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The Parade Magazine America's Giving Challenge is down to its last day and a half. At 3:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 31, the contest will be over and the top 4 charities will win $50,000. Whether BAF is in that top 4 is up to you, the fans, and your friends, family, and co-workers who you might be able to encouage to donate.
As of the writing of this article, BAF is still in 5th place with 1321 donations. That is 135 donations behind 4th place. And 6th place is only 33 donations behind us!! We need lots of donations. Here is what you and those you know can do to help:
Donations only need to be $10, or $11 if you donate via Paypal so as to cover the fee plus donate the minimum of $10.
IMPORTANT: In order to donate, you must click on the word "DONATE" on the BAF badge. This will take you to the information you need to fill out to make your donation. If you do not first click on the badge, your donation will not count.
If you donate more than once, only your first donation counts. Only one donation of $10 is necessary.
Donations MUST be made by 3:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 31. That's 3 p.m. in the afternoon.
Please spread the news to friends, family, fellow employees, teachers, anyone and everyone! We don't want to lose this opportunity to win $50,000 for The Bubel Aiken Foundation. $50,000 = 5 SUMMER CAMPS!! We only have until January 31. Let's get into high gear and make this happen for BAF and the children they serve!
You must click on the badge in order for your donation to count!!
IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION: The Clayboard has list of people who are willing to be "donation sponsors" where someone who can't afford to donate will be reimbursed for their donation. For a list of those who are willing to reimburse you for your donation, go to this link: The Clayboard Donation Sponsors. A list of people along with a link to PM them is available at this site. All you have to do is make the donation and one of these people will reimburse you the $10.
We've been telling you about a wonderful opportunity to win $50,000 for The Bubel Aiken Foundation. That is through a contest that Parade Magazine is sponsoring called "America's Giving Challenge". In order to win the $50,000, BAF needs to be one of the top 4 U.S. Based Charities, and this is determined by the number of donations that are given to BAF. NOT the total amount of donations, but the total number.
As of the writing of this article, BAF has dropped to 5th place and is behind 4th place by 67 donations. We have 1133 donations to 4th place's 1200. It is imperative that many more donations be made to put us back in 4th place and further away from 5th place. And here is what you can do to make a donation:
Donations only need to be $10, or $11 if you donate via Paypal so as to cover the fee plus donate the minimum of $10.
IMPORTANT: In order to donate, you must click on the word "DONATE" on the BAF badge. This will take you to the information you need to fill out to make your donation. If you do not first click on the badge, your donation will not count.
If you donate more than once, only your first donation counts. Only one donation of $10 is necessary.
Donations MUST be made by 3:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 31. That's 3 p.m. in the afternoon.
Please spread the news to friends, family, fellow employees, teachers, anyone and everyone! We don't want to lose this opportunity to win $50,000 for The Bubel Aiken Foundation. $50,000 = 5 SUMMER CAMPS!! We only have until January 31. Let's get into high gear and make this happen for BAF and the children they serve!
You must click on the badge in order for your donation to count!!
IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION: The Clayboard has list of people who are willing to be "donation sponsors" where someone who can't afford to donate will be reimbursed for their donation. For a list of those who are willing to reimburse you for your donation, go to this link: The Clayboard Donation Sponsors. A list of people along with a link to PM them is available at this site. All you have to do is make the donation and one of these people will reimburse you the $10.
AOL, which earlier this week had Clay in the Top 5 Video Clips of the Day, now have him in the Top 5 Video Clips of The Week. He is currently winning with 90% of the vote.
Ms. Thomas and her lawyer argued that downloading the 24 songs would have cost all of $23.76 on iTunes. Like I said, I don't know what Ms. Thomas shared, but paying even that much for the work of Britney Spears or Clay Aiken strikes me personally as excessive.
This recap is courtesy of AustenFan at The Clayboard. What a great recap! Clay is getting more and more into his role as Sir Robin. It only took him a week to begin to get comfortable and to throw in some of the Clay Aiken humor that we love so much. Read AustenFan's recap below...I know you'll love it!
I went to tonight's show and it was fantastic. I'll try to recap a little though I need to get some rest.
All I can say is Clay is getting more hilarious if you can believe it. He's getting laughs on every line. And finding more laughs each show. Even some laughs that get into applause. He's getting laughs from facial expressions alone. His Idol Of His Age Yodel was so good. When he hit that super high, full note the audience applauded. The whole audience applauded. Clay rocked the Bottle Dance.
There was a group of cool, hip twenty somethings sitting near me. These were not the kind of folks who'd feel comfortable saying they liked Clay. I have a feeling they didn't come in expecting or thinking much of Clay. At the intermission one of the women mentioned Clay Aiken and said she liked him better now. And he did a good job. The she said doing this play is so much cooler than being on American Idol. The group laughed and had a great time. And they roared during the second act.
