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Clay went around the nation today, without ever leaving the comforts of a New York studio. He conducted numerous interviews with local TV stations across the country via a satellite hook-up from New York.
The CB's video-capping guru, gerwhisp, has posted SendSpace links where you can download these interviews:
Not Aiken to bring sexy back
Clay Aiken is realistic about his niche in the musical landscape. "I'm not cool, you know what I mean? I'm not going to lie," the good-humored singer told The Associated Press recently. "I'm not trying to be Justin Timberlake. Thank God we have him, but I'm not him. ... I'm not going to bring anybody's sexy back." Aiken embraces his pop-lite sensibility in On My Way Here, his first album of all-new material in more than four years. The 29-year-old American Idol alum was the first nonwinner to release a successful album, Measure of a Man, which went double platinum in 2003.
“I’m not cool, you know what I mean? I’m not gonna lie,” the good-humored singer told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “I’m not trying to be Justin Timberlake. Thank God we have him, but I’m not him. … I’m not gonna bring anybody’s sexy back.”
We know what you mean
'I'm not cool, you know what I mean? I'm not gonna lie.' Clay Aiken
So here is today's dose of music news you can't use: We start off with the quote of the week from Clay Aiken: "I'm not cool, you know what I mean? I'm not gonna lie," the good-humored singer told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "I'm not trying to be Justin Timberlake. Thank God we have him, but I'm not him. ... I'm not gonna bring anybody's sexy back." Hats off to Clay for saying that. (Except that part about thanking God we have Timberlake.)
So the new Clay Aiken publicity photo landed in my inbox today...
Yikes.
Now, keep in mind that I expected Clay to look, well...different.
LetsSingIt - Clay is the featured artist today! Woohoo!Well, it's the morning of release day and reviews of the new CD are coming in! This post will be updated throughout the day with new reviews as they are posted.
In his fourth studio release, titled On My Way Here, Clay Aiken continues to impress listeners with a soothing voice, sweet lyrics and overall solid songs. Albums like this make it clear why the former runner-up of American Idol is still putting out records - he's talented.
[...]
"Where I Draw The Line" is clearly the best track off the album although each one is worth more than one listen. "The Real Me," written by Natalie Grant but sung by Aiken, also adds to the album as a whole.
On My Way Here is filled with easy-listening songs. Whether you're a Claymate or not, his newest effort is definitely worth a listen.
Of all the "American Idol" contestants, Clay Aiken has always been the most suspiciously pliable. His post-"Idol" debut was a respectable prefab adult contemporary collection, but he stumbled hard with its official follow-up, "A Thousand Different Ways," a collection of the-record-company-made-me-do-it covers of Bryan Adams and Mr. Mister songs (among others) so flawlessly bad, so devoid of personality, it's hard to imagine that Kelly Clarkson would have consented to record such a thing on her first day off the bus.
Like Neil Diamond (whose latest album, "Home Before Dark," also arrives today), Aiken intends his new disc, "On My Way Here," to be a career-defining work of autobiography. Aiken's whiz-bang team of producers and songwriters has crafted a declaration of independence that sounds a lot like the one created by the producers and songwriters of his first disc. But it's better, and livelier, than anything else he's done, a baseline adult contemporary album that occasionally expands to include synthy R&B ("Weight of the World"), lite rock ("Ashes") and hooky pop (the title track, written by OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder).
Aiken has always seemed more interesting than his material and his public would allow for: beatific in voice, prickly in personality. At its best, "On My Way Here" is a recessive blend of sweetness, piety, confusion and barely concealed resentment that occasionally, if unintentionally, bares its teeth. The subtext of every song seems to be, How did I wind up here? Or, alternately, What do you want from me?
[...]
Clay Aiken could probably sing the heck out of it, if given half the chance.
He may have warbled before millions on "American Idol," wrangled his mug onto scores of magazine covers and racked up a wall of platinum albums, but what do we really know about Clay Aiken?
[...]
Now comes "On My Way Here," Aiken's first album on which he had the chance to use writers who could capture his life during the five dense years since he achieved stardom. Given that mandate, you'd expect the songs to plum below the surface of Aiken and express his soul.
[...]
What remains rare, and interesting, about Aiken is his persona. He may be modern pop's last chaste man. Aiken sings, floridly, of romance, but never of anything that would make you think of sex. There's just one reference to a bed here, and it arrives only when Aiken orders someone out of it.
