YouTube of the Day: Man Caught on Hidden Camera Dancing to TITN

... I think the title of this post says it all. This is hilarious!

Tidbits 10/15

• Some members of the Clay nation found a "new" review of Merry Christmas with Love over at Christmasreviews.com:

  Now Aiken has released Merry Christmas With Love, a lovely, heartfelt holiday card to his millions of adoring fans. The release definitely plays to Aiken's strengths; this is no frivolous pop froth. Aiken sings these Christmas classics with the gusto of a seasoned holiday music icon, somewhat reminiscent of Sinatra or Como. Aiken is often compared with Harry Connick, Jr., and it's a fair comparison. The arrangements are relatively straightforward, and Aiken's stylings are old-fashioned, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Although Aiken's clean voice is accompanied by considerable engineering magic and background vocals, the production is largely restrained and tasteful. No annoying gimmicks clutter the fine music here.
  
  Merry Christmas With Love contains a dozen tracks, a smart blend of the old and new. As you might expect, the best-loved holiday chestnuts are here. The three lesser-known contemporary numbers are the title track, Celine Dion's (co-author) "Don't Save It All For Christmas Day," and the wonderful "Mary Did You Know?" (a personal favorite of mine!). Interestingly, there was apparently some ongoing debate regarding the order of selections on the CD. The album's back reflects one listing with the caution "See Label For Sequence," and the CD's label in fact shows the correct line-up ("Winter Wonderland" and "Sleigh Ride" are switched). The liner notes, which contain considerable information about each track's production and some nifty photos of Aiken, present the songs in a third (and entirely different) order. None of this affects the recording's quality, of course, but it is fascinating to consider the strategies involved when stringing holiday tunes together into an entire album.
  

• Broadway World - article about a project Clay's musical conductor, Jesse Vargas, is involved in:

  The CD was arranged and musically directed by Jesse Vargas (Bare; Clay Aiken tour) and was produced by Alan and Vargas at Track 9 studios, New York City.

• Tech Digest - calculating the success of an album using the "Moby" equation -

  There's several factors within the formula, such as 'the sacredness of the song involved in the shilling', with John Lennon's 'Imagine' at number 10, and 'Disco Duck' at number one, and 'the artist's underground, nonconformist or punk origins', showing the Rolling Stones at number 10, and American Idol-darling, Clay Aiken, at number one.

• Tallahassee Democrat - pageant queen dances to TITN -

  Keister was interviewed by a panel of judges about her current and future life goals and knowledge of local, statewide, national and international current events. She performed a lyrical jazz dance during the talent portion of the competition to Clay Aiken's “This is the Night.”

• There Was A Man posts a cute YouTube Clay montage
• The ConCLAYve's Corabeth on why Claymates are a lot like Red Sox fans -

  1.Obsessive-Compulsive
  Clay fans certainly have our rituals, from the way we purchase tickets to the things we do to prepare for a concert to the fact that (as Clay once told an audience)we spend “25 hours a day” on the message boards.
  

Looking Back - Time Magazine, October 2003 - "Building a Better Pop Star"

This time four years ago Clay's first CD, Measure of a Man, was released. Fans everywhere were ordering and purchasing the CD. It ended up going triple platinum, showing people everywhere that Clay Aiken would definitely be around for a while. And, of course, he has.

About that time, an article came out in Time Magazine called Building a Better Pop Star, by Josh Tyrangiel. This is a great article which tells about much of what happened before the release of Measure of a Man. You'll be glad you stopped and read the whole article. Here are a few excerpts to whet your appetite:

Aiken, who came in second on the most recent installment of American Idol, is not only not a rocker, but, as he says in his aggressively self-deprecating way, "I'm not an artist. I'm just a guy who was on a reality show—and I didn't even win!" Humility aside, Aiken, 24, doesn't mind being doubted because he believes in his bones that his detractors are wrong. "There are many people at the record label who are afraid of me," he says. "They don't understand the reasons that someone as uncool as me is here. In a way—and this is a horrible word to say, and once I say it you're going to print it—it's a revolution."