The orchestra looked pretty full and I saw people in the balcony and mezzanine. One man near me said that when he got tickets at the ticket booth the person had only a handful of tickets left. So they must have sold very well. After the show he said they made the right decision picking this one. I heard other people say how great it was. This was an NJU (Not-Just-Us)crowd and the folks near me were pretty much NJU.
I met up with some fellow fans and we waited at the stage door. Clay looked so handsome he blew me away. This guy asked if he could take a picture with Clay and he said sure and did. And other people asked and Clay said just have it ready. With the smaller weeknight crowd he could do that. Clay looked so happy and relaxed. I get the feeling things are going very well for Clay right now.
Will it ever end??? We hope not. In fact, we think the media coverage is just beginning. Here's a few more to tell you about:
The Houston Chronicle had an article back on January 14 that I just discovered. Its the same Associated Press article that has been in countless other media articles. Though not all comments concerning the article were good, here's one I think you'll like:
MaddyOne wrote: How lucky I was to see Spamalot last weekend. Aiken is a natural. Who knew? BTW, the man has a teaching degree from UNC Charlotte. 1/25/2008 2:45 PM CST
This same article and a picture of Clay with the skyscaper in the background is in the Gusto/Entertainment section of the Buffalo, NY News!! I'm loving the publicity!! In this article, it does add on that he went to see the show later and realized it was silly and funny, just like he is and that the role is good for him. The Clay/Spamalot publicist is AWESOME!!
Angels0604 also tells us at the same Clayboard link that an article AND a picture of Clay was in her local newspaper:
Here is a partial scan of the AP article and photo that was in my local paper today, the Register-Citizen of Northwest Connecticut. Was I ever excited to see it! The size of the paper was too big for my scanner.
Take the link to the Clayboard if you'd like to see a bigger picture of the newspaper article.
At AOL's "Pop Scene" section, January 25, 2008, is the following picture of Sir Robin and the caption:
The caption reads:
Singer/Actor Clay Aiken bows at the curtain call of the Opening Night for Clay Aiken in "Monty Python's Spamalot" on Broadway at The Shubert Theater on January 18, 2008 in New York City. Photo by Bruce Glikas, FilmMagic.
The Feb 4th In Touch with of course Brittney on the cover(I'm not Crazy) also has a Spamalot picture but the one where he's holding the chicken. Page 10 with the picture it says "Broadway Baby" and the write-up says "Is Clay chicken? He didn't choke on American Idol! (Definitely a play on the picture) Clay Aiken, Idol's season 2 runner-up made his Broadway debut as Sir Robin in the silly smash hit Monty Python's Spamalot on January 18 --- and Claymates are achin' to see him!
We'll keep you informed of all the media coverage in the days and weeks to come.
I've been a member of this board for a long time (5 years in May) and I don't think I've ever been prouder to call the Clayboard home. image
What happened here over the last couple of weeks has been nothing short of amazing. Every facet of this board pulled together to raise enough money to fund one camp and part of another. image Because of YOUR efforts, some very special kids will have the ability to experience the fun of summer camp.
Each year, the Clayboard holds a fundraiser to benefit TBAF in honor of Clay's birthday. This year, the Clayboard Team for Inclusion Beta Alpha Chapter has a special goal in mind for Clay's birthday. We all know that TBAF is aiming for 100 camps in 2008, and we have heard Clay say that ONE camp is about $10,000.
So this year, the Clayboard would like to reach the goal of raising enough money to fund one TBAF Camp...a total of $10,000. The deadline donations to the"Clayboard TBAF Camp for Clay Challenge" is noon Eastern Time on Thursday, Nov. 29. All donations, big or small, that could help us to reach the goal of a TBAF Camp would be greatly appreciated.
You do NOT have to be a member of the Clayboard Team for Inclusion to take part. All you need to do is make your online donation at the TBAF site and when filling out the donation form, just type "Clayboard Team for Inclusion" in the box marked "Beta Alpha Chapter."
After making your online donation, please be sure to PM or email Mamarose10 at The Clayboard (email: bozpip@adelphia.net) with your screenname and amount of donation so we can add your donation to the tally, and make sure your name is included on the card that will be forwarded to TBAF and Clay.
We hope everyone will join us in this challenge and help us in reaching this very special goal of a TBAF Camp for Clay's Birthday.
We've been looking back at all of Clay's tours, starting with the American Idol 2 Tour through today's topic, The Soft Rock and a Hard Place Tour, aka The ATDW Tour. We've seen some great memories of these tours through pictures and video. There hasn't been a bad tour in the bunch. All are classic Clay, from his first shirt tug to his last thank you in Orlando this year. More good memories than we could ever have hoped for have come from these tours.