Most of the songs Aiken chose present him as a lonely and longing figure, a role meant to make him even more sympathetic to a certain sect. Essentially, they're the latter-day equivalents to those who clung to "The Lawrence Welk Show" long after it lost its cultural resonance in the late '60s. To those folks - the last ostriches of the sexual revolution - Aiken remains an island of sanity, a final bastion of proud, neutered uncool. That, more than anything in his music, gives Aiken his dire place.
Aiken encore
His career has veered from adored preteen pinup to something more in line with a Barry Manilow-in-training (just, y'know, minus the songwriting ability and natural charisma). His stint in Broadway's Spamalot is concluding just as he gears up to release On My Way Here, his first album of all original material in five years.
It will come as no surprise that the disc nearly drowns in a flood of saccharine sentiment deep enough to engulf all of Texas; the title track (also the disc's lead single) was co-written by OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, who's quickly morphing into the Richard Marx of his generation, incapable of rendering emotion without swooning all over it. Neither it nor any other tracks are helped by Aiken's voice, still a soaring, warbly instrument that for some of us is a means of torture.
CLAY AIKEN
On My Way Here
** out of 5 stars
We're looking to see your reactions to hearing OMWH the first time. Make a comment on this post to share your thoughts with the world!
- The CDD crew
A 3-1 male advantage has happened twice previously in the show's history, most recently when Katharine McPhee stood against Chris Daughtry, Elliott Yamin and eventual winner Taylor Hicks. Earlier, Kimberly Locke was the last woman in a final four that also featured Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken and Josha Gracin.
Robert Petkoff, who played Perchik in the most recent Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof, will join the Broadway cast of Monty Python's Spamalot May 6 at the Shubert Theatre.
Petkoff will step into the roles of Sir Robin, Guard 1 and Brother Maynard, according to a show spokesperson. He succeeds former "American Idol" contestant Clay Aiken, who played his final performance May 4.
Clay is "Back and Better Than Ever", the Herald-Dispatch declares in its review of On My Way Here.
Normally, I listen to a CD at least twice before I post a review of it, but I am so excited about this one I couldn’t wait.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Clay Aiken is back and better than ever…
For any of you out there who were thinking we’d get the same old same old from Clay on his new CD, “On My Way Here,” I am happy to tell you that you are VERY wrong. Clay’s got a whole bunch of new tricks on this one including rocking basslines, vocoders and risqué lyrics—or at least as risqué as Clay gets.
But as excited as I am about this—and I am VERY excited—I’m a little sad because I can’t help but think that we could’ve already had this CD if Clive Davis had just stayed out of it…
[...]
The CD starts out with the title track, and even though I will never shake its similarity to “I Survived You,” it really is a good ballad and hopefully will score Clay some good AC airtime…
When I heard the chorus to “Ashes,” I just couldn’t help but smile. It has a great rocking guitar and it will make a great concert number with Claymates screaming all over the place—including me…
[...]
“Falling” has a classic 80s feel to it with yet another rocking bassline and a moody melody. And the vocoder—which I’m normally opposed to—is kind of cool…
“Where I Draw the Line” is a great medium tempo song that I could hear playing on “Gossip Girl”—that is, if “GG” wanted to lose all of its street cred…
“The Real Me” is a gorgeous soul-searching ballad…
“Weight of the World” has a bit of a quirky bassline, but Clay’s voice totally makes it work…
Clay puts his theater skills to good use with “As Long As We’re Here,” which is a touch theatrical, but by that last chorus, you’re totally on board…
“Sacrificial Love” is also a little dramatic, but it has fantastic lyrics and really makes you wonder if Clay has been in the kind of relationship the song talks about, where someone just stayed with him until they found someone they thought was better…
Then Clay goes a little socially conscious on us with “Grace of God.” It’s an okay song, but with all of the different things Clay throws at us on this CD, the song doesn’t quite fit…
[...]
I know that Clay lost some career momentum after “A Thousand Different Ways,” but in all honesty, that CD wasn’t that bad (I still listen to it all the time.). It was just disappointing that there wasn’t more new material and unfortunately, it came off a little cheesy. So I hope anyone that jumped off the Clay Aiken bandwagon is ready to jump back on because this is the CD we Claymates have been waiting for. I’m just sorry it took so long to get it (Thanks a lot, Clive.).
