Countdown to September 19 and ATDW Release! - DAY 27

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Clay Mention on DirectTV Channel 227

Jesben from the Clayboard tells us that Clay's name was mentioned on DirecTV 277 "Taste Of America" with Mark DeCarlo. Jesben said, "...Mark is tasting foods made with peanuts. Someone made peanut soup with chicken. Mark gives out samples and asks the testers multiple choice questions. I was not really paying attention but he was asking a young girl who was trying the food one of the questions and one of the choices was "Clay Aiken." I just didn't hear the question."

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Non-Clay Blogger: ATDW will be "career-defining release for Mr Aiken"

See! Here's proof we're not the only ones who love ATDW and all the snippets we've been getting.

Daimn at Singers At Heart offers this pre-release review of ATDW based on Without You and today's leaks:

If you thought divaish belts died last decade along with much of AC radio and the Diane Warren ballads that dominated its airwaves, you need to think again. Clay Aiken and team are promising to offer much in terms of vocal slurge on his upcoming CD, as shown in his new single, a cover of "Without You", written by Badfinger and first made famous by Harry Nilsson. In the 90s the track got a revival Mariah Carey's chart topping rendition. How does Clay fare against those? I would say Mariah still offers the ultimate version from a performance standpoint (how can anyone forget her lush alto dips which cultimate in abundant and endless vocal outburts?) but something about Clay's version rings truer then all others to me. When he is not belting his tenor lungs out, I find that his voice hints of the type of vulnerabilty and heart that is conveyed in the plaintive lyric. As for his tone, I think it has gained in color and maturity, most probably a result of the growing up the brown-haired accidental hunk has had to do in the six months staying clear of acknowledging the massive and unprecedented gossip war that has been opposing bloggers, alledged past lovers, and legions of his fans on the subject of his sexuality. You can listen to "Without You" on Clay's official site or myspace.

One word: Mind-blowing! This might well become a career-defining release for Mr Aiken.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

ABC: No Clay GMA Date Set Yet

An update to the Good Morning America appearance rumour from yesterday -- a representative from ABC called the CB's lsdollylovesclay and informed her that no firm date has been set for Clay's apperance on Good Morning America.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL ABC TO INQUIRE ABOUT THIS.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Reminder: Clay on The Insider Tonight

Don't forget to tune into The Insider tonight to see Clay with more ATDW info. In the meantime, check out The Insider's article:

Sounds like CLAY AIKEN may have some competition! The freckle-faced crooner's new album, A Thousand Different Ways, hits stores on Sept. 19 and features 10 cover songs from the "Idol" runner-up, plus four new songs. The theme? L'amour!

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Claynadians' "Order ATDW" Day Set For Sept. 6

To help Clay reach #1 on Amazon.ca, Claynadians are being asked to order A Thousand Different Days from Amazon.ca on September 6.

If you are a proud Claynadian, please take part in this effort.

A letter from the CB's RedBay:

Dear Claynadians:

We have been waiting for quite some time for Clay's new cd and now that it is almost here we would like to help it succeed in Canada. There are only so many things that we can do but one of them involves amazon.ca.

On Tuesday August 22, 2006 at 11:00am EST, ATDW was ranked 28th on amazon.ca. It would be great to see it much higher. Maybe as a bit of an experiment, and to boost that ranking for PR purposes, we could all order ATDW from amazon.ca. To properly judge our purchasing power, I am suggesting we do this on Wednesday, Sept 6 2006. Also, to get an idea of how many copies we have ordered, if folks would be so inclined to email me at lodehu@gmail.com and let me know that they have done this and how many copies they have ordered. This might help us understand how many copies the top ranked cds on this site sell.

I will post the (hopefully) change in ATDW's ranking frequently in the Claynadian thread on the CB on Sept 6.

Please do not hesitate to contact me via email or pm at the CB.

Thanks a bunch for supporting Clay in Canada.

For more information, go to the CB's Claynadian thread.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

NJ Clay Aiken Christmas Concert Confirmed

Another Christmas concert FEATURING Clay has been confirmed for Red Bank, NJ (The CB's hotclay confirmed this with the venue this morning):

Saturday December 16, 2006, 8pm
Count Basie Theater
99 Monmouth Street
Red Bank, New Jersey 07701

Tickets ARE NOW ON SALE.

More information at: http://www.countbasietheatre.org or via the contact the box office at (732) 842-9000 (M-F 12pm-6pm; Sat.: 12pm-3pm)

Ticket prices range from $38.50 to $125.00 plus service fees.

Good luck everyone!

