An Update From Measure of A Fan

The gals over at Measure of A Fan has posted this update for us. We at CDD can't wait for the new MOAF to come back... they've been gone for over 4 months now.

Memorial Weekend

We've just set a new record -- our beloved community members have downloaded Clay's recent performance [AI5 from Wednesday] over 30,000 times. Seriously. 30,000 times.!

(isn't nice to know that there are THAT many fans out there?)

We're finally kicking the tires on our new site, and have asked a few people to test drive it before Sunday's launch. Our new online presence includes:


A New (really cool) Design

Up-to-the Minute News Updates

Personal Accounts so Members may add their own videos

Improved Member Benefits

A High-Octane Appearances Calendar

And More!

Tick tock... time is running out til launch! (we've very excited)

--The Staff

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

The New Clay Aiken

CDD "New Look" Wallpaper

Love Clay's new look?
Get it on your desktop with our "New look" wallpaper.
DOWNLOAD: 800X600 | 1024X768 | 1152X864

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

CDD Breaks Record

CDD broke a record yesterday!

For the first time in CDD's 2 1/2 year history, more than 1000 unique visitors visited Clay's Daily Double.

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank the countless fans and bloggers who are supporting us.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Clay Sang for Gov. Schwarzenegger?

RUMOR -- NOT VERIFIED

According to this MySpace blog, Clay performed for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last week while he was in California for the American Idol finale.

Lacey Nelson says on her blog:

Okay, so I must share one of the coolest things ever...

My mom works for a limo company and she often drives really cool people around Sac. So, she calls me tonight and says, "You'll never guess who I helped get in my limo tonight.....CLAY AIKEN." Of course, I'm a HUGE Clay fan and start yelling for her to shut up there's no friggin way. Well, it turns out that he performed for the governor downtown and he hadn't come out yet. SOOOO, I scurried myself and Steph out of the house to maybe get to meet him.

My heart was pumping and out walks Clay friggin Aiken. I was sooo excited. Steph, being sooo educated on her famous people skills says, "is that him, are you sure?" I'm like YES YES duh! We got to shake his hand and feed his ego for a minute. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. He is a humble guy. WOW!!!! I LOVED IT.

Although CDD has confirmed that the governor did indeed have a state dinner with Chinese President Hu Jintao who was in town on an official visit, we cannot confirm that Clay was indeed there.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

CDD Issues Apology to Clay Nation

CDD and several other Clay Aiken websites mistakenly posted links to pax-et-animo's Clay clack site earlier this week. CDD has been informed that these links are not permitted.

We has taken action by adopting a policy to not post links to pax's site in the future.

CDD sincerely apologizes to Claymates and pax for the inconvenience.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Is this the Start of The CD Buzz?

The CH's calleik posted this on the Clackhouse today. She is a reliable source and says Clay's Wednesday appearance on American Idol was the start of the CD promotion season.

And the buzz goes on...

From another e-mail tonight: "It was already on...it's really on now. It will come quickly. This is a seize-the-day scenario if there ever was one."

This is rocking at some very high levels.

I could be all wrong...but something tells me July might be a really good month.

It's so hot. Just saying...

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Tidbits 5/27

Clay in today's "Big Nate" comic strip. (isn't that cute?)

Even more American Idol (although things are starting to calm down... today's Google News on Clay Aiken was only 3 pages... contrasts with Thursday's which was more than 20!) I apologize if there's repetition here. With all the articles floating around, I'm starting to lose track.

