New York City CD Signing Event: May 6

Clay will be on hand at the Times Square Virgin Megastore next Tuesday May 6, to sign copies of his new CD, On My Way Here. The CV's stripedshirts posted the details today:

I posted this on the CD Release Release Party Board:

Virgin Times Square, NYC will be doing a Cd Signing Event with Clay on May 6th, Tuesday.

The signing will take place at 2pm. Virgin will post this announcement on their site later on today.

1 wristband will be given per cd(s) purchase. These will given at midnight of the 5th/early 6th when cash registers open at Virgin.

Representative(s) from Virgin will be making an appearance at the CD Release Party. They are working on giving some nice promotional items to us.

ClayAiken.com has the official scoop on the event.

Meet Clay in New York City!
Clay Aiken will be at the Virgin MegaStore in Times Square, New York City, on Tuesday, May 6th! The first 300 people to purchase "On My Way Here" beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday 5/6, at Virgin MegaStore Times Square location only, will receive a wristband that allows them to get in line to have their CD signed by Clay Aiken!

One wristband per person. Clay will only be signing copies of his new CD.

Tyra Banks at Spamalot Tape Upcoming Clay Segment

Film crews from The Tyra Banks Show were spotted today at the Shubert Theatre in New York, where Clay is beginning to wrap up Spamalot on May 4. Tyra will be doing a segment about Clay, in the near future. No firm air date has been set yet.

Reports from the boards:

just saw this at CV: ClayIzzaQT just called me from Shubert Alley with some interesting news. Both ends of Shubert Alley have signs posted that read, " By entering this area you agree to be video taped or photographed." She said there are both film crews and photographers milling about the stagedoor area. She can't be sure if the film crews are waitng to go in or have already been in the building. I asked if she thinks they are in Shubert Alley to interview fans before Spamalot and she said she wasn't sure the reason the crews were there. Maybe it's not even Clay related, but it's highly doubtful they are there for any other reason. She didn't see any logos to indicated where the film crews were from.

ClayIzzaQT is having dinner at Juniors with Mr. and Mrs. WinkatMe and will keep us posted if she sees anything else happening.
She also stated she is not sure what's going on , because we aren't used to seeing it, but she thinks it's called PR! LOL

From TCH...GBB..

Just talked to ficus. There are photographers and cameramen from the Tyra show in Shubert alley right now. She thinks they may have been filming something to do with the "biggest fan" thing because one of the cameramen said something about filming a girl getting a ticket.

More from CV

More news from ClayIzzaQT.... She said she saw flashes from the cameras going off and the flim crews rushing to the stage door . Tyra Banks was at the stage door being interviewed and photographed by the flim crews. She said it was pretty choatic at Juniors where she is having dinner. People were rushing up to the windows to see what was going on, but she thinks she saw Tyra and Jerome both going back into the building via the stagedoor. No Clay sighting.

More photos:

• ClayAikenPix.com - must be a member
  

Clay on Insider Tonight

Clay's interview with The Insider from yesterday's Spamalot event at Planet Hollywood in NYC, will air tonight. The online version of this interview was posted last night and can be viewed at TheInsiderOnline.com.

Clay at Time Square Today - UPDATED

Clay hit Time Square in New York City today to promote Spamalot. The Insider accompanied Clay and has video forthcoming of all the action, according to the show's website, TheInsiderOnline.com:

CLAY AIKEN is heading to New York's Times Square this afternoon to promote his hit Broadway show Spamalot with a handprint ceremony at the ever popular Planet Hollywood restaurant -- and the "Insider" is there for all the action! Keep checking back here for the exciting video!

---



Updates! Photos are in! Clay was at Planet Hollywood to add his "mark" on the Planet Hollywood Wall of Fame, and to promote Spamalot. Looking handsome, as always. If you are really observant, you'll notice Clay wore the same shirt back in 2004 during the Independent Tour:


ETOnline.com and The Insider are both running stories on their websites.

• ET:

  At New York's Planet Hollywood today, CLAY AIKEN tells ET about coming to the end of his hit role on Broadway's Spamalot, and whether he would consider auditioning for "Dancing with the Stars"!
  
  "I don't think I could pull it off," he reveals. "The choreography for 'Spamalot' is tough enough for me!"

