To see the full calendar, go to CDD's page at Google Calendar:
A full list of upcoming events is also available at the CDD Claytracker.
Note: CDD does not necessarily endorse or subscribe to the editorial opinions of these websites/blogs.
The Way/Solitaire, Clay's 2004 CD Single is now listed as 'unavailable' on Amazon.com. RCA Records, produced only a limited number of these disks, as with most CD Singles and therefore it is unlikely Amazon will restock.
Bridal website RomanticHeadlines.com has posted an MP3 of a pre-Idol Clay Aiken singing 'Me and You' at a wedding. You can stream it/download it from their website. (look on the left hand side).
The quality is suprisingly good and the songs runs for about 4 minutes.
The Raleigh News & Observer's real estate insert had a profile of Faye and her old business - a few mentions of Clay and a few photos of Clay's old house (which he recently sold) in LA. Thanks to sharmardo for the scans!
From the CB's ThuddingInRaleigh:
I am behind in reading my newspapers and am reading Friday's newspaper this morning. In yesterday's Cary Real Estate Section of the Raleigh News & Observer, there was an article about businesses in Cary. Here's the Section about Faye:Parker ExclusivesAlthough Faye Parker reached celebrity status a few years ago as the mom of American Idol star Clay Aiken, her clients for years put her on a pedestal due to her talent as an interior designer. Owner and operator of Parker Exclusives, she moved into the Sorrell's building in 1994, and specializes in custom window treatments, bed coverings and color coordination. Originally, Parker wanted to establish her business in North Raleigh.
"I worked from my home from 1991 when I left retail until I decided I needed a place to actually go to work every day," says Parker. "I knew Mr. Sorrell had at a one time leased his place to a decorator so I approached him for some advice. We walked, and he made me an offer I could not refuse. It has been a good relationship and decision to work in a place with one stop decorating where we can bring business to each other."And Parker has done just that. In 2004, when Aiken asked her to decorate his home in Chatsworth, Calif., Parker asked two other Sorrell's tenants to help. Marty Hartwell, owner of Floor Coverings International, fashioned custommade area rugs for Aiken, and Gene Jackson, owner of Floral Accents and Interiors, designed all the centerpieces. Aiken has since sold the California home, but plans to use many of the same pieces in his new Raleigh home.
........the article goes on but no other mentions of Clay.....
however, there is a picture of a beautiful dining room set, with the following caption underneath: "In decorating her son's California home, Faye Parker started with the colors that he requested."I don't have a scanner, sorry. But, guess what color the dining room set is (assuming it is Clay's set they are showing in the photo).......
We now have semi-official word that American Idol 2 will return in syndication late this year or early next year. On Jan. 7, 19 Entertainment announced that only season 4 would return in syndication on the FOX Reality TV channel.
In a press release, Tribune Entertainment said it has struck a deal with Idol producers 19 and FreMantleTV to commence broadcasting Season 1 of Idol starting Sept. 2006, renamed as 'American Idol Rewind'.
The new 'Idol Rewind' will air on Tribune and Sinclair Entertainment TV stations.
Neil Sedeka, co-writer of Solitaire mentioned Clay's 'marvelous' rendition of the song in an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
He mentioned his "Solitaire," a 2004 song sung by "that marvelous young artist Clay Aiken."
CDD's roving reporter Romy wrote this editorial review of the book "From Second Place to the Top of the Charts", published in 2004.
CLAY'S DAILY DOUBLE REVIEW -- From Second Place to the Top of the Charts
by Kathleen Tracy
Published by Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2004
Amazon Price - $12.95
For fans who feel they know all there is to know about Clay Aiken,
this book may seem to be superfluous and old news because it was
published in 2004. Unless these fans have read the book, there is
still much to learn about this young singer.
Ms Tracy had been writing about entertainment for twenty years and has
twenty books to her credit. Of these, several are biographies of
celebrities. With this knowledge and access to interviews, articles
and facts, she has written a comprehensive book about Clay Aiken up
until he reached the top of the charts
As is usual, she starts with his early life, writing dispassionately
about his father's abuse of his mother and rejection of his young son.
More family rejection occurs when Clay decides to discard his original
surname and take up his mother's maiden name. The bullying, which Clay
describes in his inspirational memoir, "Learning to Sing," is also
mentioned but not elaborated on.
Clay's choice of career, special education, is told with interesting
and amusing anecdotes of his attending college, working at various
places, the Y, schools, and finally meeting the Bubel family. His
relationship with Mike Bubel and his parents became an integral part
of his life and led Clay into the start of his musical career and later
into his philanthropy.
