words. And we won't mention the shipping problems and lack of committed, caring customer service from Clique because it seems to be taken care of, kind of. Let's hope, for all our sakes, that it continues to flow smoothly. We don't want you to think that all we do is complain, we LOVE the chance to get good tickets through the pre-sales and we hope that in the future, the seats will be even better. We love the Meet & Greets, well that is, when they work. It seems like TeamClay listened when some fans spoke and since then, the M&G's seem to run much more smoothly. Thank you for that.

What's this we see that happened in July? You have a new gig as a delivery man for Amazon? No, you just surprised a lucky fan by personally delivering her purchase of 'Learning to Sing'. We should all be so lucky. Heh. You were on the cover of TV Guide and that certainly generated a lot of controversy in the fandom, especially the 'rotting insides' comment. You ended the month by appearing on GMA Summer Concert Series, debuting a wonderful new song, 'Back for More', and covering The King's 'Suspicious Minds'. That was a wonderful appearance, Clay.

OK, let's discuss 'The Nap'. While you were certainly busy doing everything, we kind of felt that we didn't see enough of you. At least, nothing substantial except for a few appearances. It seemed the rest was just a mention here, a mention there, nothing that we could sink our teeth into. Well, unbeknownst to us, you were putting together one of your most ambitious Tours ever, The Jukebox Tour. Opening day, Toms River, NJ. We had no clue what to expect except that it was going to be a 'review' of music of the decades from the 50's through the present. Honestly? A lot of us were praying that we wouldn't be in the middle of a cheese-fest.

Well, if that was cheese, then give us some crackers to go along with it! You burst that fallacy when you emerged as Fonzie with your 'pink ladies' on your arm and slammed that Jukebox into submission. From the opening notes of 'Twistin' the Night Away' to the last Jukebox slam, you had us in the palm of your hand. That 50's set and the seque into the Elvis set, set the tone for an evening of entertainment that appealed to all ages. We got rock and roll, we got ballads, we got hits, we got Pips, we got Dancing!Clay!, we got four new songs. What a wonderful, wonderful tour that was, Clay. It's almost funny that on most of your Tours, one song seems to stand out. When Doves Cry, I Survived You, Solitaire, Good News. During The Jukebox Tour, I Can't Make You Love Me was your stand-out song. As the Tour progressed, your interpretation of this song became deeper and more meaningful and we found ourselves looking forward to it each evening.

August saw you making your way across the country, well, OK, you made your way across ClayLand with no Tour stops in the west. A lot of us were very upset by the fact that we didn't get a pop concert for almost two years. That hurt, Clay. We know that you've said that you have no control over where the Tours are booked, but maybe, in the future, they can be spread across the country a little more evenly.

September was a very interesting month for us, Clay. You appeared on Larry King Live and told us how to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, you appeared in the front row of Kenneth Cole's fashion show and showed us how to dress. What did you think of those models, especially the one wearing the see-through top? Your appearance on All My Children was aired and you appeared on The Insider, covering the Emmy's. You looked great at the Emmy's and several Desparate Housewives apparently thought so, too. Joan Rivers must have been smoking something to say that you were one of the worst-dressed there. Or else she was jealous that she'd never look as good as you did that night. Some of the fans loved your Insider appearances, but a lot of us hated it. We thought it was beneath you. Just being honest, Clay. Those of us who loved it thought that maybe, down the road, there would be some kind of pay-off, or tit-for-tat. Others thought that maybe it was a big audition piece to The-Powers-That-Be to show them that you can handle hosting gigs. Heck, we knew that.

September also brought us your first Monday Night Football appearance! Hee! We loved it! That was just so cool. You and Kimmel really work well together. Um, can we talk about the Clothes Off Our Backs auction? $27,000.00? $27,000.00????? Wow, Just wow. Remember three years ago when no one was paying for your autograph? Didn't someone once buy your old car for a lot more than it was worth if you signed the dashboard? Everything just keeps getting bigger and better, doesn't it?

October did not bring us very many Clay sightings. You did a terrific interview on KTLA Morning News that we got to download, you also participated on Washington Post Live On-line chat. Well, you chatted, we listened. You encouraged us to Trick or Treat for UNICEF. You were also in rehersals for your Christmas tour. In November, Learning to Sing was released in paperback form.

November and December brought us the Joyful Noise 2005 Tour and it swept across the country, all of it, this time. You managed to throw out a few hints that it would be different this year. Too bad the theaters were still advertising it as a concert with a 30 piece orchestra, and, in some cases, not even a Christmas tour. However, as promised, you opened the Tour in Vancouver to generally good, but mixed responses from us, with some not liking the show at all, some liking the singing, but not the vignettes, and others liking every thing about it. All of us agreed that the VOX was spectacular. Some were perplexed that James Foster Levy-or-not thought she had to post an 'explanation' telling us what the show was about. The people in the theater in Vancouver got it, but some of us, watching the downloads, didn't. Maybe that's why she posted, we don't know, but the show stood on its own. There was some drama when Jacob left/was let go, but you, Quiana, Angela and the rest of the Troupe pulled through. That incident, as hard as it was for you all, gave us the poignant and beautiful Emmanuel. Gregory got sick, we heard rumors about his health, you took us to task for speculating, but we can honestly say that we were worried about a kid who stole our hearts. If that crossed a line, we apologize, but it was out of genuine concern for him. Then came Raleigh. You singing to your 'Papa' was both heart-wrenching and uplifting. You gave us the gift of Beautiful Star of Bethlehem at the same time you gifted your 'Papa' with the bluegrass that he's always wanted you to sing. There are a lot of us in this fandom who have grandparents, parents, or loved ones with Alzheimers, Clay. What you did for your 'Papa' was beautiful and his response was wonderful. We sincerely hope that he enjoyed this concert because we sure did.

You appeared on several TV shows in December, giving us Dear Santa and your two beautiful GMA performances of Mary, Did You Know and My Grown-up Christmas List. What a gift that last song was, Clay. You slowed it down and made us really feel the power of the lyrics. That's one of your greatest strengths as an artist, the way you have of connecting with the lyrics of a song and conveying the feeling and meaning of those lyrics to your audience.

In looking ahead to 2006, all we can really see is the release of your sophomore album. March, April, September, maybe never? Who the heck knows? We're not getting a lot of information out of TeamClay, at least not yet. Some of us think we'll never see another CD, but most of us are waiting patiently, knowing that it will come out, we hope, within the first six months of the year. We have no clue as to what will be on it, but most of us hope we'll get some kick-@#%$ rocking songs, some ballads, a few acoustical numbers, maybe some R&B, heck, Clay, we want it all. After all, you can sing it all and we want to hear it.

In the coming year, Clay, we wish you good health, much success, and love.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make (Lennon/McCartney)

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