Tidbits 5/8

Clay, front and center, in Wal-Mart's email to customers.

• Clay returns with new CD -
• Herald Tribune -

  Clay Aiken: ON MY WAY HERE
  
  A common criticism of “American Idol” finalists is that when they get into the recording studio, their talent is overshadowed by poor material selection and overproduction. There’s not a hint of that on Aiken’s first album of original material since 2003.
  
  Hear here: tinyurl.com/3ena5p. Grade: A-
  

• Ventura County Star -

  Clay Aiken
  
  "On My Way Here," RCA
  
  In the Broadway show that is Clay Aiken's public life, he is, of course, the leading man. His fourth full-length progresses just like the Original Cast Recording, with character development songs early ("On My Way Here"), beatific love songs in the middle ("Something About Us"), and a dénouement of regret and lessons learned ("Lover All Alone"). Aiken, who debuted on the Great White Way this year in "Spamalot," sings like a theater veteran: almost too perfectly, with a self-aware showmanship. But that doesn't make pop-rock nuggets like "Ashes" any less catchy, or the ballads — on which Aiken's breathy tenor could break housewife hearts — ring any less true. With big American melodies, stock AC production and general inoffensiveness throughout, this should satisfy his army of self-dubbed Claymates.
  

• Blogcritics -

  American Idol Clay Aiken returns with On My Way Here. All American Patriot and sometime Ford Truck pitchman Toby Keith has a double disc of his 35 Biggest Hits, that also includes a new song, "She's a Hottie.

• E! Online asks - who's hotter? Clay or Josh Groban?

  Musically, of course.
  
  These two titans go head to head this week on the charts. While Clay Aiken has been enjoying a meaty role in Spamalot, Josh Groban surprised us recently with his deeply moving appearance in Jimmy Kimmel's video valentine to Ben Affleck.
  
  So what's it gonna be: Clay's On My Way Here (which is totally hot for your mom) or Josh's Awake Live CD/DVD (which is offering you 23 minutes of its epic awesomeness here).
  

• American Idol mentions:
• TV Squad - down to the final 3 --

  Now that we've said goodbye to so many other hopefuls we're down to a Final Three every bit as strong as Season Two's Kimberly Locke, Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, though drastically different.
  

• Reality Wanted -

  As far as I’m concerned there is only one real winner and that is David Archuleta. If he doesn’t win I’ll be as disappointed as I was in Season 2 when Ruben Studdard won over Clay Aiken. But what the hey, who’s selling more records now????

• TV Fodder -

  David’s performance of the Ben E. King song was truly cool. He was made for songs like this. I see him eventually filling the shoes of people like Clay Aiken and Josh Groban, singers who have pure voices and sing mature songs.

• Boston Herald -

  “But after Clay Aiken in season two, it turned out that you didn’t have to win to have a career. Jennifer Hudson was the best example of that. She was voted off sixth from the end and she won an Oscar. Chris Daughtry was fourth from the end. It’s feasible that every single one of the top 12 this year could have a recording career. So I stopped getting emotionally attached to where everyone finishes.”
  

• Monsters & Critics -

  Clay Aiken went on record about the show that launched his unlikely career.
  
  He doesn’t watch American Idol anymore.
  
  Aiken revealed to Extra why he doesn’t watch the show that launched his career five years ago.
  
  “It’s just not the same thing. It’s like going back to your high school and none of your teachers are there. It’s just completely different,” Aiken explained.
  
  Aiken continued, “I feel like the show was very innocent for awhile when I was on it and I absolutely thank God for it…It’s just not the same show.”

• Extra - Clay no longer tunes into Idol -

  Claymate alert! Clay is aching to tell the world how he really feels about the show that launched his huge career five years ago -- and it isn't pretty! "I haven't watched an episode," reveals Clay, "it's just not the same thing. It's like going back to your high school and none of your teachers are there, it's just completely different."
  

