Tidbits 2/18

LBFCA gives us "Stick Figure Spamalot"

• Detroit Free Press via Newsday - interview with LaKisha Jones who is starring in "The Color Purple" on Broadway -

  Question: Fantasia was in “The Color Purple” and now you are. Clay Aiken is in “Spamalot.” Tamyra Gray did “Rent.” It seems like “American Idol” has taken over Broadway. Is this the direction you saw yourself heading in?
  Answer: I did not. I had seen “The Color Purple” after I got pulled off “Idol,” and I thought I’d love to be in it. But I never thought I’d have a chance. And then I got the call to audition when I was on tour. It’s been a great opportunity for me. ... But the schedule here is crazy. I’m doing eight shows a week. This is really, really totally different from “Idol.”
  

• Las Vegas Review Journal calls "Celebrity-bashing 'TMZ on TV' tacky, tasteless" -

  The show is nothing more than poorly lit, unflattering footage of celebs, often accompanied by tacky, "Blind Date"-style graphics, that unnamed TMZ staffers -- Needy Blonde Girl, Clay Aiken Lite and Stoner Dude, along with Easily Excitable New Yorker, who appears via a low-rent webcam -- submit to try to make Levin laugh.

• Broadway.com Buzz - Clay is still on the front page with a picture and caption that says, "Q&A: A knight to remember! Clay Aiken, of American Idol fame (and worship!), is holding his own as Sir Robin in Broadway's Spamalot." Click on the picture and it takes you to an older article about Clay.
• Idol Thoughts: Idol Madness Final Four: Clay Aiken vs. Bo Bice - Clay is losing big time in this. You can vote as many times as you want.

• Nothing here today
  

Tidbits 3/14

• A Thousand Days is making its rounds on ClearChannel owned radio stations. For example, you can stream the song live on KLEN-FM's website.
• The CB's renee4clay was featured on The Insider today in response to a question about who would be the best co-host for Kelly Ripa as Regis heads into surgery... "Clay Aiken would be my number one pick. Bring it on Clay", she said.
• Clay was also mentioned on yesterday (3/13)'s Today Show on NBC, says the CB's OneSingerGal:

  yesterday Today did a 2-3 minute tribute to Clive Davis. they mentioned non-idol stars like alicia, britney, justin etc. and discussed whitney and jennifer hudson with Clive.
  
  during a part of it they flashed pics of the recording stars associated with Clive, and mentioned his successes....first mentioned some non-Idols, then mentioned that he's signed Idol winners (flashed carrie) and finalists (flashed a great screencap of Clay from his ATD video....Clay's smiling broadly while singing and his eyes are 'smiling' too...i.e. partially closed....so cute !!! his name wasn't mentioned. ). also flashed pics of other Idols...
  

• There was a cute Clay mention this morning in Chicago. The CB's secretfriendmom updates us:

  I was listening to the Stan and Terry show which is 105.9 FM. They are actually a talk show. But they were talking about last nights American Idol Show and how bad it was, and then they got into talking about Clay and Ruben somehow. And the one DJ goes "Who's Clay Aiken?" and the other DJ goes, "You know the guy that beat Ruben" LOL and he was serious about it too...LOL There was some caller in afterwards that was supposed to have all the "info" on American Idol, so not sure if they set the DJ straight about Clay and Ruben or not. But it made my day...LOL
  

• From One Singer Gal @ The Clayboard:

  Yesterday (the TV show) Today did a 2-3 minute tribute to Clive Davis. they mentioned non-idol stars like alicia, Britney, justin etc. and discussed whitney and jennifer hudson with Clive.
  During a part of it they flashed pics of the recording stars associated with Clive, and mentioned his successes....first mentioned some non-Idols, then mentioned that he's signed Idol winners (flashed carrie) and finalists (flashed a great screencap of Clay from his ATD video....Clay's smiling broadly while singing and his eyes are 'smiling' too...i.e. partially closed....so cute !!! his name wasn't mentioned. ). also flashed pics of other Idols...

• Lycos 50 - Clay has moved up three places to #16 for the week ending March 10. Under his name, it says, "Claymates love him." They have that right! Clay has been in the Lycos top 50 for a total of 193 weeks, just 15 weeks shy of 4 years!
• FOX News -more on Mario Vasquez being sued over sexual harassment allegations... Vasquez has the same lawyer as Clay:

  Vazquez had been convinced by an attorney who had worked on extricating Clay Aiken from his "American Idol" management contract that, should he win, he would be stuck with a long deal that would be difficult to get out of later.

• Fayetteville Observer - as Regis Philbin heads into a bypass surgery, Kelly Ripa will find herself with many guest co-hosts... "As long as Clay Aiken is not sitting next to her, the scheduled line-up should complement the witty Ripa."
• Times Herald-Record: AI article ... "More to the point, every season seems to feature a nice, nonthreatening male figure (think Clay Aiken, Kevin Corvais and John Stevens), whose appeal to adolescent girls (and their mothers and fathers) can't be underestimated."
• MLive - cheering on AI6 finalist LaKisha Jones ... "The judges have loved her from the get-go -- even Simon, which is saying a LOT! She's got an amazing voice and presence, and a great chance at winning. And even if she doesn't win, she'll probably still be a star. Remember, Clay Aiken didn't win."
• Your Hub Denver - AI recap ... "Still, these are the growing weeks, the weeks that managed to make even Clay Aiken a star. You never know."
• Associated Content - fewer and fewer Americans tuning into idol and "often the losers of the show do better than the winners. For example, last summer Clay Aiken and Kelly Clarkson easily beat Taylor's album in record sales. Chris Daughtry, a loser to Taylor, is topping the charts."

• Nothing here yet.
  