The author's writing style is clear, smooth and objective, but she
manages to inject interest into the American Idol events. Even though,
most people know the outcome, she manages to make it a tale of
intrigue and suspense. She has access to research material that fills
in a lot of details and information to the progress of Clay's story.
The narration is loaded with quotes and Ms Tracy, in a subtle and
understated way, weaves the source of the quote into the sentence.
The book with 16 pages of colorful illustrations ends with the Clay's
college graduation, the creation of the Bubel-Aiken Foundation and his
first tour with Kelly Clarkson. Interesting facts about Clay, his
discography, television appearances, and lists of American Idol 2
songs finish the book of 160 pages. This book could be a necessary
part of Clay Aiken memorabilia, and the perfect gift for a relative or
friend who is curious about the most famous second-place winner.
Soap Opera Weekly reports in this week's issue (dated Jan. 31), on newsstands now, that Clay and some of his friends visited the set of Guiding Light.
From the CH's wyldflower:
ok, I am sorry if this was already posted but I was so excited to see it, I just gotta hurry and post it...
Since I made a vow not to buy the tabloids anymore, I just picked up the new Soap Opera weekly. I figured that was safe to buy, and Thursday is my "spend some me time to just read something fun" evening . Well, I opened it up and on the first page is Clay!!! At first I thought it was him with the guy he knows from AI/One life to live but nope. It was Clay/Quiana on the set of Guiding light!!! There is a pic with Clay and Quiana in the middle, surrounded by (charecter names) Tammy, Jonathon, Reva and Josh. it says:
Pop star Clay Aiken and his friend and backup singer Quiana Parler, a big Guiding Light fan, toured Springfield with a little help from Stephanie Gatschet (tammy), Tom Pelphrey (jonathon), Kim Zimmer (reva), and Robert Newman (Josh). "We had just finished shooting on the set and it was the end of the day", explained Gatschet. "We were getting ready to leave and I looked over and there's Clay Aiken. It turned out he was there showing two of his friends around. It was funny because we're all fans of his but he was there with his friend, who is a fan of ours. It was surreal. Clay, himself, was taking pictures of us with his friend!
I thought it was really cute!!!
Paula Abdul came to the defence of Clay this morning on AI host Ryan Seacrest's LA radio show on KIIS FM. Clay came to Paula's defence last spring when Paula was facing the Corey Clark affair scandal.
From the CB's looptyloop:
I was in the car this morning and KIIS FM On Air with Ryan Seacrest was on. Ryan had Paula call in and they talked about this and that regarding last night’s premiere of AI. During the conversation Ryan brought up one of what he called the most unprofessional moments in Simon Cowell's career to date. (Now I don't pretend to know Ryan but I did speak with him quite a bit during our OARS stint. I know he teases about his rivalry with Simon etc. but he sounded genuinely upset while sharing this...)
Ryan talked to Paula about this and that and then he proceeded to talk to Paula about the day that she and Simon got into it during the auditioning this summer for AI5. Apparently Simon got up, walked out, and he drove straight to the airport. It was in the middle of a production day and he just hopped on a plane and flew "home". (Which home is anyone's guess). Ryan was indignant about how this left the crew and contestants in a pickle. He said all of these people were there for work and they had all flown into whatever city this took place in, took time away from their families, etc. only to have Simon walk out. It got interesting when the reason for Simon's tirade came to light.
Ryan asked Paula what that was about....Paula said it was classic Simon; he was being a colossal jerk to a contestant. Apparently a girl was auditioning...at the end of her audition Simon said, "I suppose it was ok as long as I keep my eyes closed!" I guess the girl was mortified and Paula trying to comfort her said, "Don't listen to him honey that isn't anything he didn't say to Clay Aiken and LOOK AT HIM NOW! Look how good he is doing, don't listen to him!" As Paula tells it Simon got irate and basically denied ever saying that to Clay. Paula was like "Simon....YOU DID SAY IT!" I guess Simon got really mad and said, "Paula, YOU WEREN'T EVEN THERE THE DAY CLAY AUDITIONED!" (Me talking here, but like that even matters...she would have seen it on TV ) Anyway, Paula said, "You are right Simon I wasn't there that day in Atlanta when Clay auditioned because I was sick, BUT you said it to him at least 3 or 4 other times." And Simon got so angry and denied it apparently, according to the way they are telling it, and he got up and left the CITY!!!