So, Claymates, I urge you to book it to your favorite store tomorrow and pick up a copy or two (Remember that Moms love Clay.). You will not be disappointed…
Now, get rested up, Clay, because we want a tour for this one! I’m saving up my money as we speak…
The wait is over! Claymates, AOL Full CD Listen Party has the new CD in its entirety for you to listen and enjoy ahead of tomorrow's release.
Make sure you head out to the stores to pick up copies of OMWH. You can also purchase it through online vendors such as Amazon MP3 and iTunes to show your support for Clay.
In OMWH news today:
Why the five-year wait between your last album of original material? "We had label folks who had certain ideas. They wanted to do the Christmas album, then the cover album, and had certain marketing ideas."
What makes this album special? "It's something I've been wanting to do for five years, and that makes it plenty special. There's a song on it called `On My Way Here.' We found that song, and the lyrics just really struck me. We already had songs chosen, but we scrapped them because we loved this song. The lyrics are really kind of powerful and almost personal."
Would you perform on Broadway again? "I've had a great time. Would I seek it out again? I don't know. I loved the atmosphere and it's a nice little community the show is a part of."
"I'm not trying to be Justin Timberlake. Thank God we have him, but I'm not him. ... I'm not gonna bring anybody's sexy back." Oh, Clay. Even as you try to erase what fan base you have left with ever more horrifying haircuts, I'm sure there are a few people left who like to imagine the possibility of you showing up in their room wearing nothing but pointy shoes and a Keebler elf cap. Aiken's new album, On My Way Here, comes out tomorrow and its chock-full of power ballads and powerless ballads that describe the struggle that is La Vida Clay. The struggle of a man who went from heartthrob David Cassidy to seething, diva-esque "fine, Broadway it is" David Cassidy In less than a decade.
Clay Aiken is realistic about his niche in the musical landscape.
"I'm not cool, you know what I mean? I'm not gonna lie," the good-humored singer told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "I'm not trying to be Justin Timberlake. Thank God we have him, but I'm not him. ... I'm not gonna bring anybody's sexy back."
Aiken embraces his pop-lite sensibility in "On My Way Here," his first album of all-new material in more than four years.
The 29-year-old "American Idol" alum — he placed second to Ruben Studdard in the Fox show's second season — was the first non-winner to release a successful album, "Measure of a Man," which went double platinum in 2003. He followed that up with two cover albums: "Merry Christmas With Love" and "A Thousand Different Ways."
The North Carolina native has racked up more life experience since his "Idol" days, and felt a deep, personal connection to the songs on the disc.
Merrillville's favorite "Idol" (er, runner-up) has a new album dropping tomorrow.
"On My Way Here" is his first all-original album since 2003. Now to people who don't like/care about Clay Aiken, this isn't such a big deal. But for those very vocal Claymates - and yes, there are loads of you out there - this is a pretty huge deal.
I can't underestimate the power of Clay Aiken. My fiancée herself is a Claymate of sorts, and we've been to a pair of his Christmas shows. Those fans, man, they are crazy about the guy. And by the way, if you type in Merrillville in the YouTube search engine, (or click here) what types of videos will pop up the most? Clay Aiken fan videos, made by Claymates catching him at the Star Plaza Theatre.
So yeah, don't mess with those people. They are a force, I tell you what.
Clay Aiken [ tickets ]
"On My Way Here"
(RCA)
The "American Idol" star, who finished second to Ruben Studdard during the reality show's second season, releases his first album of original material since 2003's "Measure of a Man."
Aiken's last two efforts were a holiday offering (2004's "Merry Christmas with Love") and an all-covers record (2006's "A Thousand Different Ways," which featured the singer's renditions of Top 40 ballads). Most recently, Aiken has been performing nightly on Broadway in Monty Python's "Spamalot."
Clay Aiken has always seemed like the most bewildered of the " American Idol" graduates -- his insta-fame cut with a bit of what-just-happened? caution, his music a hit-or-miss split between what he wants and what he's supposed to want.
Five years later, on his second full album of originals, "On My Way Here" (RCA/19), Aiken is starting to figure it out.