Tidbits 3/13

• Lycos50 - Clay's up several spots to #16 this week. Clay's caption this week: "Claymates love him". Great job everyone!
  
• Beyond Wisconsin - This site has a timeline of the American Idol Runner-Ups and a place where you can leave your comments about which is the best. Great chance to tell the world that Clay is absolutely the best!
• MediaBase PR on the influence of American Idol on radio ... Clay is the #6 idol in terms of radio play.
  

  The winners of season one and four respectively, have racked up an impressive four million plus radio spins between them. Others who have become household names include Fantasia, Josh Gracin, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry and 2007 Oscar and Soul Train Award Winner, Jennifer Hudson.

• Story based on this PR: FMQB Radio Industry news: "Others who have become household names include Fantasia, Josh Gracin, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry and 2007 Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson."
  
• The Scripps Howard News Service AI article from yesterday is now floating around various news outlets in syndication. You can read a copy of it here at the Charlotte Observer ...

  The recording sales of "Idol" winners Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Clay Aiken have soared. Former finalist Paris Bennett came to the red carpet last Thursday and said her album, "Princess P" (titled after her nickname), would be released in April.

• USA Today - an all-female Idol finale show down... the next Clay/Ruben? "A Melinda-LaKisha final could be Idol's biggest since Season 2's Ruben Studdard-Clay Aiken duel."
• EurWeb ... reasons we love American Idol -- giving the underdogs a chance ...

  Ruben Studdard and Jennifer Hudson would have been considered by record executives to be "fat;" Kelly Clarkson would have been deemed ordinary; the nerdy Clay Aiken wouldn't translate to chicks. Carrie Underwood would have been persuaded to sing anything but country. Taylor Hicks would have to lose the gray hair.

• Reality TV World - Mario Vasquez sued over alleged sexual allegations...

  Vazquez withdrew from the fourth season of Idol before the finals began for "personal reasons." Shortly thereafter, it was reported that Vazquez hired Jess Rosen, an Atlanta entertainment lawyer famous for extricating American Idol 2 runner-up Clay Aiken from his Idol management contract last year, to represent him.

• Carolina On My Mind - another wonderful mix-matched post on the Clay's blog, NCAA basketball and the latest buzz in the Clay nation.
• There Was A Man - remembering AI2's memorable Top 12 show, 4 years ago last weekend.

  On March 11 and 12th, 2003 American Idol 2 aired it's Top 12 with a Motown theme. Lamont Dozier was a guest judge. Clay brought magic to American Idol that has not been there since. His voice and his personality melded to together for a Tour de Force to be reckoned with. The whole show had an innocence. A bunch of kids trying out for their dream. These days it's seasoned professional looking for their last chance break. Whatever happened on AI2, the manipulation and unfairness that went on, I will never regret the show that gave us Clay.
  

Tidbits 3/6

RCARecords.com has been redesigned. Not too big a change content wise, but Clay's video for ATD and WY are now featured on the bottom of the homepage.

• Raleigh News & Observer - N.C. Theater producer William Jones wants to see Clay & AI6 standout Lakisha Jones (the two Jones have no relationship with each other) to star together in a play...
  

  Jones has also been hot on the trail of Raleigh's "Idol" runner-up, Clay Aiken, who played small roles at N.C. Theatre before his "Idol" stardom.
  
  Aiken would be a perfect Huckleberry Finn in "Big River," says Jones, who won't stage it until he can get Aiken.
  
  Why Huck?
  
  Well, first, it's a starring role, which Aiken's stature demands, Jones says. The vocal range is suitable, too. But mostly, it's a personality thing.
  
  "I think he's got a little bit of innocence to him," Jones says. "And I think Huck is an innocent kind of character: Everything's great in the world. Huck is a guy who believes in everybody. He doesn't see black, he doesn't see white. ... He just sees the world as it is. I think Clay could portray that very well."

• Lycos 50 - Clay has dropped for the second week in a row on the Lycos 50. Last week he was at #17, and he dropped two more spots to #19 this week. Let's start moving him back up again by searching via Lycos for everything Clay!
• Minneapolis St. Paul Star Tribune - An American Idol matching quiz is in this article. Check it out and see if you can match Clay with "his post-Idol experience".
• Yahoo Music - Scroll down at Yahoo Music and check out Clay's videos: "The Way", Invisible", "Without You", and a Live Yahoo Exclusive Interview. About Clay, Yahoo says, "As one of the top-selling Idols, Clay proves nice guys finish second. He's a winner in our book!" Give his videos some hits!
• USA Today -why bad singers often remain on AI for far too long...
  

  The sophomore season was less offensive to vocal purists. Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, both good singers, dominated, and finalists such as Trenyce, Rickey Smith and Corey Clark were irritating because of personality traits rather than vocal deficiencies. Still, Kimberly Caldwell (7th) was the year's Ryan Starr — all attitude, no voice, perfect qualifications for her subsequent career as a TV Guide Channel host.

• Hartford Courant reminds us that Clay's Kimmel appearance last month repeats tonight on ABC.
• The Express Times - Taylor Hicks making tour stop in PA ...

  Several "American Idol" singers have brought their tours to the region in the past, including Clay Aiken and Carrie Underwood at Musikfest in Bethlehem, Kimberly Locke and Bo Bice at Allentown's Mayfair Festival of the Arts, and Constantine Maroulis at Crocodile Rock in Allentown.

• AOL Sports ... uh... weird topic of discussion at a press conference for the Green Bay Packers - "Quinn starts a press conference one day to make fun of Russell for being out of shape, and then Russell's agent responds by starting a rumor that he saw Quinn making out with Clay Aiken"

• "Six Degrees of doing good" for the Bubel Aiken Foundation:
• Southern Girl
• Too Much