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#52: "He doesn't need the spotlight. He just glows."


jmh123

Thread title poll  

48 members have voted

  1. 1. What should be the next thread title for FCA?

    • I am so grateful for a board that is celebrating The Clay!
      3
    • We have no idea in hell what Clay is up to. We hope he's happy.
      9
    • God, I love that man. He rocks my socks.
      23
    • He's made a changed woman out of me!
      2
    • Clay Aiken - Better than burnt weinies!
      11


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Good Morning Everyone,

140 Days until The BAF Gala! :yahoo:

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

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He said he didn't like the blonde hair and will most likely never be that blonde again... so, in memorium... the blonde hair (and the loverly guy under it)...

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Liney 5th picture down...my favorite look ever...I don't care about the color, but I loved his hair that way...never a fan of the bangs...I think he looks way hot with his hair brushed off his face! :hubbahubba:

Kim

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Gorgeous pics! I learned to love the blonde too :wub: but there's never been a hair colour I've DISliked, really. He has just spectacular hair! But of all the colours :lol: I think I like his light auburn or whatever you would call it that he has now...best. It really, really suits him.

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Gorgeous pics! I learned to love the blonde too :wub: but there's never been a hair colour I've DISliked, really. He has just spectacular hair! But of all the colours :lol: I think I like his light auburn or whatever you would call it that he has now...best. It really, really suits him.

Yes the pics are really gorgeous as you say. Me too I had to learn to love the blond and when I finally was getting used to it he changed his colour. I just love any color he has, he does look hot right night and if he changes again I'll love it and think him hot, lol!

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Yes the pics are really gorgeous as you say. Me too I had to learn to love the blond and when I finally was getting used to it he changed his colour. I just love any color he has, he does look hot right night and if he changes again I'll love it and think him hot, lol!

Exactly!! :hahaha:

Eeeeeeehhhhhhhhh!!! I just booked myself (and hopefully a friend :) ) a trip to Boston in August for 5 days. It's someplace I always wanted to go, and an airfare of $49 one way made up my mind for me.

This time, on her suggestion, I did Priceline.com for the hotel, received an upgrade to a 4-star hotel AND saved $55 a night.

I'm excited!!

...and this should mean that Clay will immediately announce something exciting for August for the rest of you. :cryingwlaughter:

PS I am NOT renting a car!! :lol: That, I hear, is the big drawback to Boston, the driving.

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PS I am NOT renting a car!! :lol: That, I hear, is the big drawback to Boston, the driving.

The public transportation system is fantastic! MBTA. Safe, easy to figure out, goes everywhere, inexpensive.

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I just returned from seeing the documentary Every Little Step, about creating the original A Chorus Line and casting the revival. It gave me a REAL appreciation of how hard it is to be a dancer on Broadway. It was a great show.

Since we have a dancer in our "family" now, you all might find it interesting.

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I just returned from seeing the documentary Every Little Step, about creating the original A Chorus Line and casting the revival. It gave me a REAL appreciation of how hard it is to be a dancer on Broadway. It was a great show.

Since we have a dancer in our "family" now, you all might find it interesting.

Where did you see it, wandacleo? I'd love to see it. I wonder if Char knows about this.

I did some photo uploading over the past few days. Whoever it was that posted that Red Bank picture this week reminded me that I still had some left to upload from 2007. I finished uploading Red Bank and Williamsport from that year's Christmas tour. I think I know why I stopped playing with them....the sameness. Not as interesting as when he was moving about the stage at all. But they are what they are and they're done. On to the next one, right? Maybe a review of the work means something, something for us. Anyway, I still have to finish editing the pics from Knoxville that summer and upload them. They're a lot more interesting than the Christmas ones that year. I've been kind of saving them for something fun to do an a series of rainy days. Both galleries are here if you're looking for some monotonous pictures to fill an evening. Red Bank & Williamsport

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Oh thankyou, Karen! I lurved the Red Bank pics.

