Spamalot Review Includes Good Clay Comments

We've been waiting for reviews of Spamalot, and here is one of the first ones, if not the first one.

The Hofstra Chronicle, an online publication of New York's Hofstra University, has a great review of both Spamalot and Clay's performance. The article, entitled Clay Aiken Joins Spamalot Cast, by David Gordon, says concerning Spamalot:

Unlike so many "big name" projects that end up floundering, "Spamalot" not only lived up to expectations, it managed to exceed them...Now, almost three years since it opened, "Spamalot" is still delighting Broadway audiences with its giddy silliness.

Gordon has good comments about Clay as well:

Aiken follows a multitude of "American Idol" participants into their Broadway debuts-Fantasia Barrino, Diana DeGarmo and Frenchie Davis among them. His part isn't very large (he plays Sir Robin, among other roles), but for him, they've added verses of songs here and there, as well as a number of lines. He sings well (unsurprisingly), is a solid dancer (the "Fiddler on the Roof"-inspired "You Won't Succeed on Broadway if You Don't Have Any Jews" is a show-stopping highlight) and nails almost all of the jokes.

Gordon even manages to include a Claymate mention:

Rick Holmes is a fine Lancelot, and fills Azaria's other part, the Knight of Ni, very well. He even manages to deliver a Clay Aiken joke-he's the Knight who says "Ni, Ni, if I was invisible, I would just...," which, of course, sends the Claymates in the audience into raucous cheers.

We'll be watching for more reviews in the coming weeks. Hopefully they will all be as good, even better, than this first review.

"New" Old Clack from 2004 Fox Upfront Presentation

LUVClay26 at the CB found this "new" old video of Clay singing "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" with Ruben, Diana DeGarmo and Fantasia all the way back in 2004. This performance was part of the the FOX Upfront presentation in May 2004 where the network showcases it's new fall lineup to the media and investors. Clay and Ruben were singing from the event in New York and Diana and Fantasia were on satellite in Los Angeles.

At the event, Clay also performed "This Is The Night". Both performances can be downloaded at ClackUnlimited.

Tidbits 3/25

• Remember the New York Times article we told you about yesterday? It has finally shown up on their website:

  The Southern dynasty began in Season 1, when Kelly Clarkson, a waitress from Burleson, Tex., triumphed over Justin Guarini of Doylestown, Pa. It has continued every season since. An Alabama native, Ruben Studdard, won Season 2, defeating Clay Aiken of North Carolina. That state got revenge in Season 3 when Fantasia Barrino beat Diana DeGarmo of Snellville, Ga.
  

• Wichita Eagle - AI ... "Presuming Stacey's not the winner, he could still go on to release a hit record like last season's fourth-place finisher, Chris Daughtry, or season two runner-up Clay Aiken."

• Taking A Moment's Jemock tells us how she plans on staying organized for the 2007 Summer Tour. With a journal, of course! "I think that little pouch might come in handy for small items like tickets, receipts, Clay's room key oh wait that's just me, and so forth and so on."
• Carolina On My Mind - we like to stay away from politics here on CDD, but here's such a compelling and moving story that we just had to share it with you... plus, there are some gorgeous PAH's in the post. Carolina Clay talks about John Edwards and his cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth's brave and symbolic decision to stay in the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination race.
  

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.