Tidbits 5/7

The BAF has posted a nice recap from their Champions for Change gala held at the end of March. Read it at BubelAiken.org.

• Charlotte Observer - Tiger Woods breaks Clay's record for being on the cover of the Charlotte Observer the most # of consecutive days -

  Tiger's picture appears on page 1A of the Observer today for the fifth day in a row, breaking the record he shared with Clay Aiken, Jim Black, John Edwards and Lynn Wheeler.

• Foxes on Idol - recapping the AI2 top 4 as we prepare for this week's AI6 top 4 show down:

  The second season's top four performed songs by the legendary Bee Gees with Robin Gibb on hand as guest judge. This was the night that Clay broke out the red jacket and sang "Grease." Who will ever forget that hip twitch! Ruben was sensational singing "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," and Kimberley Locke tore me up with her rendition of "Emotions."
  
  Both Clay and Josh Gracin sang "To Love Somebody," which was a little strange. Josh's gamble didn't pay off. Clay’s version was superior, and Josh went home the following night. Josh’s final song was sweet, though. He brought his little girl up on the stage and sang his farewell song to her. The final three was just as it should be, and Kimberley Locke was coming on strong.

• Delaware Online - syndication of the USA Today article about Neil Sedaka which surfaced a few days ago. Nice Clay mention:

  Sedaka's "Collection" also covers a lot of ground, from the prodigy's early demos and rarities to hits and new songs. There's a live version of "Solitaire," which enjoyed a new round of pop glory when Clay Aiken crooned it on "American Idol" and hit No. 1 with his cover.

• The Morning Call - review of AI5 finalist Bucky Covington's first CD - "For a first effort, ''Bucky Covington'' is pleasant enough. But as Clay Aiken has discovered, Covington can't expect to live off of his ''Idol'' pedigree forever."
  

• There Was A Man brings us some nice memories from Clay's AI2 top 5 show.
  

Great Article About Clay's UNICEF Trip in The Raleigh Chronicle

"Clay Aiken Raises $181,783 For Children"...This is the title of an article in The Raleigh Chronicle about Clay's UNICEF trip to Afghanistan. This article is great, and it gives the details of the huge amount raised just recently by Clay's fans.

The article starts by saying:

Through his fan network around the world, Raleigh resident and recording artist Clay Aiken has raised nearly $181,783 for children in war-torn Afghanistan.

But it then tells its readership that not only was the $100,000 in 10 Days Campaign reached in a couple of days, but those donating sent in well above the $100,000 in that amount of time, nearly $140,000, and then went on to raise an addition $40,000+ to make a total of almost twice the original amount requested.

The article then tells of a young girl that Clay met and how the funds will be used:

"On my trip, I met Fwazia. She is 11 years old. Fwazia attends a unique school where boys and girls from grades 1-9 share classes and study in the open. The school is in urgent need of funding to buy tents and materials to build a new school. This will give more children the opportunity to go to school," said Aiken in the campaign drive.

In addition, there are six large pictures of Clay interacting with the children in Afghanistan. The Raleigh Chronicle outdid itself with this article which will spread the word of the outstanding work Clay is doing for UNICEF and hopefully encourage more people to donate to this worthy cause.

Faye Parker Wins Dancing With The Stars Dance Contest

Clay's mom, Faye Parker, and her partner, Dick Hensley, won the recent Dancing With The Stars dance contest held in Raleigh last weekend. The proceeds from the event go to the North American Andy Transplant Foundation.

In an article here in Clay's Daily Double, we told you how Clay and Brett showed up to cheer Faye on as she competed on Sunday, April 29. She danced to "Perfect Day", from Clay's first album, "Measure of a Man", and received all 9's. The audience was then able to vote for their favorite dance team, which turned out to be Faye and Dick! You can see Faye's dance by going to Clack Unlimited and downloading the video clip.

Congratulations Faye!!

RCA Thinks It's 1969?

Well, it looks like someone at RCA thinks it's December 31, 1969. Very strange blooper at ClayAiken.com.

Tidbits 5/6

• Roanoke Times - article about a talent contest ... "Placing in the top eight may not ensure a career as the next Carrie Underwood, or even Clay Aiken, but when the second round of competition ends today, finalists will have a shot at singing at Festival in the Park on Memorial Day."
• PennLive.com - tour mention

• WebWeaver gives us a few tips about using Blogger (non-Clay related)
  

Fantasy Spring Resort Promotes Clay Concert

The Fantasy Spring Resort in Indio, CA is pulling out all the stops to promote Clay's August 5 concert there.

