Tidbits 12/3

• ROTFL!!!! Ever wonder what Clay would be like as an elf? Check this out and get ready to laugh (he's such a cute little elf too!).
  
• Last night's Merrillville concert was another success! It was Clay's third concert in Merrillville. Recaps, video/photo links are now up in our Christmas tour blog.
  
• We have some more Christmas tour mentions:
• Reality Reel
• Fayetteville Observer- nice compliment for Clay... "Who’s North Carolina’s favorite son? Some of you might think it’s Clay Aiken. But before he made it big, it was James Taylor, the singer with the smooth voice."
• Denver Post - NFL'er Troy Aikman still getting confused with Clay Aiken.
• Minneapolis - St. Paul Star Tribune, Utica Od- Kelly Ripa/Clay.
• New York Daily News publishes a letter from a reader regarding Kelly Ripa... I wholeheartedly agree with this one!

  Kelly Ripa was rude and arrogant to Clay Aiken during the whole show. Clay was trying to be humorous and playful, and Kelly just didn't get it. She never let Clay (or anyone else, for that matter) get a word in edgewise during the Emmitt Smith interview. When Regis Philbin is not there, her mouth and her attitude run amok. It's always all about Kelly. A few weeks ago, she pitched a fit when a caller said she doesn't watch the show when Regis isn't there. Methinks Ripa is not as sweet as she wants everyone to believe. Her claws are starting to show. Regis may be the king of TV, but Kelly Ripa certainly never will be queen.
  

• According to the latest issue of Us Weekly, Rosie O'Donnell called Clay to apologize for her rather awkward assessment of the "hand over mouth" incident. According to Us, Rosie said she "felt a need" to apologize to Clay.
• The CB's giftoflove4Clay says the USA Network in New York state is running many ads for Clay's Christmas West Point, NY concert:

  Been watching the all day running of the 5th season of Law and Order on the USA Network - Channel 30 on Time Warner Cable in NY. They have been running an awsome commercial about Clay's appearance at West Point. Commercial and concert sponsored by WHUD and a Honda Dealership in NJ I believe. Forgot the name of the Honda dealer in the commercial I got so excited seeing them show Clay singing different songs from different TV appearances (Christmas songs). This is a really nice commercial and it has run no less than 6 times since noon! It was just on again.

• Chexxxy's - pictures speak better than words. A belated Tyra Banks post.
• Southern Girl on Clay's beautiful encore performance of "All Is Well" last night:

  To understand a part of what made tonight's encore so special, you have to know what took place LAST night, the first night of what some Clay fans are affectionately calling the "Joyful Not-A-Tour" tour. Clay had just blogged the night before, and one of the things he said was that unlike in past Christmas tours, he was going into this one with no rehearsals. Not to mention, it has been a year since his last tour, so it was understandable that his voice sounded a wee bit tight in a couple of places, but those were minor quibbles when he sound so amazing all the rest of the time.
  
  Until it came to the encore. This year, Clay's encore is the title track of his Walmart-exclusive Christmas EP, "All is Well." It's a beautiful song by Michael W. Smith. I've loved it for a long time before Clay recorded it; our church's Christmas production features it sometimes. The final note of the song is one made for Clay Aiken's voice -- it's one of those he leans back and lets fly, when he sustains a note so long you wonder when he's going to come up for air. Fans call it a "glory note," and glorious they usually are.

• The ConCLAYve - why Clay Aiken, Claymates and concerts are such a special thing:

  I'm talking about the Clay Nation. There's probably nothing else the Clay Nation loves more than concerts. Clay Aiken thrives on stage. We come together as family with friends old and new from all over the world just to watch this man perform. I went to a concert last summer in New Hampshire and at the pre-concert dinner there were people there from the US, Canada, the UK and New Zealand. We share rides, hotel rooms and food as we gather to hear the voice.

• There Was A Man - more thoughts on the "Joyful Not A Tour"
  

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