The Votes Are In for USA Today's Ultimate Idol and Clay Finishes 3rd

For most of the summer, readers of USA Today's Idol Chatter Blog have been voting for their favorite Idol in their Revisionist Idol contest. USA Today announced the winner of the contest along with the order of the remaining idols. Coming in first and second place were Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Clay's ranking was 3rd.

USA Today says about the ranking system:

Voters were asked to choose their favorite 10 Idols from a list of 15 and rank them in order. First place votes received 10 points, second place got 9, down to 1 point for a 10th place vote.

The top four winners in the rankings also have had the most sales of their CD's. Clay's Measure of a Man has sold about 2.8 million.

USA Today also mentions as a side note to the article that in the revisionist votes, four of the idols who did not win their seasons would have won according to these votes...Bo Bice, Eliott Yamin, Melinda Doolittle, and Clay Aiken.

Tidbits 4/12

• Salisbury Post - Article entitled "First Salisbury Idol contest offers $1,000 grand prize" says: "Maybe it's something in the water. Maybe it's the Carolina sunshine. Maybe it's the barbeque. Whatever it is, North Carolina has given the world more than its fair share of singing idols, including Clay Aiken of Raleigh, Fantasia Barrino of High Point and Kellie Pickler of Albemarle."
• The Hook In an article about Chris Daughtry, "If the names Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, Bo Bice, and Kelly Clarkson ring any bells, these artists can thank American Idol, this generation's version of Star Search."
• Lycos 50 - Clay dropped down one spot to #16 for the week ending 3/31/07. What does it say about Clay? "No longer watches Idol." He has been on the Lycos 50 for 197 weeks.
• As if there wasn't enough confusion surrounding Clay's canceled Dallas concert ... the Dallas Morning News seems to think it's still happening:

  CLAY AIKEN July 7 at 8 at Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie. On sale Mon at 10. $39.50-$59.50. Ticketmaster at 214-373-8000 or 972-647-5700 or www.ticketmaster.com
  

• Azle News (India) - not sure when American Idol changed its name to "Dallas American Idol" -

  People in the U.S. can’t get enough of the TV show DALLAS AMERICAN IDOL which has unleashed Larry Hagman Clay Aiken on the world. DALLAS American Idol has become a national obsession with everyone wondering “Who Shot J.R?” “What’s up with Sanjaya’s hair?”

• Globe & Mail (major newspaper in Canada... Canadian equivalent of the New York Times) - review of a new musical being staged in Toronto called "We Will Rock You". The musical is loosely based on the career & music of rock band Queen ...

  The targets of his satire include not just the absurdities of mindless rigidity, but pop music itself -- icons like Madonna, Britney Spears and American Idol winner Clay Aiken, even Queen itself -- and, by extension, the mesmerized audiences who carry the flame for their overpaid, undertalented idols.

• Toronto Star - another Idol releated article -

  Former runner-up Jennifer Hudson just won an Oscar for Dreamgirls. Clay Aiken curiously remains on the public radar. Chris Daughtry, namesake of the lame rock outfit Daughtry, has already outsold the three competitors who finished above him during his Idol tenure.

• Newswire Today - new record label launched with artists who have appeared at "Clay Aiken release party" -

  Thompson, an eighteen-year old pop rocker/singer-songwriter has recently appeared in shows with Teddy Geiger, Brian Littrel of The Backstreet Boys and the Clay Aiken release party and is among the Nashville-based label's debut artists.

• ABC 4 - article about a AI2 semi-finalist- "She performed last on March 3, 2003, singing 'Because You Loved Me' made popular by Celine Dion, but lost out to a field that included Ruben Studdard, Corey Clark and Clay Aiken." Press release here.

We've got a whole bunch of blogs about Clay's trip to Afghanistan... I just love it when the Clay Aiken blogosphere comes alive like this:

• ConCLAYve: Clay Aiken's $100,000 in 10 days challenge
• Taking A Moment: Clay's UNICEF appeal | Press release shows how "proud" we are of Clay
• Southern Girl: Clay's UNICEF mission | Raising $100,000 in 10 days
• Something That Really Happened: Clay's $100,000 appeal
• Idle-Wandering: Clay takes trip to Afghanistan
• ClaySpots: Clay Aiken - a Humanitarian -

  He's in a country where he is, instead, surrounded by the constant reminders of decades long war, upheaval, and oppression. He's spending his days and nights in places where snipe attacks and suicide bombings are a fact of life.
  
  His famous face won't help him get to the front of a line....in fact, it's important for his own safety that he alter his appearance slightly, to blend in with the people he so desperately wants to help.

• Thistle Hut: Clay's a source of inspiration
• Hobbies: Clay Aiken visits Afghanistan
  

Tidbits 2/13

TIME TO GET TO WORK CLAYMATES!
AmericanIdol.com wants to know which idol "has the most powerful voice?"
Click here to cast your vote!

