Tidbits 7/14

Clay and the plane incident is on the Yahoo homepage... but we do have to say - Yahoo, you're a little bit late coming out of the gate... this story was so last week!

The other big airplane scandal of the week surprisingly came from Clay Aiken--arguably one the nicest, squeaky-cleanest contestants in American Idol history, whose greatest faux pas up until now had been daring to sully Kelly Ripa's face with his allegedly unsanitized hand. Well, OK, it wasn't quite as scandalous as R.E.M.'s Peter Buck drunkenly pelting a British Airways attendant with a yogurt carton. But apparently Clay did have the gall to prop his Aiken feet up on a female passenger's armrest, causing the irate woman to give him "a minor shove," according to FBI Special Agent Gary Johnson. Who knows why the FBI had to get involved in this case when they could have been...um, seeking out terrorists, or at least making sure no passengers pack toiletry bottles larger than 3 ounces in their carry-ons. It's a wonder Rosie O'Donnell didn't get involved too, just like she did with that Kelly Ripa incident a few months back. But further intervention probably isn't necessary: "The flight crew was able to resolve the situation," Agent Johnson assured us concerned citizens, letting us all breathe a little easier, knowing our skies are safe from Idol-related personal-space-invasion threats one more. Yep, that's our tax dollars at work, right there...

• Parade Magazine - POLL ASKS "Who is the best male vocalist ever to have appeared on American Idol?" -- VOTE FOR CLAY... CLICK HERE!
  
• S.F. Gate's article about "Idol: The Musical" -

  The power of Clay Aiken cannot be underestimated.
  
  There are few other reasons that could explain why a small theater production in Syracuse, N.Y -- a musical about Ohio high school students delusionally devoted to the Season 2 "American Idol" first runner-up -- has stirred national interest.
  
  "I like Clay because he does so much charity work for everyone," said Babs Rubenstein, who plays an evil diva named Adrienne. "You see him as a real person. He wanted to be a teacher, and he still kind of wants to go for that."
  
  But would Aiken enjoy the show?
  
  "I think he would," Rubenstein said. "If someone wrote a show about me, I definitely would want to come see it."
  
  Added Ellis, who has yet to extend a formal invitation to Aiken: "We would absolutely love to have him come see the show."

• O.C. Register - syndicates the Houston Chronicle article from earlier this month - Clay will be making 4 tour stops in California next month. Questions that didn't "make" this published version of the interview were released earlier this week by the author of the article.
• About.com - short write up regarding plane incident.
  

• Chexxy's Pearls - Clay brings down the house with his top 40 medley