Tidbits 11/15

• Malaysia The Star - American Idols far from idle ... with new Chicken Soup collection -

  f you’re an Idol groupie, and you just love all things Idol related, then get the new Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul. Yes it’s true, we’re not making this up.
  
  Amazon.com describes it as “the perfect marriage of the No. 1 show in television history and the No. 1 non-fiction book series in publishing history... celebrating the triumph of spirit over adversity, the fulfilment of dreams coming true, and the power of love”.
  
  There are personal accounts from Underwood, Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, Sparks, Doolittle, Blake Lewis, Sanjaya Malakar and many AI fans.
  

• Reality TV Magazine - Kellie Pickler to appear on "5th Grader", following Clay's footsteps -

  Two weeks ago American Idol 2 runner-up Clay Aiken made a guest appearance on Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? This week, another American Idol finalist will be making an appearance on the popular game show.
  

• Christmas tour mentions:
• Penn Live - The Patriot News
• Baltimore Sun -

  Concert Artists of Baltimore to back up Clay Aiken
  
  The Concert Artists of Baltimore, the fine orchestral and choral ensemble founded and directed by Ed Polochick, will branch out this holiday season -- providing the accompaniment for singer (and, for many, heartthrob) Clay Aiken in a Washington concert of Christmas favorites. Aiken, who shot to fame as an American Idol finalist in 2003 and will join the Broadway cast of Spamalot in January, will include on this program songs from his 2004 bestselling CD, Merry Christmas With Love.

• Wichita Eagle
• Scranton Times Tribune

• Carolina Clay's official fanclub version of Carolina On My Mind celebrated its 10,000th comment post yesterday ... WOW! What an impressive achievement -

  Blog Celebrates 10K Milestone
  
  NOTE: The OFC version of this journal is today celebrating its 10,000th comment.
  
  Mailbag blogs allow me to share the inestimable dimension that reader responses contribute to this journal. Some comments add new material to the selected subject, others compliment the effort, and all are greatly appreciated.
  
  The topics about which "we" have written in the past two months document everything from Clay Aiken's appearances to new grandson Kai, my first Woot-Out during which I purchased a Roomba robot, the celebrated return of LAP and LACIE, and Halloween compositions by my students.
  
  It's as if I bake a cake every 3-4 days, and you folks supply the frosting. Thank you for your collaboration blog after blog.

Clay's Amazon Rankings Spike

Clay's rankings at Amazon.com spiked drastically last night, as the Christmas season gets into full swing. Out of Clay's 3 albums, Merry Christmas with Love continues to perform the best at Amazon.com, peaking in the 600's last night.

Rankings from early this morning stood at:
MCWL #621
MOAM #877
ATDW #1,001

For detailed & archived info about Clay's Amazon rankings, check out CDD Charts/Stats from Clayscience21.

Tidbits 11/14

• Official fanclub members - new photos of Clay learning how to skate with Sasha Cohen is up on the OFC's photo page.
• Clay blogged last night about the Christmas stories contest ... OFC members can read it here.
  
• Clay was mentioned on a quiz show called "Temptation", says the CB's teddyhugz11. A cap is available courtesy gerwhisp at Badongo.com.

  I don't know if this show is aired in many areas but it does here in LA on Fox 11. On today's episode at 2:30 they had a question about Clay. I don't know the exact wording because it happened so fast and I was too busy EEE'ing and jumping up and down. The question went something like this "What singer's fans dub/call themselves the Claymates?" Out of the three contestants the one male contestant was the one to buzz in and get it right. It was awesome!
  

• Ripon College Days - Carrie Underwood avoids sophomore album slump -

  Even with competition like Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken, Underwood has surpassed all other contestants of American Idol to have the best selling album of any former contestant. After listening through her newest album, it can be guaranteed that this recognition was not in vain.

• All About Jazz - nice write up for Clay's Christmas tour:

  Clay Aiken Christmas Concert Set for 12/6 in New Jersey
  
  Multi-Platinum recording artist Clay Aiken comes to New Jersey on December 6th for “Clay Aiken Christmas” - an evening filled with Holiday Classics, including many songs which appeared on Aiken's popular CD, “Merry Christmas with Love”. Aiken will be joined by the 45-piece Chelsea Symphony Orchestra, as he brings his family-friendly concert to the State Theatre in New Brunswick.
  