Some how that particular location seems to have brought out my favorite look for both the '06 and '07 holiday shows! :Thud:

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I saw Every Little Step at the local theater (Monterey, CA) that plays a lot of documentaries and foreign films.

I think it's playing nationally.

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PS I am NOT renting a car!! :lol: That, I hear, is the big drawback to Boston, the driving.

The public transportation system is fantastic! MBTA. Safe, easy to figure out, goes everywhere, inexpensive.

Thank you for the link! It IS cheap!! We'll likely use that a lot.

I finished uploading Red Bank and Williamsport from that year's Christmas tour. I think I know why I stopped playing with them....the sameness. Not as interesting as when he was moving about the stage at all. But they are what they are and they're done. On to the next one, right? Maybe a review of the work means something, something for us. Anyway, I still have to finish editing the pics from Knoxville that summer and upload them. They're a lot more interesting than the Christmas ones that year. I've been kind of saving them for something fun to do an a series of rainy days. Both galleries are here if you're looking for some monotonous pictures to fill an evening. Red Bank & Williamsport

Karen, these are wonderful! Made my day!! Especially this:

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Oh Karen, thanks for the pictures!! The lighting at Red Bank was verra, verra nice. Wish I'd been a bit closer in 2006, and that venue didn't work for me in 2007.

Want to go for 2009 Clay? I ate the best pizza I've ever had in my entire life in Red Bank. Yum.

We're doing some home clean-up and repairs today and I just can't do it for long. I'm sneaking in to work on a picture now and then. You all are going to be seeing "new" Las Vegas pictures for a long, long time. Hope you can live with it.

He was fighting some major "wonky eye" that night. I think that singing with his "new" not-quite-healed jaw may have been stressing him out just a little. He still looked pretty darn gorgeous to me!!

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Ah.....Red Bank, 2006. Clay couldn't even have the spotlights on when he was talking to the audience, but he was amazing. I mean, just amazing. And FUNNEEEEEE!!!

And yummy....we can't ever forget that....very yummy:

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No, I have not finished cleaning out my bathroom cabinets. What would YOU choose to spend your time on???

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Now that made me go and find some clack that I haven't licked watched in awhile, Perma. YUM! :tasty:

I am so grateful for a board that is celebrating The Clay! Thank you all for sharing the "pretty" and the "sexy" and for those who loved Red Bank '06 as much as I:

Chardonnay's Best of the NaCT Banter - Part 9

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GAH!!

Loved loved loved loved loved the JNT 05. I've told this story before, but indulge me (or scroll). I bought tickets for my niece and myself, and then I asked my sister if she wanted to go and she said yes, even though she hatesss Clay. Then I had an extra ticket I hoped my mother would use, but she wouldn't go, so my brother used that one. Since "everyone else was going," my college-aged nephew wanted to go too, so I got him a ticket in the cheap seats and we snuck him down at the half.

After the show they were all singing and skipping to the car--they had such a good time and they felt so great! My sister especially loved Beautiful Star because she likes bluegrass. It was real feelgood family holiday fun, even for people who aren't at all Clay Aiken fans. GO CLAY!!!

My heart just soared at his passing reference to his own right to marry.

I'm a hopeless romantic.

I am as far from a hopeless romantic as a person can get, and I got a little heart twinge at that myself. :wub:

Thanks for the congrats on changing the thread title, bottle and couchie. That was rather kewl. Course if I'd effed it up, it would not have been kewl at all. :hahaha:

(I just added the subtitle as is traditional, but I thought I did it already, so if someone took it off, feel free to do that again.)

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I'm going to post this verbatim because I believe it has been used at the GLAAD awards in part, and on other occasions recently. But, in reading it, I found some parts I'm pretty sure I've never heard before.

This is Clay's biography on the OFC....I LOVE it!!

Since coming to national attention on the second season of American Idol in 2003 — where he was the unexpected runner up, only to become the biggest selling male artist the show has ever featured — Clay Aiken has evolved into a versatile and beloved popular entertainer.