This is how the term "vanilla revolution" came about, and as the article goes on to say:

(Richard) Sanders says he understands that some of his employees are "skeptical about the selection process and skeptical about selling a pop artist with no credibility." But, he adds, "I've told everyone they need to look at it this way: Americans buy more vanilla ice cream than any other flavor. Yes, they like their Rocky Road and Cherry Garcia, but ultimately America wants to consume vanilla. So we're going to sell the best vanilla. Given the problems we're facing as an industry, we cannot afford to be judgmental."

Many of you also remember that Clay had many disagreements with Clive Davis about the album he wanted to put out, from the name of the album to the type of music he would sing. This article includes what went on with this. Clay won out in the end, refusing to give in and change his convictions.

In addition to not giving in on his CD, Clay's original This Is The Night video was scrapped because, as Clay said,

They had me in this tight little vintage T shirt and jeans and a leather jacket," says Aiken. "And (Rolston) had me sing the song in one scene with this angst attitude—popping my neck and mean looks on my face ... It's trying to make me somebody I'm not. I'm not mean, and this is something the label just doesn't get.

As the article says near the end, "It is telling that in just five months with RCA, Aiken has won most of his battles." The CD had the type of songs that Clay wanted and the name he chose and the video was scrapped.

Clay showed throughout this whole process of putting out this CD just what "the measure of a man" is. And aren't we glad.

Clay in Fred Bronson's New Billboard Book

Billboard's Fred Bronson will be releasing a new edition of "Billboard's Hottest 100 Hits" on October 2. 3 Clay songs, "This Is The Night", "Invisible" and "Solitaire" are in the book's top 30 American Idol songs list, according to stripedshirts at CV:

From Fred Bronson:

Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits: 4th Edition coming out in Oct. 2nd will have a Clay mention in there, & a pic. You can preorder on Amazon.com

Preview from Fred on what's Clay-related in the book

"Clay has three songs in the American Idol top 30: "This Is The Night," "Solitaire" and "Invisible." The list is based on the Hot 100, and his Christmas songs didn't appear on this chart. The photo is an older one that predates the new dark hair. But it is quite large on the page and I think people will like the placement. The 4th edition is revised and expanded, so there is a lot of new material, including the top 30 songs by American Idols."

Since in the past few days there has been books discovered w/ Clay content in them, add this to your shopping list.

Order your copy of this book for $16.47 at Amazon.com.

"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.

This Is The Night -- Remember Those First Few Performances?

As we all know, Clay's first single was This Is The Night/Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Do you remember those first few times he sang that song after American Idol was over? I know there are many more besides the three videos I have gotten off of YouTube for you to watch, but these will help bring back those great memories of the early days of Clay.

This first one is from Good Morning America. This was one of Clay's first stops after American Idol. There was a small group of fans in the studio, many holding signs, probably more even outside, to let Clay know how much they loved him. And I'll always remember that smile of his after the song was finished. It was as though he was thinking, "I can't believe they really like me!" Click on the video below to relive these memories.



Next we have This Is The Night on The View. A bigger audience, and an even bigger voice singing it here. Yes, he was in great voice here. And still, there was that smile of his at the end, that smile we've all grown to love so much.



Finally, and this is one of my favorites, this is when Clay sang This Is The Night on the AI Tour in Raleigh. Clay rises up onto the stage, and you almost can't hear him for all the cheering from the home crowd. You can feel the pride in that venue that night. The love they had for their home town boy!! The last 3 minutes of the video is almost all cheering, with an obviously touched and tearful Clay taking it all in. I challenge you to watch this part without breaking into tears of your own. I can't!



I think the many memories of Clay singing This Is The Night, whether on his first CD, on a television show, on the AI Tour, or on his Solo Tour, will always hold a special place in each of our hearts. If you haven't watched some of these older performances in a while, maybe this is the night when you can do so!