Here are some screencaps from a promotional video for the concert posted on their website. (direct link to video ... click here)

And we also noticed a Clay Aiken getaway package they are offering:

Houston Press Showcases Talented Claymates' Art Work

The Houston Press made a call earlier this week for Clay Aiken fan art. Boy, did the Clay nation ever respond! The Houston Press will award the winner 2 tickets to Clay's July 6 Houston concert, but will have the option of donating them to a foundation like the Make A Wish foundation.

Go to the Houston Press' website to see all the entries thus far.

You have until the end of this month to submit your art piece. More details are available at the link above.

I'm Staying on the "Clay Aiken Side"

The Clayboard's Martigyrl has posted a beautiful piece of writing that's, well, very relevant to yesterday's news that Paris Hilton is going to jail.

Living on the Clay Aiken side, in a Paris Hilton world!!!

I used to live more leaning toward the Paris Hilton side of life.
There was something comfortable/ disarming about where I was in life.
Comforting because it surrounded me, and engulfed me.... with my help
I loved/hated myself, for my 'loose standards', and my conflicting 'high moral upbringing'.

Wanting to find the Clay Aiken side of life, but drowning in the Paris Hilton side of it.
Change is what was needed, but did I know it.... Yes, and No.?!
I knew life was askew, but the wrongs I delved in, felt good, they must be okay.
Well, there I was, in my Paris Hilton side of life, and then I heard those words.........
" Always and Forever...!
Wow, look at him, listen...........
Who is He?
Where did He come from?
Whoah, that voice!!!
What the Heck was that, that just reached inside my chest, and grabbed my heart??
Paris Who,kind of my life???
I need to see this guy some more.
"God, Wow, haven't heard whispers from you in a long time.
Welcome back to my heart."
Did you do this, God???
You sent Him to me?
What did you do to him, how did you mold him, that I want to make a change??
"Don't look back in pain, look up to me, and pray."
He said.
"It's been years, dear Lord, I've forgotten how."
This young man, why do I look in his eyes, and want to be closer to you, dear Lord??

" You are headed to the clean side of life, my dear;
Step off the curb, leave the Paris Hilton side of life, and join us over here, on the Clay Aiken side."
No more self indulgences, at the sake of other innocents.
No more self absorbtion, in the name of vainess.
Wrap your mind around the humanitarian side of life, learn of the less fortunate now. I've sent Him here, to show you the way.
Educate your mind about the 'bigger world'. Don't educate your mind about the 'seedy side' of earth, the Paris Hilton side.
There now, doesn't it feel good?? The Clay Aiken side of life.
I wouldn't change it for the world.
Leaving the Paris Hilton side of life..... eternally.
Martigyrl 05-04-07

Tidbits 5/5

• Philadelphia Inquirer - a little bit of Idol melodrama? "From the bar, a mysterious stranger (Clay Aiken) is keeping a close eye on the encounter - and curling his lip."

• Nothing here yet.
  

Raleigh News & Observer Cartoon - North Carolina & American Idol

The Raleigh News & Observer's Grey Blackwell has posted a hilarious animated cartoon spoofing the fact so many of American Idol's contestants are from North Carolina. In the cartoon, past NC-Idol-alums gather in Clay's house and figure out how to make the perfect idol.

Click here to view the hilarious clip... a few screencaps are posted below:

Tidbits 5/4

• Small Clay mention on CNN's Larry King Live last night according to Shiiiine at the CH:

  "Larry King: 50 Years of Pop Culture" --- about 1 1/2 hours into the show -- a split second: Clay siting on Idol during '03 competition."
  

• PCToday - Williamsport, PA to improve Community Arts Center -

  On the night of a sold-out performance by “American Idol” performer Clay Aiken last December, there was not an available hotel room in the local area. More than half of the tickets for that evening’s performance were sold to people who lived outside northcentral Pennsylvania.

• Syracuse Post-Standard - gotta love the storyline of this play ... Syracuse will be hosting the opening of new American Idol themed play called "Idol the Musical". The show moves to New York City for a brief stint there in July:

  What emerged was "Idol," inspired by the mega-success of TV's "American Idol." Set in Steubenville, Ohio, the story focuses on the yearnings to become the next Clay Aiken, the real runner-up on the TV reality series in 2003.