He is at his best when he wraps his big voice around big ballads, usually ones with big messages attached. He maximizes the drama on "As Long as We're Here" to poignant effect, with booming phrases that would make Celine Dion proud, followed by vulnerable questioning that emo leading men would secretly admire. He undersells "Something About Us" like it was a classic Johnny Mathis ballad and fills "The Real Me" with a quavering uncertainty that makes it work.
Aiken turns the title track, written by the omnipresent Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, into one of those ballads that could have been written anytime in the past 30 years or, probably, in the next 30. But when he tries his hand at songs that sound timelier -- the poppy "Falling," a clone of his hit "Invisible," or the Pink-ish "Ashes" -- he starts to lose it.
As much as his record company would want him to be, Aiken isn't a crossover pop star. He's a male Celine Dion, a nerdier Michael Bublé, a new-millennium Barry Manilow, and there's nothing wrong with that. The sooner he embraces that, the better his albums will sound. With "On the Way Here," he's not quite there.
For a man who loves to brag on his hometown, Clay Aiken has barely seen Raleigh in recent months.
Since the beginning of the year, the former "American Idol" contestant, pop hitmaker and Broadway star has spent exactly one night in his own bed. It was a couple of weeks ago, when he flew down from New York on his day off, just to see home for one evening.
So after he finishes promotional duties for his new album, "On My Way Here," which comes out Tuesday, Aiken, 29, plans to spend the summer in the Triangle. Touring will have to wait.
"I'm going to enjoy the backyard a little bit," he says on the phone from New York.
The last few months have been extremely busy for Aiken, as he just finished a 15-week run in the role of Sir Robin in Broadway's "Spamalot." He spent his days in the studio working on the album and his evenings at the theater.
"On My Way Here" is Aiken's first album of original material since 2003's "Measure of a Man." It's also the first album in which his label, RCA, gave him control over which songs to sing.
[...]
The album features eclectic sounds, he said, from pop to a bit of R&B, as well as a couple of songs with big string parts, which he called "almost orchestral."
NEW ALBUM RELEASES
New albums scheduled for release on May 6 include: "Gavin DeGraw" by Gavin DeGraw, "Home Before Dark" by Neil Diamond, "On My Way Here" by Clay Aiken
Clay's in two of this week's celeb magazines.
May 12 issue of Us Weekly - page 46 in the HOT STUFF section:
May 12 issue of Life & Style - page 18
suz reported:
knights of ni sang "my baby takes the morning train"
full on flash when he sat down at the piano
during the string brading part he went on and on and on, after a few minutes prince herbert sat down, and the king sat on the stage and patsy sat down and let him keep braiding and braiding.
someoen else will have to report the curtain call, she couldnt remember many details for me haha, but the screaming was INSANE
spot and deborah760 were crying
all the girls in the backline of the chorus were crowding around him at the end
when the king came out for his bow, he didn't take his "stance"
he immediately knelt down and held out his arm for Clay
OMG THE SCREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clay is up on the roof
Someone is up on the Marquee taking pictures. Shubert Alley is terribly full. When Clay was doing the ribbons. He braided the entire length of the ribbon. It went on forever. Herbert finally sat down. Then the father sat down !! Clay continued. Very funny. They were told that during one of the Camelot scenes, Clay kissed one of the girls. He did hip thrusts near the end tonite. He was very frisky.
Clay is up on the roof so everyone can see him!!!!!! Waving and blowing kisses, everyone's crying now!!
HE HELD UP 6 FINGERS FOR MAY 6TH!
He held up a "zero" sign to Patsy at the very end.
spot and deborah760 were crying
all the girls in the backline of the chorus were crowding around him at the end
when the king came out for his bow, he didn't take his "stance"
he immediately knelt down and held out his arm for Clay
I just got a call from Clayalwaysandforever and got to talk to Clayperfect and Clayishope. They are having a ball. Said it was so exciting. They said the screams were so loud. They were so surprised to see him on the roof. They said the crowd went wild. They said some other stuff but couldn't hear really loud. But you could just feel the excitement thru the phone. I so wish I could have been with them.
Shubert Alley is PACKED. Clay came out on the overhang over the gift shop... she missed it... never even saw him out there. She saw a picture and it was kinda dark, so no lights were on him or anything. No stage door... they're having a party or whatnot backstage.