  Aiken's debut CD, “Measure of a Man”, went to No.1 on the Billboard Album Chart and was certified Triple Platinum. His second release, the platinum “Merry Christmas with Love”, was the best-selling holiday album of 2004, and featured such favorites as “O, Holy Night”, “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)”, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, “Silent Night”, and more. Clay's third album, “A Thousand Different Ways”, features covers of ten well-known songs from the '70s, '80s and '90s, as well as four new tracks.

• More Christmas mentions:
• Cleveland Free Times

• All That Is Clay Aiken ... reflecting on "AI Rewind" -

  It is really amazing to watch Clay Aiken. He sure had the "IT" factor then. He had the charisma, the confidence and of course the voice. As I have read, a lot of the segments of the try-outs were edited out when season two was first shown. I cannot imagine how it would have turned out if everyone could have seen the snips from the cutting room floor.

Rosie's For All Kids Foundation Charity Includes VIP Clay Aiken Tickets

Clay has donated 4 tickets to the Rosie O'Donnell For All Kids Foundation's online charity auction. The VIP tickets includes admission to any of Clay's Christmas concerts and includes a meet and greet with Clay.

Bidding currently stands at $1100.

For more information about Rosie's charity, visit their website.

Tidbits 11/13

• Courier News Online - Clay to play State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ -

  The signature sounds of Clay Aiken will fill the State Theatre for a one-night performance at 8 p.m. Dec. 6.
  
  Aiken, the multi-platinum RCA recording star, will perform Christmas classics with backup from a 45-piece Chelsea Symphony Orchestra.
  
  “There’s nothing like caroling during the holidays,” Aiken said in a written statement. “Everybody will know the songs and with the Orchestra, it’ll be a magical evening in New Brunswick. I can’t wait.”

• There Was A Man - fantastic montage by Rpoppert shows the evolution of Clay's "Unchained Melody".
  

Clay Speaks at the North Carolina Public Schools Conference on Exceptional Children

According to a message that Rainlover of The Clayboard saw at Clayversity, Clay spoke on Monday, November 12, at the North Carolina Public Schools Conference on Exceptional Children.

Caneaer from The Clayboard also read at the Official Fan Club a comment made by someone who was at the conference. She says:

I was just reading a recap from someone there in Dear Clay at OFC and it seems his appearance was a surprise!

Jerry Aiken was speaking and apparently talked Clay into attending and speaking as well. What a surprise it must have been for those at the conference!

Demelza3000 at the Clackhouse was at this conference, and here is the report that she gives:

I was at the conference that Clay appeared at today. I must say, seeing Clay Aiken was not on my agenda. It was a shock to us all that Clay came to talk about the Bubel Aiken Foundation. But the audience of I guess a thousand or two special educators was quite appreciative. Clay spoke about the mission of the foundation and then showed a videotape on inclusion that had us in tears. The whole thing, speech and video was about 30 minutes long.

As far as the glasses/hair/clothes report: There were no glasses that I could tell. The hair was not particularly styled, a little flat. He had on jeans, a jacket and either a shirt with tie or a colorful shirt. It was a very large room and having not known the attendees, I sat woefully in the back. That's all I remember, that and my cell phone was dead so I couldn't take a picture.

Here's a little more from demelza3000 at the Clackhouse. You'll laugh at what Clay said!

At the end, Clay was trying to tell us how to find the Bubel Aiken Booth so we could purchase the Mikalah book...he stumbled around with directions and then just gave up saying, "I'm not sure how to tell you to get there, I haven't come through the front door of a building in 5 years!" He got a big laugh with that. Then he was off....out the back door.

There was an audible gasp when Clay was introduced, then heavy applause and about half of the audience gave him a standing ovation. He was very charming and funny and there were lots of laughs, then a lot of tears during the videotape. He rushed out at the end, otherwise I think he would have had a full standing ovation at the end.

The people at that conference had no clue what a treat they were in for! Its great to know that Clay's classroom continues to reach far and wide as he speaks to others about children with disabilities.

"Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader" Bubel Aiken Foundation Pledges - Have You Sent Yours In Yet?

As most of you are aware, back when we first found out that Clay was going to be on "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader", Aron Hall of The Bubel Aiken Foundation issued a challenge for everyone to pledge any amount for each question that Clay correctly answered on the show. You can read about this in an August 6 Clay's Daily Double article.

