To see the full calendar, go to CDD's page at Google Calendar:
A full list of upcoming events is also available at the CDD Claytracker.
Note: CDD does not necessarily endorse or subscribe to the editorial opinions of these websites/blogs.
The Fantasy Spring Resort in Indio, CA is pulling out all the stops to promote Clay's August 5 concert there.
Here are some screencaps from a promotional video for the concert posted on their website. (direct link to video ... click here)
And we also noticed a Clay Aiken getaway package they are offering:
The Houston Press made a call earlier this week for Clay Aiken fan art. Boy, did the Clay nation ever respond! The Houston Press will award the winner 2 tickets to Clay's July 6 Houston concert, but will have the option of donating them to a foundation like the Make A Wish foundation.
Go to the Houston Press' website to see all the entries thus far.
You have until the end of this month to submit your art piece. More details are available at the link above.
The Clayboard's Martigyrl has posted a beautiful piece of writing that's, well, very relevant to yesterday's news that Paris Hilton is going to jail.
Living on the Clay Aiken side, in a Paris Hilton world!!!
I used to live more leaning toward the Paris Hilton side of life.
There was something comfortable/ disarming about where I was in life.
Comforting because it surrounded me, and engulfed me.... with my help
I loved/hated myself, for my 'loose standards', and my conflicting 'high moral upbringing'.
Wanting to find the Clay Aiken side of life, but drowning in the Paris Hilton side of it.
Change is what was needed, but did I know it.... Yes, and No.?!
I knew life was askew, but the wrongs I delved in, felt good, they must be okay.
Well, there I was, in my Paris Hilton side of life, and then I heard those words.........
" Always and Forever...!
Wow, look at him, listen...........
Who is He?
Where did He come from?
Whoah, that voice!!!
What the Heck was that, that just reached inside my chest, and grabbed my heart??
Paris Who,kind of my life???
I need to see this guy some more.
"God, Wow, haven't heard whispers from you in a long time.
Welcome back to my heart."
Did you do this, God???
You sent Him to me?
What did you do to him, how did you mold him, that I want to make a change??
"Don't look back in pain, look up to me, and pray."
He said.
"It's been years, dear Lord, I've forgotten how."
This young man, why do I look in his eyes, and want to be closer to you, dear Lord??
" You are headed to the clean side of life, my dear;
Step off the curb, leave the Paris Hilton side of life, and join us over here, on the Clay Aiken side."
No more self indulgences, at the sake of other innocents.
No more self absorbtion, in the name of vainess.
Wrap your mind around the humanitarian side of life, learn of the less fortunate now. I've sent Him here, to show you the way.
Educate your mind about the 'bigger world'. Don't educate your mind about the 'seedy side' of earth, the Paris Hilton side.
There now, doesn't it feel good?? The Clay Aiken side of life.
I wouldn't change it for the world.
Leaving the Paris Hilton side of life..... eternally.
Martigyrl 05-04-07
The Raleigh News & Observer's Grey Blackwell has posted a hilarious animated cartoon spoofing the fact so many of American Idol's contestants are from North Carolina. In the cartoon, past NC-Idol-alums gather in Clay's house and figure out how to make the perfect idol.
Click here to view the hilarious clip... a few screencaps are posted below:
"Larry King: 50 Years of Pop Culture" --- about 1 1/2 hours into the show -- a split second: Clay siting on Idol during '03 competition."
On the night of a sold-out performance by “American Idol” performer Clay Aiken last December, there was not an available hotel room in the local area. More than half of the tickets for that evening’s performance were sold to people who lived outside northcentral Pennsylvania.
What emerged was "Idol," inspired by the mega-success of TV's "American Idol." Set in Steubenville, Ohio, the story focuses on the yearnings to become the next Clay Aiken, the real runner-up on the TV reality series in 2003.
His debut also caught the ear of hit-making songwriter Desmond Child, who has penned tunes for such artists as Cher, Clay Aiken, Aerosmith and Kelly Clarkson. Child and Gold got together to write "I'm All About You," which debuted in the Top 20 on UK pop charts, subsequently becoming a Top 10 dance hit.
