keepingfaith

It's impossible to critique just a few seconds as it's only an indicator of the nature of the song, but I shared the snippets with the bedrock non-Clay person in my family, someone who loves popular music and still listens to the radio -- and she particularly likes Falling and Weight of the World and wants to hear more. Excellent. I hesitate to defend The Real Me, having heard only the bit, but if this thing has some dramatic flourishes, a few echo techniques, and interesting chord progressions, it could be a cornerstone hit for Clay. Tear-tinged melodies with climactic moments sung by great interpretive voices have always and will continue to be extremely popular, and have been known to cause cravings. I think it's built into the human psyche. I definitely hear more strings in LAA, and a fuller sound, which I think is a good thing. I don't think it has been re-recorded but remixed, because Clay's voice sounds the same as the original.

The Slovenian Snippets are up at You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39difKcA4uc

Well, I'm not sure about kazoos, and I'm raising an eyebrow at the glockenspiel, but that's definitely a zither on that Mongolian polka, no doubt about it.

Didn't Clay vacation in Slovenia a couple of years ago?

I love the versatility of the songs: a country rocker, a sexy jazzy number, some straight upfront pop rock, a tearjerker, a strong melodic ballad, LAA with a newly recorded background, and then there's the rockingest, certainly the fastest, song Clay has ever done. It all about electric guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboards, strings, and expert drumming -- and all enhance. Several of these songs let you know they are going somewhere -- and we know not where, for at least two more weeks! Beautiful mystery.

For me, it's already more sweet than I could have imagined. I think I need the gradual lead-in so I wouldn't completely pass out hearing it all on release day. I could swoon myself into a faint and miss the whole thing. I have to be proactive about this! I loved Rewind today -- the Extra show before the Final Two, which I never saw before. Clay was so CUTE and he sang DLTSGDOM like an angel.

PermaSwooned, YES! It is the Real Clay Aiken! I LOVE Kipper and Jaymes right now and they both get a great bit sloppy :F_05BL17blowkiss: from me. Now, Claygasm, I don't want to be a bad peer-pressure influence or anything like that (she said sheepishly), but my counsel would be to take your spanx off woman and jump in. I guarantee that all you'll feel is elation. Maybe listening to the snips of ATDW was different because everyone was familiar with the covers already. Just hearing the different styles and genres in these snips only pushes my anticipation quotient into the stratosphere. I've never understood self-deprivation. But, then again, maybe that's because I've never tried it. But just from those tiny snips, I know -- yeah, for a fact -- that this album is The One. Kipper is one great producer to have captured The Real Voice with such brilliance! ETA: Regarding the question of whether to release the strongest song as the first single -- I swear that from what I've heard, every one of those songs could be a single.

I've having deja vu on the "will he or won't he" thing. When in doubt, I run with logic, therefore, "he will."

I think OMWH is going to be PERFECT! It's the Clay Aiken that all America fell in love with singing contemporary songs that MEAN SOMETHING!! After my first dozen listens, I think The Real Me is going to be my weakness. I know just from the mere seconds I've heard that it's going to be one of those songs that I repeat over and over about a hundred times before I can go on to the next one.

Please, please, is there another snippet compilation available? The one linked upthread is all used up. Like I'm surprised! Why won't Fido work for me? It says "connecting to media" but never does!

I have an extra ticket to sell for next Sunday night, April 27. It's D-2 on the right aisle, if anyone is interested. Sold! to the nice lady in the lovely tiara!

Oh my Lord! I'm going to NY with Little Peggy March! BTW, I clicked on the local Clear Channel AC station in Houston, KODA, and they have the single up ... but it doesn't work!! Whatzamattathem? One other thing ... I understand that the Clay and Cast dinner at Sardi's isn't going to be on 5/26, but on 4/26. Since the eHP will be in NY that day, couldn't one of you lovely evil-doers just win this thing so I could sit at a nearby table and pretend not to notice?

I would hesitate on believing this after what happened with All Is Well. I do remember that when it first went up on Walmart Online, it had the same designation "not sold in stores" and that caused all kinds of insane consternation at OFC, and probably elsewhere too. Oh the weeping and wailing! I vaguely recall that Walmart halted the online ordering process after a few days -- probably because of the limited number of EPs that were pressed, and wanting to have some to go on the shelves. I want to see what the bonus track is before committing to buying it from three different sites. If it says "exclusive" bonus track, well that's another deal then and my money is DOWN. If I lived in the So. California area I would be clamoring for a Kimmel ticket. Nothing is more fun than The Climmel! Hmm, this puts Clay in LA on the Friday night before the AI Finale. He could be the musical guest for the Top 2 results show on the 14th, or participate in the Finale on the 21st. If he's back in NY on the 26th, I'll keep hope alive that he'll be in the City that week prepping for SNL on the 31st. Or he could be taping something with 30 Rock and I wouldn't cry about it! I'm hoping that since SNL was dark for several months this season, that they'll run the show into June this year.

Awwww, LdyJ, I remember listening to that song on our way to Tulsa. I could vote for Everything Is Different Now, too. What a great write-up accompanying a great picture from the Neil Sedaka tribute!!

