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Celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Clay nation with LBFCA - in photos & in words!

• FlowGo.com - this is so cute... check out Baby Idol - "Baby Idol is the cute counterpart to American Idol. Watch Baby Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, Justin Guarini, Kelly Clarkson, and even William Hung perform for the little versions of Simon, Paula, and Randy. There's even a young Ryan Seacrest hosting the show."
  
• Lo Hudson Journal News - Clay Aiken a fan favorite -

  About halfway through my recent countdown of the Top 20 “American Idol” Contestants of All Time, I created a Remote Access poll that asked readers to vote on the series’ most significant contestant from the first six seasons. The poll was open for two weeks and the Remote Access readers’ choice, by a landslide, was Clay Aiken.
  

• Columbus Dispatch ... Clay Aiken fans -

  Do you love him? Depends
  
  Turns out that Clay Aiken fans cover all age ranges. Some throw panties onstage; others are more creative. The American Idol runner-up recently told In Touch Weekly, "We've had ladies throw Depends that say, 'Your older fans love you, too.' "
  

• ABC News asks "Could 'American Idol' Star Clay Aiken Be Asexual?" following the New York Magazine interview -

  "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken recently told New York Magazine that he "just doesn't have any interest" in a romantic relationship. Sexologists told ABCNEWS.com that there's a fine line between being too busy or tired for a sexual relatoinship and actually being asexual.
  
  Former "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken apparently has less of a social life than one might think, given his time in the spotlight and his large teenie-bopper fan base.
  
  In a recent interview with New York magazine, Aiken said that he has never had a romantic relationship and has no interest in finding one, either.
  
  "I have got too much on my plate," Aiken told the magazine. "I'd father focus on one thing and do that when I can devote time to it, and right now, I just don't have any desire."
  
  And when asked whether he ever has sexual "urges" or "needs," Aiken responded, "I mean, not really. I've just kind of shut it off, maybe. Is that bad?"

• The Oregonian -

  Clay Aiken: I'm no Timberlake
  
  Clay Aiken is adjusting to being on his own in New York City.
  
  "I almost cried on the first day on my way to rehearsal," Aiken, 29, told New York magazine about starting his new role in the Broadway musical "Spamalot." "I've never lived alone before."
  
  Asked if his reputation as, well, the kind of kid who'd be the last one picked for the school sports team might hinder his social life, Aiken says, "Let's not fool ourselves. . . . There are people like Justin Timberlake, who are cool on radio right now, and then there's me."
  

• MTV -

  Former "American Idol" Clay Aiken, who has faced questions about his sexuality since entering the spotlight more than four years ago, recently told New York magazine that not only is he sick of answering questions about his preferences, he's tired of thinking about something that he simply doesn't have time for. Aiken told the magazine that his social life is "nonexistent, really I'm not a nighttime person." While he's in New York performing in "Spamalot," he does not plan on dating anyone and is not involved with anyone. "Heck, no," he said, adding that his only companions are "my dogs." Not only that, but Aiken, 29, claims that he's never had a romantic relationship, unless you count the girls he took to dances in high school. "I just don't have an interest in ... any of that at all. I have got too much on my plate," he told the magazine. "I'd rather focus on one thing and do that when I can devote time to it, and right now, I just don't have any desire." ...

• More commentary about the New York Magazine interview -
• Reality TV World -

  "Don't ask me why. Ah wish I knew. Women -- middle-aged women -- like Clay Aiken," he told New York magazine. "Let's not fool ourselves. The truth is? There are people like Justin Timberlake -- males who are cool on radio right now -- and then there's me. If I heard myself in a dance club? If I went into a dance club, which I never do, and I heard Clay Aiken come on, I'd roll my eyes and get out. But you know what? I'm fine with being kind of vanilla! It's oh-kye!"
  
  Even if a romantic relationship did come knocking for the single 29-year-old, Aiken didn't sound like he'd jump at the opportunity to explore it.
  
  "I just don't have an interest in... any of that at all," he told New York magazine. "I have got too much on my plate. I'd rather focus on one thing and do that when I can devote time to it, and right now, I just don't have any desire."
  

• Buzz[Killed] - "In the article Aiken admitted to never having a romantic relationship and to also having no interest in finding one. Sorry Claysminion, looks like your poem is never going to come true…"
• MTV Canada -

  CLAY AIKEN LACKS THE DRIVE. It looks like Clay Aiken is currently living a solitary life. The singer tells New York magazine that he's not dating, doesn't plan on dating and that he doesn't even have any urges. He said, "Ah think maybe I don't... I mean, not really. I've just kind of shut it off, maybe. Is that bad?" The former American Idol now stars on Broadway in Spamalot, but is he enjoying the city that never sleeps? He revealed to the periodical that he's not that much of a nighttime person and that his only real loves are his dogs.
  

• Philadelphia Magazine - race horse's "spirit" lives on -

  Although Barbaro’s been dead for a year now, his haunting spirit still lives on in the form of an online community so devoted and earnest, they make Clay Aiken’s Spanx-tossing army of middle-aged moms look inert by comparison.

• Star Pulse on why some American Idols succeed, while others fade -

  It was a similar situation with Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken. Studdard won the second season of "Idol," however Aiken was the star who took over the public eye once the season ended.

• Philadelphia Inquirer -

  "I am convinced this city [New York] is going to crack Clay Aiken like an egg."
  
  So prophesies journo Ariel Levy in an acerbic New York Magazine profile of the star of the Broadway hit Spamalot that will have many a Clayhead break into tears.

• New York Post - "stalker" songs ... Invisible

  * Clay Aiken, "Invisible"
  
  This guilty pleasure makes your skin crawl for a multitude of reasons.
  
  Best stalker line: "If I was invisible, then I could just watch you in your room/If I was invincible, I'd make you mine tonight."

• The ConCLAYve - "Clay Aiken: Day One, Year Six: The Singer, Diane and Mike"

  On January 28, 2003, millions of people heard you sing for the first time. I was one of the people who met you at “Take.”
  
  Five years later, you are still here and showing a more wide-ranging talent than ever before, performing before enthusiastic and appreciative audiences while appearing in your debut on Broadway. (I’ll be in that audience later on in your run.)
  
  [...]
  
  This is a full circle moment for me, too. Five years later, you are still here and your career is growing in ways I had not imagined. You’ll have “Spamalot” at the Shubert in New York through May 4, and you are also busy working on your next album, one you have said will be a true reflection of you. Beyond that, there will be tours, television shows, and more of your service to UNICEF and The Bubel/Aiken Foundation. So this is the last time I will formally commemorate that moment, five years ago. It is dear to me, but your future is bright with promise. I prefer to bask in the warmth of your limitless potential.
  
  [...]
  
  And thank you, Clay Aiken, for a wonderful five years that is only the beginning.
  

• Hobbies - donate to Parade Magazine's America's Giving Challenge for the Bubel Aiken Foundation