CDD Announces "The Amazing Race: Clay Aiken Edition"

Clay's Daily Double and clayisouridol Designs is proud to announce the 1st annual Amazing Race: Clay Aiken Edition.

CDD along with our affiliate, ClayReport will be premiere sponsors of the race.

The virtual online race, based on CBS' Emmy winning reality show The Amazing Race will take participants around the Clay Nation's many Clay Aiken websites in an exciting 1 1/2 hour race. Before landing on the AI2 top 12, Clay said he really wanted to go on the race.

So join us, on May 1st at 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT! It's free, fun and fantastic distration from the current Clay 'drought'

Click here to go the race's official website.

See you at the starting line!

Tidbits 3/18

• Barry Manilow article from the LA Times (this is a repeat)
• eBay an AI breeding ground... mentions the eBay Faye dinner package. Richmond.com.
• AI3 Runner Up Diana DeGarmo, who is performing on Broadway mentioned Clay during an interview this morning on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio 1's show "High Definition". DeGarmo said that throughout Idol, people like Simon Cowell have portrayed Broadway as something negative and that Clay has been on Broadway a few times.

Simon Cowell Speaks Out

Appearing on CNN's Larry King Live last night, Simon Cowell addressed the bogus gay allegations facing Clay. King brought up the anti-gay theories surrounding American Idol and eventually mentioned Clay. Simon responded by saying: "You hear all the rumors, whatever. Then you hear the lawsuits are that you pretended to be straight or something. I mean it's just crazy, you know. It doesn't matter. I mean what do I care?"

Quotes courtesy CNN.

Dallas Morning News Ranger Quiz

In Friday's Dallas Morning News, the Texas Ranger Report, by Richard Durrett, includes a quiz given to one of the Ranger players about American Idol. Second Baseman, Ian Kinsler, was asked about American Idol because he has watched it since the first season. Included in the questions is a question about Season 2:

Question: Who was the winner and runner-up in season two?
Kinsler's Answer: "Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken. But Clay Aiken is a bigger deal now."

Obviously, Kinsler's answer was correct. He knows his Clay Aiken facts! To read the entire article click here.

New Photos From 2005 TV Guide Photoshoot

The CH's mee2u shared these gorgeous new photos from the July 2005 TV Guide photoshoot.

THESE PHOTOS MAY NOT BE USED IN BLENDS, WALLPAPERS ETC. IN ADDITION, THEY MAY NOT BE SOLD OR POSTED ON THE OFFICIAL FANCLUB MESSAGE BOARD.

Tidbits 3/17

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!
Check this out: St Patrick's Day with the LBFCA!

• It's been 2 years since Clay sang his beautiful version of Solitaire on American Idol 3.
• Green Bay Press-Gazette: Idol talkback... Clay lost, but has more buzz.
• Direct TV PR about the new "American Idol Extra" show.
• An interview with the Rhythm Gypsys band... band member says the last CD she bought was Clay Aiken!
• Idol vocal coach Debra Byrd made some very nice comments about Clay on Wednesday's FOX Reality Channel post Idol show.
• Beavers On Idol article: Clay was the 13th Idol on Tuesday night (Scrubs)
• A shrine for Clay Aiken... in the dorm room....
  
• Check out this new photo of Clay and Indonisian actress Kai Ling. This was taken in March 2005 during Clay's trip to Indonisia.
  

LambAiken Project 2006 "Will Bring Smiles"

A group of Clay Aiken fans calling themselves the "LambAikens" have begun their 2006 LambAiken project. In a press release issued today the group says it "plans to give out hundreds of little plush lambs to children with special needs at Clay Aiken concerts throughout the United States and Canada." The PR went on to say that the "lambs will [also] be given to children who are undergoing treatment or having surgery at children's hospitals."

A design contest for the lambs' pocket inserts is now underway. So to all you aspiring sheep designers (sounds weird, doesn't it?), check out LambAiken's website. Winners will be announced sometime in April.

Best Buy Corp. Issues Memo Regarding Clay's New CD

Isn't this neat: The CB's angel003 talked to a Best Buy music department manager today about the new sophomore CD and the manager showed her a memo sent to all Best Buy outlets regarding the release of Clay's new CD and possible CD release parties.

Claymates pioneered release parties; thousands of eagar fans participated in release parties across the world for the October 2003 release of Measure of A Man.

Best Buy is North America's leading electronics and entertainment chain.

Here is angel003's story:

Was in Best Buy today and had a nice long chat with the supervisor of the CD section. I asked her to look up to see if she could get any hint of when the CD will drop. She couldn't find a date yet, BUT........... She showed me an interstore memorandum concerning Clay's new CD discussing, THE FAN CD RELEASE PARTIES THAT ARE NOW IN THE WORKS (The viewing of some Clay Aiken message boards is showing them that parties are now in the early planning stages and to consider this when asking distributors for supplies of Clay's CD.) I discussed with the manager the possibility of using her store for a party some friends of mine are planning and I have to go back tomorrow to see if they will consider opening their store at midnight so we can clean their shelves of the CD, LOL. What surprised me is that Best Buy is already gearing up to provide more of Clay's CD this time, yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That tells me outlets are keeping an eye on internet discussion regarding CD release parties for Clay! The manager also told me I was the THIRD person to discuss a CD release party with her and our tentative needs for the CD.