• Clay's appearance on American Idol was the topic of discussion on Ace & TJ's syndicated radio show. The DJs say "Clay Aiken is awesome... On the DVR I hit rewind 4 times... I had to watch it 4 times! I love Clay Aiken. That guy is just unbelieveable... the voice! And you Claymates... that kid has one of the best voices I've heard in my life." MP3 available for download here. (Thursday May 25... ""Clay Aiken")
• What is the best season of American Idol? Entertainment Weekly poll. (scroll down a bit)
  
• VH1 Best Week Ever blog: "Was it Taylor Hicks who stole the title of American Idol? Or was it Clay Aiken's new strategically rockin' haircut which stole our hearts? You tell us..." (Programming note: Clay was mentioned on this week's Best Week Ever show on VH1. This will repeat throughout the weekend, so check local listings)
• Celebrity Cafe: "Many critics have asked if coming in second on American Idol permanently handicaps your career. The inevitable Clay Aiken example is given as reason to explain that you can have a career while still finishing second. I loved when Clay Aiken came out (no pun intended) with his crazy bangs, rocking look alike Michael Sandeki to his very core with 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me.' "
• Hattiesburg American: "But the grandest moment of the night was the entrance of Clay "Bangs" Aiken and the look on the permanently-surprised face of Michael Sandecki during their rendition of 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me.' "
• Varsity.co.nz: "the biggest show-stoppers were Clay Aiken, who debuted a jaw-dropping new hipster hairdo, and Prince, who performed two songs solo before an ecstatic audience."
• Palm Beach Post blog: "That fake Clay kid who couldn't sing even after a second chance is singing "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me." Who's that behind him...Clay Aiken!!! He's almost hot. Did you hear that, Claymates? I said he was hot! Did you hear me? Are you happy now?"
• Teen People: "This year's finale was the most star-studded yet, with appearances by last year's winner, Carrie Underwood, season two's runner-up, Clay Aiken, as well as music megastars like Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, Live, Al Jarreau, Dionne Warwick, Meat Loaf, Burt Bacharach and a surprise performance by Prince. But it was Taylor's performance of "Do I Make You Proud" -- his debut single -- that not only brought the audience to its feet, but his dad to tears. "
• Salon.com: "The pairing of Michael Sandecki, "American Idol" contestant and recipient of one of the dubious awards on the show's big Wednesday finale, with former runner-up Clay Aiken, who surprised his young fan by joining him mid-song for a duet of Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," was maybe the most entertainingly strange moment in the show's history. Props to Aiken for agreeing to appear with Sandecki who, impish and gawky, resembles nothing so much as a funhouse version of Aiken"
• Another one a Salon: "Sandecki began singing, displaying the same relationship to pitch that a drunk has to a straight line. Then, Aiken came out -- rescuing his young fan from embarrassment and sending him into a tizzy at the same time. It was impossible not to smile."
• Bored? Sony BMG has a new video player. Clay's The Way and Invisible videos can be found here.
• Reality TV Mag: Recap of last night's Larry King (see this post for more info)
• The State: "The Clay Aiken wannabe/Clay Aiken duet was the single funniest thing I've ever seen on TV."
• Check out this cool montage of Clay singing DLTSGDOM from 2003 and 2006.
• Electric New Paper Asia: mentions AI2 Ruben/Clay "conspiracy theories"
• Home News Tribune: columnist isn't a Clay, AI fan...
• The Vancouver Province... article about Idol and Instant Celebrity, "Kelly and Clay are obvious examples."
• Philidelphia Inquirer: Stranges AI moment... "It had to be the new 'do that Clay Aiken was sporting. It looked like he had spent way too much time watching the Charlize Theron bomb Aeon Flux on SpectraVision in his hotel suite. Either that or he had swum to the stage through a thick bed of kelp."
• MediaFiends: very good Clay article... new look.
• Charlotte Observer: 'Top surprise this week on "American Idol" was Clay Aiken's new hairdo. The Raleigh runner-up in Season Two traded his Bart Simpson stand-up for a floppy mop suggestive of early Beatles."American Idol" series was the most-watched prime time show this year, and the final two shows clobbered the competition, including the season-ender for ABC's "Lost."'
• Nashua Telegraph: local talent contest not only for people who are like "more William Hung than Clay Aiken"

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Blog and Seach Activity On Clay Up Drastically

Our blogging partner, Technorati has produced a graph charting how many Clay Aiken releated blogs have been posted in the past week. This is all fantastic fallout from Clay's Wednesday American Idol appearance.