Working backwards... Curtain call... everyone jumped up. You couldn't even hear him sing it was deafening in there. During the singalong all the chorus girls gave him boquets of flowers, and another woman came out from the wings and gave him more. He made a zero to Patsy... he was reveling in the cheers. She felt sorry for the probably 10 people who were there just to see Spamalot cuz they didn't have a clue.
The funniest thing tonight was the guard scene. Most things played normally... when he does YWSOB, he tried to shush the applause so he could do the piano part, he was like wait, wait, wait... got to the piano, turned around one more time to tell everyone to hush... then he DELIBERATELY did the biggest tunic flip of all time... at the end of it he kneels in front of the king and then got up and the applause is still going on, so he got down, got up, got down, got up... the applause continued... he kept milking it -- the applause wouldn't stop...finally the applause starts to stop and the king is waiting and waiting and the King took JUST the right pause before "Gosh"... it was perfect.
The guard scene played pretty much straight... then he starts to braid the ribbons like before and he's slowly braiding and the laughter and cheering won't stop and he's starting to get to the bottom and she hears a huge laugh, look up and Tom's finally just sat down, and then they all three sat down and just waited and waited for Clay to braid and sniff and whatever...and it finally ended, but she doesn't remember how... Ficus thinks maybe Clay looked at them all like what are you doing...
guard scene:
playing with ribbons, starts braiding
audience laughing
braids all the way down
Tom Deckman finally sat down
Bradley Dean looked up and saw Tom and he sat down
Then Patsy sat down
All while Clay braided!
grabbing him around the neck and kissing him.
What was his expression at curtain call? He was reveling in all the attention and the joy (*sniff*)... the whole cast was... they mostly went with it even thought sometimes the applause took over the show... For example, Tom comes out to do his narration and the cheers made them have to stop the graphics cues.
Rick did a few different things tonight... he did his humping realllly slow, when they are all four doing their own rude gestures, Rick "did" Tom -- lifted up his tunic and acted like he was working Tom (heh).
Knights who say NI sang My baby takes the morning train... laughter, he just kept making up silly verses, and the minstrels are losing it and the king is about to lose it... Clay was about to lose it... Rick still going and the King starts to open his mouth, and Rick starts again... they just milked it all.
Tuesday is gonna be like hittin' the wall... (aww).
toni2marie is talking now...
just great, frisky, shaking hips, very loose - played it for all it's worth
tonight was all about him
More spot and kimiye...
At the end of Act I, they're running from the cancan dancers, usually the one who tries to drag him behind the curtain was spanking him, and spanking him hard. The girls were all over him tonight. Any girl who normally gets within two feet of him was grabbing him around the neck and kissing him.
What was his expression at curtain call? He was reveling in all the attention and the joy (*sniff*)... the whole cast was... they mostly went with it even thought sometimes the applause took over the show... For example, Tom comes out to do his narration and the cheers made them have to stop the graphics cues.
Rick did a few different things tonight... he did his humping realllly slow, when they are all four doing their own rude gestures, Rick "did" Tom -- lifted up his tunic and acted like he was working Tom (heh).
Knights who say NI sang My baby takes the morning train... laughter, he just kept making up silly verses, and the minstrels are losing it and the king is about to lose it... Clay was about to lose it... Rick still going and the King starts to open his mouth, and Rick starts again... they just milked it all.
Tuesday is gonna be like hittin' the wall... (aww).
Got a call from Claygirl9131 and talked briefly to Baglady!
Claygirl said Clay did NOT get teary, that he was happy happy happy, jumping around and enjoying it!
Said that AFTER the show, not during Curtain Call, Angie, Quiana, Nick and Mary went up on stage. That was the 'family', not relative type family!
QUOTE(mumm fums @ May 4 2008, 08:50 PM) *
QUOTE(cafacara @ May 5 2008, 01:47 AM) *
Oh please let someone have got this on video!!!!
Sounds like pictures were gotten. Hope somebody got video! What an ending!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Six fingers - May 6 - buy 6 cds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yipeeeee!! 6CD's will be sooo easy to do with all the extra's.
Can't wait to see all the clack!!
momof3boys said:
Sadie just called. She said it was SO COOL. Clay was on the roof for about one minute. signed Thank You along with the waves and kisses. Said some guy was on the roof as well taking pictures of the crowd down below
clayedintexas wrote:
Just got off the phone with Suz, she was talking so fast and it was so noisy outside. Very, very excited. She said that someone got video of Clay on the roof.