• Clay drops to #22 on the Lycos50 this week. Keep searching for Clay on Lycos, everyone!
  
• The CB's Khrystah says she spotted Clay on E!'s show 10 Ways to Superstardom on StarTV here in Canada:
  

  I Couldn't sleep last night so I was flipping around the dial and at around 2am ET I stopped on Star! TV which airs a ton of E! stuff here in :claynadian A Show called "10 Ways to Superstardom" was just beginning and since I was bored and there was nothing else on, I figured I'd just leave it on while I tried to get to sleep.
  
  Well, didn't I just wake right up when Clay suddenly appeared on the TV!!! :lol
  
  Can't remember anything about the show other than seeing Clay 3 or 4 times. I believe he was included in #7 or #8 on the list (which was to be "geek" which is now considered "chic").
  
  They never mentioned him by name, but they did show 3 or 4 VERY short clips of him (along with many other "nerds" (their term not mine) ). From what I can remember, they showed 2 or 3 clips from the Invisible video, and the last clip was Glasses Clay and I *think* it may have been the Disneyland clip (?) it went by so fast I barely had time to register the outfit/look he was wearing (glasses, green/white striped shirt and short hair).

  
  
• NorthJersey.com - In an article about Constantine Maroulis, it says, "Like some other "American Idol" contestants who technically lost (Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken), Maroulis' career has had a kind of radioactive half-life."
• Knox News - The article "Morrow: 'Idol' needs to pick it up already", says, "In that 24 will be our new Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia or Clay Aiken, maybe."
• Gamespot News - "Game companies appear eager to get into the American Idol craze that has spawned millions of Clay Aiken wannabes across the country."
• The Washington Times - "If you wanted to take the positive point of view, you could say that Miss McPhee crushed season one loser Justin Guarini (57,000 in first-week sales) and season three loser Diana DeGarmo (47,000 in first week sales). However, the most recent "Idol" runner-up, Bo Bice, sold 225,000 copies of "The Real Thing" when it debuted in December 2005. That's not even getting into the 613,000 in first-week sales for Clay Aiken's 2003 debut, 'Measure of a Man.'"
• ZeroPaid - Torrent sites cashing in on the success of Hollywood stars... illegally...

  After opening the Pirate Bay website, type a search query in the box and press ENTER. We'll use the ever talented Clay Aiken as our test case.
  
  You'll see a variety of Clay Aiken material to choose from. We'll select Clay Aiken Clips.
  
  This will bring to you where the tracker download is located. The tracker is what will help the client server keep track of the seeders and leechers in the swarm and thus download the file or files. In the interest of legality, I am not going to download the Clay Aiken video clips here as shown in the picture, nor from anywhere else EVER for that matter, but rather will download a tracker from legaltorrents.com instead. So we'll pretend I clicked on "Download This Torrent," but in reality I clicked on another tracker instead.

• TV Guide - in an interview with TV Guide, AI2 contestant Kimberley Caldwell had some nice things to say about Clay:

  The reason people have been so successful on Idol is because they're original, they don't look and conform like everybody else. Ruben Studdard is not the typical American Idol, and neither is Clay Aiken....

• Sign On San Diego - why American Idol is so successful... AWESOME mention!
  

  It's also about the pure joy of watching talent trump everything, whether it is the heartbreaking “Solitaire” turning the sweetly awkward Clay Aiken into a star, or the voices of gifted dreamers turning a money-grubbing, ratings-hogging TV beast into something beautiful.

• E! Online- comedian Dane Cook jokes about Kelly Clarkson's song "Since U Been Gone"...

  Having no trouble in the popularity department in funnyman Dane Cook. Numerous girls flock to his table, trying to pick up a joke—or something. But apparently all the comedian can think about is an American Idol winner. “I’ve been singing Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since U Been Gone,’ ” he says. “It’s stuck in my cerebellum, and it won’t escape.” Cheer up Dane, it could be worse. At least it's not Clay Aiken's "Invisible."

• Courier Journal - more on Clay's "Build A Scandal" contest... wonderful press for Clay.

• Taking A Moment's Jemock has a wonderful idea for Valentine's with Clay... ROTFL!!!

  I have an idea on how we can all tell Clay how much we love him this Valentine’s Day. He can’t have a box of chocolate because, well, basically it would kill him. So here’s what everybody should do. Go out and buy the biggest box of chocolates you can find, something approximately the size of a funeral arrangement. Then, eat all the chocolate. Dump the paper wrappers in the floor, and find your digital camera. Hold the camera out at arm’s length, and snap your picture. Think about Clay and smile real big, or go with a sultry, seductive look. Take your camera down to Wal-Mart and have a 16 x 20 print made. Run back home and using the box as a template, cut out your picture so that it fits inside the box. Glue it in there so it won’t come out if it gets slung across the room when Clay opens it and is overcome with love or something.

  
  
• Southern Girl - TV alerts for Jimmy Kimmel and FOX Morning Show with Mike and Juliet.