Take a look at this chart. No explanation needed. WOW.

Posts that contain Clay Aiken per day for the last 30 days.
And... take a look at this on Yahoo Buzz, an index of popular search terms. Searches for Clay have spiked by 472% in the last 2 weeks.

Leaders
Rank Prev. Subject (Days on Chart) Move Score
1 1 American Idol (76) -151 927
2 12 Katharine Mcphee (4) +196 290
3 5 Lost (43) +133 269
4 16 Taylor Hicks (3) +119 199
5 - Clay Aiken (1) +123

Movers
Rank Subject 1-Day Move
1 Beanie Sigel 892%
2 East Timor 871%
3 Titanic 2 817%
4 Al Jarreau 664%
5 Clay Aiken 472%

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Even more TV Buzz on Clay's AI Appearance

We have more TV mentions of Clay's new look today.

• Friday's Early Show mentioned Clay's new look briefly and showed a clip from his July 2004 Perfect Day performance at the Early Show.
• Also on Friday, Jay Leno on The Tonight Show mentioned Clay's new look saying that Clay's part on AI was the best part since the lookalike didn't even look like Clay!
• VH1's Best Week Ever had a brief Clay mention while covering the AI finale. Look for this show to repeat this weekend on VH1.
• On last night's Larry King Live which was hosted by Ryan Seacrest, AI judge Randy Jackson said that Clay can still "sing his face off." Ryan added on to Jackson's comments saying that Clay's duet with Michael Sandecki was a "television moment." (CDD Video: Larry King Live 5/26)
  
• On today's E! News Weekend, Ryan Seacrest said Clay's new look was "Beatles meet Oasis, very 06" (CDD Video: E! News 5/27/2006)

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Sophomore Album Out June or September?

We have several updates on the status of Clay's sophomore album.

The Insider reported on its show today that Clay is currently in the studio working on the album and that it will be out in the fall. At the same time, according to today's Winnipeg Sun (Canada), the title of the new album will be "Clay Aiken" and will drop on June 20. Please keep in mind that the Winnipeg Sun is part of the Canoe.ca network -- a website notorious for getting previous CD release dates wrong.

Either way, with the amount of buzz Clay's been receiving in the past week, 600 000 in the first week is being realized as a realistic goal.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

More TV Buzz on Clay's New Look

There have been even more TV buzz on Clay's new look. Yesterday we posted a long list of Clay mentions on various TV shows.

BE SURE TO TUNE INTO THE INSIDER AND ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT TONIGHT (Friday)
ALSO, TUNE INTO CNN'S LARRY KING LIVE TONIGHT. RYAN SEACREST IS FILLING IN FOR LARRY AND TAYLOR AND KATHERINE WILL BE GUESTS.

Here are some more TV mentions today:

• Yesterday's Entertainment Tonight- ET had AI winner Taylor Hicks on the show and asked about Clay's new hair style. Taylor said Clay needs some "grey" in reference to his own grey hair. ET also showed Clay's transformation including a small snippet of a Feb. 2003 ET interview.
• Access Hollywood and The Insider and Inside Edition all did pieces yesterday on Clay's new hair. Nothing really new. Good buzz though!
• Today's The Insider and this morning's Today Show- Michael Sandecki (already being nicknamed "Clay Faiken") was (briefly) interviewed on both shows. He talked about his excitement while meeting Clay and how he thought it was his (referring to himself) "time to shine" (uh... right) Sandecki also talked about Clay's new hair. (CDD Video: Micahel Sandecki on Today/Insider)
  
• Extra interviewed Simon Cowell. Brief Clay mention.
• CBC News' Canada Now in Canada mentioned Clay's look saying: "But they biggest moment by far was the surprise appearance by Clay Aiken, who surprised a wannabe fan during the finale."
• CTV eTalk- Canada's largest TV station and the Canadian broadcast of American Idol mentioned Clay's new hair on its flagship entertainment show eTalk yesterday.
• The Most with Alison Stewart on MSNBC- showed a small clip from the Today Show interview with Michael Sandecki (see above) and showed a few Clay photos from the finale.
  

