Tidbits 2/21

The CB's 1inNebraska4Clay has re-written her 2006 photo essay called "Clay Changes" ... make sure you head over to the CB to check out a revised 2007 version... very nice!

• Let's begin with another dose of AI related articles...
• Blogcritics - Chris Sleigh the Clay Aiken of AI6? "I think that, similar to how he felt about Clay Aiken years ago, Simon knows that the guy can sing, but he sure as hell doesn't fit the American Idol mold."
• Blogcritics -

  Regardless of whether one of my front-runners wins the title or not, I agree with Nigel. During our teleconference he said, "I think this is going to be a great season where there isn’t a Kelly Pickler, a Carrie Underwood, or a Clay Aiken, that you know is going to really steal everybody’s votes."

• Beacon News - "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."
• Foxes on Idol panel critiques last night's performances on Idol:

  Tyler: I've heard a lot of people compare Rudy to Clay Aiken, and they said the same about Top 24 reject Patrick Hall. Much like Patrick, Rudy had a good, yet problematic first performance. His cheesy dancing, cheesier demeanor, and uber-cheesy rendition of a classic rock song compromised the impressive vocals. Along with performing so early in the show, he could also share Patrick's fate. Vocals: 20. Performance: 8. Other: 4. TOTAL: 32.
  
  Kathy: While I agree the song choice was kinda cheesy and dated, I did like Rudy’s voice. He’s very strong in his upper register and has a Steve Perry-like sound. I’d like to see him tackle a Journey ballad in the future (“Faithfully”, perhaps?). He seemed comfortable and confident, but if he wants to move on, he needs to lose the Clay Aiken facial expressions.
  

• Yesterday's sports article from ABC is now being carried by ESPN (also owned partly by Disney).
• Smoky Mountain News on Clay's acting debut, 16 years ago:

  While directing a production of “1776” about 16 years ago, Mann found himself frustrated trying to position an actor on stage who didn’t seem to be interested in his role. The actor turned out to be none other than American Idol sensation Clay Aiken.

• This is probably more interesting to us here at CDD and our fellow blogger... Webweaver offers some tips on using the new version of Blogger.
• Idle Wandering - there's no beating Clay when it comes to "I Could Not Ask For More" ...

  Tonight on American Idol some guy named Phil sang "I Could Not Ask for More." Not a good idea, unless you can sing it better than Clay did. Simon said Phil's performance didn't match up to someone who had sung it previously, and bit his tongue before the words "Clay Aiken" came out of his mouth.

• Too Much - shopping with Clay over the loudspeaker.