Tidbits 5/17

"The way you have our tour on your calendar, it looks like you are doing me on those dates! This is a family show! Watch yourself!!"

-Clay's comment on Quiana's MySpace page... gotta love the man's humor!

• A few Clay mentions in reactions to last night's AI6 shocker which saw Melinda Doolittle eliminated:
• The View - Clay was mentioned on ABC's The View this morning where the discussion was about how Idol runner-ups can find success, like Clay Aiken. Download the cap @ SendSpace.
  
• Tulsa World - " This isn't a eulogy for her career, of course. It's just the beginning -- just ask Chris Daughtry and Clay Aiken."
  
• Blogcritics -

  I suppose I can look at this in a positive manner. Melinda won't be forced to sing the inevitably crappy finale song and produce the inevitably bland debut album. She'll still be tied to the soul-sucking Idol machine, but not as much if she had won. And many non-winners have done rather well. I'd say that Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, and Clay Aiken aren't complaining about their lives, and not even Elliott Yamin, who came in third place last year.

• LiveDaily -

  Judge Paula Abdul added, "You already have made it," which could certainly be the case, judging by the success of former "American Idol" viewer-rejects like Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and Clay Aiken.

• Blogger News Network -

  There were several contestants that were nearly equal but I saw one that clearly stood out from the rest, namely Melinda Doolittle. I enjoy her music and will place her first album in my library on the shelf next to Clay Aiken’s.

• Sun Herald -

  I won't say America was robbed (like I would've said about Ruben Studdard beating out Kimberly Locke to be in the top two with Clay Aiken or like America was robbed when Elliott Yamin went home instead of Taylor Hicks last season) by sending home Tennessee native Melinda Doolittle, but it was a stunner.

• Eye on Gambling
• AOL News Bloggers with some American Idol related commentary -

  But the more startling changes happen season-to-season. We all remember Clay Aiken emerging from behind at last year's finale, looking like k.d. lang, to greet his desperate doppelganger, Michael Sandecki (aka Clay Faiken), while both sang "Don't Let The Sun Shine Down On Me." Sandecki became crazed. I wasn't sure if he was going to kiss Clay - or try to stab him. It was a terrifying "Single White Idol" moment. Luckily the robotic Ryan efficiently straitjacketed Sandecki and Clay was safe. (While being carted off afterward, Sandecki was heard pining, "I've always depended on the kindness of Seacrest.")
  
  But Clay's transformation has been eclipsed by two others this year: Kellie Pickler's astonishing new jugs. And Elliott Yamin's new teeth, aka The White Cliffs of Dover.

• MLive - uh... American Idol cologne? "Clay Aiken is now asking himself, why did I go through all that nonsense when I could have just worn this fragrance?"
  
• Akron Beacon Journal - Clive Davis preventing Idol alums from achieving success? "Clive Davis, is exactly the kind of bland try-to-please-everybody pablum that has stalled the momentum of a few AI contestants (Clay Aiken's cover album, anyone?). "
  
• Mentions of the summer tour -
• Jewish Exponent - "Other stars of note include jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; Clay Aiken of "American Idol" fame; Motown star Smokey Robinson; Lyle Lovett; and a 1960s band revue."
• Atlanta Daily World -

  Although the future of Clay Aiken, the American Idol runner-up on was extremely unpredictable, he surprised skeptics and burst onto the music scene with transcendently powerful voice. An unlikely pop star, Aiken has remained steadfast in his desire to remain true to the simple values he learned as a child in Raleigh, North Carolina. His authenticity matched by an unconventional sincerity has earned Aiken millions of fans. With a rigorous 20-city tour on the books for this summer, get ready Clay-Mates, Aiken's show at Classic Chastain with the award-winning ASO is going to be a big one!

• LA City Beat
• The HUB - AI5 contestant Elliott Yamin following in the footsteps of previous runner-ups: "Yamin, who just released a self-titled debut CD and is launching a 25-city headlining tour this week, hopes to follow in the footsteps of Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler and Bo Bice, who all have parlayed finishes in at least the top six into successful record deals."
• Hits Daily Double reports there are some changes going on at RCA:

  Richard Sanders has been named head of Global Marketing for Sony BMG Music Entertainment by CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, to whom he'll report while based in New York.
  ...
  As head of global marketing for the company, Sanders will work closely with all of the company's labels and divisions to create and implement fully integrated global marketing and release strategies for the company's artists and projects. He will also oversee the company's global marketing staff and collect frequent flier miles he'll trade in for magazine subscriptions.
  ...
  Sanders was most recently EVP/GM for RCA Records since 2001, helping to build and enhance the careers of such artists as The Dave Matthews Band, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, Foo Fighters, The Strokes and Kelly Clarkson, as well as the American Idol franchise.
  
  Sanders' roots in the music business include selling T-shirts on the road for Aerosmith and Ted Nugent, and subsequently worked in tour accounting and road management. After leaving the road he founded Loud and Proud Management and his own publishing company, Shohola Music. He will now go back to selling T-shirts on the road, this time for Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken.
  

• Nothing here today