He has toured nine times, written a New York Times bestselling memoir, sold more than six million albums, produced and hosted television programs, starred on Broadway, and devoted considerable energy and resources to improving the lives of children all over the world. He has done all of this while maintaining an enviable humility and down-home charm. Appealing to both kids and parents, Aiken is that rare find — a celebrity with integrity.

Aiken's clear and unshakable value system was formed during his often challenging childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina, where, in church and in his southern home, he learned the importance of hard work, self respect, and good manners. Early on, he also embraced the merit of a sense of humor, especially about oneself. Because of this, Aiken remains unfailingly modest and at ease; "You should never take yourself too seriously," he says. "Believe me, not a day goes by that I don't laugh at myself."

This accessible, genuine personality, along with his powerhouse voice, has given Aiken a legendarily loyal fanbase. In 2005, TV Guide readers voted Aiken "the most-loved reality star of all time." In February 2006, People magazine readers chose Aiken as their favorite American Idol. While slightly embarrassed by the attention and unbridled devotion of his so-called Claymates, Aiken remains gracious and appreciative of their continued, unwavering support — even the ones who throw their panties onstage. ("Especially them!" jokes Aiken.)

In just a few short years in the public eye, Aiken has released five well-received albums. In October 2003, he launched his first solo album Measure of a Man. The record, which featured the hits "Invisible" and "This is the Night," sold 3 million copies and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With 613,000 copies sold in the first week, it was the highest selling first album for a solo artist in ten years, going double-platinum and netting Aiken an American Music Award. In addition, he won Billboard's best-selling single of 2003 for "This Is the Night/Bridge Over Troubled Water."

In 2004, Aiken released Merry Christmas with Love (2004), the fastest selling Christmas album in Nielsen Soundscan history. He followed that success with A Thousand Different Ways (2006), All is Well (2006), and the just released On My Way Here (2008). Notably, Aiken earned the distinction of being only the eighth artist to ever have his first four albums debut in the Billboard Top 5.

For his current album, On My Way Here, Aiken selected songs that he believes will resonate with anyone who has endured the trials of growing older and growing up. He chose songs that not only spoke to him, but mirrored his own experiences of learning who he is as an adult and where he belongs in the world at large. As he sings on the stirring title track, "I've seen the best, I've seen the worst, I wouldn't change what I've been through. I've touched the sky, I've hit the wall, but I did what I had to do."

With On My Way Here, Aiken is hopeful that listeners will identify with the message and the singer. "I would like to have signature songs," he explains. Of how he selects which tunes to sing, Aiken says simply, "I like songs that hit me right in the gut."

While he worked on the album, Aiken — a self-confessed "glutton for punishment" — simultaneously began his critically lauded stint as the inept yet endearing Sir Robin in the Broadway musical "Monty Python's Spamalot." Variety reported that his January 2008 debut benefited the show with a huge uptick in sales. Clay proved to be a tour de force that prompted director Mike Nichols to label Aiken "an excellent comic actor and a master of character."

While admitting Broadway is "a challenge" he'd love to tackle again, Aiken considers the small screen his second home and has made numerous television appearances as both guest and host. He was a correspondent for The Insider for the 2005 Emmy Awards, co-hosted The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, and Live with Regis and Kelly, both in 2006, and appeared on the sit-com Ed (2004), the legendary soaps All My Children (2005) and Days of Our Lives (2006), he also made a guest appearance on the comedy, Scrubs (2006), where he stole the show amid seasoned comedy actors.

Additionally, Aiken has starred in and executive produced his own NBC television special. A Clay Aiken Christmas aired in 2004, and included such luminary guests as Barry Manilow, Yolanda Adams, and Megan Mullally.

Popular among late night talk show hosts, Aiken has made memorable appearances on Saturday Night Live, (where he was the first reality show participant to do so), Late Night with David Letterman, Larry King Live, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He has a particular bond with Jimmy Kimmel, guesting on Jimmy Kimmel Live multiple times, usually participating in skits that allow him to stretch his comedic muscles.

