Tidbits 12/29

• AOL Popeater - update about what Clay is up to... Idol power ranking #9 (huh?) and they need to check their facts about Clay being appointed UNICEF ambassador by President Bush
  

  Clay Aiken
  (Season 2 Runner-up)
  
  Life After 'Idol': Co-authored the New York Times best-seller 'Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life'; starred in 'A Clay Aiken Christmas' on NBC; founded the Bubel/Aiken Foundation for disabled children; was appointed a UNICEF ambassador by President Bush.
  
  What's Next?: After working in Mexico over the holidays with UNICEF, Aiken will be making his Broadway debut as Sir Robin in 'Monty Python's Spamalot.' His stint begins January 18 and is scheduled to continue through May 4.
  

• El Paso Times - article about AI2 finalist Josh Gracin -

  But all that changed in 2003 when "American Idol" contestant Josh Gracin went head to head with Clay Aiken, Kimberley Locke and eventual winner Ruben Studdard.

• Tahoe Daily Tribune - Neil Sedaka honored by Clay -

  Also this year, he was honored at the Lincoln Center for his 50 years as an entertainer at a show that included live performances by David Foster, Connie Francis, Natalie Cole, Paul Shaffer, Clay Aiken and The Captain and Tennille, during which time Toni Tennille said, "Without Neil, there would be no Captain and Tennile."
  
  The same could be said of a lot of singers, including Aiken, a former "American Idol" star.
  
  Aiken performed "Solitaire," which was made into a single that sold 400,000 copies.

• Clay has a nice page set up at this Argentina website ... not exactly sure what it says, but it looks like a biography

• Carolina On My Mind takes a look back at 2007 and some highlights in the Clay nation:

  Aiken Fans Laud 2007 Rewind
  
  Traditionally, retrospective look backs fill the final week of a departing calendar year, and fans have SmartyPantsSuz to thank for the annual rewind of Clay Aiken's past 12 months with her latest montage, My Favorite Things (2007).
  
  Opening with the Valentine's Day visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live, My Favorite Things 2007 and its 12 photo grids take fans on a romp through Clay's summer and holiday tours, TV appearances, UNICEF trips, fund-raising for The Bubel/Aiken Foundation, and the Holiday on Ice special.
  
  YouTube and Sendspace video links, as well as the 12 photo grids, appear below; but, first, here are fund-raising and media updates on Clay's current UNICEF trip.

• The ConCLAYve - update on Clay's trip to Mexico:

  FUNDRAISING UPDATE: As of 10 PM PST today, $70,000 has been raised as a result of UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken's $100,000 in 10 Days for Mexican Flood Relief Campaign. Three days remain before the December 31 deadline for the fundraiser.
  
  Clay has spent Christmas week traveling on behalf of UNICEF in the flood-stricken regions of Chiapas and Tabasco, Mexico. Also participating in this humanitarian field visit are Clay's mother Faye and his brother Brett, a Marine on leave from Iraq.
  
  In Ostuacan, Chiapas, Clay and the Honorable Isabel Aguilera de Sabines, First Lady of the state of Chiapas, participated in games with the three hundred children in the flood shelters.
  

• Clayigraphy - Clay brings cheer to Mexico!