Got a call from Claygirl9131 and talked briefly to Baglady!
Claygirl said Clay did NOT get teary, that he was happy happy happy, jumping around and enjoying it!
Said that AFTER the show, not during Curtain Call, Angie, Quiana, Nick and Mary went up on stage. That was the 'family', not relative type family!
Clay Aiken finally has a record (sort of) of his own
By Ricardo Baca
Denver Post Pop Music Critic
What is the measure of an artist?
When it comes to Clay Aiken, you certainly can't tell from 2003's "Measure of a Man," a CD released just five months after he lost to Ruben Studdard on "American Idol."
"When that first album came out, the music on it was predetermined before 'Idol' was even done," said Aiken, who has a new recording due this week. "At the time, I was just so excited that I had this opportunity, I was like, 'I'll sing "The Crawdad Song" if you want me to!' "
Aiken didn't write any of the songs on "Measure," but his cooing delivery made him an even bigger star in the adult contemporary world. And after sporadic touring, it was time to cut another record — this one a holiday CD. "Merry Christmas With Love" was released a year after "Measure," and six weeks later it reached platinum status.
[...]
The record is heavy on the melodramatic ballads and light on substantive songwriting. Apparently the new Aiken isn't all that unlike the old Aiken, as they're both achin' for bombastic slow jams that walk the thin line between light R&B and adult contemporary. They're wallpaper.
But a lot of people still like wallpaper, especially when it's representative of Aiken's journey as a celebrity.
"In the last five years, I've gotten more used to saying no," Aiken said. "I'm almost 30 years old, and now it's not frightening for me to tell people no. You learn to stand your ground."
While Aiken says "On My Way Here" represents the last five years of his life, he again didn't write any of the material. The singer said he's "not great" at songwriting and that he'd rather "let the people who are experts in that field do what they do, and I'll do what I do."
The lead single and title track on the new record was written by a Denver musician, OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder. When Aiken and Foster came across "On My Way Here," it resonated so much with the artist that they scrapped most of the previous songs they'd demoed and started anew.
"When we heard that one a year ago, we changed the whole direction of the record," Aiken said. "We had no theme before. We were just going to make an album. But with this song, everything rang so true. Right there we started looking for songs that talked about something that I had experienced in the last five years or something that explored a feeling I'd had."
The process of finding the right songs wasn't easy. Aiken estimates he listened to 500 demos and that Foster listened to 10 times that many. "It's a long process," Aiken said. "For us, it lasted three years."
[...]
Perhaps no singer has been custom-made for "American Idol" like Clay Aiken, a guy enamored of the big, warm-and-fuzzy middle of popular music, where saccharine sentiments roam and supersized melodies rule the day.
"On My Way Here" (RCA, **) the 29-year-old star's fourth album, is exactly the album you'd expect Aiken to make in 2008. Having ceded the radio-hit throne to "Idol" peers such as Kelly Clarkson, the second-season runner-up unapologetically sticks with the midtempo adult-contemporary sound that seems to be his natural calling.
It isn't quite elevator music, but "On My Way Here" is a safe record -- a dozen tracks of perfectly pleasant pop that hews to the romantic side while occasionally embracing bigger themes ("Weight of the World," "Grace of God"). The album's uplifting title track, penned by OneRepublic front man Ryan Tedder, is the album standout, a Disney-film sort of anthem lovingly lathered in strings and acoustic guitars.
All is just a platform, of course, to spotlight Aiken's voice, and fans will be happy to know his tenor remains in typically limber form, emoting tenderly before soaring open-throated on ballads such as "The Real Me" and "As Long As We're Here."
This is all just a gracious way of saying that the album finds Aiken succeeding in his chosen domain -- but that domain is still a place teeming with musical clichés, hammy performances and greeting-card verse. Aiken's Claymates may be pleased with the effort; the world at large is unlikely to be moved. In stores Tuesday.
May 4, 2008 -- Clay Aiken doesn't have time to watch "American Idol." But the season two runner-up says that even if he did, it wouldn't be on his must-watch TV list.
"I would never in any way negate the fact that it's put me where I am," says Aiken, who will wrap his Broadway run in "Spamalot" on Sunday and drop his fourth album ("On My Way Here") on Tuesday. "But I miss the innocence of 'Idol' of seasons one, two and three."
