Tidbits 5/22

Great Clay mention at MSN Music. It reads:

American Idol Alumni Association

Clay Aiken: Second-season runner-up Aiken is the second-highest-selling "American Idol" veteran and tops the album-sales list for nonwinners, even outselling Season-2 winner Ruben Studdard by almost double (approximately 4.5 million to 2.4 million, respectively). Aiken has also garnered three Billboard Music Awards and one American Music Award. He has a special set of extra rabid devotees who call themselves "Claymates."

• VOTE for Clay & Ruben at AmericanIdol.com.
  
• Lycos 50 - Clay remains at #10 for the week ending May 19. The caption under his name is "Humanitarian Work". 203 weeks and counting. Keep those searches up!
• MTV News - In an article called "'American Idol' Video Timeline: Five Seasons In Five Minutes (Or 2,500 Words)", Clay is mentioned under the Season 2 summary as follows:

  By casting Ruben, Clay, Kimberley and Frenchie, "AI2" broadened America's definition of "pop star image." Fans ate it up. However, by voting on voice over looks, the season ended up being fairly predictable, where the singer who deserved to go home each week did. The final Ruben/Clay showdown was a tight race (one that Seacrest called a "photo finish") and although Studdard was the victor, Aiken ultimately wiped the floor with him in record sales.

  There are lots of articles about this year's American Idol finale between Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis that mention Clay:
  
  
• AOL Television - Listed as one of the reasons that this year's American Idol failed, along with a picture of Clay and Ruben, is (scroll down on website page):

  No Name Appeal: Clay and Ruben. Kelly and Justin. Just saying the names makes us feel nostalgic. Blake and Jordin? Not so much.

• The Modesto Bee -

  It would take a miracle (20 million phone calls) for Blake Lewis to win this, and it would be interesting if he does. But if he fails, all he has to remember is that Ruben Studdard won the title but Clay Aiken, who came in second, made all the money.

• My San Antonio - "But Clay Aiken, the Season 2 runner-up, and Chris Daughtry, who finished fourth last year, actually put out hotter CDs than the winners of their seasons."
• WNBC: "Clay Aiken, who finished second to Ruben Studdard in 2003, has released three discs and sold a total of 4.5 million units."
• Chicago Tribune - "“I don’t think a final between Blake and Jordin is reminding anyone of those classic ‘Idol’ finals between Kelly [Clarkson] and Justin [Guarini] or Ruben [Studdard] vs. Clay Aiken.”"
• Hartford Courant - "The successes of past non-winners, from Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson to Clay Aiken, shows them there's a future even if they don't get the most votes tonight (likewise, the faltering this year of Taylor Hicks' debut album indicates there's no guaranteed super-stardom for a winner)."
• SouthFlorida.com - "Some of Idol's greatest success stories -- Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson and Chris Daughtry from last season -- have been also-rans."
• Daily Vanguard -

  Clay Aiken, season two runner-up, experienced brief fame among the adult easy listening crowd, making him the third most successful former contestant of the show, but have you even heard his name in the last two years? Probably not, because nobody cares anymore.

• Winston Salem Journal -

  Part of the reason Fox 8 has done so well with the show over the years has been local interest, with previous seasons including such performers as Raleigh native Clay Aiken, High Point native Fantasia Barrino, and last year’s triple-punch of North Carolinians Bucky Covington, Kellie Pickler and Chris Daughtry.

• Foxes on Idol recalls last year's Clay Aiken spectacular on the AI5 season finale --

  Other highlights included an appearance by Clay Aiken, who totally floored poor Michael Sandecki (the “winner” of the Golden Idol award for best impersonation), and a neat medley of Burt Bacharach songs featuring the top 12. Prince also made an appearance that night, along with Al Jarreau, Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige, Meatloaf, and Dionne Warwick.

• TV Guide host calls Clay Aiken "insanely popular" ... she got that right! -

  Of the six seasons to date, which do you think was the hardest to call?
  Rosanna: I think the hardest was Ruben and Clay, because Clay was insanely popular — and still is. People weren't sure which way that was going to go.

• Arizona Republic -

  Some years, I have a strong feeling who is going to win. Ruben Studdard against Clay Aiken, and I was going for the big guy all the way. Last year, I knew Katharine McPhee didn't stand a chance. But this year, I'm really confused. Jordin has a great smile, a gorgeous voice and a sweet personality (well, when she's not sniping about Rose Royce), but Blake is just so cool and charismatic and adventurous in what he does.

• TampaBay.com -

  But only two of the series' five previous winners have maintained Idol-level performing careers (Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood), with other high achievers such as Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson outperforming those who beat them in their competitions.

• Detroit Free Press -

  Note to Blake and Jordin fans: They're both young, talented, and poised for lucrative pop careers, but neither of their voices has dominated the competition -- not like the Kellys, Clays and Fantasias of yore.

• New York City Village Voice - article about New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music -

  Some students specialize in engineering, some in business, and the rest—about a third—are performer-producers who gain training in how to record themselves in a multimillion-dollar studio so that they leave with full-length albums upon graduation. And if the final goal isn't already clear, a wall of photos at the fifth-floor offices at 194 Mercer Street makes the point: There's Davis with Whitney Houston and Carlos Santana. Davis with Annie Lennox and Rod Stewart. Davis handing a gold record to American Idol standout Clay Aiken.

• A few mentions of Clay's Dancing With The Stars appearance TONIGHT -
  
• The ConCLAYve
• Something That Really Happened