• Insider:

  FROM NY TODAY: A blonder CLAY AIKEN adds his famous handprint to Planet Hollywood's wall of fame!
  

Tidbits 3/15

• The Advocate comments on the new Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul book -

  I read about how Clay Aiken helped a young female fan’s body image by appearing to enjoy the company of a plus-size young woman in his hit “Invisible” video. From that moment on he requested that only regular-looking people be in his videos. This had nothing at all to do with making him look less geeky. He had love and inner healing to deliver.
  

• New York Magazine - Clay looking to purchase a condo in NYC?

  Long Island City: What if the rumors are true and Clay Aiken is moving to the same Arris Lofts that superstar D.J. Danny Tenaglia just bought into? Will scary hard-house remixes of the Spamalot score rattle the building?

• liQcity -

  In curbed’s coverage of the Clay Aiken rumor, there was an interesting line:
  
  …this could be some weird defining moment in the recent history of Long Island City as an emerging development hotspot.

• Curbed (WARNING: objectionable picture on website) -

  Look, we can think of about a thousand reasons why Clay Aiken buying an apartment at the Arris Lofts in Long Island City makes no sense, but the truth of the matter is that, yes, Clay Aiken is currently living in New York and starring in Spamalot and may want to stick around when his run is over

• All That Is Clay Aiken - radio is a dying format?

  It looks like music is now going by the way of ipods, mp3 players and cd players. You can also listen to your favorite music from you computer.
  
  I may change my mind when a certain singer's new CD drops. Until then - I have my CDs, my mp3 player and my computer.
  
  To keep this blog on topic and what it is about - Clay Aiken. :)

Clay & Spamalot Grace Cover of NYC Official City Cuide

Remember that great Spamalot/Clay article from NYC's Official City Guide we told you about recently? The article is now in the print edition, which is widely distributed across the NYC area, and what a great surprise - CLAY IS ON THE COVER!

Thanks to the CB's ClaysMySugarPieHoneybunch for the scan!

Quiana Attends Spamalot In New York

Quiana Parler attended the Sunday screening of Spamalot in New York, and accompanied Clay out to the stage door to greet fans.

Clay returned the favor on Monday night when he attended "Just Move On", a tribute concert for the late Tammy Faye, put together by Sean McDaniel (member of Clay's band), Ben Cohen and Jeffrey Self. Quiana's performance at the show drew a standing ovation. A YouTube cap of Quiana's performance is posted below:

Clay at "Just Move On" - courtesy BroadwayWorld.com.

Tidbits 2/4

A new Spamalot blog from Clay is up!

2.4.08: Did you act in plays/musicals in school, or in your local community growing up?
Interestingly enough, I got cut from my high school musical my senior year, and wasn’t necessarily one of my 10-12th grade choir teachers “favorites”, so my experience in my younger years was limited to local productions. The North Carolina Theatre in Raleigh is a pretty reputable regional theatre that puts on some great shows in the area. But, it is so professional that it casts most of its performers with very experienced New York actors and musicians. They staged a production of 1776 in 1995 and put out a casting call for 21 year olds and older. I was only 17, but a good friend suggested I audition anyway to gain experience. I did and was the only person under 21 who did. Terrence Mann, the Broadway star, was directing it and chose to take a risk on a young kid, so I made it. I remember thinking I was such a star because I got to work with real professional performers. I did a few shows at North Carolina Theatre in addition to 1776 before I went off to college. I still try to catch as many of their productions as possible.

• Broadway World poster Yankeefan007 comments on Clay in Spamalot. It looks like Tyra Banks attended one of Clay's shows! Cool!

  Clay Aiken makes an impressive Broadway debut - nothing to write home over, but he doesn't make a fool of himself, either. They've added a lot for him to sing - a riff of "Lovely Spam, Wonderful Spam" during the "Spam, Spam, Spam" section of "Knights" - I distinctly remember missing that line before, since it's such a Python staple. They've also added a verse in "All for One," which clearly defines Sir Robin as a wannabe Broadway star. Something about "when I get on stage, I'm the idol of my age," ironic and quite amusing. All he has to do is lose the constipated look on his face when he's doing the bottle dance.
  
  Ensemble is strong, and the show itself is in fantastic shape. The tempos are still too slow (another thing I pointed out on the last go-round).
  