Tidbits 5/23

• AOL Music - AOL Music has compiled their list of the top 20 AI songs. Clay's Bridge Over Troubled Waters came in as #7. They say, "7. Clay Aiken, 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters' -- How'd he get a choir on stage? Regardless, Clay's unique rendition of the Simon & Garfunkel tune was truly inspiring."
• IdolHeadEd.com has a fantastic recap of what Clay's been up to since being runner-up in AI2 4 years ago -

  Season 2: Clay Aiken
  
  The transformation from nerd to chic will go down as the ultimate American Idol makeover. That, in addition to his voice, continues to drive many a Claymate crazy even 4 years later....
  

• A bunch of American Idol related mentions:
• Charlotte Observer -

  Perhaps the giddiness is on hold until Wednesday's two-hour results extravaganza (which, after all, will likely include some form of Sanjaya, unlike Tuesday's show), the show that last year delivered jaw-dropping amounts of both the random (Meat Loaf? Prince?) and the insane (a Clay Aiken wannabe? Also, Clay Aiken's hairstyle?). Or perhaps it's decided to just not show up at all.

• Philadelphia Inquirer -

  Face it: Men have fared poorly in the AI cosmos, the biggest success to date being cultural oddity Clay Aiken - if he didn't exist, Martin Short would have created him - and even Clay came in second. Blake is just a full-figured Clay.

• Entertainment Weekly comments on the first single for whoever wins Idol tonight and mentions TITN -

  Why not just drop the last ''w'' in the song title and call it ''This Is My No''?
  
  Ugh!
  
  As far as I'm concerned, it would be prudent to toss both Blake and Jordin's renditions of this so-called song directly into the same musical landfill where Katharine McPhee's ''My Destiny,'' Bo Bice's ''Long Long Road,'' and Clay Aiken's ''This Is the Night'' are quietly decomposing.

• New Jersey Star Ledger - "Clay Aiken, who lost on a night when producers underestimated the number of votes that would be cast and the phone banks got swamped."
• New York Magazine -

  What's America's dirty little secret? We think coming in second (or, heck, third or fourth) is a-okay. American Idol "loser" Clay Aiken has outsold victor Ruben Studdard. President Bush moved into the White House. And last night's show seemed designed to accentuate loserdom, from Paula Abdul's wishy-washy yet oddly appropriate concluding statement ("You know how it goes, they all end up winners, as you will see") to Chris Daughtry's live performance of the pack-your-bags-bro-you're-outta-here song "Home." Failures, stand proud: You run this country.

• Seattle Times -

  Pop singer Clay Aiken has sold more than 4 million albums in the U.S.
  
  Soul singer Jennifer Hudson won a best supporting actress Oscar for "Dreamgirls."
  
  Rock singer/guitarist Chris Daughtry's debut album hit No. 1 and went double platinum (2 million sales).
  
  What do these stars all have in common?
  
  They racked up these wins after they were losers on the hit TV show "American Idol."
  

• And a bunch of mentions of Clay's Dancing With The Stars appearance last night:
• Zap2it.tv - "Well, first we have to watch the previously booted contestants dance one more time and Jimmy Kimmel plug his fake DVD (with an assist from Clay Aiken) and those final interviews."
• The Trades - "A final Dance Along at Home with Jimmy, this time with them trying to tout a DVD of the same name, including a clever cameo by Clay Aiken.
  
• Entertainment Weekly - "The Jimmy Kimmel serial nightmare ended on a high note, even though there was something rotten in the state of Clay Aiken's hair."
• TV Blend - "Even Clay Aiken shows up for a jokey segment to remind us that ‘Dancing with the Stars” truly is just like ‘American Idol’….for your feet. "
• iVillage - "The best part about this was a cameo appearance by Clay Aiken. If there's one thing about DWTS that I love, it's that you never truly know who's going to come out of the woodwork."
• BuddyTV -

  The “special bonus” of Guillermo’s Moustache Magic offered with it has Clay Aiken promoting it. Tom Bergeron points out that this is not a real DVD, in case we’re gullible tonight.
  