Sedaka's Collection also covers a lot of ground, from the Brill Building prodigy's early demos and rarities to hits and new songs. There's a live version of Solitaire, which enjoyed a new round of pop glory when Clay Aiken crooned it on American Idol and hit No. 1 with his cover.
The CB's claybeclay reported a Clay sighting tonight on the TV Guide Channel. They showed a clip of Clay in Afghanistan:
8:05 pm EST. Lookin good. Has anybody seen this?
Afghanistan footage....sporting new beard, etc.
Usually they repeat so I will try to watch again.
I was on the phone and didn't catch everything.
So glad they are showing some of his humanitarian work.
Listen up California fans - tickets to Clay's Indio, CA concert to be held August 5 go on sale tomorrow to the public. Due to the short notice, the fanclub says there will be no presale for its members:
05/03/07 : Tickets for Indio, CA On Sale Tomorrow!
By Team Clay
Please note that tickets for the Clay Aiken performance at The Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino in Indio, CA will go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. PDT. The link to buy tickets will be available on the TOURS page shortly before tickets go on sale.
Due to short notice of the on-sale date, we unfortunately will not be able to hold a pre-sale for this tour date. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
AirTrans' on-flight magazine Go interviewed Clay about why he loves his hometown of Raleigh, NC. Clay said:
Raleigh has all of the things one would find in a much larger city—great shopping, good nightlife, fantastic cultural arts. But at the same time it has a quaint, small-town feel. People aren’t in a hurry; they are focused on friendliness and quality of life. No other city I can think of does that.You can read the rest of the interview at AirTrans' Go website.
Raleigh’s been ranked in almost every publication as one of the best places to live in the country. Here’s a little known fact: The Triangle (the three-city area of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, home to a large number of research science companies) has one of the highest number of PhDs per-capita of anywhere in the world. These are folks who work hard all week long and then head to the lake for the weekend and turn their Blackberries and cell phones off.
The Houston Press has announced that they have two orchestra level seats for Clay's July 6 concert at Jones Hall. To enter, submit a photo of a piece of original fan art to Olivia.Alvarez@HoustonPress.com. The full details are listed at the Houston Press website.
The Houston Symphony has most kindly donated two tickets to the Clay Aiken show coming up later this summer as the prize for our Clay Aiken art contest. Two orchestra seats. Since most fans already have their tickets, we're hoping the winner will allow us to donate the tickets to a charity, maybe to the Make a Wish Foundation or something similar. (We haven't figured all that out yet.)
WNYC has posted a photo of Clay visiting their studios last month to the WNYC Flickr page. Clay was interviewed by WNYC about his trip to Afghanistan with UNICEF.CLAY AIKEN: The “American Idol” singer performs with the Raleigh Symphony OrchestraAug. 10 at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park in Cary. Tickets go on sale Saturday and are $27.50 to $50. They are available at www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 223-2900.
Not only have Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, and Kimberly Locke - first, second, and third place winners respectively - enjoyed success on the airwaves, but many other contestants have also gone on to great fame in music, stage, and television.
Even in attempting to defend the discriminated, as in her bizarre hate triangle with Kelly Ripa and Clay Aiken, O’Donnell clumsily risked the American Idol star’s unsolicited public outing.
Are you pacing back and forth, counting down the days, the hours, the minutes till that first concert of Clay's summer tour, that first concert in Texas since 2004?!! Yeah, so am I, and being a Texan, the days seem like years!