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Tidbits 8/22

• Clay blogged today. 'Bored' as he may be, Clay seems very excited and nervous about the impeding ATDW release. He says everything is now complete- recording, photoshoots, approval etc. Some special performances were also filmed for Wal-Mart's Soundcheck feature. Read it for yourself at the official fanclub (members only).
• Sarasota Herald Tribune- Indie music store stocks Clay Aiken -- "Technically, the store also has the tacky and sentimental -- Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, et al. -- but that's so ... not cool."
• Access Hollywood: "I haven't heard Ruben's name in a long time (and it was runner-up Clay Aiken, not the actual winner of "Idol" season two, who performed at this year's finale), it sounds like Ruben's career is flourishing."
  

• Something That Really Happened - AI2 memories... I Could Not Ask For More.
• Two blogs from Southern Girl -first one about the 30 sec. clips from ATDW that came out this morning, 2nd one about the blog.
• TV Guide's MySpace blogger: Clay stole my hairdo!
• MySpace blogger - I'd rather listen to Clay Aiken than Justin Timberlake's "revolting piece of trash"
• Singers At The Heart offers a non-Clay fan perspective about ATDW:

  something about Clay's version rings truer then all others to me. When he is not belting his tenor lungs out, I find that his voice hints of the type of vulnerabilty and heart that is conveyed in the plaintive lyric. As for his tone, I think it has gained in color and maturity, most probably a result of the growing up the brown-haired accidental hunk has had to do

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

30 Second Snippets from ATDW Now @ Sony Music Store

What a fantastic way to start this perfect Tuesday morning. The Sony Music Store has posted 30 second snippets from ATDW.

Go listen now... run, don't walk!

Update: Sony has removed the clips probably since we've drained their bandwidth. However, you can download an MP3 of all the snippets combined via my 4shared.com account:

1. Click on this link.
2. The download button is on the bottom of the page.

Update 2: We've found much better quality clips courtesy Aikenized.com.

HQ ATDW Clips - download link (zip file, clips in WMA format)

Update 3: Longer HQ versions are now available for download at my 4shared account. Scroll down to the bottom and wait several seconds for the download button to show up. Download link.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Countdown to September 19 and ATDW Release! - DAY 28

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Reliving Jukebox 2005: Meadville, PA, Crawford County Fair

Pictures by Denise Bernadette


This was my third out of four concerts to attend and was at the Crawford County Fair in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Meadville has a population of about 14,000 and is the seat of Crawford County. A very nice small town. I absolutely loved the fair. It is just the way county fairs should be. Lots of animals, crafts for sale, judging of canned goods, quilts, and the animals, and lots and lots of yummy food. I chose cotton candy and a drink, and I could not believe the prices! I believe they were each about 50 cents! It would cost four times that much at the big Texas State Fair. Yep, small town fairs are really awesome. Oh, and another reason this one was so awesome in 2005....Clay Aiken performed!!

PERFORMANCES

Clay fans, as always, were very vocal in showing their love for Clay. And, as always, its hard to pick out the best of his performances. He nails them all!

CocaColaDragon from the Clayboard said that "I think one of the song highlights from last night has to be "I Can't Make You Love Me"..he always seems so emotional and passionate during that song, but tonight it seemed...to me at least...to be much more emotional/passionate.". I agree with her. I cried during that song at every show I went to. Then as if that wasn't enough, Quiana came out and sang and I cried some more!

For me, Clay's new songs were great. "1000 Days" is even better to go back and listen to now that I have heard Clay sing a new version of it. And, of course, everyone loved "Back For More". I don't think we've heard the last of that song.

Clay was on fire during LLVL! Part of me wants to laugh with him when I see him do this because on the one hand it seems so unlike what we've known of him all these years. Yet part of me knows I can't laugh because I'm too busy having to pick myself up off the floor after having a heavy-duty THUD!! He has the moves down perfectly. C'mon, Clay, yes you CAN dance!!

Clay not only sings and dances, but he totally entertains everyone in the audience. He has us laughing and crying and melting and sighing....the women, anyway. And admit it or not, I think the men enjoy it too!

Stump The Band

Meadville's "Stump The Band" was the best one of the tour, no doubt about it. It took Clay a while to finally get a song that he and the band could do. Once again, he refused to do Bohemian Rhapsody. Finally, someone requested "When A Man Loves A Woman"! Clay told the audience, "Entertain yourselves for a second and we'll see if we can figure it out." So they practiced for a little bit. Then someone produced a copy of the lyrics on a piece of paper, and Clay ran over there and grabbed that up! What a lifesaver!! Everyone was clapping and cheering, and then it happened. The music got louder and louder, and Clay turned around and belted out, " When a man loves a wo--man!!" The crowd went absolutely wild! I remember everyone cheering and screaming. Chills went up and down my spine. I mean, what a song to show off Clay's voice!! He sang it like he'd been singing it all his life. Then he said, "That's the end of the song...there you go...Now let's stump her. Name a song and see if she has the lyrics to it!...Put your hands down. That wore me out!" Don't you just love it! He is so quick witted. Like I said earlier, he doesn't just entertain us with the golden voice, he has us rolling in the aisles with his snarky humor.