• ... few mentions of the summer tour:
• TC Palm
• Atlanta Creative Loafing

• Southern Girl on why she thinks the comic strip Luann is awesome.
• There Was A Man has a nice recap from last night's DWTS appearance.
  

American Idol 2 - Remembering Clay's Performances - Top 2

May 22, 2007...This is the night for the AI6 Final 2 to show America one more time just how good they are and why they should win. This is the night they hope to save their best for last. And speaking of "this is the night"...anyone remember hearing that song for the first time on Tuesday, May 20, 2003? Little did we know how many copies that song would sell or that it was the beginning of a career for Clay that has been much more than that of a singer, but also that of an entertainer, actor, and humanitarian. And little did Clay know that his fans, the Claymates, would from that day on become arguably the most devoted fans a celebrity has ever had.

It was a showdown between Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard. The whole country was buzzing over who would win. That night, the first song was the original song that was chosen for each finalist by the show, and that was "This Is The Night" for Clay. Clay walked out looking so handsome in that dark suit. And he didn't disappoint as he began to sing. That voice just soared when he sang the chorus. He added those deep knee bends that I've come to love! I remember when he finished the song, he let out a big sigh and had a big smile on his face, as though he was thinking, "Whoo, I did it, I did okay!" Well, he did more than okay. And that song has grown to have so much meaning today. It was the beginning of many great things to come.



The second song was to be a Beatles song. Clay chose "Here, There, and Everywhere", which has always been a personal favorite of mine since I was a kid. Clay was sitting on a stool accompanied by a harp. He sang a simple, pure version. He just let his gorgeous voice and the words compliment each other. Nothing fancy was necessary. When you have a voice like Clay and are singing a song like that, that's all you need for something spectacular. And when he sang "there" the first time, going down to that low note, I could feel it in my toes. Just beautiful.



Finally, the last song was a song of Clay's choice. He chose "Bridge Over Troubled Waters", a Simon and Garfunkel song which again, I always loved growing up. I remember being so nervous during this song. The judges were not jumping up and down over his first two songs. I really wanted this one to knock their socks off. I'll never forget Clay walking out on stage, just calmly, slowly walking out on stage up to the microphone. And the choir moving with the music. And then out came that voice...smooth, deep, pure, mellow. When he went down to those low notes, it sent shock waves through me. I asked my son to help me come up with words to describe those low notes, and my son, teenager that he is, said, "Deep? Full? Manly? Hunka hunka? I want a chunk of that?" Well, he was being silly, but I think he might have something there! And the only thing that tops those notes is that to-die-for glory note at the end. I remember listening to BOTW over and over and over again. I don't think any of us could get enough of that song! Paula was right when she said, "You sent chills down us, Clay", and Simon was also right when he said, "I think that song could win you the competition".... coulda woulda shoulda. But the difference in the votes was so miniscule, that I think he was a winner...the winner in my book.



Though, as we all know and still hurt over, Clay didn't win the title of American Idol on the show, but he went on to show us what a true American Idol is, and he continues to show us to this day. And what is that? Well, here are some quotes from Clay that pretty much sum it all up:

Clay's on his definition of an Americal Idol: "American celebrities have an amazing amount of influence on the way America thinks, feels, and acts. I think that such an influence should be used in the most positive way possible."

And:

"Someone with a talent that leaves a mark on American society and inspires people to think, feel, love, act."

"I enjoy singing and that's what I'm here to do. I know I'm not a model; I'm not going to be. I'm not the best lookin' person here, and that's fine. That's not what it's about to me."

On the pressures of being in the public eye: "...as long as you're living right, then you don't have to worry about what people see."

"It's not the money. It's not the fame. It's the influence."

"It's important that I make a difference in some way. If it's performing and touching someone that way, that's great; if it's being a teacher and helping some kid understand something, that's even better..."