  Just a note about audience. I thought I was going to catch Menopause. I've never seen so many middle aged women in one room in my entire life. And I don't know why they find it so impressive that "My Clay does 3 different accents!!!"
  
  Oh, and Tyra Banks was there, too. Fun afternoon.
  

• New York Magazine responds to criticism of their interview/article about Clay -

  2. Clay Aiken has a lot of fans out there, and apparently many of them don’t sleep. “The Happy Hickster” (February 4), Ariel Levy’s profile of Aiken, was posted on the nymag.com home page at approximately 11:15 P.M. on Sunday, January 27, and within seven minutes, the first of 227 comments (and counting) rolled in. The commentary raged throughout the night and for days afterward, as readers debated one another in terms that were not always cordial. Did the article make “Clay seem human. Flawed but human,” or was it “character assassination”? Had Levy played Aiken by seeing through his “hick” routine—or was it she who had been played? “I believe the author of this article has been had,” went one post. “Did she even know it? Sounds to me like she came into the interview with an agenda and that Clay, smart guy that he is, saw right through it. Ms. Levy got frustrated because Clay wouldn’t dish the dirt with her, and decided instead to call him a fake.” Commenters traded boasts over who among them knows Aiken best, including one who registered under the name CLAYSBF and stated flatly that Clay “is sexually active and continues to be. He is not nor will he ever be attracted to the opposite sex.” Amid the uproar, a few readers simply called the article “brilliant” and “very entertaining.”

• Calgary Herald - William Joseph working with David Foster -

  He lived at Foster's Malibu house (this was just before the Foster family's unfortunate Princes of Malibu reality TV show), recorded the album and hit the road. Since then, he's also been out opening for Il Divo and Clay Aiken.

• Chicago Sun Times - NFL commentary - "8:16: Toni, a k a She Could Be The One III, asks me if Troy Aikman is related to Clay Aiken. She's a work in progress."
• Newsday - Super Bowl quiz!

  9. The Fox broadcast team is:
  
  A) Joe Buck and Troy Aikman; B) Uncle Buck and Clay Aiken; C) Pearl S. Buck and ... oh, I give up. You try and rhyme with "Aikman" more than once

• Nothing here today
  

New York Magazine Chronicles the Rise of Clay Aiken

New York Magazine today published a new interview with Clay today - January 28, 2008 - exactly 5 years since American Idol first introduced us to Clay Aiken.

There's A LOT of stuff in the article, and it is written very well. The full interview is available New York Magazine's website. Here are some highlights from the interview/article, titled "The Happy Hickster":

• On his celebrity status:

  Ever since Aiken placed second on American Idol in 2003, he gets recognized everywhere, always. “Even in New York. I was always told people in New York don’t care, and I think they probably don’t that much, but there’s a little bit of a different thing about Idol. I was with the woman who runs the ambassador program for UNICEF”—Aiken was appointed an ambassador in 2004—“so she’s worked with Katie Couric, people who are very recognizable, and she was one of the people who said that to me. And it was funny because a minute after she said it, as we’re walkin’ down the street, no fewer than five people said something to me. Just screamin’ from across the street! She said, ‘Ah have never seen anything lahk this in my life!’”

• On starring in Spamalot:

  Although Aiken can depend on the adulation of strangers, he doesn’t know anyone in New York and is worried he will be lonely now that he’s moved here to take a role in the Broadway musical Spamalot, based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. “I almost cried on the first day on my way to rehearsal,” he says. “I’m here until May 4, and I’ve never lived alone before.”

• On Clay's political views:

  I have to wonder if Clay Aiken is prepared for New York City. It’s not that he’s stupid. He’s actually well-informed, really into the elections (sad that Joe Biden dropped out; Aiken has become a Democrat), and quite the impressive little charity worker.