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Clay Needs Help on AOL & Teen People Polls

AOL wants to know who you think is the BEST AMERICAN IDOL. Clay is trailing in 4th place right now.

Please make sure you cast your vote here.

Teen People wants to know whether you like Clay's new look or not. Vote here.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Tidbits 5/26

• Access Hollywood has some more details on Wed's Idol appearance: "The moment everyone is talking about around here is the reemergence of Clay Aiken. Folks here have dubbed his new look a cross between KD Lang and the Beatles. Inside the theater, he sounded amazing but I don't think he wasn't expecting shocked auditioner, Michael, to start trying to duet with him on the song At one point off-camera the stage manager came out and told Ryan to sit him down. That's why the chair was brought out and you see Ryan place him there."
• MSNBC details Clay wannabe Micahel Sandecki's shock when Clay walked up behind him on the Idol finale... "Clay Aiken wannabe Michael Sandecki is absolutely stunned when his hero walks behind him on stage. After the song ends and the cameras turn off, Sandecki remains in shock. He walks off the side of the stage and people sitting near the front try to shake his hand and offer their support but he'll have none of it. He keeps his hands over his open mouth, never moving his arms, literally traumatized by the recent turn of events. His emotions get the best of him and he begins gently weeping before leaving." (nice picture with the article too!)
  
• E! Online says Meatloaf (performed a duet with Katherine McPhee on Wednesday's Idol finale should be in "same boat as the Clay Aiken look-alike" because of his poor performance.
• Oregon State University, The Daily Barometer: "The highlight of the entire night was when a rejected Clay Aiken look-alike contestant was brought up on stage to sing and Aiken himself appeared, surprising everyone with his dark brown, wig-like hairdo."
• Michigan Live music tidbits: "Clay Aiken shouldn't be allowed to tour until he changes his new hairstyle."
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Even second-season runner-up Clay Aiken shows up (looking like k.d. lang). And how weird is that when a shocked Clay look-alike Michael Sandecki duets with real Clay?"
• Canada's Soul Shine mentions Clay's appearance on AI.
• Washington Post reports that AI5's finale failed to live up to AI2's finale's 38 million viewers.
• E! Online reports that the viewership in the 2nd hour of the AI5 finale actually beat the AI2 finale by about 100,000 viewers.
  