"One of the first things I'm gonna do is set up a foundation. Since I'm not going to be teaching for a while, I'd still like to stay connected and use this platform to bring attention to autism awareness and to individuals with disabilities."

"What comes out of this is what God wants to happen."

I think Clay hit the nail right on the head as to what an American Idol is...what he wanted to be in his life. And he continues to stand by those very words he spoke four years ago. Clay was a winner, is a winner, always will be a winner. He is definitely our American Idol.

Tidbits 5/8

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE FOR CLAY!
AmericanIdol.com asks in its new poll, "Who would you like to see mentor some day?".

• LBFCA's new post about Jericho is hilarious ... don't miss it!
  
• Lycos 50 - Clay remains at #9 again for the week ending May 5, 2007.
• The Clayboard - Solitaire on AI 3 Pictures - Someone at the Clayboard asked for pictures of Clay singing Solitaire on AI3, and WOWEE, did she ever get what she asked for. Run over there and check out the absolutely gorgeous array of pictures. Here's some to get you going:
  
  
  
  
  
• Toronto Star - In an article entitled "The Loser Takes It All", there is a Clay mention that says, "On American Idol, for example, Season 2's Clay Aiken became the first loser to have a U.S. Hot 100 number with "This is the Night," while Ruben Studdard has been little heard of since his winning night."
• Asbury Park Press - another good Clay mention ... runner-ups overshadowing winners -

  And Sloan? She's had meetings, talked to people, reminded herself about nonwinners — Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry, Elliot Yamin, Kellie Pickler and Bucky Covington — who have soared.

• Orlando Sentinel - one more Clay/AI mention ... "Idol also elevated Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken and Chris Daughtry, who prove that you can win by not becoming American Idol."
• Nanaimo Bulletin - comments on AI6 contestant Sanjaya Malakar - "Fortunately, this year we had the spectacle of Sanjaya, the most celebrated American Idol contestant since that sexually ambiguous nerd Clay Aiken."
• Post Chronicle has some song spoliers for tonight's American Idol ... stop reading right now if you don't want to know the spoiler -

  [Blake Lewis] considered Grease and How Deep Is Your Love. Grease didn’t work for Clay Aiken

• Kalamazoo Gazette - tour mention
• Blogcritics - American Idols are "false idols"? Warning: article contains course language.

• A few blogs today about Clay's new Yahoo interview:
• GFTCSA
• Something That Really Happened
  

Tidbits 2/20

• A few AI articles from here and there...
• Daily News Journal - "The show has already launched the careers of Hicks, who was last year's winner, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, among others."
• Forbes - "But uncounted votes could easily change the results of the show, especially in close contests. In 2003, in the show's second season, winner Ruben Studdard beat runner-up Clay Aiken by about 130,000 votes of 24 million cast--a 0.5% margin."
• Post Chronicle -

  Even though I prefer the current format over the Pre-Season 4 format, the biggest thing I've missed in the semi's is the wild card round. There's always someone who falls through the cracks (and that has happened a LOT this season); let's not forget Clay Aiken wasn't originally voted in.

• 19 Entertainment PR for second season of American Idol Extra... season premieres on the FOX Reality Channel on Mar. 15. Maybe a Clay sighting?
  
• ABC - carrying on the torch in Las Vegas...
  

  Why hasn't America produced a big-time, schmaltzy, over-the-top male crooner in the past 40 years? Once Newton and Jones pass away, who's left to carry the torch? Clay Aiken? Somebody needs to get Harry Connick Jr. on the phone, pump him with some Botox, give him some sparkly jumpsuits and showgirls and tell him to get a Vegas act together.

• The Press Enterprise - "2003: Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken will likely forever be linked because of their performances in season two. Although Studdard won, Aiken has had a more successful post-'Idol' career. When Studdard's first single, "Flying Without Wings," debuted at No. 2, he was outdone by Aiken's chart-topping "This Is the Night."

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