Does anyone remember the song Stand Tall by Burton Cummings? You know the one, "all you're feeling right now is silly human pride" -- I would love to hear Clay sing that. How about a remake of Dirty Laundry because I know Clay could sing it with conviction. As for going way back ... how about Paul & Linda's song .... the Procol Harum masterpiece, A Whiter Shade of Pale. I want to hear him sing If You Don't Know Me By Now at some point in the future. Must.hear.Clay.sing.that SONG! I'd also take a full-length Clay version of To Love Somebody. Who doesn't love that one? But I'll probably "vote" for Reach Out (I'll Be There). He owes it to me since it was one of my favorite Four Tops songs of all time and he spoiled that forever with just the snippet he sang at JBT. I'd have to fall down and beat the floor if I ever heard him sing the entire song. GOD PLEASE!!!

I listened to Grace of God and I'm glad I did. I loved it. It reminds of the song of Buffy Ste. Marie and/or Joan Baez, "There But For Fortune" yet it's very current and chocked with awareness. I understand -- I think -- all the saving oneself for Clay. But honestly, I could listen to these hints and tips and demos nonstop for the next two weeks and it wouldn't take a bit of the lustre off of May 6 for me. Nothing compares to Clay and nothing could ruin it in any way for me. I want whatever I can get as soon as I can get it. What if I passed up a chance to hear the CD on May 5 and then went into a coma. I'd be so PISSED! Only 19 days to wait! I love this "under 30 days" excitement. I have NY in front of me and seeing Spamalot for the first time -- but I think I'm even more jacked with anticipation for May 6, and a new Clay album to live in my head FOREVER!

This is a nifty interview with Clay at Cosmo Girl online: COSMO GIRL INTERVIEW WITH CLAY

Playbiller, it's ME, I'm the one shocked that Michael was voted out last week. He won me over with Across the Universe. There were about five others I would have voted off before him. Syesha tonight was the most horrible, to my ears. She was wandering around the musical scale in a vain search for a melody. She hit the big notes, but it was all those other notes in between that became dissonant to me. I've never heard that song before, and if that's really the way it goes, then she still messed up by picking a crummy song. But, poor Carly suffered most tonight. Without You can separate singers, and she did not make the cut. When she was trying to affect some big moment at the climax, well, hearing her attempting "I can't give, I can't give anymore" made me shake my head and say, Unfortunately, honey, you really can't. She had the range, she doesn't create a force with a rich tone at that range (contrast Clay Aiken). Overall, it was weak and could doom her. I agree with the growing consensus on David A. The kid can sing, but watching him sing sometimes makes me feel totally detached. He has no magnetism. Not for me, at least. I don't get the big deal about Jason. He can never follow through with his notes and stay on key. Whatever his appeal, it escapes me. I understand he's popular, so with the glowing comments from the judges (i.e., they view him as marketable) he'll likely stay safe. Brooke is someone I've tried to like, and start out liking most weeks, but she always loses me somewhere before the end of the song. Always. There's something almost too needy about her performances that make me uncomfortable. And the girl has no obvious talent at the piano. I just don't know why she continues to expose her extreme limitations that way. Kristy Lee Cook I really liked tonight for the first time ever. I don't hide my general aversion to country music, but she sang this song with power and conviction -- and she stayed on key. She really has a strong voice within her range. David Cook stole the show. He was amazing tonight. I'll buy that song. If tonight is any indication of what he's capable of, he could kill Daughtry's career. He's a much better singer, and a more compelling performer. And he's likeable.

ack! I hate when I miss something...Where does it say he'll be in NY on the 26th? The eBay Dinner with Clay and the Cast of Spamalot at Sardi's for the benefit of Broadway Cares is for May 26th at 5 p.m.

My YouSendIt above is converted to MPEG. That is, if if ah, we're all talking about the same one.

Thanks gdg! However, I'm talking the InsiderOnline piece. It showed up on April 8, if I remember correctly. Should be about a minute and a half in length. Aha! The link is here! As far as I know, it hasn't made the vaults yet...and I don't have a CV key. Here is a file I have designated Insider Online ... and I ripped it and converted. I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, but it includes the part about the grocery stores on the corner in NY and how back home he has to "get in the car, drive three or four miles, get out of the car," etc. And, btw, that part sooo reminds me of the Leno appearance in 2006 when he talked about actually having to "make the sandwich" and dealing with the twisty-ties! Anyway, if that's the one you need, here it is ... http://download.yousendit.com/C13CC72B77601ABC

In retrospect, the dinner at Sardi's is from 5 - 6:30 and isn't that about the time the late-nites tape?

I would love an appearance on the Colbert Report -- funniest show on TV IMO. They do have that Carolina Connection!

Aren't the Grammys for artistic merit and not necessarily tied to sales or spins? The Oscars have been awarded to many movies that weren't box office successes, Emmys awarded to TV shows nobody watched, and Grammys have been awarded to lots of dud records that never sold. I tend to align with the Sasheen Littlefeather School of Award Show Thought, and admired both Marlon B. and George C. Scott for their attitudes. George C. said that the politics surrounding awards shows was demeaning and described the Oscar ceremony as a meat parade. The Grammys have never been relevant as a bestower of artistic merit, or even popularity. I think it's preferable and advantageous to a musical career for an artist to have a great stage performance at the Grammys rather than to "win" a very subjective award. To me, they are glorified beauty pageants. Oh yes, I'm a curmudgeon regarding "awards" of any kind once you get past sporting events when you actually have definable winners and losers. Little League trophies ROCK!

So, his whole appearance on Tyra will be about Spamalot and a fan? Will he not be singing, you know, something from his upcoming album? Seems like a wasted opportunity if you ask me. I'm just surmising, but I'm reading this as the Spamalot/fan stuff will be included in the 500th show, but that there will be another show with Clay scheduled around Mother's Day and that one will be a CD/singing appearance. In any event, I hope that's it.