Raleigh Chronicle Article Speak Highly of Clay's Fans

A great article in the online Raleigh Chronicle has many wonderful things to say about Clay's fans. We hope our friends over at the Chronicle don't mind us quoting their entire article:

Clay Aiken Fans Generating Giant Buzz Online About New Album
By Elliott West, News Editor
Tuesday, August 29, 2006

RALEIGH -- The buzz on the Internet about the debut of Clay Aiken's new album seems to have hit a fever pitch as fan websites, group chat rooms, and music websites count down the days to the release of his third album entitled "A Thousand Different Ways" on September 15th.

This newspaper experienced the power of Clay's fans online a story last Friday on the Raleigh Chronicle newspaper's website about Clay Aiken tallied more readers than any other story that week, says the newspaper management.

The Raleigh Chronicle newspaper is a locally owned media outlet that serves the Raleigh area where Clay has a very strong fan base. Clay Aiken calls Raleigh, North Carolina his hometown and the star has moved back to the area after living in California and his Raleigh fan club is planning on hosting a big CD release party as well.

"Based on the traffic we saw just on that simple story about his album release, the fan base for Clay Aiken must be absolutely incredible," said the editorial management of the Raleigh Chronicle. "We even received e-mails from fans of Clay in Raleigh thanking us for the article, which in our business is always appreciated."

Online Fan Clubs

Raleigh's most famous resident has fans around the world and there seem to be an almost unlimited number of websites online that are dedicated to following Clay's music career. Fans seem to be meeting in cyberspace, easily connected by a common interest in Clay via the Internet.

In addition to Clay's official websites at
clayaiken.com and clayonline.com, unofficial fan websites have very active fan groups that chat online and share news about their favorite recording artist.

One of those is ClaytonAiken.com, which calls itself the "official unofficial" clay aiken fan site. The website has very active message boards including the "ClayBoard" where fans discuss and post items about Clay Aiken such as TV appearances, news items, photos, and even poems.

Another popular website seen online is the site known as ClayAikenTheIdealIdol.com, which is updated daily with Clay Aiken news. Like many other fan websites, that website has a countdown clock to the day that Aiken's album is being released.

The website also has many photos of Clay Aiken, including some from his charity work and trips to Africa as a UNICEF (United Nation's Children's Fund) ambassador. In addition, there are many fan montages that were made as tributes to Aiken.

Other big fan websites include ClayManiacs.com, which has a large amount of information including up to the minute posts from fans about Clay.

"Clay Aiken rules! He's the best! I've already preordered and will be out on the 19th for several more CD's!!! His voice is the best!!! A devoted Claymate!" said one fan at the websites' "ShoutBox" section.

In addition, Clay Aiken fan groups such as the
"ClayDream Believers" in the groups sections on Microsoft's MSN. Clay's fans in groups on Yahoo have a strong presence as well.

One of the most popular video websites these days is called You Tube at youtube.com. A quick search at the video site reveals a whopping 1,565 video clips about Clay Aiken posted by fans on the website.

In addition, Clay's MySpace webpage has been visited nonstop over the last few days. In addition to adding 7,500+ friends to his MySpace friend's list, his website has played online versions of his songs on the new album over 360,000 times. Those numbers will probably go up as it gets nearer to the launch date for his new album.

Local Fan Site

As expected, Clay Aiken has a big following here in Raleigh, his hometown. A local fan club called the Raleigh Clay Fans group has set up a website to celebrate their favorite hometown here at
raleighclayfans.com.

The group plans to have a CD launch party on September 18th from 7:30pm to 12:30am.

The event will be held at the Wake County Shrine Club on 6015 Lead Mine Road in Raleigh (near the Crabtree Valley Mall). According to the website, the cost per attendee will be $20, pre-paid. The group says it will have a buffet from 7:30pm until 11:00pm as well as door prizes and live entertainment.

Fans outside of Raleigh can also check to see if there is a Clay Aiken CD launch party in their state or city at a website called ClayAikenCDParties.com that was set up especially for that purpose.

Clay On TV

In addition to the Internet, fans can also find Clay on TV in early September.

Clay is scheduled to make a series of appearances on television including one on September 15th on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC, on September 19th on Good Morning America to perform live on ABC, and on September 26th on the Jimmy Kimmel Live late show on ABC.

Whether fans catch Clay Aiken on the Internet, on television, or simply listen to his music, it is evident that even though almost two years has passed since he released an album, there is still a giant buzz surrounding the American Idol star as he gets ready to reward patient fans with his new album.

As one fan wrote in an e-mail about Clay to the Raleigh Chronicle, "he has made such a difference in many people's lives" and it seems that Aiken fans have a special place in their hearts for their favorite singer from Raleigh. :::

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