• Clay on GMA:
• Los Angeles Times
• Vancouver Province
• Mercury News - Clay Aiken knows he's no Justin Timberlake -

  Clay Aiken knows he's no J. Timberlake
  
  Honey-voiced pixie Clay Aiken is pretty realistic about his niche in the musical landscape. "I'm not cool, you know what I mean? I'm not gonna lie," he said in a recent interview. "I'm not trying to be Justin Timberlake. Thank God we have him, but I'm not him. . . . I'm not gonna bring anybody's sexy back." Aiken embraces his pop-lite sensibility in "On My Way Here," his first album of all-new material in more than four years. The "American Idol" alum - he placed second to Ruben Studdard in the Fox show's second season - was the first non-winner to release a successful album, "Measure of a Man," which went double platinum in 2003.
  
  He followed that up with two cover albums: "Merry Christmas With Love" and "A Thousand Different Ways."

• MSNBC writes about Clay's hair:

  Clay Aiken
  
  Remember Clay Aiken in his early “American Idol” days? He was just a sweet, scrawny kid with spiky hair and dark caterpillar eyebrows. Flash-forward through five years of mind-blowing makeovers and you’ll now see Clay’s own Spector-worthy bright blonde “Ode to Ellen” (even the caterpillars molted into matchy-matchy flaxen features). The big problem with this, and all of his other hair don’ts, is the tendency toward flat iron abuse. The man can’t stand a wave or fluff or anything resembling the natural state of human hair. If only Clay would go with the flow.

• Monsters & Critics - Simon Cowell unleashed ... comments about Clay:

  The mouth from Britain is dishing about Clay Aiken, Miley Cyrus, Hillary Clinton and Jason Castro, as Cowell sounded off to his girlfriend at Extra.
  
  Terri Seymour sat down with her main squeeze, American Idol’s Simon Cowell for The World According to Simon.
  
  Responding to a recent “Extra” interview in which American Idol alum Clay Aiken revealed he no longer watches the show.
  
  Cowell said, “So, that was Nancy Grace? That hair…I can’t listen to him…[But] to be fair to Clay, he was actually one of my favorite contestants in a way because he was so ambitious and so desperate to win.”

• USA Today - QVC redefining how it does TV shopping -

  Be more entertaining. QVC is getting out of the studio more often to broadcast from remote locations. It has sold hair care products from an upscale Manhattan hair salon, Yankee memorabilia from the team's famed stadium and National Football League merchandise from pro football stadiums.
  
  It's also airing live musical acts. On April 28, American Idol alumnus Clay Aiken performed songs from his new album On My Way Here. That day, QVC received more than 15,000 orders for the $19.38 CD — which also came with a five-track bonus CD/DVD.
  

• Prefix - Neil Diamond releases new album -

  Neil Diamond had his first hit 42 years ago, but he's never had a Number One album. Until now. That's what the stats are projecting, anyway; according to Billboard, the early sales figures for the new album Diamond released this week, Home Before Dark (his second in a row to be produced by Rick Rubin), show the 67-year-old to be outpacing everyone from Madonna to Clay Aiken.

• Reuters - Neil Diamond on track to #1 album -

  The current No. 1, Madonna's "Hard Candy" (Warner Bros.), may slide to No. 2 or No. 3 next week, while new entries from Gavin DeGraw, Clay Aiken, Toby Keith and Josh Groban look headed for top 10 bows.
  

• Clay bids farewell to Spamalot:
• Broadway World -

  Monty Python’s Spamalot marked its third anniversary on Broadway with a special 3-D performance. They welcomed American Idol alum Clay Aiken as well as London’s Lady of the Lake, Hannah Waddingham for a limited engagement with the show.

