ldyjocelyn

kimiye, I don't blame you at all. Just find it a bit weird and, shall we say, "Claycentric," to request that in the first place. I found the whole song magical, and a heck of a lot of fun1

*start barker voice* Get your pitchforks here! Only cost is a donation to the National Inclusion Project! *end barker voice* Although I wouldn't want a pitchfork anyway...and I made not one but two donations. (couchie, we can count one of them as from you...) Totally on board with those here who don't want to feel the Arsenio hate. I mean really -- stripping away Arsenio from the "Lean on Me" duet? Really? Now, I can understand the hatred toward the show and Mr. Trump, but I hope that doesn't fester for years and years the way the AI hate did. I may have to hide in May 2013... This is from an interview with Arsenio I just got in my Google news this morning: "Celebrity Apprentice": Arsenio Hall on Clay Aiken's comedic talents and a Return to Late-Night TV ETA: Just for the record, I'm back to really hating Twitter again. I love getting Clay's tweets; but I've seen some really nasty shit come through in the past few days. It's that "direct line of communication" thing that drives me bonkers. (And yes, I've said that as a person who actually knows that Clay read one of my tweets...)

I think their friendship is genuine too, especially after seeing the tweets tonight. If this year was any indication, he'll be on one episode next year, when they get down to the final few. From the Gala's page:

Another one: The link takes you to the duet from last night.

newsroom.mtv.com "Celebrity Apprentice" Finale: Top 5 Behind-the-Scenes Moments

MTV Newsroom Celebrity Apprentice: Top 5 Behind-the-Scenes Moments Photo from the Red Carpet number 1 Number 2

Sorry Fear, he's not at Patricia's thing. He's at the GLSEN Respect Awards! He just tweeted two pictures from there. Boy, would I have loved to have heard the dinner conversation!

rollingstone.com "Celebrity Apprentice" Recap: Nice Guys Finish Second

examiner.com Clay Aiken at "The Celebrity Apprentice" 2012 Season-Finale After-Party

cinemablend.com The Celebrity Apprentice: And the Winner Is...

ew.com "The Celebrity Apprentice" Season Finale Recap: Racing to the Finish

May 21 Retweet from Conehead76: Retweet from soesahead:

{{{{{{{{{{{merrieeeeee and all the fans who are hurting}}}}}}}}}} Yes, I hurt for Clay too. I've been doing OK today (actually been too busy to think about it much), but then someone posted the "Lean on Me" clip from last night on their Facebook. That was a bit tough, and I didn't think it would be. But... Excuse the religion talk... The old saying "when God closes a door, he opens another" applies here to me. Clay's really, really good at taking opportunities as he finds them, and I think he'll be singing for us (or in my case, entertaining us) for a long time to come. Sure, he doesn't deserve the "second place again" status, but he'll turn it on a dime at some point. And you know, some people never "win," but IMO those are the people who are happy and live life fully without a crash-and-burn. He'll be fine. ETA: Fear, where did you get that about the fundraiser for Patricia? I need that for the timeline!

Rolling Stone recap What's interesting to me with this recap is the picture, which is right after the announcement. If you can stomach it, you can see most of the rest of the contestants in the background. Dayana and Tia are thrilled; George and Patricia look to be standing up as well. Dee, Debbie, Aubrey and Paul are just sitting there, looking dumbfounded. (Dee and Debbie both look disgusted, as they should!). Teresa is sitting, but has a smile on her face. Lou just looks like he's ready to leave. Lisa and Victoria are nowhere to be found. Gotta run to a meeting...

I was thinking about doing the same thing. I could tell that Patricia's heart is in her charity, and felt really bad that her dreams for the school are having a hard time. I made my donation to the Project last night; by the end of the week, Wayuutaya will have a donation as well. Entertainment Weekly Recap luckiest, I think I read somewhere that Clay didn't attend the afterparty last night. I'm sure he's hurt for now, but in the end, he'll be fine. The fandom? Well, as long as the bitterness doesn't last more than a few days... It's sad, and it's something I know I shouldn't care about, but I'm worried about how the fandom will be seen again. (Warning, generalizations ahead!) "We" tend to be seen as protectors of Clay; I don't like that. Clay's a grown-ass man, and he can handle himself. It's US that's hurting right now, and I wish "we" could see that. Things haven't worked out for Clay as many of us would have liked -- AI; the whole RCA/Decca/insert record label of choice thing; and now this. But, I think aikim definitely has the right idea, and I loved her post. My feeling: Clay may have lost the battle, but he will definitely win the war. ETA: Examiner interview with Clay from the Afterparty The Examiner stuff is user generated, so I'm taking it with a grain of salt, but still, this one is good:

From what little I read around on other boards...it's not pretty out there. Hold me FCA.

