Album Set To Drop In May

We're pleased to report that Clay's album will be out in May after months of waiting. The current issue of Entertainment Weekly (Feb. 17) reports that Clay is heading back to the studio in March to record more songs (Huh? I thought recording was done... but, no complaint from me).

Update: CDD has been informed that it is normal for artists to do tweaks right before the album release, so this may be the reason Clay is heading back into the studio.

The short article says:

WHERE IS CLAY AIKEN'S NEW ALBUM?
Aiken became American Idol's best-selling loser - and its biggest pop star after Kelly Clarkson - when his 2003 debut, Measure of a Man, hit No. 1 in its first week. Not only that,but his 2004 Christmas album broke sales records and helped build oneof themost obsessive followings this side of Jimmy Buffet. But after almost a year ofanticipation, Claymates have been left mooning over old CDs, wondering when their Idol idol will unveil his follow-up. Well, according to an RCA spokesman, he'll be hitting the studio in March - with an eye toward a May release date - and is sorting through potential material now, which includes both original
tunes and "lots of covers."

Update 2/11: There has been an uproar of sorts from Claymates over this short Clay mention. To put things into perspective, read this editorial from berkleylovesclay. She says:

This is a rogue mention, EW jumping the gun on the next phase, and it's certainly not enough for me to gain any solid information about the sophomore effort. It has nothing to do with RCA's planned launch of Clay's new CD.

Clay Mentions 2/10

Check out the CB's brand-spanking new Valentine's layout...

• Another mention about Tuesday's Clay Aiken copycats on American Idol.
• ...and another one.
• ...and yet another one... getting annoying, eh?
• This AI article (same stuff) is fron Diane Austin.
• AI article from RealityTVNews.
• Clay's successful declares Channel News Asia.
• Article about William Joseph, who opened for Clay last year on JNT2005.

MOAM Soars On Amazon Again

Measure of a Man rose more than 3000 spots to land at 399 at Amazon.com's top sellers list this morning. Earlier this month, the CD hit #3 due to the very supportive Clay fans like you!

Go Clay Go!

Ryan, AI Giving Clay 'His Dues' : OLMass

An interesting point was brought up bt the CB's OLMass. She posted this yesterday evening as the Grammys were about to start.

Not a half hour into the Grammy's red carpet pre-show, Ryan and Julie DiPanda were talking about Kelly's transformation from her Idol days. Ryan immediately brought up Clay's incredible evolution to show that it happens to both female and male contestants. It was meant to be a good statement.

Speaking of Clay mentions, last night on AI, Clay's name came up at least 8 times. During this whole audition process, Clay's name was mentioned on almost every show. You never heard the names Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia or Carrie. I know many of you think AI is just trying to get mileage out of Clay, but I honestly think that after listening to the horrible talent and looking at past winners, AI is giving Clay his due. I believe they knew how talented he was but just didn't realize how to market him or that he could really market himself, which is the sign of a true star. To me it is good every time Clay's name is mentioned on AI and I don't think there is an ulterior motive.

Clay Mentions 2/9

• Several random mentions of Clay on AI last night... the usual. Simon Cowell told one contestant that "You're Clay Aiken but you're likeable" which resulted in a scolding from Paula Abdul who continues to defend Clay... Go Paula!
• Metro News Toronto's AI Hollywood recap... small Clay mention.
• Reality TV Magazine's Hollywood AI recap.
• I'm not sure what this is. The site won't let me in... Google says it's a blog article that's "By Clay Aiken"... hmm...
• Clay Aiken photos turn up in a 'locker-raid' - Cleveland Scene
• Television made both Clay Aiken and Willaim Hung famous... TV Squad.
• Another mention about Tuesday's awlful Clay immitation AI audition.
• Josh Gracin keeping himself busy, returns to CA for concert. Article.
  

CDD congratulates Kelly Clarkson and the Kelly fans on Kelly's Pop Song Grammy she won last night. Congrats Kelly!

BAF Program in New Hampshire 'Almost' Permanent

We have an update on the BAF program running at a Concord, NH high school. The Concord Monitor published an article about the program last month which aims to foster relationships between students with disabilities and 'typical' students.

The Concord Monitor reports today that the pilot program is one step closer to becoming a permanent fixture at the school. The $32,000 program is being argued by the school board currently. The Monitor reports that the program has the support of two-thirds of the administrators, while the other third have concerns about its effectiveness.