Could it be that Mr. Cowell doesn't want anyone to remember how mean he was to Clay now that Clay has done so well and the man he so clearly backed is placed so far over on the "winners" backdrops for the AI auditioning you can't even make out his elbow???
Well, anyway Ryan was mad and said he couldn't believe that Simon could deny ever saying that when Paula called him out on it....Ryan was like, he so treated Clay that way! etc. It was an interesting interview hearing how they were fighting over what Simon said to Clay etc. Apparently it will be airing in an upcoming episode of AI in the next weeks.
Just thought I would let you all in on it in case none of you have heard or read about it.
During a radio interview this morning, David Coury, a vocal coach on American Idol said he was 'blown away' by Clay's voice.
From the CH via the Clay Aiken fanclub:
This morning, the radio station I listen to (K-EARTH in LA), had a guy on named David Coury, and they said he was a vocal coach on American Idol. (I thought Debra Byrd was the AI vocal coach.) This guy was very knowledgeable about the show and the various contestants going back to Season 1. He indicated that he not only helped many of them with their singing technique, but also worked with them on handling their fear of performing in front of hundreds in the studio audience, and millions who are watching on TV. He said the first thing he tells them is to embrace their fear. He tells them that absolutely nobody is fearless, and he encourages them to acknowledge that their fear exists, and to apply that nervous energy into their performance, which will help make it the best it can be. According to him, once they understand and accept that it's okay to be afraid, and realize every one of their competitors is feeling the same way, it's the first step to no longer being overwhelmed by it.
He was quite interesting, but I'll be honest...one of the reasons I liked him is because he seemed to really like Clay. *g* When the DJ was talking with him about working with the contestants on AI, he said something about there being a handful of them who were obviously great singers from the get go, and he mentioned Kelly, Bo and Carrie. David quickly jumped in with "and Clay Aiken" and the DJ then said, "yes, of course, Clay Aiken." Later in the conversation, the DJ asked him what some of his favorite moments are from all the various seasons, and he said "Well, right off the bat, Clay Aiken. He came into the audition with a so-so complexion, thick glasses, and awful hair...then he opened his mouth and blew everyone away." The only other person he talked about was Kelly. He said she was incredible, and then the DJ mentioned that she is becoming more of a rocker chick now and David said "Yes, I know, and I'm a bit concerned about what she's doing to her voice. If she keeps singing like she has been lately, she's going to have some serious problems in a few years." Then he said "Kelly, if you're listening...call me."
There is a small Clay photo in this year's People yearbook, now available at newsstands everywhere.
From the CB's ScooterOKC:
The latest People Yearbook has a small mention of Clay and his UNICEF trips on page 112, with a picture of him playing/dancing with some of the children from Indonesia.
If you have tried to access clack site Measure Of A Fan today, you may have noticed it was hacked.
1/20 update: MOAF will return soon.
An About.com poll wants to know who your Idol. Clay currently leads the poll with 73% of the vote.
This new recap of Clay's visit to Bausch Gardens Adventure Park last month was posted at the CH.
Hey folks! I'm finally back home after two cross-country trips and having started a new semester. This past weekend, I visited my friend the Busch Gardens PR person and got the skinny on Clay's visit to the park. I also got to ride the rollercoaster on which Clay is pictured in the publicity photos (Sheikra) -- amazing! Don't miss it if you like coasters and are in the Tampa area. The group photo of Clay and his group and my friend is still on the way. The photo department is apparently swamped right now and since it wasn't going to be released to the press, cleaning it up is at the bottom of their to-do list. Ah, well. I'll still post it whenever I get it. Sad to say, everything else that wasn't used for publicity was dumped, as it's all digital.
Anyway…below is the story of how events unfolded; how Clay ended up at the park, and some of my friend's impressions of him and his group. There shouldn't be anything that would compromise his safety or security, but if there's any question, Mods, please feel free to edit.
So apparently, my friend didn't know that Clay was coming until about 24 hours before he arrived. Jerome called the day before to say that Clay was in town for a concert and loved coasters, and wanted to bring a group to the park. According to my friend, the park allows celebrities to be comped admission and food for up to 6 people in exchange for some arranged publicity photos and permission to send them to all of the standard national and local media. The next day, which happened to fall before the first REH show (anyone remember when our CH meers were there?), Clay shows up in a van with a group of 10, including himself. My friend and her team greeted them, but informed them that they would still need to buy 4 more tickets. So she and Clay went over to guest services to buy the needed tickets. He pulls out his credit card to pay and the tickets start to print, but suddenly, right between the printing of the 3rd and 4th tickets, the computer craps out and they aren't able to print the 4th ticket. My friend, who has a totally wicked, snarky sense of humor, says to Clay, "So, problems with your credit card, eh?" To which he replied a defensive but good humored, "No!" Clay left himself as the one without the ticket, so instead, they got someone to come over and stamp his hand (like they do for guests who leave and come back the same day) so that he could get through the entrance without the bar-coded ticket.