• MassLive.com - article about Ari Gold, a songwriter who collaborated with Desmond Child. Child co-wrote Clay's "Invisible":

  His debut also caught the ear of hit-making songwriter Desmond Child, who has penned tunes for such artists as Cher, Clay Aiken, Aerosmith and Kelly Clarkson. Child and Gold got together to write "I'm All About You," which debuted in the Top 20 on UK pop charts, subsequently becoming a Top 10 dance hit.

• USA Today - nice Clay mention in this Neil Sedaka article -

  Sedaka's Collection also covers a lot of ground, from the Brill Building prodigy's early demos and rarities to hits and new songs. There's a live version of Solitaire, which enjoyed a new round of pop glory when Clay Aiken crooned it on American Idol and hit No. 1 with his cover.

• Desert Sun - tour mention (Indio, CA concert)
  

• Nothing here yet.
  

Clay Mention on TV Guide Channel

The CB's claybeclay reported a Clay sighting tonight on the TV Guide Channel. They showed a clip of Clay in Afghanistan:

8:05 pm EST. Lookin good. Has anybody seen this?

Afghanistan footage....sporting new beard, etc.
Usually they repeat so I will try to watch again.
I was on the phone and didn't catch everything.

So glad they are showing some of his humanitarian work.

Indio, CA Tickets On Sale Tomorrow

Listen up California fans - tickets to Clay's Indio, CA concert to be held August 5 go on sale tomorrow to the public. Due to the short notice, the fanclub says there will be no presale for its members:

05/03/07 : Tickets for Indio, CA On Sale Tomorrow!
By Team Clay

Please note that tickets for the Clay Aiken performance at The Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino in Indio, CA will go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. PDT. The link to buy tickets will be available on the TOURS page shortly before tickets go on sale.

Due to short notice of the on-sale date, we unfortunately will not be able to hold a pre-sale for this tour date. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Happy Birthday Faye Parker

Mama Faye turns 61 years old young today.

Happy Birthday Faye!

AirTrans Go Magazine Interviews Clay

AirTrans' on-flight magazine Go interviewed Clay about why he loves his hometown of Raleigh, NC. Clay said:

Raleigh has all of the things one would find in a much larger city—great shopping, good nightlife, fantastic cultural arts. But at the same time it has a quaint, small-town feel. People aren’t in a hurry; they are focused on friendliness and quality of life. No other city I can think of does that.

Raleigh’s been ranked in almost every publication as one of the best places to live in the country. Here’s a little known fact: The Triangle (the three-city area of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, home to a large number of research science companies) has one of the highest number of PhDs per-capita of anywhere in the world. These are folks who work hard all week long and then head to the lake for the weekend and turn their Blackberries and cell phones off.

You can read the rest of the interview at AirTrans' Go website.

Houston Press to Give Away Tickets to Concert

The Houston Press has announced that they have two orchestra level seats for Clay's July 6 concert at Jones Hall. To enter, submit a photo of a piece of original fan art to Olivia.Alvarez@HoustonPress.com. The full details are listed at the Houston Press website.

The Houston Symphony has most kindly donated two tickets to the Clay Aiken show coming up later this summer as the prize for our Clay Aiken art contest. Two orchestra seats. Since most fans already have their tickets, we're hoping the winner will allow us to donate the tickets to a charity, maybe to the Make a Wish Foundation or something similar. (We haven't figured all that out yet.)

Tidbits 5/3

WNYC has posted a photo of Clay visiting their studios last month to the WNYC Flickr page. Clay was interviewed by WNYC about his trip to Afghanistan with UNICEF.

• We posted in January about the editors of the Chicken Soup series seeking stories for their upcoming book Chicken Soup for the American Idol Lover's Soul. The CB's crafty1955 says a Clay essay by the CB's DixiPixi4Clay will be included in the book which is expected to be published soon. Congrats DixiPixi4Clay!
  
• Fayetteville Observer mentions Clay's Cary, NC concert coming up on Aug. 10:

  CLAY AIKEN: The “American Idol” singer performs with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra Aug. 10 at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park in Cary. Tickets go on sale Saturday and are $27.50 to $50. They are available at www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 223-2900.

• Winston Salem News Journal also has a small tidbit about the Cary concert - "Clay Aiken with The Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 10, Koka Booth Amphitheatre, Cary. Visit www.ticketmaster.com or call 722-6400."
• ... and one more tour mention from the Warren, MI C&G Times - "The 20-plus headline acts include comedian George Lopez, alternative band Snow Patrol, Clay Aiken of “American Idol” fame and pop artist Donny Osmond."
  
• Blogcritics updates us on where contestants of AI2 are now-

  Not only have Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, and Kimberly Locke - first, second, and third place winners respectively - enjoyed success on the airwaves, but many other contestants have also gone on to great fame in music, stage, and television.
  

• And even more Rosie ...
• Long Island Press -

  Even in attempting to defend the discriminated, as in her bizarre hate triangle with Kelly Ripa and Clay Aiken, O’Donnell clumsily risked the American Idol star’s unsolicited public outing.

• Nothing here yet.
  

Clay On Pizza Hut Park's Home Page

Are you pacing back and forth, counting down the days, the hours, the minutes till that first concert of Clay's summer tour, that first concert in Texas since 2004?!! Yeah, so am I, and being a Texan, the days seem like years!

To tide you over until that July 4 day gets here, head over the Pizza Hut Park's home page and feast your eyes on the picture and announcement of Clay's July 4 performance at the top left of the page. Click on the Clay Aiken announcement right below the picture, dated 4/30/07, and you will be taken to a page that tells a little about the Freedom Fest and about Clay:

FCD, CLAY AIKEN AND FIREWORKS HIGHLIGHT FRISCO FREEDOM FEST
Frisco Freedom Fest returns to Pizza Hut Park
FRISCO, Texas (Friday, April 27, 2007) – For the second consecutive year, the City of Frisco and Pizza Hut Park have teamed up to host the City of Frisco’s Freedom Fest, on Wednesday, July 4. The Independence Day festival will start at 4 pm, and also feature the FC Dallas’ home game versus Chivas USA (5:30 pm), followed by a post-game concert by Clay Aiken and Symphony, and capped off by the largest fireworks show in the Metroplex, organized by the premier fireworks company – the Zambelli Family.... Pop-singer Clay Aiken and the Symphony will perform on the Pizza Hut Park stage approximately 30 minutes following the end of the game. He has released three solo albums that have each debuted in the top five on the Billboard charts.

I don't know about you, but it did this Texas fan a world of good to see Clay's picture on the home page of Pizza Hut Park. Imagine how seeing Clay live in Frisco will make me and thousands of other fans feel!!

Tidbits 5/2

• The CB's ncsupack88 says she heard a radio ad promoting Clay's August 10 Cary, NC concert today on WRAL-FM in Raleigh:

  Just heard that sweet sounding voice and the lady advertising "An Evening with Clay Aiken and the NC Symphony". Started out with him singing INvisible and then went into WY, then WISYS and advertised the album ATDW with ATD playing in background. Ended it with MOAM playing. Really good ad IMHO. I hadn't read about any other ads but I'm sure this could be in the wrong place so mods do your thing if this is wrong.

• AOL Television-American Idol on Fox - "Top 10 Reasons Why Idol Season Six Sucks...

  Reason Number 10 - The Current Crop Can't Compete: Bo and Carrie. Clay and Ruben. Just saying the names makes us feel nostalgic. They manged to win us over with their compelling background stories and personal growth during the competition.

  Click on Clay's Name to go to Clay's AOL Artist page.
• Publishers Weekly - Clay's "Learning To Sing" was one of the bestselling books of fall 2004. - "Learning to Sing. Clay Aiken. Random House (253,540)"
• Steel Kaleidoscopes on why they think American Idol has "jumped the shark" -

  Season 1 was unique, a brand new show with compelling content that introduced America to Kelly Clarkson. Season 2 gave us the Clay Aiken-Ruben Studdard competition (which Aiken should have won). Blake Lewis is no Chris Daughtry. Or Clay Aiken. Or Bo Bice for that matter. The male talent in Season 6 is the weakest in six seasons.

• TIME on the success of AI alums - "even Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken, more than 4 million."

• Carolina On My Mind - mama Faye dances her way to the top. You can vote for Faye and her partner Dick by making a donation to the North American Andy Transplant Foundation here.

Save Jericho: "Write your Senators. Write your assemblymen. Write Santa Claus."

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Clay is reminding us today in his blog for us to tune into CBS' Jericho. Clay's new favorite show might be canceled this month due to sagging ratings, but here is your chance to help Clay save the show - tune in all this month during May sweeps month.

The show airs WEDNESDAYS at 8 PM (check local listings)

Hopefully, Clay won't mind me quoting a few lines from his blog which shows how desperate he is and how we MUST as a Clay nation act:

I honestly don't know what I will do with myself if this show doesn't make it on to the CBS lineup next season!!! Write your Senators. Write your assemblymen. Write Santa Claus.