Click here to read the article.

Clay Makes It Into the Top 20 Tours List

KSAZ TV in Phoenix, AZ is reporting that Clay's 2005 tours (Jukebox and Joyful Noise) combined have made it into the top 20 tours list.

Congratulations Clay!

From the CB/ClayDream Believers' group:

Channel 10 KSAZ (Fox) News at 9:30p.m. Phoenix, AZ 2006.
Word for word as reported: (replayed it over and over to get it right)

"American Idol runner up Clay Aiken joins the ranks of Paul McCartney,
U2 and The Stones. Who would have thought when he made his first
appearance, he kinda looked like the awkward, goofy kid, then they
really tweaked his image."

"Aikens Tours breaks into the Top 20 Concert Tours. Tours are ranked
by the amount of money the Box Office brings in. With an average
ticket price of $59 bucks, he did pretty well and it was enough to put
Aikens Tours in the 20th Slot".

Temporary Help Wanted At CDD!

URGENT NOTICE FROM CDD

Clay's Daily Double is looking for an/some interim news poster(s) who will substitute for me while I move to another city between March 30 and April 15.

I will be unable to access the internet during that 'settling-in period' and therefore cannot update this website.

The temporary news poster(s) will be responsible for posting any relevent Clay news on our site. NO HTML/WEB DESIGN EXPERIENCE NEEDED. If you can type, you can do this job.

If you are interested, you can contact me via our feedback form.

Thanks,
clayisouridol
Owner,
Clay's Daily Double blog.

Neil Sedeka Continues to Praise Clay

Neil Sedeka, co-writer of Solitaire offered praise for Clay during an interview with Casino Player Magazine. Mr. Sedeka mentioned Clay's rendition of Solitaire selling 400,000 copies and said that it was 'great'.

Thanks to the CB's claysthe word for contributions to this post.

Clay Mentions 2/8

There are more Clay mentions in articles about yesterday's Boston AI-Clay look a like auditions here.

• Blogcritics.com: Um... you don't like Clay's hair?
• Blogcritics's take on the Boston AI auditions.
  
• Article: TV can turn out stars... small Clay mention; mostly about Kelly Clarkson and Fantasia. **Note: this is being syndicated so it's popping up everywhere**
• Majority don't believe the National Enquirer story says the Chicago Tribune.
  

Don't Try This At Home...

Michael El Sandecki
It looks like American Idol wasn't done with Clay yet during last night's Boston auditions. A semi-Clay look alike, Michael El Sandecki auditioned for the Idol judges last night saying that "I'm the next Clay Aiken." Ryan Seacrest questioned whether he was "Clay Aiken's lovechild," and even Simon picked it up asking him about his Clay-like appearance.

From the get go however, it was clear he was no Clay. Randy Jackson said the audition was "excruciating" and while Paula shook her head and repeated "No" a few times. Simon commented saying that "at least Clay could sing."

The shocker came when Sandecki also asked the judges if he could go pee -- yes, you read right. I don't recall Clay ever doing that in his audition... right?

So, Michael, for the sake of sparing you humiliation, we suggest that you lay off your Clay Aiken act because clearly you're no Clay. "Idol found, game over."

Kevin Covais
On a side note, Paula brought up the Clay-look issue again during another Clay-copycat audition from Kevin Covais (who could actually sing). Paula said "looks didn't hurt Clay Aiken."

Several media reports of this audition on the web today... all of them have some Clay mentions.

• MSNBC article about the Boston auditions. "Sandecki compared himself to Clay Aiken, but that would have been true only if Aiken was on speed and had lost most of his singing ability."
• Some Bostonians are so embarassed they said this in TV Fodder's Boston recap -- "Being a Bostonian, I feel it's important to note that this Clay Aiken wannabe is from Washington, D.C. Boston lays absolutely no claim to him or his weak bladder."
• Toronto Metro News -- "What a nightmare."
• Birmingham News article.
• Boston Globe - "[Sedecki is] Boston's most annoying man"
• Boston Herald article.
• Reality TV magazine's article.
• TV Squad: "It's the Clay Aiken factor. And everyone is playing the Clay Aiken card. Mike was the Clay Aiken factor at its worst."-- article also praises Kevin Covais' audition.
• Curlio.com writer isn't a Clay fan but says: "Personally I saw only a passing resemblence (glasses, similar shirt, somewhat similar hairstyle). I'm not overly fond of Clay, but I must say that Clay seems like a very nice guy, while this guy was... well... a self-centered ass."