May 20, 2012, 4:30 p.m. CST Several thoughts on the day of the Celebrity Apprentice finale...and the future... I'm nervous for tonight, and yet, in many ways, I'm not worried. I think Clay Aiken has played Celebrity Apprentice very well. He has shown to be a smart player, and very adaptable to most situations. He's also a "hands on manager" from what I can tell -- which makes me think that he's had much more control of his career on a whole than many of his fans care to admit. This show has also helped his image greatly. In my opinion, he's really come into his own during the past 2 years. Much of it, most of his fans have seen, but many people who simply dismissed him as "American Idol Runner-up" and "singer of cheesy songs" have discovered that he can be a very funny guy. Quick and insightful as well. He's also become a great spokesperson for anti-bullying and for the rights of the LGBT community. Other things I've learned: I still like both Arsenio Hall and Penn Jillette. Aresnio may be his competition for tonight, but I like his camaraderie with Clay. As for Penn, I had pegged Penn to be his biggest competition when the cast was first announced. I think it is interesting that Clay and Penn both kind of agree that Penn is smart as hell, but his adaptability was his Achilles Heel. I knew Dee Snider from Twisted Sister, of course, but also appearances on "I Love the 80's" on VH1. He also showed himself to me to be someone who was smart and funny. I'm glad Clay and he clicked. (Although I think I'm the only one in the fandom who thinks "Luck Be a Lady" is just a'right, at best. I can't handle a constant diet of screaming, even if it's "controlled screaming" via Clay. I listened to "Bring Back My Love" a few times after listening to that...) As for the women...wow. I'm still confounded by Clay's support of Lisa Lampanelli, but it's his friendship, so I'm OK with that. Aubrey, though -- she's definitely a piece of work. I just listened to another radio interview with Clay, and when he talks about Aubrey, he carefully words what he says. In this interview, he calls her "fragile when she's not on camera." I think he could be right. To me, he's so very perceptive about all the people he meets. He can see through bullshit like no one's business! What about Mr. Trump? Well, he and I are on diametrically opposite sides politically, so I was fully prepared to hate him. Guess what? I don't anymore. My husband started watching the show with me, and he said the same thing. He told me that he enjoys watching the Donald "light the spark and then just sit back and watch the fireworks." I'm really admiring the flexibility that Clay has shown during this Celebrity Apprentice process. I'd like to hope that I can emulate that in some way, hopefully with the same success than he had. Could this fandom learn from Clay in this way? Yes. Unfortunately (to me), some never will -- whether it be toward anyone who makes a bad comment about Clay (perceived or otherwise), Mr. Trump, the show, or Clay himself. I guess that's what makes us all a collective fandom on individuals. And I guess that is something I have to learn to deal with. I love this fandom, warts and all. (I'm also fascinated by how many of the fans are "glass half-full" fans and how many are "glass half-empty" and how many are "let's throw the whole glass out because it stinks that he's on this show in the first place," but that's another story for another time...) As for Clay's career after tonight -- he'll be fine. I think he'll go right back to singing the songs he wants to sing (damn the torpedoes); he'll tour, and put on entertaining shows. He'll continue to raise awareness (and money) for the National Inclusion Project and LGBT advocacy groups like GLSEN. One more thing, and that's about the Gala in October. I truly feel this Gala will truly be the first one not designed for the fans. Think about it: it's being held, not in Raleigh, but in Washington, DC, at the end of an election cycle. I think there will be some courting of major political players to attend. Also, with Clay's work on LGBT rights (most notably his appearance on "Face the Nation"), I believe he's gained some major respect within that community. I am hoping he parlays that into some goodwill for the National Inclusion Project from that side of the coin. Finally, he's made some connections because of "Celebrity Apprentice." When I see that there will be "special guest performers," I'm thinking it will be people from the show (I personally would love to see Penn & Teller perform). This could draw people who might not attend the Gala -- not to mention making some fans run screaming into the night! *g* 10:20 p.m. CST Well, Clay was not named Celebrity Apprentice. Arsenio was. Congratulations Arsenio. For the record, I still don't totally hate Donald Trump, but he went down a few notches again tonight. *g* Clay...you make me so proud of you. You don't know me from crap, but I'm so happy to be your fan. You have a good heart, a great brain, and will always be a winner. Go out there. Have fun with your career and your life. Thanks Clay. Love, ldyjocelyn

What she said. I am at peace. Clay, you did fabulous. I'm so very proud of you. And I still want an mp3 of "Lean on Me!"

Damn.

Uh, yeah Dayana. Whatever. Clay and Arsenio doing "Lean on Me." Love the arrangement, Clay harmonizing. Need mp3 now! Ben and Sean in the band -- bet Ben did the arrangement.

Woohoo!!!!! $301,000 for the Project, $150,00 for the Magic Johnson Foundation! Clay wins on the fundraising part!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Clay's looking good! Can't wait to see him live on the stage. Different suit and tie from this morning. Hair slicked back a bit more than this morning too. He looks yummy!

Was I the only one closing my ears and singing "la la la" during Aubrey talking? Yay Penn! Penn says "Clay for the win!"

Backstage picture at the CApp show from Scarlett And I just saw Scarlett on the show!

OK, my heart is beating out of my chest now. And I miss his tweets during the show!