The Fans

There is always something interesting going on with the fans at a Clay concert. CocaColaDragon said, "My dad said he got a lil teary during Suspicious Minds, because that's one of his all time favorite songs and he really enjoyed hearing Clay singing it. Whoot for that. Yes my dad was one of those males forced into coming heh." Hmmmm, looks like even if her dad was forced into going to the concert, he found out that it is enjoyable to listen to Clay and even brought back old memories for him.

Angelty said, "I was more than pleased with the size of the crowd. It looked to be about half full even though the numbers don't reflect that. They were loud and on their feet. Clay was happy and interactive and the show was long, nearly 3 hours!" There's nothing better than a longer than expected Clay show! Three hours isn't even long enough!!

And during the 70's banter, when Clay asks everyone for something that happened in the 70's, I had brought a book I bought for the year 1978 (Clay's birthday year) that lists all sorts of things that happen in 1978. So when he asked us for 70's events, I held the book up and waved it at him. He finally looked at me and said, "She came prepared, not like the other night, not like the other night when you didn’t do your sign until you got to the show." Then he continued to ask people for their ideas, and someone finally said, "The Pittsburgh Steelers won 4 Super Bowls" in the 1970's. So I yelled out that the Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl in the 70's too. Clay said, "She's fighting, she says the Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl in the 70’s" Whoops, I shouldn't have said that because there was this big bunch of boo's...I had forgotten that I was in Steeler country! Clay said, You might not want to sit there when you get out of here maam." And of course, the most important thing about the 70's was...."I was born!" And we're glad you were, Clay!!

Classic Clay Moments

Our Classic Clay moment for Meadville is the guy that Clay got out of the audience to dance during "Car Wash". Clay picked out a sign that a girl was holding that said, "You mean this isn't a heavy metal concert?" And then he went to town with that one. Quick and witty Clay strikes again!! Clay told him (Jason), "You are a sucker aren't you. Who exactly did you think you were going to see. He's got an Iron Maiden t-shirt on...did she tell you that? She's got that much power over you and you're admitting it to this entire audience? That's a crying shame." Clay also said that maybe they would do some Iron Maiden later (snark).

Apparently whoever handed the sign to Clay got real excited and Clay had fun with that one. He said that he had not touched her, just the sign, and he passed it around for everyone to touch. When he handed it back to her, he said that she might just pass out now that everyone had touched it!

Once Jason and his girlfriend came up on stage, Clay had to tell him, "Come on over, sir, don't be shy. I'm not gonna bite!" I love it! I could listen to Clay and his snarky humor all day long!!

Angelty from the Clayboard wrote some about her son and his girlfriend going onstage:

When I heard him reading my son's gf's sign that said "You mean this isn't a heavy metal concert?", I couldn't believe it. They were in first row also, but down the row a ways. He had a heavy metal shirt on. He is 32 and has always been a heavy metal fan. He does like Clay somewhat, but agrees to going to multiple shows more for his gf and for me. He is a little shy though and claims he can't dance, so he was really nervous. Christy got to go up on stage with him and I was thrilled. Her comment...well, I do have a boyfriend, but omg, those eyes.

After intermission, Jason was on stage and head banging. He lost his nervousness and did a great job. Jason said he had little interaction backstage with Clay, but he did thank him for being a good sport and agreed that a little head banging would be funny as part of the act. On the eye discussion, Jason said that from a male perspective, Clay's eye contact was very impressive. He thought being backstage was hugely professional, and was surprised that being onstage was so much different than how things feel from the audience. He said that when the music plays, you can't hear anything from the audience. And even when it's not playing the voice volume is difficult to adjust to.

He thoroughly enjoyed the experience and all the males surrounding our circle of friends were pleasantly entertained. I was soooo proud of him.

He also signed their sign which had made the round of touches onstage by all the crew. A funny bit of banter. One side says Christy, Use your voice, Clay Aiken. The other side says Sorry to disappoint, Jason, Clay Aiken,in reference to it not being a heavy metal concert.