To tide you over until that July 4 day gets here, head over the Pizza Hut Park's home page and feast your eyes on the picture and announcement of Clay's July 4 performance at the top left of the page. Click on the Clay Aiken announcement right below the picture, dated 4/30/07, and you will be taken to a page that tells a little about the Freedom Fest and about Clay:
I don't know about you, but it did this Texas fan a world of good to see Clay's picture on the home page of Pizza Hut Park. Imagine how seeing Clay live in Frisco will make me and thousands of other fans feel!!FCD, CLAY AIKEN AND FIREWORKS HIGHLIGHT FRISCO FREEDOM FEST
Frisco Freedom Fest returns to Pizza Hut Park
FRISCO, Texas (Friday, April 27, 2007) – For the second consecutive year, the City of Frisco and Pizza Hut Park have teamed up to host the City of Frisco’s Freedom Fest, on Wednesday, July 4. The Independence Day festival will start at 4 pm, and also feature the FC Dallas’ home game versus Chivas USA (5:30 pm), followed by a post-game concert by Clay Aiken and Symphony, and capped off by the largest fireworks show in the Metroplex, organized by the premier fireworks company – the Zambelli Family.... Pop-singer Clay Aiken and the Symphony will perform on the Pizza Hut Park stage approximately 30 minutes following the end of the game. He has released three solo albums that have each debuted in the top five on the Billboard charts.
Just heard that sweet sounding voice and the lady advertising "An Evening with Clay Aiken and the NC Symphony". Started out with him singing INvisible and then went into WY, then WISYS and advertised the album ATDW with ATD playing in background. Ended it with MOAM playing. Really good ad IMHO. I hadn't read about any other ads but I'm sure this could be in the wrong place so mods do your thing if this is wrong.
Reason Number 10 - The Current Crop Can't Compete: Bo and Carrie. Clay and Ruben. Just saying the names makes us feel nostalgic. They manged to win us over with their compelling background stories and personal growth during the competition.Click on Clay's Name to go to Clay's AOL Artist page.
Publishers Weekly - Clay's "Learning To Sing" was one of the bestselling books of fall 2004. - "Learning to Sing. Clay Aiken. Random House (253,540)"Season 1 was unique, a brand new show with compelling content that introduced America to Kelly Clarkson. Season 2 gave us the Clay Aiken-Ruben Studdard competition (which Aiken should have won). Blake Lewis is no Chris Daughtry. Or Clay Aiken. Or Bo Bice for that matter. The male talent in Season 6 is the weakest in six seasons.
I honestly don't know what I will do with myself if this show doesn't make it on to the CBS lineup next season!!! Write your Senators. Write your assemblymen. Write Santa Claus.
The official fanclub announced fanclub presale information for the August 10 concert in Cary, NC. For complete details, visit the Tour page at the OFC once you have logged in.
05/01/07 : NEW CLAY AIKEN PRE-SALES BEGIN THURSDAY, MAY 3rd!
By Team Clay
New pre-sales for Clay Aiken's upcoming symphony tour begin this coming Thursday, May 3rd. Pre-sale passwords, links and detailed information will be posted on the TOURS page of the website prior to pre-sale start times. You will need to login using your Clay Online fan club account to see the pre-sale links and codes.
Clay Aiken Pre-Sale beginning Thursday, May 3:
August 10 -- Cary, NC -- Koka Booth Amphitheater - Pre-Sale Begins 10 a.m. EDT
Clay talks with Kelly Clarkson on the red carpet at the 2004 American Music Awards.
Clay has been confirmed as Jimmy Kimmel's guest on the May 10 episode of his show, according to ABC.com. We're not sure what Clay will do or promote at the appearance, but I'm sure you'll all agree with me that seeing Clay and Jimmy together is really fun and exciting!
Clay last appeared on the show on Valentine's Day when his impromptu Valentine's song for Jimmy became very popular on video sharing sites such as YouTube.
The Clayboard's BOUNCER15 found some "new" unseen photos from American Idol 2003. Check them out at Getty Images or click the thumbnails below.
Blast from the past - check out WRAL's gallery of Clay's return to Raleigh with the Independent Tour in March 2004.
Lycos 50 - We have double the good news for Clay this week. Clay moved up to #9 for the week ending April 27 from #12 last week on Lycos 50. In addition, Clay has been on the Lycos 50 list for 200 weeks!! That sound you hear is a standing ovation for our guy from Clay fans all over the country! And the words under Clay's name?..."Summer Tour"!!Pick the right music, the right producer, the right agent, the right acting role and a fallen Idol can surpass the success of their season’s winner — as in platinum chart-toppers Chris Daughtry (Season 5), Clay Aiken (Season 2), and Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson (Season 3).