• Herald Dispatch - "Clay Aiken just ended his three-month run in Spamalot and will spend his downtime at home in North Carolina. "
• Entertainment Weekly -
  

  Catering to the last question, Idol has actually sent its talent straight to the Great White Way, including mama's fave Clay Aiken (Spamalot), Tamyra Gray (Rent), Constantine Maroulis (The Wedding Singer), LaKisha Jones (The Color Purple) , Diana DeGarmo (Hairspray) and of course, Fantasia.

• Salt Lake Tribune - it's not about winning anymore, on Idol -

  For one thing, only two of the previous six "Idol" champs, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, have attained superstar status. Meanwhile, several "Idol" also-rans (Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken and Chris Daughtry, for example) have fared better than their season's champs.

• The Daily Northwestern - review of OMWH... bleh... (also on another article ... "These are the people who truly make up our campus, so we hope you enjoy reading about them. And if not, there's always Social Diary, Anticipation Index and Clay Aiken's latest release to make you smile - or piss you off.")
  

  Clay Aiken
  
  On My Way Here
  
  When he wasn't starring in Monty Python's Spamalot, dissing Kelly Ripa or dodging gay rumors, Clay Aiken found the time to make an album. His second original work, On My Way Here, documents heartbreaks, regrets and growth since debuting as a nerdy Idol wannabe. Though he's sporting a heavier physique and longer hair, not much else has changed. Aiken's sound is the same - cheesy Top 40 pop that makes middle-aged women (his "Claymates") swoon. The title track, written by One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder, sets the mood with its simple piano and sweeping strings. Aiken sticks to what he's best at with ballads like "Something About Us" and "The Real Me"- clichéd love songs sappy enough to make Claymates toss their elastic-waisted Hanes. Although Aiken tries to switch it up with jazzy, funky beats and pop-rock guitar riffs, this one falls flat.

• Seattle Pi - Clay no longer tunes into Idol - "Well, not exactly. Extra has the scoop that American Idol alum Clay Aiken no longer watches American Idol. "It's just not the same thing," Aiken says. "It's like going back to your high school and none of your teachers are there. It's just completely different.""
  

• There Was A Man, The ConCLAYve, All That Is Clay Aiken - Clay performs "Ashes" on GMA - online edition
• Anew and Afresh gives a review of OMWH -

  For far too long Clay has been singing music chosen for him, according to someone else's idea of what sort of musical artist he is and all too often, they've tried to put him in a box that was too small for a voice as big and as versatile as his. With this new album, however, Clay's finally singing songs that come close to matching his talent. I've been listening to the entire album all day, and thus far I haven't found one song on it that I want to skip. When was the last time you were able to say that about any album these days? It's the first time I've been able to say it about any of Clay's albums.

• ClayKat - Clay is here with a new CD -

  Well here we are - May 6th! I needed a break from work and have many overtime hours anyway, so I left early this afternoon to go for a nice walk and pick up my copy of On My Way Here, then spend the evening enjoying it.
  
  I loaded the CD into my iTunes file on the computer, and lo and behold, something funny occurred: it decided the album is called On My Way There! Hilarious! I haven't corrected the mistake yet - who knows, if I'm the only one with this bug in the title, it might be worth something some day. ;-)

• All That Is Clay Aiken - thanking Clay for OMWH -

  This album is amazing. I really cannot put into words how I feel about it. I had heard the snippets from the different online vendors and knew it was going to be great. I had no idea how great it really was until I actually heard the entire CD. You can tell that Clay, Kipper and Jaymes put their heart and soul into every aspect of this work.
  
  Clay's voice has matured and is so much fuller now. Just by listening to him sing, you can tell this was a happy experience for him. This is the CD that Clay has been wanting to produce from the get-go. The worth the wait.
  It is very eclectic that it has something for everyone. In one interview today he said that his involvement with Unicef had some effect on a couple of the song choices. I would have been surprised if he had not had at least one inspirational song since he mentioned discovering one while on a trip with Unicef. Inspirational to R&B to mid-tempo. Some could even be cross-overs. I love all of the songs.