Tidbits 2/18

WELCOME HOME BRETT!
We were delighted to hear last night that Clay's brother Brett Parker made it home safely after his tour of duty with the U.S. Marines in Iraq!

• Kane County Daily Herald - AI6 contestant Leslie Hunt vying for Idol crown ... "On the line is a chance to enter the next round of competition and possibly join the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken in the ranks of pop stardom."
• The DePaulia -what's wrong with American Idol:

  These days, "American Idol" (or "Karaoke Superstars," as I like to call it) has vocalists sing obnoxious pop songs that everyone knows they didn’t write. It is impossible to deny that singers like Clay Aiken or Carrie Underwood have impressive voices, but to put them on par with real songwriters or musicians would be ludicrous. Not only do the winners of the show hit it big, runners-up have been topping the charts as well.

• The Flint Journal - In an article about one of the Top 24 American Idol finalists, it says, "But winning isn't everything. Viewer favorites such as Clay Aiken and Chris Daughtry,...have enjoyed success greater than the people who beat them."
• Daily Herald - Yet another American Idol article says, "On the line is a chance to enter the next round of competition and possibly join the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken in the ranks of pop stardom."
• The Naperville Sun - And another AI article says, "At this point in the competition, the group of semifinalists can forge an identity for themselves and help spring a music career even if they aren't the winner - such as former contestants Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler and Clay Aiken."
• Blogcritics - article about rock band ABBA mentions Clay ... "This actually caused me to squirm in a way not at all unlike that of a teenage girl at a Clay Aiken (or back then, Shaun Cassidy) concert."
  

• Southern Girl - Britney Spears shaves her head and enters rehab, Clay sings a love song to Jimmy Kimmel... uh, no comment on the first one from us here at CDD :) ...
• A few blogs about Clay's surprise appearance with Steven Curtis Chapman last week...
  
• Southern Girl
• ClaySpots