• On issues facing the global society:

  “And I visit middle schools after I go to Uganda or wherever with UNICEF, but I rarely say, ‘Donate.’ I usually say, ‘Read about what’s going on in the world! There’s a war going on for twenty years in Uganda!’ The media doesn’t talk about this because they’re more concerned with Paris and Britney and…”

• On being a sex symbol:

  And while it is true that he is wearing a green sweater with yellow trim on one sleeve and pink trim on the other over a white shirt with bright-green stripes, it is also true that Clay Aiken is beloved, a bizarre sex symbol. He has been in People magazine as one of its Sexiest Men Alive. Despite the fact that Aiken is so widely assumed to be gay that Rosie O’Donnell accused Kelly Ripa of homophobia when Ripa recoiled at having Aiken put his hand over her mouth during an interview, there are women—a lot of them—who absolutely lust after him. So many women threw their underpants onstage during his first tour that on the following two Aiken tours, he had commemorative panties for sale at the concession stand. The pace of the panties has slowed recently, but the occasional pair still flies Clayward as he belts out “I Want to Know What Love Is” or “Everything I Do (I Do It for You).”
  

• On not being Justin Timberlake, bars & parties:

  “Let’s not fool ourselves,” he says with his eyebrows up in his arch, queeny way. “The truth is? There are people like Justin Timberlake, males who are cool on radio right now, and then there’s me. If I heard myself in a dance club? If I went into a dance club—which I never do—and I heard Clay Aiken come on, I’d roll my eyes and get out. But you know what? I’m fine with being kind of vanilla! It’s oh-kye!” In his book, Aiken says that it’s not just clubs but also bars he dislikes: “The only reason people go to bars is to get drunk and have sex. To me, bars are what hell is like.”
  
  He imagines his social life here will be “nonexistent, really. I’m not a nighttime person.” He does not plan on dating, and he is not involved with anyone. “Heck, no,” he says. “My dogs.” He has never had a romantic relationship with anyone, unless you count the girls he took to dances back in high school in Raleigh. “I just don’t have an interest in … any of that at all. I have got too much on my plate,” he says. “I’d rather focus on one thing and do that when I can devote time to it, and right now, I just don’t have any desire.”
  

• Reviewing Clay in Spamalot:

  In a Broadway musical, Aiken is perfect—he can throw that cheesy, octave-spanning man-voice of his around all he wants and hit all those honky gospel notes. It sounds great! He can slowly, slowly raise his arms in the air as he holds a note for 45 minutes. He can make his corny, cartoony facial expressions, and onstage, they’re utterly appropriate. Also, musical theater takes place in a land only slightly more erotically charged than Smurf Village, so here Aiken’s suppressed, indeterminate sexuality seems logical, usual, male. And he doesn’t seem hick. Partly because the twang is replaced by an equally theatrical Cockney and partly because he’s in a funny show. (The theme of his big number is “You won’t succeed on Broadway if you don’t have any Jews.”) Every joke gets a roar. “When I’m up here onstage, I’ll be the idol of my age,” he sings, and the women go crazy. You can almost feel them sucked toward him by some unholy mix of maternal yearning and abject horniness.

Spamalot Welcomes Clay Aiken: Photos & Recaps

What night it was! Clay officially debuted on Broadway last night in the role of Sir Robin on the Tony award winning Spamalot.

Check out some of these great photos from Broadway.com and Getty.


Here is a fantastic recap from the CB's PinayRN4Clay:

Spamalot recap:

January 18, 2008- Clay's debut

Oh what a night! I spent the night grinning and laughing out loud and I was not alone. The sold-out Schubert Theater pulsated with cheers for Clay and company. The cast memebers were all excellent but Clay was undeniably the one with the biggest applause. All the numbers were treated with huge cheers, but Clay generated the most oohs and aahs, and the loudest ovation at the finale. What a star!!! image image image

First thing first, Clay gave his all to the show. He was a sentry, a guard, Brother Maynard and, of course, Sir Robin.
Let me just break in detail his appearances-

Act One-

Scene 3- Clay was the first tower sentry encountered by King Arthur and his servant Patsy. King Arthur was trying to recruit knights for the Round Table to join him in his search for Camelot. Clay's first appearance was greeted with squeals as the audience realized it was him up on the tower. The cutest British accent ever and the most expressive face! How he could remember his lines I don't know. He was bantering with the other sentry as they discussed whether swallows could successfully carry a coconut.

Scene 4- Clay as Sir Robin with Sir Lancelot and the Not Dead Fred. Honestly, I can't remember what he was singing here because I was transfixed by his handsome face and the long, reddish hair. I think this is when he first shook out his leg in a dance; who says he can't dance?