New TV Guide -- Small Clay Mention

Small mention of Clay in the Feb. 13 issue of TV Guide.

From the CB's WizofOzfan:

Just saw this...Ruben is going to be on a UPN show (I think it was called "Eve") and they have his picture with a girl from the show. He is singing to her, but she does not look interested. The caption says "Sorry, I voted for Clay."

Is Clay Inspiring to You? Tell People Magazine So!

People magazine is inviting readers to submit their suggestions for inspirational celebrities.

Given Clay's work with the BAF and UNICEF, I'd say he's pretty inspirational, not only to Claymates, but to the general public.

E-mail your suggestion to heroesamongus@peoplemag.com.

People requests that you include your name, phone number and return e-mail address.

Clay Mentions 2/7

• Another Clay mention in (yet another) article about Clay's former JNT music director.
• Searches for "Clay Aiken" spikes on Google.com after gay allegations: Google press release
• Clay takes a small fall on the Lycos50 this week... down 4 spots to 25.
  

New Interview with JNT Cast Member

ClayAikenKids.com got the opportunity to interview Gregory Ellis, the 11 year old who toured with Clay on last year's Joyful Noise Tour. Gregory told CAK.com that Clay was an 'awesome' teacher and helped him keep up-to-date on his school material. He also revealed that the crew visited Sea World and the Grand Canyon via a helicopter fly-over during the tour.

Click here to read the complete interview.

Clay Mentions 2/6

American Way Magazine: Geeks are cool!

Music Geek Clay Aiken, singer and American Idol winner. This self-proclaimed good ol’ boy geek has young girls swooning like a previous generation did for another shy Southern son with funny hair.

• Clay's manager, Simon Renshaw testifies in the Senate in 2003... very interesting.
• Another mention of Clay's DualDisc sophomore album...
• Bio of Clay's manager Simon Renshaw mentions "pop culture phenomenon Clay Aiken"
• ABC Primetime Live is doing a documentary about payola. Clay's radio success has been limited and may blame it on payola, where labels pay radio stations to play songs.
• What some PBS kids think of Clay Aiken -- not new, but interesting read.
• Clay gets a webpage at Country Music Television's website CMT.com, after being acquired by MTV/Viacom.
• Foxes On Idol's Donna Reynolds opens website for AI fans.
• An update on Clayfan Matthew "Wolfie" Paulson who auditioned on AI using MOAM a few weeks ago.

Clay Recently At ClearChannel Event?

Was Clay at a recent ClearChannel event (ClearChannel owns radio stations and billboards)? It seems Clay was at one recently, according to eBay which is auctioning off an picture that Clay signed at the event. I have my doubts... this picture is from 2003 -- if it was a 'recent event', wouldn't Clay've signed a more recent photo?

The profits raised will will help non-profit organizations and has been donated by ClearChannel. The auction says:

8X10 BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO
SIGNED BY
CLAY AIKEN
W/LETTER OF AUTHENTICITY
Clay Aiken signed this black and white photo at a recent Clear Channel event to benefit City of Hope. It comes with an official letter of authenticity from Clear Channel.

Bidding ends in less than one hour, so if you want it, act fast.

NFLer Troy Aikman Gets Labeled as Aiken

Football Troy Aikman continues to get labeled as Clay Aiken even though today is Super Bowl day.

ABC News made this boo boo yesterday putting up the headline "Aiken, White, Madden lead large Fame class" instead of the correct headline "Aikman, White, Madden lead large Fame class". The error was corrected later, but not before some sneaky Claymates managed to capture the Aikman-Aiken screw up on ABCNews.com. Thanks to ClayReport for the screenshot.

AD: General Clay Promotion

Clay Mentions 2/5

Remember Kenny?

• National Enquirer story backfires... Edmonton Sun article (warning- references to the story itself)
  
• Related to the NE story, the same site that targeted Clay has targeted Canadian Idol 2 winner Kalan Porter, who is also releasing a sophomore album this May on similar allegations - what an opportunistic idiot running that site!
  
• Idol producer denies voting problems on Idol.
• LBFCA: I Will Be Here
• A Baby Claymate story.
• No specific Clay mention, but a good read about DualDiscs from Rolling Stone. Sony BMG announced yesterday Clay's album will be made available on DualDisc format.