Clay Interviewed by Time Out New York

Time Out New York interviewed Clay by phone recently:

Clay Aiken
The pop idol makes a surprising Broadway debut.
By Smith Galtney


Time Out New York: So Spamalot isn’t how one expects Clay Aiken to invade Broadway.
Clay Aiken: And tell me why not! [Laughs]

Time Out New York: What will your fans think of that?
Clay Aiken: If I’ve learned one thing in the past five years, it’s that you’ll never please everybody. But the people who’ve been so supportive of us, they trust us enough to have some fun here and there, and be a little irreverent. I won’t be soiling myself for the rest of my life.

Time Out New York: Did you come up with the term Claymates?
Clay Aiken: No, it started when I was on American Idol. I didn’t really like it at first. I was like, Oh my God, how tacky! But now I think, If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. We’ve fully embraced it.

Time Out New York: And there are Claysians, too.
Clay Aiken: There’s also the Claynadians. In Raleigh, my hometown, there’s Clayniacs. There’s even a group called the Lecherous Broads for Clay Aiken! We appreciate them, but sometimes they’re like that cousin you love but can’t quite understand.

Time Out New York: Ever worry you’ll get a limb torn off?
Clay Aiken: Maybe just squeezed to death. [Laughs] But the Claymates are just a section of the fan base. The overwhelming majority are very respectful, very protective and mothering. If I sneeze onstage one night, 15 people show up at the next tour stop with Triaminic. I’ve got far more mothers than I ever needed!

Time Out New York: You’re not fat.
Clay Aiken: After Idol, I was. Going from living in North Carolina, where barely anyone would talk to me, to a world where everyone knew who I was—it freaked me out. So I went on antianxiety medicine and gained, like, 20 pounds in a year’s time.

Time Out New York: You must be used to the attention now.
Clay Aiken: It’s still odd, though. Now I just think it’s funny. Like last night: I was onstage and all these people were screaming, and in the back of my head I’m thinking, Are you people crazy?!?