So they went through the day riding the coasters, going on each of the big ones several times and having a blast. Later on, they went on the Serengeti Safari through the 65-acre open wilderness section of the park, where they keep giraffes, addaxes (like antelopes), ostriches, maribou storks, bongos, and other animals. The guides pack buckets of food for the guests to feed the animals along the way. The way it works is that you get on the back of a big open truck, and you drive through the wilderness area for about 30 minutes. The first stop is the giraffes, and this was where the park had arranged to do one of the publicity shots. Normally, you're only supposed to feed the giraffes with leaves out of your hand, following the lead of the guides. Although giraffes are gentle and don't bite, you want to keep your head away from theirs because if they swing their head around and you get in the way, you'll get clocked with about 100 lbs. of force. Anyway, just as they were getting ready to take the shot, Clay gets all cutesy and sticks the leaf in his mouth. The shot turned out perfect, but this was not what he was supposed to do.
While on the Serengeti Safari, Clay was in serious teacher mode with Gregory, asking him about the animals and giving him information to remember as well.
At some point during the day, they stopped for lunch at the Smokehouse -- an incredible barbecue place in the park (y'all gotta try this one). My friend couldn't remember what Clay ate, only that there was no mention made of his allergies. She sat and ate with Danny, as she and he were the only two vegetarians. One funny thing was that Jerome insisted on ordering two sampler platters for himself -- a mountainous plate of barbecued chicken, ribs, brisket, and fries -- thinking that one wouldn't be enough. The park people tried to talk him out of it, but he was determined. Turns out he was barely able to finish one and passed the other plate around amongst the rest of the group.
Another funny anecdote -- Clay walked around the park that day "disguised" in his bucket hat and managed to go almost completely unnoticed and completely unbothered. He had to take it off, though, in order to ride the coasters. Although my friend didn't ride the coasters with him, she did accompany him up to the platform and met him when he got off. Getting on Sheikra, he took the hat off and fluffed up his hair into his usual spikes. When he got off, the spikes had all been blown back. She commented to him, "Looks like your hair had as much fun as you did!" which gave him a chuckle.
Anyway, they ended up having a great day at the park. The following day, my friend got another call from Jerome to thank her and her main PR associate for their hospitality and offered them a pair of tickets to the show. Since neither was really a fan and had other stuff planned for that evening, they turned them down. At the very end, Jerome mentioned that Clay had gone on the internet after the show the previous night and absolutely couldn't believe that the pics from that day had already made it to the boards. My friend had to laugh, since she knew exactly who was responsible for that. Hee.
Random impressions and other stuff:
As mentioned before, Clay and his people were incredibly nice and down-to-earth. They did keep amongst themselves, however. (Though it's SOP to accompany the celebs around the park but really kind of keep back, Clay and his people didn't really try to make much conversation with their guides.) My friend ended up talking to Danny the most.
My friend thought that Allison was actually Clay's mom because she introduced herself as "Mom". Weird.
My friend had forgotten what Clay's speaking voice sounded like, and had to stifle a laugh the first time he opened his mouth.
Clay sings to himself when not conversing with others, all the time.
According to my friend, he's very, very freckly, has nice skin, and is super-skinny. But we all knew that :) . Didn't notice his feet. Didn't have much to say about his eyes, handshake, or other aspects of his appearance.
My friend did mention to Clay that her best friend (me) was a huge fan. He acted appreciative.
So a great time was had by all, and I think my friend may be willing at some point to come with me to a Clay concert if he returns to the Tampa area. BTW, even if I had known in advance, there's no way I would ever have been allowed to join the group of PR folks as they led him around. But hearing the stories has been fun and I thank my friend for being willing to share. Hope you all enjoyed it, too.
The Orange County Register posted this article about American Idol and its alumnis.
'American Idol' time
By PETER LARSEN
The Orange County Register
Clay Aiken
His fans are so obsessive that if he started pouring cups of Kool-Aid, they'd gulp it down, no questions asked.