One more thing that was funny had to do with all the people that were holding up signs that said "Touch". Of course, everyone knows that Clay won't sign Touch. Clay's comment was:

I see a lot of signs out there that say “TOUCH” but there ain’t near enough for me to sing it. Oh there are more. If every single person had one, maybe….I wonder how long you can hold your arms up like that. Let’s see how long they can go, anyone have a watch?....Yours is upside down. See if you had held yours right side up I would’ve sang it. You can blame it on her."

As you can see, and as is always the case, there is just nothing like going to a Clay concert. Meadville proved to be no different. Awesome songs, lots of funny banter, and Clay fans from all over the country to celebrate a beautiful man named Clay. Bring on the next show!

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

ATDW Cover Confirmed by Amazon, BN, RCA

So I guess we'll have to bite our words - this is indeed the official cover for A Thousand Different Ways contrary to what we reported yesterday.

Leading music retailers Amazon.com and Barnes & Nobel have both added the cover shown above to their ATDW listings.

Official word from the CB's corabeth who has been in contact with RCA:

Just got off the phone with RCA Marketing and she did confirm that the are going with the pictures we're seeing on the online retailers as the cover!

I asked her about the thumbs, etc. and she laughed and said I think the B&N one is wrong. She said whatever WalMart had last week. She did say that it was not official last week.

(Yeah! I love the cover and the font)

I asked her about the promotion and she said you're going to start seeing stuff over the next couple of weeks. She said for this type of album we want to concentrate promo as we get near album drop. I said for this type of album as in love song covers? She said no, for a superstar artist.

There's more stuff related to CDR and I'll put that in the appropriate places after supper.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Clay on The Insider Tomorrow

Clay will be on The Insider tomorrow, August 22, according to a promo shown on today's show proclaiming: "TOMORROW: Clay Aiken"

It's unclear what they'll feature, but we can probably presume that this is more ATDW promo. Woohoo!

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Clay on Leno's Tonight Show September 15?

Rumours, rumours and more rumours!

Musician Daniel Pearson, who served as one of Clay's bass/guitarist on JBT, recently listed two dates on his MySpace calendar -- Sept. 15 for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Sept. 26 for Jimmy Kimmel Live (mysteriously, these dates have since been removed).

Since Clay's Sept. 26 Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance was confirmed by ABC last week, speculation that Clay will be appearing alongside Pearson on the Sept. 15 Tonight Show with Jay Leno is running rampant.

So, a quick recap of upcoming dates, both confirmed and unconfirmed:

• Sept. 15 - Jay Leno (unconfirmed)
• Sept. 18/19 - release party & ATDW release
• Sept. 21 - Good Morning America (performance only, unconfirmed)
• Sept. 26 - Jimmy Kimmel (mini-concert
• Sometime in Sept. - ATDW's Wal-Mart Soundcheck released online.
  

September is shaping up to be a clack filled month!

BUT-- this possible Leno appearance is NOT CONFIRMED. We'll keep you posted when/if this date is confirmed by either NBC or Team Clay.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Clay on Good Morning America Sept. 21?

RUMOUR ALERT- UNCONFIRMED

The TV buzz is getting started! According to a source, Clay will return to ABC's Good Morning America on September 21 to promote A Thousand Different Ways, his 3rd album due instores Sept. 19. The source says Clay's publicist told the New York Post that the appearance will be "performance only" although that may change as we get closer to the CD release date.

Mark your calendar, Claymates!

UNCONFIRMED

Update: doesn't look like it... ABC rep says no date for Clay set.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Tidbits 8/21

• Rhode Island News publishes the NYT celebs in Africa article from earlier this month. Not new, but seeing Clay's name & face in print is nice. Thanks to the CB's MonaLisa57 for the scan.
• Reuters - get ready for the fall 2006 music 'avalanche' -- "From September through the end of the year, albums expected to join the platinum parade are due from Clay Aiken, Alan Jackson, Ludacris, Beck, Evanescence, Jet, My Chemical Romance, Keith Urban and the Killers." | Yahoo! Lauch Music - list of upcoming CD releases.
  
• Binghampton Press - a horse named "Aiken for Clay"???
• MSNBC: A little drama between the Kelly and Clay fans never hurts? Right? No? (BTW. We respectfully disagree)
  

  Kelly Clarkson fans are buzzing about how Clay Aiken’s new album, “A Thousand Different Ways,” which will be released next month, showcases “Without You” — a song that really wowed the “American Idol” judges when Clarkson sang it. “It only goes to show how much more power her voice has than his,” scoffs one Clarkson fan. . . .

• Weird Clay mention in this wrestling article.
  

• Carolina on My Mind: Get the napkins ready... this post will bring you to tears - Clay Aiken and the importance of music & friendship.
  