When the dust cleared, the pledge amount totalled $89,880.55. As of today, according to the Bubel Aiken Foundation website, the actual donations that have been made toward these pledges is $59,683.88. This is a difference of about $30,000.

Clay answered 9 questions correctly and received $300,000 for the Foundation's summer program. This will pay for 30 summer camps! If we can reach the almost $90,000 total of all pledges made, that will add another 9 camps to the total of 100 camps BAF is hoping to have.

Have you made your pledge donation yet? If not, BAF tells us at their website that you can do so in one of the following ways:

You can make your donations online at www.bubelaiken.org or send in a check or money order to:

The Bubel/Aiken Foundation
ATTN: Smarter Pledge
8601 Six Forks Road
Suite 400
Raleigh, NC 27615

REMEMBER: Include your Beta Alpha Chapter with your donation in order for your chapter to get the proper credit. Chapters will only receive credit when the donation is received.

Please note that donations of under $25 will need to be made by check or money order. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Let's do everything we can to help BAF reach that golden number of 100 camps!!

Tidbits 11/12

• The Official Fanclub has posted the People Magazine picture of Clay getting skating lessons from Sasha Cohen on their homepage.
• Clay blogged last night to update us on the progress of the Christmas stories contest. Fanclub members can read the blog HERE if they are logged in.
• UNICEFUSA.org - A picture of Clay from last year's snowflake lighting is included with the information about this year's lighting. No news as to who will be lighting the snowflake. The caption under Clay's picture reads:

  In a festive celebration, UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken, joins the 2006 Pier1/UNICEF/ Weekly Reader Greeting Card Contest winners to light the UNICEF Crystal Snowflake.
  
  VIDEO COVERAGE OF THE 2006 NEW YORK CITY LIGHTING
  LOW | HIGH

  As you can see, there is also a video of last year's lighting, including Clay, of course!

• Anew and Afresh ... check out this awesome "new" Clay Aiken blog.
• Something That Really Happened - 5th Grader episode available on iTunes
  

Get "5th Grader" on iTunes

Help send TV executives a statement!

Download Clay's episode of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader on Apple iTunes for $1.99.

FOX released the episode to iTunes over the weekend. Clay's episode is listed as episode 11 on the "5th Grader" section on iTunes.

The CH's kellykellyk gives us a little more insight on why supporting this episode on iTunes is important:

I know that everyone probably has downloaded it for the vault by now, but I would recommend that those who can afford to do so buy Clay's episode from iTunes. Ratings are supreme when it comes to TV, but online episodes/series downloads and DVD sales also send a message to studio execs about the popularity of a show or the draw of a particular star. If Clay's episode of AYSTAFG gets significantly more downloads than the average episode, that sends a positive message to TV execs and makes Clay a more attractive guest to have on a show. If his show gets fewer downloads than usual (mostly because fans already downloaded it for free from the different vaults), then that still sends a message, but it won't be a positive one.

For those interested in downloading the show from iTunes, it's under TV Shows - Fox - AYSTAFG. Clay's show is episode 11. Be careful, because since Clay and Regis were part of a 2-hour special edition, both episode 11 and episode 12 mention Clay and Regis as special guests, but Clay is episode 11 and Regis is 12. The file is 523 MB, so those on dial-up can't really download it, but I would suggest that anyone who can buy it do so.

Clay in UNCC's "Extracurricular Magazine"

Clay is featured in the Fall 2007 edition of the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill's magazine, "Extracurricular". There is a multi-page article about Clay's humanitarian work with the Bubel Aiken Foundation titled "Measure of a Man: Clay Aiken Demonstrates that Life Choices Define a Person's Character".

Thanks to the CB's tdallasw for the scans!

More Recording News for New Album

Some more news regarding Clay's 3rd mainstream album is surfacing in the blogosphere. From Josh Auer's Music blog:

Well, it's 10:30pm and my wife Amanda and I are in the studio tracking some vocals for a song written by the uber talented and fabulous Eve Nelson. She's sending the song over to Clay Aiken for consideration for his new album and his team wanted to hear a male vocal on it... so it came my way. Eve is a new friend of ours in the Auer family and we're delighted to see where the relationship will end up down the road. It's funny how similar Eve and I seem to be- sense of humor and all. Must be a musician thing, because we totally hit it off!