Scene 7 & 8- The King and all the knights singing "All for One". They gathered in Las Vegas-Camelot complete with showgirls and all the glitz. Clay was hilarious as he ogled and ran after the girls.

Scene 10- The knights were taunted by the French soldiers and they ended up running away. I dare say, Clay's trot was the cutest of them all. image

Intermission-


Act Two-

Scene 3- Sir Robin with the minstrels- Now, Clay didn't sing here but his facial expressions were priceless as he reacted to the lead minstrel describing all his "brave exploits", and he finally stopped the minstrel's singing about Sir Robin's body parts being injured. I am telling you ladies, you need to sit up front to be able to capture the nuances of his performance. I think this is where he first "soiled" his suit. This is what Mike Nichols had been raving about- Clay has great comedic timing.image

Scene 5- Sir Robin and ensemble. King Arthur had been tasked with the job of creating a Broadway musical. I think the reference for Idol was mentioned here. This is Clay's big number as he announced that you need Jews to launch a successful musical. He sang "You Won't Succeed On Broadway". A piano came out , Clay flipped his knight suit to reveal his backside (alas with thights, image), sat down and stretched his arms up then tinkled the ivories for a minute. He then threw a sexy backside glance image then proceeded to do the "Fiddler on the Roof" dance, this time with grails. Ooops, he reached out for the wrong grail but no one was the wiser as he dazzled the crowd as he performed the sore-muscle-inducing dance. Imagine him on his knees; he stretched one long leg out, then glided on his other knee. A lot of people gave him a standing ovation for this.

Scene 7- Clay appearing as the 1st guard. Laugh-out-loud turn as he tried to understand the instructions from Prince Herbert's father (another king) to make sure that his son doesn't leave the castle. He's just full of surprises as he carried out a really complicated conversation with the king.

Scene 9- Clay came out as Brother Maynard (in a brown frock with a moptop and cute glasses). He skipped when King Arthur actually meant for him to skip reading a long passage. A lucky fan (I'm sure she is a Claymate) who was found with the Holy Grail under her seat was brought up the stage and received the first Arthur award. Well, she was stealing glances at our Clay. I hope she gets a copy of the groupshot.

Finale- "Find your Grail" medley. Sir Robin sang about finding his Holy Grail in musical theater. Marvelous!! image

In the curtain call, Clay was second to the last to come out. He's a superstar. Even his castmates are acknowledging that when they turned and pointed at him as the whole audience erupted in cheers. Standing ovation. I was choked up with so much pride for Clay. His face was lit up as he absorbed the love from the audience and the respect from his peers. A nice salute at the end from Clay. Awww.

Isn't he wonderful?

More...

I forgot to mention that Clay yodeled at the show. Call me biased but he was the best yodeler of them all. There was also a new song written just for him. He also belted out in full glorious voice in his last number. I don't remember what scene it was, but he talk-sang a few lines from "People" by Barbra Streisand.

His dancing was enthusiastic; he was gyrating and shaking his bonbons and even did a hula dance.

It was great seeing my friends Linluvsclay and Zippy again. It was nice gushing about Clay during the intermission. The not-just-us people were probably amazed at the turn-out and at the level of enthusiasm from the Claymates. The man next to me was guffawing at all the jokes even much louder than me.

I paid $20.00 for a Spamalot Souvenir brochure that the seller was hawking as a Clay Aiken brochure. It turned out to only have the 2-page fold-out poster of Clay in his Sir Robin costume clutching the chicken and the same cast description that was in the Playbill. The rest of that brochure has previous actors who parlayed the different roles. It was funny though that when the man first came out with the brochures, a group of fans descended upon him then squealed loudly when someone unfolded the poster with Clay in full splendor. He came back several times to replenish the rapidly dwindling supply. He told me that Clay's fans are amazing.

My friend and her husband thoroughly enjoyed the show. This is their first Clay outing ever and they wouldn't shut up as we rode the subway back home. They were caught up in the excitement because all around us in Junior's (a restaurant just a few feet away from the theater) were groups of females giggling away. My friend correctly guessed that they were Claymates.

EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I've been back home for about 2 hours already here in Queens, NYC but I couldn't sleep yet. I'm still on a Clay high. I want to see him again!!!!