I hope you have enjoyed each of these articles about the tours and that maybe you saw something in the photos and videos that you had forgotten about and that brought a smile to your face. Being that the ATDW Tour has only been over about a month, there's not too much that you could have forgotten about by now. But its always good to go back and look at some great pictures of Clay, no matter when or where they come from.
Before looking at the pictures, here are some memories that fans from The Clayboard wrote about. Maybe they are your memories as well:
Sunshinewagon - "They're in my SHIRT" (the bugs) and then "Love songs for the mosquitos, gettin' 'em in the MOOD" SRHPT
"Uuummmmm..yeah.......uuuuummmmm.......yeah..dltsl...yeah.....yeah......... It's hot.........that's the problem........it's really hot. Singing to "Flat Clay" in Pala. Singing "Listen" with Quiana in Sterling Heights. Every performance of "Because You Loved Me" especially the last night.
Rpoppert - My very first Meet and Greet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww songs! Slowwwwwwwwww and eeeeeeeeeasy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Flat Clay!! The Jeffeerson's dance! Classics medley, especially Party All Night move. More skin ever seen on this tour!! Lover All Alone live! Every single night of Because You Loved Me!!!! Getting the handshake line two out of my four shows!!! The first two times ever in four years, getting a handshake at the busses!!!! For all tours! Clay's humor!!!!!
Riversend22 - I have two memories from this past tour. The first was when he talked to me in Pala because I had apparently blurted out that he was sexy and Quiana heard me and called me on it. It made for a very funny moment. The second was during the TV Medley at the West Palm Beach show. During the "Who's the Boss" theme, Clay had noticed that I was singing and getting very into the song because I love it, and at one part when he says "Found a trail and at the end was you"...he had reached out towards me which was just cute. So yes...I have many many memories. I love and cherish each and every one and I look forward to making more in the years to come.
BamaClayFan - Summer 2007 Tour - Asheville show - I'll never forget.
Sugar4Clay - Sterling Hts "Listen" duet...beautiful, impromptu, perfect. Participating in the cellcerts, getting to know others in the ClayNation, watching this amazing young man become the huge star that he deserves.
There are so many things I could say to sum the tour series up, but I think I'll just end it simply by saying, "Clay, thanks for the memories...thank you...so much."
From You Tube - Classics Medley/Orlando (By Floridabelle)
From You Tube - Lover All Alone/Orlando (By Claykitty01)
From You Tube - Because You Loved Me/Orlando (RVzLady)
After going all of 2006 without a tour, everyone was very excited about Clay's 2006 Joyful Noise Tour. This tour had Clay singing both traditional holiday songs and inspirational spiritual Christmas songs. Mixed in with these songs was Clay's typical funny banter. It was a night to be remembered, as all of Clay's concerts are, and a tour to get everyone in the spirit of Christmas.
So many things stand out about this tour. Of course that first night when Clay missed that note in All Is Well was something we never expected. I think everyone left feeling really bad for Clay. But then, the next night at Merrillville, as everyone sat on the edge of their seats scarcely breathing, with fingers crossed and a little nervousness in his face, Clay hit that note right on and never missed it again the whole tour. The place exploded when he hit the note. I was at the cellcert, and you could feel the excitement right through the my computer screen!
Then there was a sick Clay, so sick he had to be helped off stage one night, so sick he had to sit down and hold on tight for one or two concerts. But the only thing he missed out of those several nights he was ill was one encore song. He sang his heart out, hit all the notes, bantered hilariously, and never missed a beat. And no doubt he did this for the fans. Me? I'd have been home in bed, having cancelled the concert for being too sick to perform. Not Clay though. Clay gives his all for the fans. Always and in every way.
Once again, some of the fans at the Clayboard have given us their memories of this tour.
Rpoppert - JNT2006, was the only tour so far I have not attended, but I stil lhave to say All Is Well, and My Grown Up Christmas List, and DSIAFCD.. best memories. Plus, word of the day!
Claykevfan - I've been to one show every tour. I have loved every one and something special has happened at each that I will remember and cherish. But the most special has to be last Christmas's JNT in Merrillville when Clay sang "All is Well" and hit the glory note. It was beyond magical--as everyone in the audience was literally breathing along with him, "willing" him to hit that note, which he did quite brilliantly. Everyone was cheering, screaming--crying. And that beautiful smile on his face afterwards, it was just too incredible for words.