Josh later added another blog, confirming the track was accepted by Clay's folks:

Today, Josh got the OK on the vocals he sang for the Clay Aiken demo. Yes! We're thrilled. :)

We also got his car towed, because his key stopped working. That means 2+ weeks of one car for the two of us until his truck can get re-keyed. Yikes. At least it's on it's way to being fixed. It'd been acting up for quite some time.

We'll keep you posted on Clay Aiken.

November 11: We Remember

Canadian Remembrance Day
Veteran's Day

We Remember...

Graphic courtesy Clay - The Man

Tidbits 11/11

• Arizona Republic - Jordin Sparks to release debut album ...

  The company, part of British entertainment wizard Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment, has the marketing power to get Idol alumni Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken on the radio. But if an artist doesn't have a clear artistic vision, his or her identity can get lost in the Idol machinery.

• New Jersey Star Ledger - MCWL co-producer Phil Ramone ... Clay mention -

  Not every producer stays anonymous, of course. Think of Phil Spector, in his glory days, or Tim baland, now. But Ramone, who has worked with everyone from John Coltrane to Clay Aiken, is a behind- locked-doors kind of guy

• Taking A Moment - Jemock shares with us some of her "Christmas in the Heartland" memories
• Carolina On My Mind - November gets started with a pile of "non-stop" clack
  

Unseen AI2 Hollywood Performace Airs on AI Rewind

Unseen footage of Clay's American Idol 2 Hollywood round performances aired today on American Idol Rewind. Download links:

• ClackUnlimited - Clay performs "Superstar" - AI2 Hollywood round
• ClackUnlimited - Clay performs "Unchained Melody" - AI2 Hollywood round

Join the American Idol Rewind discussion at The Clayboard.

Huge Poster Outside Kalamazoo, MI Tour Venue

A huge Clay poster is hanging outside Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, MI for Clay's November 30 concert at the venue. What a great birthday present for Clay, whose birthday just happens to be November 30.

Thanks to the CB's ClayIzzaQT for the photos.'

Complete Christmas tour coverage

Tidbits 11/10

Clay is #17 today on People Magazine's Top 25 Celebrity Hot List today! His appearances on "5th Grader", "Holiday Celebrations on Ice" and upcoming role in "Spamalot" contributed to this ranking.

• ClaySpots on why Clay Aiken is the best entertainment out there-

  I mean, seriously, where else could one find so much fun and entertainment? There are message Boards, concerts, TV appearances, speeches, charities, news groups, interviews, MySpace pages, montages, YouTube videos, Clack, the list is endless. One of my favorite saying is this: You can't get better entertainment for the price of the internet!

Clay and Sasha Cohen Picture in People.com

A new picture is at People.com of Sasha Cohen giving a skating lesson to Clay. The caption reads as follows:

SLIP 'N SLIDE
Struggling to keep his feet underneath him, Clay Aiken gets a lesson on ice from Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen on Tuesday. The two were on hand for a taping of the Capitol One Holiday Celebration on Ice.

I get the feeling that there is a little more "clowning Clay" in this picture than "struggling Clay"! Of course, Clay clowns so infrequently, who can be sure? (yeah right!!) Looks like they're having a great time, though, doesn't it!!

Be sure to give this picture at People.com a few hits. What a great photo!!

Progress Report - New Album - New Song Recorded

Clay recorded a song called "Forget I Even Knew You" by LA/Toronto based songwriter Greg Critchley, according to his MySpace page biography. We don't have the lyrics yet, but it sure is exciting to see the new album taking shape.

Greg Critchley - songwriter
from his MySpace Bio:
QUOTE
Cuts so far in 2007 include Clay Aiken ("Forget I Ever Knew You"), Brett Ryan, ("She's Beautiful" CAPITOL USA), Stradio ("Stay" UNIVERSAL), One Life To Live ("A Night To Remember")

from his MySpace blog date 8/7/07:
QUOTE
I took "FORGET I EVER KNEW YOU" down because it is now officially on hold with Clay Aiken, who just finished recording it. This is amazing news for me, and it's also positive feedback on my journey, since it was written entirely alone.

from MySpace blog of Brent Paschke...
QUOTE
Forget I Ever Knew You
Current mood: rejuvenated
Category: Music

This is a song Greg Critchley wrote. I met Greg when I first moved to L.A. in May of '06. I've now played on several of his demos and we're now also starting to co-write some songs together.

