Tidbits 12/21

• AP wire - Donald Trump wages 'war' against Rosie O'Donnell after the Kelly/Clay 'scandal'
  

  Walters publicly acted as a peacemaker in November after O'Donnell accused Ripa of homophobia for a remark she made about Clay Aiken. Walters noted the next day that O'Donnell and Ripa had talked "and all is well with the world."

• Variety - Taylor Hicks' sales fail to match Clay's MOAM sales -

  While results may vary from one "Idol" to another, the most astonishing fall may belong to Clay Aiken. In 2003, his debut "Measure of a Man" sold 613,000 copies in its first week; his second non-holiday disc, "A Thousand Different Ways," has yet to top 500,000 in the 2½ months it has been up for sale.

• National Post -Nelly Furtado does a Clay Aiken - "Like Aiken, like Furtado? While American choir-boy Clay is all set to do a spot on Days of our Lives next week, our very own Nelly just signed up to suds it on One Life to Live in the new year!"
• Times Dispatch - DOOL mention.
  
• USA Today blogs - another Taylor Hicks article mentions MOAM's record breaking first week sales.
• Baseball Toaster - more Hicks/Clay... "It won him enough votes from the Clay Aiken audience to win the show, but it makes him a really lame rock star."
  
• Charlotte Creative Loafing - pre-concert article for Clay's Charlotte concert. There's also a small mention of Clay's concert in their events calendar.
  

  If you're unfamiliar with the milquetoast vocal stylings of Clay Aiken, then I envy the sound-proofed cave you've been living in for the past three years. Even those über-hip underground music aficionados who successfully manage to immerse themselves in artists who are destined for a career in lawn care cannot have entirely avoided the crooning of the UNCC and American Idol alum. If you have dodged Aiken's rise to fame then count your blessings or the cash in your wallet -- Aiken performs with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra for a Christmas Concert on Dec. 22nd at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.
  
  Criticism of Aiken is nothing new. In fact, it seems part and parcel of success that comes as part of being associated with American Idol. Had Aiken merely relied on his boyish charm and Eisenhower-era musical aesthetics to propel him to the top of the charts, he might still be the curiously androgynous Special Education teacher in Charlotte or Raleigh that he set out to be.

• Charlotte Observer- another small Christmas concert mention - event calendar.
  
• More Ripa/Clay:
• The Record
• iVillage - most annoying catfight of the year - Clay/Kelly.
• Palm Beach Post
• E! News
  
• NC Times - commonly played Christmas songs on radio include Clay Aiken.
  
• E! News - Clay Aiken still champ of first week Idol sales - "Clay Aiken is still the champ. Although he finished second to Studdard in season two, Aiken's Measure of Man topped the charts in its first week, moving a whopping 613,000 copies."
• What an awesome mention in today's Charleston Post Courier -

  Worst song: "SexyBack," Justin Timberlake, Jive: Not because it's a bad song. No, sir. In fact, I dance to this delicious track at church every Sunday. What bothers me about this song is that JTim is taking credit for something he didn't do. Anybody with an IQ over 40 knows Clay Aiken brought "Sexy Back" like three years ago.

• Rochester Democrat & Chronicle calls JBT the worst concert ever... yeah... whatever.
• WJZ - best friends attend Clay Aiken concert.

• Nothing yet.
  

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, ATDW, All Is Well, Merry Christmas With Love, Invisible