Last Wednesday, all we had was the satisfaction of seeing Annie Lennox kick some Clay Aiken butt with her spellbinding cover of "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Also, was it the dress or is Kelly Clarkson turning into Mama Cass?
Photos from the National Center for :earning Disabilities gala held last Wednesday in New York are now up on The Clayboard. Clay was honored by the organization for his "tireless" work for UNICEF and the Bubel Aiken Foundation.
Reports from gossip sites such as the NY Daily News and Radar indicate that Tyra Banks was seen dining with Clay in New York City last week. The two "hit it off" when Clay appeared on Tyra's show last October.
Here's the tidbit from the NY Daily News: "Tyra stopped by Jean Georges for a fancy dinner with Clay Aiken."
K-Lo is an in-studio guest with Mark & Kim in L.A. on KOST. Kimberley was asked what her next tour would be like, she has an album coming out tomorrow. She said they were looking for someone to pair her with on tour, and it was hard to come up with someone who would be just right. Then she said her dream tour would be she and Clay and Ruben!!! I would love that, too, they had such chemistry!
She placed third on the show and lost out to Ruben Stoddard and Clay Aiken. She released her first album ‘One Love’ in 2004 and the single “8th World Wonder” rose to number one on U.S. charts.
In addition to Deshler, Arthur Ryan, chairman, CEO and president of Prudential Financial, and Clay Aiken, a former “American Idol” contestant, both were honored for their work to help children with learning disabilities.
The National Center for Learning Disabilities presented Raleigh native and former "American Idol" contestant Clay Aiken the Children's Advocacy Award at a benefit dinner Wednesday in New York. The center is a national group and education clearinghouse that promotes research and programs to foster effective learning.
Aiken was honored for his work with children with special needs. In 2003, he created the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which promotes and funds educational and recreational programs for children with special needs. He also serves as a U.S. Fund for UNICEF national ambassador, helping ensure that children everywhere can receive a primary education.
In 2006, Aiken was appointed to the Presidential Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
Winners: For Clay Aiken, right, there's been no shame in taking second. Idol's most famously made-over contestant has chalked up album sales of 4.6 million and singles sales of more than 1 million and had the best-selling single of 2003.
Confirm the date and time of the ticket sale. Believe you me, you can refresh that stupid ticket page all freakin day long, but it won't help you get tickets if it's the wrong day. Not that I've done that. Or would admit it if I had. Which I haven't. *cough*
As many of you know, Faye Parker entered the Southern Women's dance contest in Raleigh, and that contest was this weekend. And who do you think showed up at the contest to cheer his mother on?! Why both Clay and Brett! The Clayboard has lots of pictures and stories from people who were at the event.
Ztilb had a friend at the show, and she gave us this information:
My friend is there right now and I am talking to her on the phone. She said that there were tons of photos taken so we should have some clack.Check out ClayFanNC's first hand review at The Clayboard as well.
He was wearing a white shirt, short sleeved casual shirt, and the cargo shorts and the flip flops and poofy hair, parted on the right side. lol
She was sitting 6 rows behind him and saw a lot of the back of his head! He did sign a few autographs and stood up and applauded after Faye performed.
Here is an exerpt: He seemed reluctant to stand up when he asked to ... after being introduced. My feeling was that he didn't want to steal Mario's thunder. He is so kind that way. One thing that made me feel good was that Brett also received lots of applause and cheers! He also gave a big smile and a wave to the crowd. I was so happy for Faye that her two sons were there... how touching. After Faye finished her dance, Clay stood up and clapped ... with the most amazing smile on his face ... it was something to see!
Faye danced to Clay's song "Perfect Day". She and her partner got all 9's for their dance, as did one other team. I can only imagine how proud both Clay and Brett were of their mom and how thrilled she was to have them there. After the audience votes are tallied, the winners will be announced at both