• Louisville Courier-Journal: "Clay Aiken looks like old-school Liza"
• New York Daily News: "Take past star Clay Aiken. He may seem more at home in Branson, Mo., or on a Broadway stage than in a pop arena. But he sold nearly 3 million copies of his debut CD to "Idol's" otherwise silent majority. In fact, no previous winner has sold fewer than 1.5 million copies of their debuts. The top draw, Kelly Clarkson, moved over 5 million copies of her latest."
• Dallas News: "more than 35 million viewers tuned in Wednesday to see former Idol runner-up Clay Aiken's new haircut and hear Meat Loaf murder his own song."
• The Deadbolt mentions Clay's appearance on Idol.
• Los Angeles Times: "Clay Aiken (who seems to have swiped Jennifer Love Hewitt's hair), joined [Sandecki] onstage to sing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." Who or what could top that?"
• New York Post says Clay's surprise appearance on Idol was the best moment on TV thus far this year: "But just one more "A.I." thing: The appearance of totally unrecognizable (and good looking) Clay Aiken and the freakout of the Clay-wannabe was the best television all year."
• CBS Denver mentions Clay appearance... "One of the awards was for "best" celebrity impersonation. The winner: nerdy contestant Michael Sandeki, for his impersonation of Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken."
• iVillage's Daily Blabber has a nice recap of Clay's appearance on AI: "Clay Aiken's self-proclaimed twin who was rejected in the auditions, was asked to take the stage to accept the Impersonation Award. Michael Sandecki freaked when his idol, Clay came out to finish the song he was singing. Wow, what a transformation Clay underwent. It was almost kind of creepy the way he looked at Sandecki. Yikes! Clay and his biggest fan seriously looked like a before and after shot up there. Sandecki sung his heart out when Clay came out to sing - so much that they had to shut off his mic. In a cloud of wonderment, he didn't even realize it and continued to sing -- then Ryan finally asked the shaken kid to sit down."
• Extra: "Clay Aiken shocked the world with his new do."
• Malaysia Star Online: "Clay Aiken from Season Two. He’s all set for his third album release, after Measure of A Man and Merry Christmas With Love. His debut single famously topped the charts before winner Ruben’s. Measure of A Man has since sold three million units and he's hosted two Christmas Specials on US TV."
• TV Week mentions Clay's appearance on Idol.
• Clay fans work to save the life of 33 year old LA filmmaker. Monster & Critics.
• CT The Day: Clay picture from Wed's Idol.
• Chicago Tribune: "Clay Aiken surprised the crowd-and his unsuspecting look-alike Michael Standecki-by sneaking up on Standecki during the former reject's rendition of Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me."
• CBS News: "There're more winners than just the official one. Clay Aiken was runner-up two years ago but his record sales are twice as high as Studdard, who beat him. So what about this year's runner-up, Katharine McPhee? Industry insiders say she may be the next Clay Aiken, outshining the winner."
• ABC News: Who would win a possible American Idol: All Stars... vote for CLAY! Click on the link beside VOTE on the left column. Clay's winning this one by a large margin.
• LA Times... small mention of an AI contestant from Clay's AI season.
  
• Review Journal: Clay not happy with the fact he had to sing so long with impersonator? "And I hear Clay Aiken was not happy that he had to sing so long with Michael Sandecki, an overzealous Aiken impersonator who turned their duet into a geekfest." (CDD's note: Really? Clay looked very happy at sharing the stage with Sandecki!)
• 67% of respondents to yesterday's About.com poll said Clay's duet with Michael Sandecki was the best moment from Wednesday's Idol finale.
• Over 27,000 people have watched multiple copies of Clay's duet on YouTube.
  

Scans from the Calgary Herald (left) and Hamilton Spectator... both Canadian newspapers.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Sales of Clay CDs Skyrocket

Sales of Clay's CD on Amazon.com skyrocketed following last night's appearance on the American Idol finale.

Following last night's super-hot Clay appearance on American Idol, sales of Clay's CD's, books and DVDs spiked sharply. MOAM was the 34th bestselling CD this morning.

Take a look at this:


Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Circuit City Ready To Receive New CD

The CB's Aiken4Clayyyy, an employee of Circuit City Corp. says her store recently received "Coming Soon" signs which included a listing for Clay's sophomore album! She says that these coming soon posters usually reflect upcoming releases in the next 2 months... so June and July! WOW!

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible


Left: Clay sings on the American Idol finale last night.

TV Coverage of AI Finale

Clay will be/has been mentioned on virtually every infotainment show today after yesterday's HOT AI appearance.

Here are some of the shows coming up and a few that have already aired. The summaries included are based on the first airings of the show in select East Coast markets.

• Inside Edition- said that Clay's 'transformation' was a hot topic of discussion and was the highlight of the show. Showed a side by side shot of Clay's new style with a TITN photo from 2003. They also discuss Clay's successful career before moving on to talk about the other idols.
• The Insider- Pat O'Brien interviewed Ryan Seacrest and Ryan commented on how even he wasn't informed of Clay's appearance until seconds before he came on stage. Ryan said that Michael Sandecki (the Clay wannabe) was still shaking after the show went off air. Ryan also said: "Clay's new look is good...the evolution is nice...he looked good on stage...he looked powerful on stage." The Insider is also asking via its TEXT MESSAGING POLL for your opinion on Clay's new look. If you liked it, text the word IN to 55888. On The Insider's website, they say: "CLAY AIKEN nearly stole the show when he surprised a failed contestant by coming onstage singing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" in the middle of the kid's solo."
  
