Tidbits 10/29

• Clay blogged - people can't seem to be able to follow the guidelines of the OFC Christmas In The Heartland story contest and Clay seems a little frustrated.
• MTV.ca - "In 2003...Clay Aiken topped the album chart for a second week with his debut album, Measure of a Man."
• Forbes - coming in 2nd isn't all that bad -

  Or you could just come in No. 2. Do you really remember who won American Idol 2? Neither do we, but we do remember a guy named Clay. He was the runner up to winner Ruben Studdard. Clay Aiken seamlessly shot to fame without the help of the juggernaut that is the American Idol crown.

• InStyle - Neil Sedaka:

  American Idol alum Katharine McPhee helped living legend Neil Sedaka celebrate fifty years in the music business during a tribute concert at New York City's Avery Fischer Hall. Other well-wishers who showed up to congratulate Sedaka included Clay Aiken, Natalie Cole and David Letterman's music man, Paul Schaffer.
  

• FOX News - Neil Sedaka celebrates 50 years with friends -

  Maybe the oddest part of the night, though, was an appearance by Clay Aiken. An acquired taste to say the least, Aiken enjoys a fan base that travels with him. They are called Claymates. At least 50 suburban housewife types screamed through his one song. They don’t care about the rumors, the stories, the scandals. Their scary devotion to him recalled Liberace’s huge following in the '50s and '60s, and Barry Manilow’s in the '70s and since then. Using this as a barometer, the Broadway producers of “Spamalot” are in for quite a culture shock soon.

• KDKA CBS - Neil Sedaka honored -

  Now his achievements are being honored by his fellow musicians with a tribute concert in New York, "Neil Sedaka: 50 Years of Hits." The show, featuring Clay Aiken, Connie Francis, Natalie Cole and more, benefits the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
  

• Kansas City Star ... Spamalot - "Clay Aiken’s run as Sir Robin on Broadway’s “Spamalot” will start Jan. 18. He’s expected to be with the show through May 4."

• The ConCLAYve - Clay's Neil Sedaka Concert "Solitaire" performance felt like "the first time" -

  We'd heard Clay sing Solitaire many times since Neil Sedaka night on American Idol in 2003. He returned to Idol on the following season and sang a bit of it there. He's sung it on TV. He encored with it during his 2004 solo tour. He does a great job with it but the song itself, while well written, can get old. It's not exactly your upbeat, pepppy song with a hook and a beat you can dance to.
  
  So I went because I love the chance to see Clay live and I enjoy New York. The line up of guest acts honoring Neil Sedaka looked interesting and it turned out to be just that. Iconic acts like Connie Francis and Dion performed along with promising new acts like Renee Olsteed. But the funny thing is on the ride to NYC, we kept talking about what else we wanted Clay to sing besides Solitaire. It was like we were looking past the old, familiarity of Solitaire and hoping for something new.

• All That Is Clay Aiken - Clay's "breathtaking 'Solitaire'"...