Tidbits 5/12

• Clay appeared briefly on "Idol Wrap" on the TV Guide channel, the CB ncsupack88 writes:

  I was just watching Idol Wrap (the one on TV Guide Channel) and in the last 10 or 15 mins they had a clip of Clay from the NYC signing. I saw this clip somewhere else earlier this week but it wasn't attributed to TV Guide. They start off showing all the fans holding up the CD and then show him signing some and then he speaks on camera and they say "Clay gave our Idol Wrap cam a special message to his loyal fans...here it is:"
  
  Clay says "those of you who sat on the street for hours and hours and hours...I think you're a little crazy but I do appreciate it and ummm we love you and we hope that umm we can ah continue to make you happy and hope to make you proud as much as we can with what we do".
  

• Variety - Clay's departure from Spamalot causes ticket sales to plummet -

  On the other hand, the departure of American Idol alum Clay Aiken from "Monty Python's Spamalot" ($519,454) caused sales for the tuner to plummet by more than $300,000, the steepest slide of the sesh.
  

• USA Today - Clay is mentioned in a memoir titled "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" by Chelsea Handler...

  Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
  By Chelsea Handler
  Simon Spotlight, 264 pp., $24.95
  
  The author: Star of E! series Chelsea Lately.
  
  The book: Wacky tales that read like stand-up comedy.
  
  The tone: Outrageous, politically incorrect (mostly X-rated) stories of therapy, dating and partying.
  
  A taste: "If you're going to make up an enormous untruth, make sure you tell it to people you are not spending the rest of the school year with. I can only imagine what Clay Aiken has to deal with on a daily basis."

• St. Petersburg Times - winning isn't the biggest thing anymore on Idol -

  It's why R&B-influenced belters Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard took the top prize in Seasons 5 and 2, even though people eliminated earlier — rocker Chris Daughtry, popster Clay Aiken — were more marketable to a mass audience.

• Torontoist - American Idol down to the final 3 -

  American Idol has finally rid us of the presence of Jason "Reggae Smurf" Castro, so we can be thankful for that if nothing else. The final three are David Cook ("the rocker"), David Archuleta ("the Clay Aiken"), and Syesha Mercado ("the diva"). At this point the smart money appears to be on Archuleta, but then again, this is a show that theoretically catapulted Taylor Hicks to "stardom." (CTV, 8 p.m.)

• Cape Cod Times mentions a Dr. Phil show Clay did back in 2005 about bullying:

  ''There was this show about bullying and Clay Aiken came on and talked about how he was bullied, but that once he found singing it gave him confidence because he had something he was good at that he loved.

• Louisville Courier Journal - American Idol pop quiz -

  10. Ryan Seacrest's bitter Season 1 co-host, Brian Dunkleman, had a few incendiary things to say about "Idol" in a recent interview. What didn't he say?
  
  A. Clay Aiken actually won Season 2, but Ruben got the glory anyway.
  
  B. He was punished for being nice to contestants
  
  C. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe gets Paula soused on Goldschlager before the show. She likes the sparkles!
  
  D. Seacrest had a master plan to dump Dunkleman from the very beginning.

• Clayigraphy - Clay waves goodbye to Spamalot and begins a new chapter in his musical career with On My Way Here.
  
• Clay - The Man - "Ashes" is "falling" over Clay's new CD

  A week after the first play of ON MY WAY HERE on my stereo, I am still in awe of the beauty of Clay Aiken and his magical voice.
  
  My house plants are close to the stereo, and they have really perked up, they love Clay too! Yesterday I saw something on top of one of the speakers--it was a huge bumble bee!! It looked like it was trying to pollinate the speaker, LOL. How it got in, I have no idea, but she did get put back outside, with an apology that she'd have to listen to Clay from the balcony.
  

• Carolina On My Mind honours a very special Claymate ... her mother
• There Was A Man -

  On My Way Home was released this week. It features an eclectic mix of music from symphonic ballads, midtempo pop-rock, to a song with R&B flavor, one with a bit of country, and a beautiful, jazzy love song. I've never loved all songs on any album before, not even other Clay Aiken albums, but I truly can't pick a true favorite this time. There isn't one song I feel compelled to skip. Three that really stand out to me are "Where I Draw The Line", "Sacrificial Love", and "As Long As We're Here".

Clay performs "Ashes" on GMA