Greg is not only an incredibly talented musician but I also consider Greg to be one of my best friends here in L.A. He's a very insightful guy and has been a great friend and inspiration for me not only as a musician but also as a single guy in the biggest and most competitive music capital in the world.

Greg usually co-writes but he's recently written a few songs on his own. He called me to play guitar on this one in October. I told Greg that I thought it was one of the best songs he'd ever written. Greg and I recently went through the same situation in our life and this was Greg's reflection on his situation. I feel his lyrics in this song are incredible and they ring very true to how I'm feeling in my life at this point also.
I wanted to put this one up because I was very touched by this song and it's lyrics and I feel it came through in my performance.

Tidbits 11/9

People Magazine has posted a picture of Sasha Cohen giving Clay some skating tips. This was probably taken in Las Vegas before Tuesday's "Holiday Celebrations on Ice" taping.

• Quiana Parler will be staring on a Broadway adaptation of "Dreamgirls" in 2008, as she revealed on her MySpace page.
  
• Search Engine Land - Facebook, "more popular than sex", debuts on Lycos 50, joining the likes of Clay Aiken -

  So where's the rivalry with sex? OK, actually sexual terms are omitted from the Lycos 50. I was just getting your attention! Then again, Clay Aiken (position 11) and Paris Hilton (position 12) are considered sexy (by some), right? So Facebook could gain on them.

• Long Island Business News - reference to a 2003 Wachovia Bank event Clay attended -

  By contrast, Wachovia entered the New York market in 2003 by holding a press conference to celebrate the opening of two Manhattan branches. On hand for the big moment were Mayor Mike Bloomberg and American Idol star Clay Aiken.
  
  “Clay Aiken?” Loomis asked.

• Arizona Republic - Jordin Sparks to release debut album on November 20 -

  The company, part of British entertainment wizard Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment, has the marketing power to get Idol alumni like Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken on the radio. But if an artist doesn't have a clear artistic vision, his or her identity can get lost in the Idol machinery.
  

• ABC News - small Clay mention at bottom of a Ryan Seacrest article.

• Carolina On My Mind - Clay dazzles with "Holiday Celebrations" performances
• ClayKat - "Christmas story" submission in the bag... bring on the Clay Aiken Christmas season!
  

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader - Clay's Questions and Answers

Well, with all the excitement of Clay's performance at The Holiday Celebration on Ice, Clay's appearance on Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader seems like an eternity ago. However, I couldn't help but think of him as I watched Tony Hawk on the show tonight. Tony earned $175,000 for his charity, The Tony Hawk Foundation. Not bad at all. And Clay was shown in a picture alongside Kellie Pickler, who will be on next week's show. It said something along the lines of "which idol will be better." I can't remember the exact words. Of course, we all know who will be better!! Clay couldn't have been smarter, funnier, and more entertaining. He did us all proud, and I'm still watching that show over and over again!

For those of you who do not have Clay's questions and answers from his show written down, here they are for you. I'm so proud that out of all these questions, Clay only used one cheat, and he didn't really need that one after all...he had already given the correct answer and just wanted to be sure. Way to go Clay!!

1. 1st Grade Animal Science Which of the following animals is NOT native to the African Savanna: a. Giraffe b. Lion c. Brown Bear Answer c. Brown

2. 2nd Grade English True or False? The word true is an antonym of the word false. Answer True

3. 1st Grade Spelling How many times does the letter "r" appear in the word: "error"? (Verbally given - not shown) Answer 3

4. 2nd Grade Social Studies The oriole is the official bird of which U.S. state? Answer Maryland

5. 3rd Grade Nature Fuji and Gala are both varieties of what fruit?
Answer apples

6. 4th Grade World Geography What city is the capital of Italy? a. Rome b. Milan c. Naples Answer a. Rome

7. 4th Grade World History Puerto Rico was a colony of what country
immediately before the U.S. gained possession of it in 1898? Answer Spain

8. 3rd Grade Math If Nathan has eight pies and he cuts each pie into eighths, how many pieces of pie does he have? Answer 8 x 8 = 64

9. 5th Grade Grade Literature What 19th Century British author wrote the novel "A Christmas Carol"? Answer Charles Dickens

10. 5th Grade U.S. History Published in the 1780's, the Federalist papers were written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and what man who would later become a U.S. president? Answer James Madison