Tidbits 4/17

• LAist - American Idol looking for most marketable star?

  Which is fine because the sad truth is someone like LaKisha Jones is ten times the singer as someone like Clay Aiken, but even if she won, do you think Idol would promote her as a champ the same way they promoted Clay as a loser? Don't hold your breath. How much have you seen Reuben or Fantasia lately?

• Express - Clay visits Afghanistan - "CLAY AIKEN, JEDI MASTER? The force appears strong in the young pop star as he visits Afghanistan."
• Celeb Cause - another nice mention of Clay's visit to Afghanistan ...

  Clay Aiken is asking for our help. As an ambassador for UNICEF, it is his goal to fundraise $100,000 by April 22nd. Here is an email he sent out to his fan club asking for their contribution for the children of Afghanistan.

• A few summer tour mentions:
• Philadelphia Inquirer - article #1 - "American Idol hero Clay Aiken plays two nights later (also with the Mann Orchestra)"
• Philadelphia Inquirer - article #2 - "'American Idol' fave Clay Aiken (July 17) will sing in the park this season."
• 15Rounds.com - random Clay mention in this boxing article - "He’s the star, and title or not he could still make money if he was fighting Clay Aiken."
• Hesperia Star - no need to win Idol to be successful - "Conversely, Season Two runner-up Clay Aiken has sold $4.5 million, which is almost double the sales amount for winner Ruben Studdard. "
• Reality TV World - not that we endorse this, but a former AI2 contestant is making a sex video of herself.... uh... no comment - "Four of the "Wild Card" performers -- including eventual first runner-up Clay Aiken -- subsequently advanced to the season's Top 12, however Mojica was not one of them."
• Star Pulse - Kimberley Locke to release new album ... "she became the only female amongst two other southerners, Clay Aiken and eventual winner Ruben Studdard."
  

• There Was A Man - Clay making a difference for UNICEF in Afghanistan
• ClaySpots - Clay's UNICEF Fieldnotes
• Ramblings of Three Friends - another Afghanistan visit blog -
  

  Not only is Clay the co-founder of the Bubel Aiken Foundation, he is Unicef's Ambassador of Education for Children Worldwide. He visited Indonesia shortly after the deadly tsunami of 2004, travelled to war-torn Uganda in 2005, and most recently, spent a week touring schools in Afghanistan. Upon his return, he announced the Afghanistan Appeal: $100,000 in 10 days campaign.