BeadsForLife Thanks Clay Aiken Fans

BeadsForLife, a non-profit organization that is raising funds for the impovishered people of Uganda thanked Clay fans for their support in a newsletter sent out to its supporters earlier this week. The newsletter said:

In the past year BeadforLife has received support from many unexpected groups. One of these is the fans of pop music star Clay Aiken, an American Idol super star singer. In 2005 Clay, who cares about the welfare of children, was a UN ambassador to Uganda. He came to witness the plight of the children made refugees by the war in Northern Uganda. More than half of the beaders are refugees from this war. When he returned a fan spotted Clay wearing a paper bead necklace given to him by a young Ugandan. A Google search by fans, who call themselves "The Fandom," quickly brought them to BeadforLife.

Since then individuals in the Fandom have sponsored almost thirty Bead Parties before Clay's concerts and are planning others during the summer tour.

Thank you, Fandom, for selling and buying the beads, like the beautiful orange bracelet that Clay wears. We are proud of you for caring about the displaced and the poor in Uganda.

"Appoiyo MaTai" - Thank you in Luo from all of the beaders"

Clay was touched when he visited Uganda under a veil of secrecy in 2005 as part of his UNICEF ambassador work. The country is facing an unprecedented social crisis as its healthcare, education and infrastructure continue to recover from years of war. The situation is still critical as violence continues to erupt on a daily basis.

To see how you can help, please visit the organization's website.

Scrubs "Doctor" Praises Clay

Scrubs star Ken Jenkins , who plays Dr. Bob Kelso on the hit show shared his thoughts about Clay earlier this week on NBC.com. NBC re-aired the February 2005 episode of Scrubs which Clay guest starred on as one of the "cast favourites" on Tuesday. Jenkins said this about Clay in a video that was posted on NBC.com:

"What a dear young man. Absolute pure song. The boy stopped being there and there was nothing but singing. It was like watching magic...this young man unzipped himself and emerged like a butterfly. He did it so naturally and so beautifully that I think all of our jaws dropped and we thought 'wow.' Clay Aiken. What a great kid."

Thanks to ClayAikenTheIdealIdol.com for these quotes.

Clay in New Documentary About The "Art of Auditions"

Footage from Clay's 2003 American Idol stint is featured in a new documentary called "Paid to Play" which explores "the art of auditions" (ahh...how can we forget Clay's Atlanta audition?).

The 84 minute film was directed by Nick Karner.

Clay Spotted in LA

Clay was spotted last week enjoying dinner at the Palomino restaurant in Los Angeles. Defamer reported that Clay dined with "3 women dressed in black". He apparently wore a "striped sweater" and a "Woody Allen type" hat.

It's nice to see our guy having fun!

Note: CDD's policy is that we will not report Clay's location until 3 days have passed. In this case, 8 days have passed, so we feel it is appropriate to share this story with you.

Tidbits 3/16

• It's been 2 years since the release of The Way/Solitaire! WOW!
• Press release regarding the new American Idol extra show.
• Technology article from Chicago Sun Times -- putting Clay on every part of your computer is "just weird"
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog about Tuesday's American Idol top 12 performance episode.
• A conversation with a teenage Idol fan: Ruben won, but Clay's doing much better.
• Michael Buble continuing with his Clay Aiken routine.(if you have no clue, read this...positive)
• ...and for the excessively obsessed Claymate: Clay "answer tones" from Cingular Wireless.
• Update on Dinner with Faye Parker -- the auction has been re-listed on eBay. It's currently at $700.

Clay Encourages ASU Students

The CH's cats4clay posted this heart warming story about a recent visit Clay made to Appalachain State University where he encouraged students to follow their dreams.

Also, my DS told me a very nice story about Clay last night, so I wanted to relay it to you guys. My DS works part-time in a video rental store, and I went by to take him something to eat on Saturday and I happened to be wearing my Clay fan club tee shirt. There was a young girl working with my son, and after I left the store, she asked my son was I a really big fan of Clay's. Of course, my son told her that she just wouldn't believe how big of a fan I was. Well, anyway, to make a long story short, this girl told my son that back a couple of months ago, that Clay made a surprise visit to her sister's college (I believe it was Appalachian State University) and met with a large group of students to encourage them to stick with their education, and to stress to them how important a college education is. She said that he also visited the students in their music department there, and how nice everyone thought he was.

America Was Right on Clay: Randy Jackson

American Idol judge Randy Jackson said on last night's Jimmy Kimmel Live that America made the right choice when they voted for Clay, Carrie, Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia and Bo.

CDD Video: Randy Jackson: America made the right choice.