He has also been seen on Oprah, Ellen, the Tyra Banks Show, Primetime Live, Nickelodeon, MTV, TRL, The Today Show, Good Morning America, the CBS Morning Show, and Martha Stewart.

Prior to his latest accomplishments, Aiken wrote a 2004 best-selling memoir, detailing the path his life has taken thus far, paying special attention to his spiritual development. Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life, detailed his formative influences, telling the story of his childhood through his rise to fame in candid and revealing language that offered an unfiltered peek into Aiken's private life. Readers and critics embraced his style and his message, making the book an instant New York Times best seller, a prestigious spot it occupied for seven weeks.

While all of these successes matter to him, what gives Aiken the most joy is his activism on behalf of children. As he has often explained, "My music career has allowed me to do the same thing I was doing before — work with kids. It has just given me a bigger stage, so I can enact change on a grander scale."

Because of this calling, Aiken has been a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF since 2004, his chief mission being to enable all children in the world to obtain primary education.

Education has long been a passion of Aiken's, starting with his initial ambition to be a teacher and continuing today with his work for UNICEF and his own Bubel-Aiken Foundation.

His college tutoring of Mike Bubel, the autistic son of his friend Diane, impelled Aiken to start the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which supports the integration of children with disabilities into the same environment as their non-disabled peers.

In March 2005 Aiken toured the tsunami-ravaged Indonesia and heightened awareness about the need to restore schooling to displaced children.

"School provides stability and hope when little else can," Aiken explains. "Just to have someplace safe and meaningful to go can mean so much to children in tragic circumstances."

In May 2005 Aiken traveled to Uganda, where he saw children on the run from kidnapping and involuntary enlistment in the local guerrilla army. He has also traveled to Mexico to aid children affected by recent floods, and will depart again soon on an as yet unnamed UNICEF mission.

In April 2007 he returned from Afghanistan where he toured schools and marveled at the resilience of the children he met there. His experience prompted him to launch the "$100,000 in 10 Days" campaign to continue offering lifesaving support for kids in that country. The campaign ended up netting $250,000 in fewer than five days.

"It makes me thankful for my life," says Aiken of all his work abroad and with children in need. "These kids, many of them struggle with unimaginable hardships and yet they have positive attitudes. They don't feel sorry for themselves. Kids who suffer the most never do. You see that, and it keeps all your own nonsense in perspective."

Not surprisingly, Aiken chooses to eschew Hollywood and live in his hometown of Raleigh, where he can remain close to family and friends who have known him his whole life.

"One thing I have learned from all this is that you can't wait until it is too late to tell the people you love that you care about them. Being home lets me do that everyday."

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Thanks for the beautiful pictures, Permaswooned! Loved that night and that entire weekend!!! :BlowKiss:

And thanks for the link to your gorgeous album, Kareneh! :BlowKiss:

ps. I meant to post a thank you for you on the previous thread, underthespell. Thanks for sharing about the quote below. :thankyou: & :thbighug-1:

ETA: K, I see you down there. See xoaustin's post about Sausalito at the CH. I remember exactly the place she was talking about.

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Now that made me go and find some clack that I haven't licked watched in awhile, Perma. YUM! :tasty:

I am so grateful for a board that is celebrating The Clay! Thank you all for sharing the "pretty" and the "sexy" and for those who loved Red Bank '06 as much as I:

Chardonnay's Best of the NaCT Banter - Part 9

treenuts... I loved that youtube and then went to the Raleigh one where the mic popped during and made the songs hilarious. The man was blushing! :cryingwlaughter:

Kareneh... thanks for the pictures! Yum!

Perma... thanks for taking a cleaning break... :cryingwlaughter:

FromClaygary... that's a very nice bio! What do the "—"s mean???

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treenuts... I loved that youtube and then went to the Raleigh one where the mic popped during and made the songs hilarious. The man was blushing! :cryingwlaughter:

It must be my bedtime. I read that line as "mice pooped"

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