J4clay - I saw him twice in person during this tour, and both concerts were so special. But being at the cellcert the night that he hit the glory note in All Is Well was amazing. The anticipation of waiting for that note and hoping and praying he would hit it that night was unbelievable. You could feel the tenseness right through your computer screen. When he hit it and the cellcerter told us about his reaction and the crowd's reaction, I just burst into uncontrollable tears. I was so happy and so proud of him. I was so pleased that the fans showed him the love and support he deserved. That was an amazing moment for me, especially knowing there was this bond all over the country between fans listening to that moment.
Next time we will have our last part of these special tour memories, and the tour we'll remember was just about a month ago. Hardly forgotten, and yet worth remembering again.
All is Well, from the Merrillville show, is our next YouTube video for you to watch. I just watched it at YouTube (see video below). Watching Clay in the video is phenomenal. As he sings AIW, the look of determination on his face is amazing. He had something of the utmost importance to him and his fans to do. He wanted to make certain he hit that last note. He didn't want to disappoint his fans. He was bound and determined that he would not miss it. The focus and resolve on his face brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. You can see it in his eyes and the way he looks intently straight ahead. He is so very focused.
Then he hits the "next to highest" long note as a precursor to the final note. Perfection on that one. A spattering of heartfelt applause can be heard in the audience.
All is welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Then he swallows, the french horn blares its note, and he begins singing the last verse of the song in a higher key.
Born is now Emmanuel Born is our Lord and Savior Singing Alleluia Singing Alleluia All is (quick breath) wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.
He closes his eyes and sings with every fiber of his being. The note is perfect, not a flaw. He holds it out for what seems like an eternity. And the place comes unglued. The fans immediately show their love for him with a huge standing ovation unlike any he's ever had, except maybe for his homecoming in Raleigh during the AI2 tour. They leap from their seats, cheering for him. They couldn't stay sitting down if they wanted to. Its a reflexive reaction. They want to show Clay their support and that they knew he would hit the note.
Clay goes "whew", throws his head slightly back, bows his head twice and smiles...then smiles bigger. Then opens his eyes wide and opens his mouth wide, like "Wow, I did it! I did it!" He's so proud and pleased that he did what he set out to do, and he did it for his fans. To please them. Next an even bigger smile and a big bow, complete with that long flowing hair falling down over his face. He then raises his hand to his head and sweeps back the hair and then motions a thank you with his hand. He motions to the orchestra and walks off. Task accomplished. Love between singer and fans is obvious. All certainly is well. And he never missed that note again, for the rest of the tour.
Love and pride personified, between Clay and his fans...between the fans and Clay. Its moments like this that make it all worthwhile and that make me feel blessed to be a fan of the most amazing and special person there is.
I dare ya watch the video and not cry. Its impossible.
CharlotteClayFan at The Clayboard informs us that according to the September 17-23 TV Guide, the celebrity version of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader will air in November.
According to TV Guide:
A November episode will feature stars such as Clay Aiken, Kellie Pickler, Regis Philbin, and Tony Hawk, playing for charity."
An exact date is not given. We'll keep our eyes and ears open so we make certain not to miss it!
The Joyful Noise Tour 2005...and what a joyful noise it gave to us. Not only did we get to hear some of the most beautiful Christmas songs sung by the voice perfectly made for those songs, but we got to share in a festive and inspirational story written by none other than Clay Aiken. A story with a message of sharing Christmas with those we love, celebrating the holiday with friends and family, and giving to others 365 days a year. Personally, I watched this program 5 times, and I could have watched it that many more and still not been tired of it.
Again, we asked some of the fans from The Clayboard to give us so me of their treasured memories of this Christmas show. Here are a few of those:
Rainlover - Singing Beautiful Star of Bethlehem to his grandfather.
Rpoppert - DSIAFCD!!!! Good News. Star of Bethlehem, sung to his grandfather. The whole play written by Clay was beautiful.
Riversend22 - My greatest memory from this tour was getting to meet Clay in a meet and greet for the first time. He looked so beautiful.
Kildeerclaygal - He brought me to tears with "Good News" at JNT05 Treking through 12 inches of snow to Waukegan last Christmas for a fabulous show and a wonderful dinner with my fellow Claymates!!
LuvTacos - But the one that stands out is KC, JNT 05...the night we had the battery operated candles and held them up during DSIAFCD. It was a night that Clay probably really needed a huge hug and he got one, via the candles. The look on his face, I will never forget.
Sugar4clay - Christmas tour with the play...we traveled to Denver to visit friends and see this show. He was starting to reveal his true self to his fans, and it felt very close and warm.
Psmurf752 - From the 2nd Joyful Noise Tour (2005) in Council Bluffs, Iowa 1) the white suit 2) Clay singing Emmanuel in the white suit
Every tour has its own set of special memories. Thanks to Clay, we have more memories than could even fit in the Grand Canyon.
Next time we'll remember the Joyful Noise Tour 06. Now, here are some photo and YouTube memories of JNT 05.
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