That innocence, he says, was expressed in the raw, unpolished look and lack of experience of the kids who were competing.
[...]
Aiken says it bothered him when he heard that one of this year's contestants - Carly Smithson - already had a record deal. And that another, frontrunner David Archuleta, won the junior version of "Star Search." Says Aiken, "After Fantasia left, and after Kelly [Clarkson] won her two Grammys, I feel like it's been a little more polished, not the boy and girl next door that America wanted to help."
There's a heap of top-shelf recordings slated to go public in the coming weeks, from Def Leppard and Clay Aiken to Motley Crue and Elvis Costello.
“I think in the digital age, the download culture probably has a bigger affect on the popular music world, the Clay Aiken generation,” said Byron Wilson, an employee at Belltown’s punk record store, Singles Going Steady.
"One can't help but see a little of Clay Aiken in David Archuleta, the 17 year-old frontrunner of American Idol this season. Let's hope that Archuleta does a better job of finding his recording niche than Aiken has. On his fourth effort, the Claymeister continues to pour on the kind of schmaltz that may work on Idol but sounds hopelessly unhip on CD. Still, he's better off doing vanilla ballads than trying to bring a rock edge to "Ashes." Chris Daughtry he's not.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "Something About Us." a lush, jazz-kissed ballad"
Graphic courtesy Amazing_CA
Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken and Chris Daughtry set standards for "American Idol" contestants that are hard to top; last year's winner Jordin Sparks has had two radio hits, but so-so record sales.
"Clayapalooza Weekend" is off and running! With hundreds of his fans in the audience, Clay Aiken is performing the final four shows of his "Spamalot" run on Broadway Saturday and Sunday.
Then on Monday and Tuesday, with many of the same fans on hand, the New York City celebration will turn to the Big Apple's CD Release Party for the singer's new album, On My Way Here. Clay is slated to autograph CD's for 300 lucky fans at the Virgin Megastore.
Anew and Afresh - Clay ready to begin a new chapter in the career. Goodbye Spamalot, hello On My Way Here:This Sunday night will mark Clay Aiken's final performance in "Monty Python's SPAMalot" on Broadway. By all accounts, his short four month run has been a hit with great reviews, sell-out performances, praise from his Broadway peers, and a record amount of money raised for Broadway Cares in the annual Easter Bonnet competition. "Monty Python's SPAMalot" came in second in the competition, raising $264,900, and I have no doubts but that the cast and crew of the show would point to Clay Aiken as a big reason why they were able to raise so much money. For two weeks, people lined up after the show to donate anywhere from $200 - $300, just for the privilege of having their photo taken with Clay. And I'm not talking about five or six people a night either. ;)
This week's flyers are out and On My Way Here is featured in many of them. Thanks to various board members for posting these scans:
Best Buy
Circuit City
K-Mart
Sony BMG Canada added OMWH to their new releases list and has a version of the RCA press release posted:
CLAY AIKEN
Clay Aiken To Release Brand-New Album, On My Way Here, On May 6th 2008
Eagerly Awaited Collection Is The Pop Superstar's First Album Of Original Songs Since 2003
Multi-platinum selling pop singer Clay Aiken will release his fourth album, On My Way Here, on RCA Records/19 Entertainment on May 6th, 2008. The collection is the 29-year-old Raleigh, NC, native's first album of original songs since his 2003 chart-topping, double-platinum debut Measure of a Man.
On My Way Here chronicles Aiken's experiences over the past five years, ascending from popular contestant on the second season of American Idol to pop superstar. The album's theme came to Aiken when he and his executive producer Jaymes Foster fell in love with a song written by One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder called "On My Way Here." The message of the lyrics — how the lessons we learn while growing up shape us into who we become as adults — struck a very deep chord with the artist. The title track "On My Way Here" will be the first radio single from the album to be released later this month. Additionally, the single, "On My Way Here" will premiere as an "AOL First Listen" on Monday, April 7th.
Here's your first to chance to buy Clay's new single, "On My Way Here". The single (just the one song), is now available for download at Amazon MP3. Amazon.com notes that "All digital music downloads at Amazon MP3 are free of DRM software, which means they will play on virtually anything that plays MP3s, including PCs, Macs®, iPods®, Zunes®, Zens®, iPhones®, RAZRs®, and BlackBerrys®."