• Live with Regis and Kelly- Kelly Ripa mentioned how she didn't even recognize Clay as he walked on stage last night. She said she thought it was George Michael or "one of the Beatles"
• Entertainment Tonight- Clay will be on Entertainment Tonight today. ET will air a story about "Clay's extreme makeover", according to promos. Check local listings. On ET's website, they say: "The season's worst auditions also gamely received special "awards" throughout the evening, including the CLAY AIKEN wannabe, who was surprised onstage by a dark-haired Clay himself, singing along with him!"
  
• Jimmy Kimmel Live- The folks over at JKL showed a clip of Clay singing DLTSGDOM. Jimmy also said Ryan was the most 'masculine' guy on the finale... is this a diss? We'll let you decide.
• The View- (recap here courtesy the CB's Dediclaytion): 'Star Jones Reynolds said it was nice to see Clay Aiken come and sing. Meredith said "he looked different". They put up a picture of him and Joy with her crazy personality put his picture next to one of the 3 Stooges (not sure which one). They all continued words such as "he can sing" over and over again and then Meredith said "Well he didn't even win and he did better than almost all of them."'
• The Situation on MSNBC- a panel composed of music industry experts said winning American Idol doesn't matter, highlighting their case and point with Clay as an example. Earlier in the night, Rita on MSNBC interviewed a DJ and he remarked about how "Clay was on fire".
• Today Show- showed a small clip of Clay singing last night. Didn't really say anything about him though.
• Access Hollywood- will be doing a piece about Clay's makeover tonight.
  

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Tidbits 5/25

We realize that you probably can't read every one of these, so where possible, we've put quotes from the articles here. Before reading this, read our AI recap from last night.

• AP wire main post-idol story (CTV.ca): "Second-season runner-up Clay Aiken, with a slick new look, performed a "duet" on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with his alter ego, a wannabe "American Idol" contestant who evoked the originally geeky Aiken. Hicks and McPhee weren't as odd a finals pairing as second-second finalists Ruben Studdard and Aiken, but close. "
• AP idol story (wire): McPhee fans predict she'll be "the next Clay Aiken"
• Billboard mentions Clay's appearance on idol last night.
• Zap2it.tv: A comment about Taylor Hicks' fans: "But as the finals wore on, it became clear that he had a fan base as strong as any contestant this side of Ruben and the 2003 runner-up, Clay Aiken."
• Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC): "McPhee can take solace in the fact that some of the show's non-winners have also gone on to better things. Clay Aiken, the runner-up in an earlier season who returned to perform at Wednesday's finale, has released several successful albums."
• KTLA mentions Clay's return to American Idol.
• Earvolution: "they presented Clay Aiken clone Michael Standecki with a "Golden Idol" and let the kid belt out a tune with a William Hung like performance. The kid looked like he was about to pee his pants when Clay himself joined him onstage for "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" - which could be some sort of code song warning parents about certain rumored predilections."
• New York Times: Last night's Clay Aiken impersonation: "Michael Sandecki, who impersonated, horribly, a former "Idol" runner-up, Clay Aiken"
• Philly Daily News: mentions AI2 finale and Ruben's narrow win over 'geeky' Clay Aiken
• Television Week: Clay and other idols have become "household names"
• Concord Monitor mentions Clay's appearance last night.
• The Bosh declares that Clay Aiken ('s new hair-do) and Prince were last night's showstoppers -- "But the biggest show-stoppers were Clay Aiken, who debuted a new hairdo, and Prince, who performed two songs solo."
• Louisville Courier-Journal comments on Clay's new look: "Clay Aiken looks like old-school Liza"
• Springfield News Sun comments on last night's American Idol events. 'The funniest moment of the night: Clay Aiken impersonator Michael Sandecki was surprised with the actual Aiken, who joined him for "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me."'
• Dallas Ft. Wth Star-Telegram mentions Clay's new look: "Then there was Clay Aiken, the most famous AI runner-up, who apparently came to the theater straight from a Mystic Tan session"
• Chicago Tribune: last night's Clay appearance with Michael Sandecki was weird -- "Clay Aiken came out to sing 'Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me' with some random nerd guy from the auditions. What? I'll ask this again, what was that? And can someone please explain to me why Clay stole the bangs that belong to Meredith on 'Grey's Anatomy'? "
• Richmond Time-Dispatch: Great comedy... Clay "shocked" Sandecki: "Also making an appearance was Clay Aiken. The show's most famous runner-up shocked an Aiken wannabe, brought back from the show's earliest auditions for the Golden Idols, an awards segment designed for comedy."
• Toronto Star... negative: "Just what Clay Aiken needs: singing an Elton John song classic while joined on stage by a hyperventilating male superfan."
• St. Petersburg Times: mentions Clay overshadowing Ruben
• Metro Toronto idol article: (needs a fact checker her) : "Last year's winner Carrie Underwood also joined in on the festivities, as did Season One runner-up Clay Aiken."
• Toledo Blade mentions Clay's appearance on idol.
• National Review of Online Blogs: Clay was SEXY! "After a two-hour finale peppered with the surreal-like Clay Aiken actually looking sexy"
• OCregister mentions Clay's appearance
• Norwhich Bulletin... same thing.
• Orlando Sentinel: "In a memorable bit, former Idol favorite Clay Aiken walked out unannounced to surprise a fan."
• Detriot Free Press: "Clay Aiken dropped in sporting a new Beatle haircut to freak out an early-round auditioner who resembled him."
• Chicago Sun Times: will McPhee eclipse Hicks? "Could she become bigger than Hicks, the way Clay Aiken eclipsed winner Ruben Studdard?"
• Arizona Republic mentions Clay's appearance
• Detriot News: "Underwood also performed later in the show, as did second-season runner-up Clay Aiken, who turned in an affected performance of Elton John's Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me."
• Toronto Sun: "Clay Aiken-wannabe Michael Sandecki, the William Hung of this season's Idol, performing a surprise duet with Aiken himself"
• Myrtle Beach Sun News: "Clay Aiken, the most successful Idol runner-up, also made an appearance, performing a duet with an inept Clay imitator"
• TV Squad: "My second favorite moment was Clay Aiken surprising his superdork doppelganger by taking the stage"
• Entertainment Tonight: "The season's worst auditions also gamely received special "awards" throughout the evening, including the CLAY AIKEN wannabe, who was surprised onstage by a dark-haired Clay himself, singing along with him!"
• Baltimore Sun: "Sandecki, who billed himself as the "next Clay Aiken," was offered the chance to sing Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." But the performance wasn't for laughs; instead, Aiken came onstage as Sandecki was singing and brought the crowd to its feet. Sandecki looked as if he were going to faint from excitement."
• Philidelphia Inquirer mentions Clay's appearance.
• same thing... Akon Beacon Journal
• NC The State declares: "But the show did hit one perfect note when Clay Aiken surprised an off-key Clay Aiken-wannabe on stage for a wonderfully impromptu duet"
• Miami Herald: "AI:2 runner-up Clay Aiken -- what was that on his head? -- suffered the indignity of crooning Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me with a dorky audition reject"
• ...another one from the Raleigh News & Observer.
• Rocky Mountain News: "And a nearly unrecognizable Clay Aiken, sporting new shaggy dark hair, sang with a look-alike fan rejected in the first round of auditions, much to the geeky "
• E! Online: "Season two runner-up Clay Aiken returned with an edgy new look to appear alongside an imitator"
• San Francisco Gate: "And -- the biggest shock of the season -- the reveal of the new Clay."
• Foxes On Idol: "And once I'd ascertained that the guy with the new haircut was none other than Clay Aiken, I was thrilled. He has one of the most powerful voices of any contestant on Idol ever, and this performance was no exception."
• There Was A Man blog compares similarities with Clay's new hair to Paul McCartney's Beatles hair.
• WebMetricsGuru: Clay earned new fans last night.
  
• ... we'll stop here. You get the point. There are THOUSANDS of these out there today. PHEW!

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Clay Surprises on Last Night's Idol Finale

CDD VIDEO: Clay sings with wannabe on Idol finale.
Clay surprised everyone last night on the finale of American Idol. Sporting a tux and a new hair-doo, Clay sang a 'duet' of Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me with Clay impersonator Micahel Sandecki from earlier this year's AI auditions.

Sandecki was invited to the show by producers as part of the show's Golden Idol Awards spoof which saw awards given to idol-rejects as well as relatives of the top 12. During the duet, Sandecki was visibly excited by Clay's appearance. This article from Reality TV Calendar says "Michael just about passed out." He yelled "Oh My God" as Ryan Seacreast tried to seat him and let Clay finish the rest of the song.

Even better, the audience reception was fantastic! Clay gleamed as he snuck out from behind the giant screen as fans screamed. An estimated 200 million viewers saw Clay perform. This is despite the fact during the 2 minute segment, Clay's name was NEVER MENTIONED once! WOW! Judge Paula Abdul was also seen dancing and clapping for Clay.

According to preliminary Nielsen data and this AP article, this finale did not eclipse the viewership of the AI2 finale.

Video of Clay singing Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me is now up on Measure of a Fan. An MP3 file is available here.

And here's a recap of all the media coverage Clay has received today as a result of this appearance. Also go through our Tidbits post today... lots of great mentions there. And... check out our TV coverage on this post.

• USA Today wants to know which Idol performance last night was the best. Clay is currently leading. (scroll down to the middle of the page)
• People wants to know via its Celebrity Makeovers poll whether you like the new look or not. Voters seem to be split right. 49% like it, 51% 'hate it'.
• Wireimages has some nice, albeit small, shots of Clay from last night.
• Clay is the 4th hottest search term today on Netscape.
• On Ryan Seacrest's LA radio show, he says even he (the idol host) was surprised when Clay came out.
• Star 94 Atlanta's Vicki Locke admits she isn't a Clayfan but still "loves his new look" and thought the Clay moment was the best part of the finale.
• Yahoo News has some nice photos. If you have a Yahoo account, you can log on and vote on the picture. Yahoo also said this in an AI article: "Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken made a victorious return to the "Idol" stage, sporting a new look that helped him pull in more buzz than last year's champ Carrie Underwood."
• CNN.com commented on Clay's "slick new look"
• Clay's MOAM ranking on Amazon.com shot up from 3,000 to 34 this morning! WOW!
• Clay was the most searched for term on E! Online's website.2nd was Carrie Underwood, 3rd - Simon Cowell, 4th- Prince, 5th- Ruben Studdard, 6th- Fantasia.
• MSNBC says last night's Clay appearance was a finale 'highlight' "Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken making an appearance. See that, Kelly Clarkson! Some people aren't afraid to remind people where they came from."
• Clay's Official Fanclub issued an e-mail and statement last night at the last minute confirming Clay's Idol appearance. They said it was "something you don't want to miss"
• AmericanIdol.com...Best moment from AI finale? Clay is winning by a large margin, but still, VOTE!
• Awesome commentary on the new hair from the broads! LBFCA.
• According to FOX's Houston affiliate, who broadcasted live from last night's finale: the reaction from the 33 press members within the Kodak last night was that Clay stole the night with his appearance.
  

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible

Behind The Scenes At Idol With Clay Tomorrow on The Insider

CDD has learned that The Insider will broadcast behind the scenes footage from today's AI rehearsals on its show tomorrow (Thursday).

The Insider showed a brief video clip of Clay backstage at the Kodak sporting a yellow-shite striped t-shirt and his killer glasses.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Invisible, The Insider