Celeb Meter: He might have been No. 2 on the show, but the mad love of his fans sold 2.6 million copies of his debut, "The Measure of a Man" - more than winner Ruben Studdard sold of his, so take that, Velvet Teddy Bear! A hit Christmas record followed, as did appearances on all manner of TV programs - guest reporter at the Emmys, for instance, for "The Insider" - and a new CD is expected this year.
The Crystal Ball: As we were saying, his fans - the Claymates - are D-E-V-O-T-E-D! So he's pretty much guaranteed to stay a Squeaky Clean Idol. Thirty years from now we predict he'll be on TV every Christmas, hosting a variety show in a cardigan sweater, the way Andy Williams used to do.
Random Trivia: Clay says that among his other talents, "I can turn both of my feet around backwards."
Courtesy the Orange County Register
Clay's new blog is up for fanclub members! It's his first 'weekly blog' since December.
Click here to navigate to the Official Fanclub.
In an interview with Reality News Online, American Idol co-Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe said this, in response to a question about vote tallies being released.
I don't think so. We do at the end of each of series, it is released, but not during the week. If you knew, for instance, that Clay Aiken was so far ahead every week, it would be a waste of time watching.This has been one of the most candid admissions from the Idol producers that Clay beat out every other contestant back in the 2003 season of Idol.
Amazon.com posted two new songbooks featuring music by Clay. CDD's Clayscience21 noticed the new additions this morning.
WB The New Popular Hits Collection Easy Piano Level 3-4 (featuring Invisible and 8th World Wonder among other songs)
WB 2004 Pop Top Radio Spins (featuring Invisible, Breakaway, and 8th World Wonder among other songs)
AOL posted a cute poll today on it's American Idol section.
Q: Who's your favorite 'Idol' winner?
-Kelly Clarkson
-Ruben Studdard
-Fantasia Barrino
-Carrie Underwood
-None, I'm still upset Clay Aiken lost!
More of the American Idol mentions. AI returns tonight on FOX at 8.
We've got a crush of Clay mentions in American Idol articles. The new seasons starts tomorrow night on FOX.
DJ John at KCFO-AM, who is a Clayfan and is a Clayboard member under the screenname Mejon played 'Good News' at 6 PM last night on the station, as the 'surprise' he promised us earlier this week.
It looks like American Idol 4 contestant Constatine Mouroulis is turning into a Claymate... sory of. This is his second positive reference of Clay. Earlier this week, he said Clay was one of the best talents to come out of AI.
From the CH:
Quick mention of Clay today on Good Day LA. AI4 contestant Constantine Mourolis was on promoting a local appearance and talk naturally turned to AI. Jillian chimed in that she doesn't think of any of them as winners or losers because so many of them are out there working on their careers. "Look at Clay Aiken, he didn't win." Constantine responded, "Yeah, he's doing great."
Since news has been a little slow in coming this week, we thought we'd post this cool story from the CB's Luvclay26.
Hey all.
I guess we are still in the throes of the recess of 2006. Anyhow, I just wanted to share a quick story.
When I was leaving KC for the last time the other day, it was sad as is. I left behind friends and memories of that part of my life. KUDL had been a part of my life for the past 3 years as well. I remember from the first time I heard them to when the first time we got them to play Clay.
Anyway, as I was pulling up to the airport with my oneway ticket in hand, I was listening to KUDL. Suddenly, "Invisible" comes on the radio. So, the last song I heard in KC on KUDL was that song.
Now that was the way to close the KC chapter of my life...
I just wanted to share.
LUV
The Clayboard's banner contest voting is now open to all Clayboard members. An overwhelming 58 entries were received since the call went out last week.
Click here for more info.
Clay is mentioned in the new issue of STAR weekly, dated Jan. 23. Scan courtesy angelcat4jc. It reads:
It's hard to believe that superstars like Kelly Clarkson, 23, and Clay Aiken, 27 were once geeky looking, untrained wannabes who somehow gathered their guts to audition for American Idol.
Is Eric Martin Jr. the next Clay Aiken? Eric, 18, a student from Grand Junction, Mich., (right) has the dorky look down. But it'll take more than a plaid tie on a plaid shirt to match the pipes of season two runner-up Clay whose first album, Measure of a Man, debuted at No. 1 and went platinum.
A new article mainly about AI was published today by the St. Petersburg Time's Sean Daly. ("Turns out the show is really the 'Idol'"). The article was promised to us last week, when Daly was looking for a 'diehard' Clay/AI fan to interview. In the end, Daly found and interviewed the CB's Martigyrl and therefore the article contains a few references to the Clayboard. Clay's success and the rivalry between Clay and Kelly fans are also mentioned.