• More fun from Taking A Moment - Clay Aiken & Britney Spears?? "Hey Clay, remember when we were on Jimmy Kimmel together and you said you brought me something and I got all excited and all then you never gave me it and everybody was all laughing and whatever and it was good times. But yeah."
• Southern Girl - are you attending a CD release party?
  

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Countdown to September 19 and ATDW Release! - DAY 29

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Sony Connect to Offer Clay Mini-Concert Download

Sony Connect and ABC announced on Saturday that all 22 "Jimmy Kimmel Live Fall 2006 mini-concerts" will be offered for download on Sony's Connect Music Store. Sony will offer downloads of all performances including exclusive performances that are not broadcast on TV. Downloads are priced at 99 cents per song, available for in Sony's proprietary ATRAC3 format.

Here's a report from WTNH:

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" is slated to present at least 22 high-profile music performances throughout the remainder of the year on the Walkman® Stage - a new outdoor venue in Hollywood. Additionally, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and Sony's Connect™ music store (accessible via www.connect.com) will offer "Kimmel Downloads" - live recordings from the show's music performances, including many of the Walkman Stage concerts.

Clay will be one of the first acts to perform on this fall's concert series; he's scheduled to appear on the September 26 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Due to legal issues, the Sony Connect store is only available in the USA.

Update 8/21: We received an update from the CB's evancol... very interesting. PLEASE READ:

The Sony/Kimmel deal, which is wrong on here too, apparently someone googled it or did who knows. Is from an article that ran in August 2004. It is NOT NEW....Has been in place TWO YEARS. When I read your newsletter and saw the "Clay will be one of the first" I knew something was wrong....they have concerts dating back to 2004 already at Sony.

I went yesterday to check on downloading etc. This morning I started sniffing around and found the original article.

I posted the info on the Kimmel thread here.

And, don't know if you know this....but in case you wanted to...

ATRAC (think that's the name), uses the DRM encryption technology....this is the same killer one Walmart uses. This means the download belongs to the COMPUTER that it is downloaded to. And is recognizes it...

Will NOT convert to MP3, or anything else for that matter. You cannot download to a disc and then upload to another computer. You can only transfer to a portable device that is equipped for DRM technology (mostly Sony).

You cannot transfer computer to computer because it recognizes ISP. It will tell you that it does not hold the license and will not let you open.

It limits the number of times you can burn a CD to 5 and it then locks the encryption and you cannot burn more.

If it catches an attempt to manipulate the encryption, it will revoke the license and make it unusable at all.

The CDs you burn cannot be put on another computer because they will recognize the ISP from the first one...only used on a CD player or a DRM equipped personal player.

AND....THE BIGGIE.... you cannot download the digital stuff from Sony and put it in file share or anything else to send to out of country people. When it is downloaded, even if you don't ever play it, it has the ISP of the computer it is downloaded on...it will NOT play on the other end when it is opened from a file share program. Will tell you it is not licensed.

I spent about 2 hours yesterday playing with this to verify that it was still the same.

It is this was with any of the digital companies that use DRM technology. I know Walmart does, and Sony. Not sure about who else.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Clarification: ATDW's Cover Art

This album cover we posted last week is not the real ATDW album cover, RCA Records confirmed...and we thought it couldn't get any thudlier than this!

Update 8/21: Nevermind... Amazon.com and Barnes & Nobel have both also posted this cover... so I guess this is the ATDW cover! Woohoo!

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible

Tidbits 8/20

• Northwest Indiana News:

  Clay Aiken, "A Thousand Different Ways," RCA (Sept. 19)
  
  Of all the "American Idol" winners and first runners-up, Aiken's fanbase -- aka "Claymates" -- have to be the most rabid, which makes it likely that they'll turn out in droves for "Thousand." The album contains a small handful of compositions alongside covers by everyone from Elton John to Dolly Parton to Mister Mister.
  
  Yep, you read that right. Mister Mister. How many "Claymates" were born when that band struck it big in the mid-'80's with "Broken Wings?" Even worse, how many "Claymates" who were around when that song struck big will waste their time and my e-mail space to let me know?

• MySpace blog - THE TOP 10 REASONS WE LOVE CLAY AIKEN... photos!
  
• Marhaven - ATDW - "Hopefully, this album will be embraced by the fans as well as the general public. I think it will, the heavy promotion at Walmart in their SoundScan series should be huge in first week sales. A few television promo's and appearances and we should be good to go. I get to see him in Hollywood at the Jimmy Kimmel show on 9/26!!!!"
• There Was A Man's blend shows Clay's post-Idol transformation - from boy to man.
  

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible