Clay Mentions on the Internet 12/14

A really random mention about Clay sketches in shopping malls...

Mall walkways become money-making promenades
By Wire and Staff reports

FRISCO, TEXAS | They are one of the most lucrative sectors in the retail industry, generating billions of dollars in sales, and arguably are the most underpublicized: the kiosks and carts that dot the aisles of big shopping malls, selling everything from candles to computers.

These freestanding merchants are tremendously popular -- Tillie Martinez said she sometimes has customers lining up 10 and 12 deep to buy her personalized Christmas ornaments at Stonebriar Centre mall north of Dallas.

At other kiosks lined up along the stretch between mall anchors Elder-Beerman, J.C. Penney, Sears and Macy's, shoppers can get a sketch made of a loved one (or buy pre-made sketches of Clay Aiken or Bob Marley), have their hair straightened or buy three types of calendars featuring Pugs.

Raleigh News & Observer Clay Coverage

The Raleigh News & Observer is geared up for a week of Clay. Raleigh native Clay will be featured in two editions of the newspaper next week according the the CB's LuvClayinCA.

The Raleigh News & Observer has an upcoming article relating to Clay's homecoming which will appear in its Sunday, December 18, 2005 edition. It will be located in the Arts & Entertaniment portion of the paper. Also, there will be a Clay pull-out poster in the Thursday, December 22, 2005 edition. The manager we spoke with encouraged us to post this information on the message boards.

Management is working on making these papers available for purchase online as well. We don't have any further details. Keep checking the N&O website at www.newsobserver.com for ordering information as it becomes available.

Steve Martin Refers to Clay on Leno's Tonight Show

Clay was indirectly mention on last night's Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC).

From the CB's Vincent:

Steve Martin was the first guest on Leno last night, and made an issue of the mugs on Jay's desk which are labeled "Guest 1; Guest 2, etc.! Who remembers the Clay appearance when he called attention to the mugs and a whole routine ensued. Clay made issue of the fact that he was given the "Guest 2" mug, and Jay said something to the effect that it didn't actually mean "Guest 2"' but "Guest, TOO"! Well, when Steve started with nearly the same schtick, Jay commented that someone else was on the show and had a similar reaction to the mugs! He didn't identify the guest, but WE know who he was, don't we? I find it amazing that Clay has a way of slipping into a conversation even wheb he isn't actually there!!

Clay Aiken E-Card Now Available

The long awaited Clay Aiken 'WOW Christmas' CD (Clay's MDYK appears on the CD - now available) e-card is finally online thanks to the CD's vendor, Word Press. The card was supposed to be up last month, but due to technical and workload issues, the card was pushed back. The card is now Available here.

Clay Mention on Inside Edition

Clay was mentioned on yesterday's Inside Edition, a show similar to ET and The Insider.

From the CB's admire99:

Did anybody watch today's episode of Inside Edition? It was a segment on the hottest Holiday Music out there. My ears kind of perked up when I heard that, and lo and behold they mention Clay's Cd and showed a couple clips of Clay singing from his Christmas Special. It was such a nice surprise to see him on there.

From Inside Edition's website:
HOLIDAY MUSIC
From Ashanti, Regis and Clay, to old standards such as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra -- Inside Edition has a look at the some of the artists that are releasing holiday classics this season.

Washington Examiner Article

Music - Aiken for the holidays
By Brian Truitt
Examiner Staff Writer
Published: Monday, December 12, 2005 9:58 PM EST

"American Idol" Clay Aiken appears at DAR Constitution Hall with his new holiday show tonight. RCA Records photo
During the past year and a half, Clay Aiken has turned Christmas into an ongoing holiday season that keeps on giving. Good thing the Southern "American Idol" runner-up likes the season so much.

To wit: Aiken began recording "Merry Christmas with Love," the best-selling holiday album of last year, in May 2004. Five months later, the North Carolina native was recording a Christmas TV special and rehearsing for his holiday tour, which lasted through the end of the year. In January 2005, Aiken hatched the idea for his current seasonal tour, rounding up actors, singers and dancers over the next few months and waiting until October to start rehearsals.

"This was a late start to Christmas really, if you think about it, for me," Aiken says. "But it's the thing that I look forward to all year. I get really excited about the Christmas tour. It's my favorite part of the year.

"How many people say they love Christmas so much they wish they could have it all year? And I actually did it."

Last year's traditional orchestra tour inspired this year's new-fangled one. The first half of the 2004 shows featured secular Christmas music while during the second act, he would sing the sacred songs ("The First Noel," "O Holy Night," etc.) with each followed by a reading from the Christmas story by a local child from the area.

Aiken liked that aspect so much, being able to bring all of the songs together, he wondered if he could do the same with the secular tunes. He sat down, outlined some text to go in-between the songs, and a simple storyline turned into a full-on scripted play with touring actors and dancers, with the company using community theater groups where they play.

"It's turned into quite the big theatrical production, which works really well to try and convey that whole Christmas spirit to you," Aiken says.

He and the other two singers don't have speaking roles but they play guardian angels for the main character, a woman who's lost the Christmas spirit. To help her get it back, Aiken and company provide her with opportunities to allow her to flash back to past moments a la "A Christmas Carol," pausing action as well as moving it along.



"We really are the soundtrack to the show," says Aiken, who's finishing work on his second CD next month for a spring release. "As she talks about remembering something, we'll push her offstage and bring the flashback up and sing to it and whatnot."

He's been thinking a lot about doling out the yuletide cheer, but he's also smart when planning it. The tour stops in his hometown of Raleigh, N.C, on Dec. 22, where he'll have four days off to spend with his family.

Aiken has never missed a Christmas with his loved ones, and the first holiday he's ever not been with them was this past Thanksgiving, when Aiken couldn't change the tour itinerary in time.

"I've gotten used to not being home very much, whether it be a holiday or not," he says, laughing. "You get used to that. But at the same time, you have a really great group of people on the road - some of them have been with us for two years - and we kinda have become family with them.

"We know each other so well and we've become a family and that's how we spent Thanksgiving this year: We were in Louisville, Kentucky, we had a Thanksgiving dinner catered at the hotel and we all stayed together and ate together. It was almost as good as your family. In some ways just as, because there's less bickering."

btruitt@dcexaminer.com

Wal-Mart Artist Of The Month

Clay has been made Artist of the Month by Wal-Mart in the US, reports the CB's HappyClayDay:

I went to my local Wal Mart this morning and Clay's Christmas CD was front and center and he is Artist of the Month this month. Don't know how Wal Mart does this - if it's the same at all stores or if this is for my local Wal Mart only but it was so great to see his Christmas CD immediately walking into that department. They had probably 30 copies. I also checked - they had 2 MOAM's and 1 Solitaire/The Way.

Calendars.com Manager: Clay Aiken 2005 Calendar Was A Bestseller

Calendar.com manager Hillel Levin tells the Sacromento Bee that Clay's 2005 Calendar was a bestseller. Now... I don't know what other proof Team Clay needs to get out a 2006 Calendar! Hurry up already!

It's a date
Sports to swimsuits, crafts to pets - there's a 2006 theme calendar for nearly everyone
By Allen O. Pierleoni -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, December 12, 2005
Story appeared in Scene section, Page E1

The shopping/gift-giving season is in full swing and, as usual, you're running out of time.
Consider this: One timely present from you to them is a wall or desk calendar (or both). A calendar is a present that lasts a full year, can serve as a piece of art in the home or office, requires no maintenance and is virtually break-proof. However, is anything more useless than a calendar come Dec. 31? Unless you're making a collage, that is.

Hillel Levin certainly knows something about calendars. He is the Chicago- based general manager of www.calendars.com, a virtual "calendar store" with warehouses and offices in Austin, Texas.

So, what's Levin's projection for the best-selling calendar of 2006? "For 2005 it was Clay Aiken," he said. "For us this year, it's (Placerville-raised artist) Thomas Kinkade."

Clay Mentions 12/13

A roundup of mentions of Clay on the internet that do not deserve their own post.

Um... not sure what this is. Maybe a reference to a Winston-Salem Journal article that said Clay is a registered Democrat? Clay is stopping by in Washington today for the JN 2005 tour

Gossip Roundup: The Twins in 'Fancy Tops'
Reliable Source: Advisors to Kathleen Babineaux Blanco had their own concerns about the Louisiana governor's wardrobe during the Katrina aftermath. . . Bush twins spotted "in fancy tops and jeans, dining on sushi, scallops and sea bass at Oya with eight other gals" on Friday night. . . Clay Aiken checked into the Madison Hotel under the name Jimmy Carter. . . Dr. Phil seen at Georgetown Haagen-Dazs. [WP]

The name Clay has become less popular. Clay mention.

Celebrities' names hit, miss
By MARIA PUENTE and BREANNE GILPATRICK
Gannett News Service

Drop into any preschool in a few years and you're likely to see a lot of backpacks marked with names like Paris and Mariah. But don't expect to find any mini-Madonnas or Clays; some names just don't fit with the times.

The celebrity influence on baby names has been with us since the Bible, but now you can track it online: The Social Security Administration Web site (www.ssa.gov) has a searchable database that shows the rankings of popular names by year, going back as far as 1880.

Clay had been losing steam since 1995, and when Clay Aiken appeared on American Idol in 2003, it spiraled further, Satran says.

Clay Aiken Christmas CD mention:

Christmas movies fail test of time
By Bill Everhart

Sunday, December 11
Where are the new Christmas movie classics? It's always fun at this time of year to dig your favorite version or versions of Dickens "A Christmas Carol" out of the VHS or DVD rack, but why don't they make Christmas movies like they used to?
(The same can be said of Christmas music — a Bing Crosby Christmas album has it all over one offered by Lindsay Lohan or Clay Aiken — but that's not my department.)

Article about Bo Bice and Canadian Idol 3 runner-up Rex Goudie.

New Releases: One Idol Runner-Up To Another
Monday December 12, 2005 @ 06:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

There's a funny thing about CD release cycles: Record companies put all their great albums out between the beginning of October and the end of November so you're well aware of them when it's time to buy that music fan in your life something for Christmas. Those golden days have sadly passed and now we're solidly in the dregs. Not complaining or anything, just warning you in advance for a slightly abbreviated New Releases column.

The big battle this week is between two former first runners-up from the Idol shows.

Our first contestant is Canadian Idol heartthrob, Rex Goudie. Under The Lights, the debut album from the Newfoundlander ("Sexy Rex" to his fans) comes hot on the heels of the first CD from recent Idol winner Melissa O'Neil. Clearly this will be an epic battle between a teenager singing adult contemporary material and a 20-something doing exactly the same. Who will win? Does anyone care? Find out in Top Of The Charts next week.

Of course, neither Goudie nor O'Neil are going to outsell insanely popular American Idol runner-up Bo Bice (or Bob Ice, as it's more fun to refer to him as). The long-haired "rocker" releases his The Real Thing debut on Tuesday. You may recall that Bice lost to country-tinged Carrie Underwood. Or you may not.

It's really hard to tell with these Idols. Remember Justin Guarini? Well, you wouldn't if he hadn't starred in one of the worst movies in history (From Justin To Kelly). It remains to be seen whether Bice will be a Clay Aiken or a Ruben Studdard, and whether Goudie will be a Ryan Malcolm or a Kalan Porter. But the holiday shopping masses will sort some of that out.

Review of Bo Bice's new album

Bo Bice, "The Real Thing" (RCA)
"American Idol" season four runner-up Bo Bice is touting the fact that, unlike many of those who came before him on the Fox reality TV show, he helped write and produce this record and plays on it, as well. But, will it stand out? Musically, yes, because it's not the dance pop or Top 40 of Kelly Clarkson, and it's not the feel-good saccharine of Clay Aiken or the sugary R&B of Ruben Studdard. But aesthetically, the record is the same as his predecessors' debuts - sweet-sounding, easy and OK.

Article about Kelly Clarkson

Since you been on
The biggest 'Idol' breaks out of her box and visits Fresno.
By Mike Osegueda / The Fresno Bee
(Updated Sunday, December 11, 2005, 9:45 AM)

Maybe it's too soon to tell.

In 10 years, when someone mentions the name Kelly Clarkson, will "American Idol" still be the first thing that comes to mind?

When she won the show's first season, it gave her a music career and skyrocketed her to fame.

She's one of only four artists to have an album debut in the top 20 and stay there for a year. It hasn't happened for five years.

Yes, it's been a good year for Kelly. Beyond all the numbers, though, "Breakaway" did something else for Clarkson, 22. It helped her break away from the "Idol" stigma. It helped her stand on her own, without having to be associated with Simon or Randy or Paula.

After this year, there's no question that she's the biggest star to come from "American Idol."

For a while, it seemed like she and Clay Aiken were neck-to-neck in the fight for that honor.

That's a start.

Wrapping For Inclusion Gets Big Donation

We thought this was a great story about this year's BAF Wrapping For Inclusion campaign (Claymates wrapping gifts in local stores to raise funds for the BAF).

Some news about Wrapping for Inclusion
The other day my daughter and myself were wrapping in a tiny bookstore. They made us sit outside and bring our own paper etc. We had Lyndsays great WFI sign and a tip jar and that was about it.

They only gave us 2 hours. We had NO customers. Just before our shift was over a lady came up and began asking about TBAF. I told her just about everything there was to tell. Then she said in case I was wondering why she was asking so many questions was because she was a writer for the Arizona Republic. And get this, She writes a weekly article on Charities. She wanted to do a piece on Wrapping for Inclusion and BAF. So I contacted Kristy and got everything cleared and there will be an article in the paper on Dec. 19th. YIPPPPEEEEEE

She is so nice and she seemed very impressed with the foundation. She came to my sons highschool with me and watched the Best Buddies group wrap presents for their teachers. She took lots of pictures. As we were leaving I gave her a MCWL. She said " Oh, no that's ok, you don't have to give me anything" and I said with a little smile, " Oh, it's ok, it's what we do." She wrote to me that night and told me that she and her children had listened to it all afternoon. She said she had never heard him sing before. and she absolutely LOVED the cd. She said he had an amazing voice and she had no idea how good he was till now. YIPPPPPEEEEEEE AGAIN.

She also told me that I had no idea how fortunate I was. I said "why?" and she said , there are over 20,000 nonprofit organizations in the Phx area alone that have been waiting for YEARS to get an article written about their group, esp. around the holidays. She said they would kill to get a story about them in the paper. I had no idea. Then I proceded to tell her my story about the tip.

I was wrapping with my other daughter and just before our shift was over a man came up with 16 DVDs paired with 16 Christmas Cd's, Frank, Bing, etc. I teased him and said " What , no Clay?" He said he heard he was good but had never heard him. I found out he was playing Secret Santa to his employees. I also found out where he worked.

So we wrapped the gifts and he hands me a tip. It was a $100.00 BILL. OMG

I got all teary eyed. Then he left. The Borders employee came over and said I should put that in my pocket for safe keeping so it wasn't sitting in the tip jar. So I did. 15min. later we left and stopped at Subway for a sandwich and took it home.

At home I was talking to my other daughter and said "you won't believe what happened while we were wrapping" I reached into my pocket and the $100.00 was GONE. I was so upset. I figured when we went to Subway it must have fallen out of my pocket when I went to pay. So I called them and of course they hadn't seen it.

Even though it had been over 30 min. I decided to drive over there. I pulled into a parking spot and opened the door and put my foot on the ground. The $100.00 was laying 2 inches from my foot. The reporter from the Az Republic said it sounded like I had a guardian angel. I am beginning to think so too. I am going to drop off a MCWL where the man works and put a tag on it that says "Secret Santa" He'll know who it is. LOL

Now for the big news.

AS OF SUNDAY DEC. 11TH 11PM WE HAVE A GRAND TOTAL OF

$1,037.66

You guys should all be very proud. Every dollar counts, The day Shawna and I met the reporter from the newspaper we only made ONE dollar, but everything put together has added up to this much. Thank you all .

-- Renee

Cay Takes a Tumble on Pollstar

Clay took a fall this week on concert website Pollstar.com's top 50. Clay dropped to 32 from 15 last week. Keep searching for Clay at Pollstar to make sure Clay goes up, not down on the list.

Pensacola News Journal Article

New, funny interview/article with/by the Pensacola News Journal. Clay plays the Pensacola Civic Center later this week.

It's easy to get into a Southern drawl-fest with Clay Aiken
Rebecca Ross
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

I hesitate to write this column because the mere mention of a certain singer's name is enough to flood my inbox with e-mail -- and as I'm sure to get some detail wrong, like his fabric softener preference or the way he takes his latte, not all of that e-mail will be, shall we say ... of a positive nature.

Aw, heck. I'm all about living dangerously, so here goes.

I interviewed Clay Aiken last weekend.

Let me say this: He seemed like a very nice young man.

I got the chance to talk to Aiken for a few minutes by crackly cell phone about his Joyful Noise tour, which is making a stop Sunday at the Pensacola Civic Center.

I had about 10 interesting questions to ask Aiken. But when it came time for the interview, I was told I would have a whopping 10 minutes to talk to him.

OK, so I had ... five questions to ask him. Five searching, thought-provoking questions sure to evoke equally thoughtful responses.

Instead, Clay (we're on a first name basis now) and I spent the first three or so of our precious minutes discussing our Southern accents.

There's some old joke about getting two Irishmen together and hearing their accents get thicker as the evening goes along. Well, the same can be true for two chatty Southerners. It was as if Aiken's charming drawl triggered my genetic Alabama accent.

"Where are you from, Rebecca?" Aiken asked. "I know you're in the Panhandle, but WHERE are you FROM, girl?"

And out of my mouth, one of my cousins said, "Ah'm from raht here!"

Well, we twanged away in a mutual drawl-fest until his publicist broke in to remind me that time was a'wasting.

So, here are some of the Clay'pinions Aiken shared:

On his tour: "This Christmas tour is a lot more work. This year, I opted to change it from an orchestral show with just me singing, to theatrical vignettes with actors. At first, I sat down and wrote an outline from song to song for the vignettes and was going to have someone else finish it, but I'm too cheap and too much of a control freak, so I wrote it all. And it turned out pretty good!"

On singing live: "I don't get tired of singing Christmas songs on the tour because they are different than any other songs. When I sing a song about someone being scorned in love, a certain percentage of the audience can connect. But everyone knows what the Christmas season is about and can get into the spirit. There are certain songs I sing that people always want to clap along to, but what the audience doesn't realize is that there's a delay in the sound, so, I hear their clapping a beat behind the actual music! That used to really throw me off."

On charity: "Giving to charity is a great gift alternative. I wish that my fans, instead of spending money to bring me a little gift at a show, would take that $10 or $15 and donate it to charity instead. That would be wonderful."

So, there you have it.

The nice young man with the easy laugh and infectious accent is performing 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $39 and $49 at all Ticketmaster outlets.

Details: 434-7444, www.clayaiken.com.

AD: Nashville, TN

MCWL Up 1 Spot on Billboard Holiday Chart

Merry Christmas With Love rose 1 spot to #15 on Billboard's Holiday albums list this week.

More Info From Lycos50 Year-End List

We have more to report on the Lycos50 Year-End list, a list of the 100 most searched for term on Lycos.com. We reported on Dec. 7 that Clay had made the list at #64. Lycos today revealed more stats! Clay is the 5th most searched for man, only out-searched by rap singers Eminem, 50 Cent, Tupac and R&B singer Usher. Clay even beat 2005 newsmakers Michael Jackson and Brad Pitt and was given the title of 'the ones to watch for in 2006'. You can see a complete list of stats, released today by Lycos here (Web Users Have Spoken: Paris Hilton Is the Most-Searched Term of 2005).

Update 12/13: This is being mentioned at a whole spade of websites.... including:
RealityTVMagazine

Mary, Did You Know Enters RadioMaxMusic Charts

Clay's Mary, Did You Know re-entered online radio, RadioMaxMusic.com's top 70 chart at #70 this week. You can find out more information, including voting info, by visiting RadioMaxMusic.com. Invisible, The Way, I Will Carry You and a few other Clay Christmas tunes have charted as well in past years.

Clay's UNICEFusa.org Profile Updated

Clay's UNICEFusa.org profile was updated a week ago. We only noticed today. It mentions Clay has visited 4 schools this fall, but only two have so far been publicized- New York PS 3 and Learning Projects ES in Boston. Hmmm....

Bolded part is the new addition.

Education is essential to a child's development. I hope that as an Ambassador I can encourage people to join UNICEF's mission to make education a reality for children throughout the world."
Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken was appointed U.S. Fund for UNICEF Ambassador in 2004. He is particularly committed to supporting UNICEF's education programs.

Here is the latest on his efforts for the world's children.

During his 2005 winter tour, Clay visited four U.S. schools that participated in Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF and tsunami fundraising efforts.

Updated December 5, 2005

Vancouver Province Mention

The Vancouver Province mentioned Clay today in a review of Fantasia's concert with Kanye West.

From the CB:

Haven't posted in a while, but I was tickled to see a positive mention of Clay by Stuart Derndyn, the music critic. Fantasia opened last night for Kanye West and she was apparently not good, or as he put it, a stinker. Last line in his review: Fantasia you're no Clay Aiken.

New A Clay Aiken Christmas Review

The San Francisco Chronicle posted this review of last year's A Clay Aiken Christmas DVD today.

A CLAY AIKEN CHRISTMAS

Clay Aiken was made for Christmas. Possibly in a lab. Think about it: He's a pinch of Charlie Brown, a dash of Hermey the wannabe dentist, bits of Bing and Perry Como and Johnny Mathis (and scraps of Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand and Cindy Lou Who). Originally aired in 2004 as an NBC special (Megan Mullally has mysteriously disappeared from the DVD version), Aiken's one-hour, nine-song show has the "American Idol" runner-up and his guests casually wandering around an overdecorated living room set crammed with seasonal signifiers -- you've got your frosted windowpanes, candles glowing, etc. It starts out with a gimmicky postmodern opener, pulling back to show how the "illusion" is created, but that's dropped pretty quickly in favor of the traditionally goopy format of Christmas shows of yore. Determinedly dorky in a droopy pea-soup-green sweater and saggy jeans, clear-voiced Aiken keeps it simple and unpretentious for the most part, only occasionally succumbing to the scourge of the age -- that unnecessary melisma beloved of "American Idol" singers. He hands off "White Christmas" to Barry Manilow (they have matching baby-chick 'dos), who is off-puttingly showbizzy in contrast. The disc's only extra is a behind-the-scenes short of Aiken and the on-set audience being bossed around by the director. -- Joe Brown

Clay Aiken
A Clay Aiken Christmas
2004
Rca
$14.98

Joyful Noise Tour 2005

If you have no been to our special news blog for the Joyful Noise Tour 2005 - for the most detailed, complete and in-depth news coverage from he Joyful Noise Tour 2005. Click here to go to our special JNT blog.