Clay Saw "The Colour Purple"

You may recall the story we ran about Clay cancelling his scheduled appearance at the premiere of Oprah's NYC broadway musical The Colour Purple back in December. The CB's mom4clay22 reports that Clay did indeed return to New York City in January to watch the show. Clay was spotted with an unidentified friend.

I've been taking a mini-break from my Clay obsession while he is making those last-minute touches to the best selling CD evah! But I had to post this story for ya!

I have a good friend that I went to high school with and we see each other around the neighborhood once in a while. I happened to bump into her at the Ohio State Fair the day Clay was there. We chatted and I told her why we were there. And, yeah, I suppose I gushed :hehe a bit about our cutesexysingerguy! Thank GOD I did!

Anyway, she appeared on my doorstep the other night and had an envelope in her hand. She said she had gone to New York with another mutual friend to see a Broadway show (The Color Purple) in January and was shocked to see what great seats they had. She said she was thrilled to death when Oprah's best friend, Gayle, sat down next to them (she was very nice!) but the most famous person she saw there sat 3 rows BEHIND them...yep...it was Clay. She said he was there with a girl and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. She also said they were in the lobby during intermission and several people approached them and asked for pictures or just spoke to them and he was very nice to everyone.

The best news is after the show she got up to leave and decided since I was such a big fan she would ask him if she could just take his picture. He said, "Sure you can" and she did!!! I think I freaked her out a bit with how excited I was! I told her how awesome she was to think of ME on HER trip! And the picture is...ohhhhh la la!!!!

In late January, Clay also saw the musical Snow.

Raleigh News 14 Online Article Mentions Clay

It seems as though having so many Carolina contestants on American Idol this year is good for Clay mentions. In an online article about Kellie Pickler, a North Carolina native, Clay is mentioned toward the end of the article where it says, "North Carolina contestants have done well on American Idol. The show turned Raleigh-native Clay Aiken into a star when he finished as the runner-up in the show's second season."

Check out the whole article by clicking here.

Clay Mention in AOL Fitness Article

In the AOL Diet and Fitness Section today, there is an article entitled, "Does 'American Idol' Have a Body Bias?", By Rob Medich. This article is about Mandisa from American Idol's Season 5 and whether her weight will play a part in whether she can win the AI title, as well as about the part weight plays in general in the music industry.

In the second paragraph of the article, Clay and Ruben are mentioned in regard to the weight question. It says, "True, previous 'Idol' winner Ruben Studdard was a big man. But then look what happened to him: not too much. Skinny runner-up Clay Aiken has a somewhat more high-profile career. In fact, Google the two and you'll find Studdard only gets 1,010,000 hits to Aiken's 3,560,000. So do you have to be Aiken-sized to be a hit in music -- and show biz in general? "

To read the entire article click here.

Another Mention in Music Connection Magazine

There is yet another Clay mention in the Feb. 27- Mar. 12 issue of Music Connection. We reported a separate Clay mention in the same issue. Here's what it said:

Music Managers Forum member Mike Gormley, who represents the talents of Lisbeth Scott, Paul Schwartz, and Kelly Fitzgerald, has been a manager for 20 years and a MMF member for three years. "The networking aspect is the best," says Gormley. "I just put a major songwriter together with Paul Schwartz to do some writing for Josh Groban and Clay Aiken, because of a conversation with a New York-based MMF member."

And... here's some information about Paul Schwartz courtesy ASCAP. You can also visit his website.

Composer Paul Schwartz's State of Grace II lies between the musical worlds of innovative concert and esoteric pop music. Schwartz is a classically trained composer who also mastered electronic grooves. He has taken two dramatic classic Christian texts, the Magnificat and the Stabat Mater, and set them to music featuring a mix of concert and modern instruments and vocalists. Imagine dance tracks amid the choir at Westminster Abby... and you have it.

Hmmm... interesting!

Tidbits 3/15

Bear with us today... there are a ton of AI articles. There is a Miami Herald article being syndicated everywhere! We are not going to list repeat articles (ones being syndicated). Also, the USA Today article that showed up a few days ago is being syndicated.

• Miami Herald: Elliott Yamin ain't no Clay Aiken. (being syndicated)
• Metro Toronto: Kevin Covais -- a mixture of William Hung and Clay Aiken (positive)
• Fayetteville Online: Kellie Pickler joining the (long) NC Idols list.
• Sun Sentinel: Hollywood, FL park got the Clay Aiken treatment (Clay planted trees at this park in 2004, if you remember)... article about school being built in the park (hmmm... since when do you build schools in parks? LOL)
• Another article about the US military Idol taking place in Tikrit, Iraq. Mentions Clay and Kelly Clarkson.
• Foxes on Idol: Top 12 critique.
• MTV: Why does Idol need genre weeks?
• NBC Scrubs website: Is Ken Jenkins a Claymate (video) -- the Clay episode of Scrubs repeated last night on NBC.
• Lifetime TV show: Cheerleader Nation -- Click on Profile, then Ashley. She says she's a "secret Claymate"