keepingfaith

HB LJ!!

But if Angelina can survive taking America's sweetheart's husband and becoming even more popular methinks Fantasia will survive this.

In my estimation, she was no more America's sweetheart than the Dallas Cowboys were ever America'a team. Does America really have a sweetheart? God, I hope not. One of these days I have hope that people will think for themselves with rational minds. I have a dream.

Today I had to once again disabuse someone of believing and passing on another bullshit email smearing President Obama. This one said that he refuses to sign certification letters for Eagle Scouts. It took about 20 seconds to find the truth on Snopes and set that story straight. Nothing about it was remotely true; it was made up out of whole cloth. Every day the same bullshit, but I still have hope that, even if gradually or sporadically, the links in these nasty chains of vicious lies will begin to erode. It's now beyond preposterous and into crackpot territory so it can't last forever. I include the sway of the celebrity rumor mill industry over seemingly intelligent people. One day that will decline when people realize that not only does this stuff have zero effect on their lives, but it's not even interesting fiction. I wish more people would get their noses in some good books that can entertain and expand them. In a better world, people won't give a shit about publicity-desperate and narcissistic me-me-me's. It will happen. Godspeed that day.

If this is true, it could be a career ender. At least it SHOULD be.

Was former "American Idol" champ Fantasia Barrino's suicide attempt in August a publicity stunt? She and her manager both denied it. "I don't need any more press or publicity," she told The Associated Press a few weeks later. But a new trailer for the second season of her VH1 reality show, "Fantasia For Real," seems to suggest otherwise. The cameras filmed her as she fell apart when named as the other woman in a nasty divorce, and again when she was hooked up to machines in the hospital.

http://theclicker.todayshow.com/_news/2010...or-reality-show

To quote Amy and Seth on SNL ... "I mean, REALLY!"

I saw Elton on July 10th in concert, but I guess I neglected to mention the new album in my post about it. Yep, he sang one of the new songs from it, and I liked it. I remember him commenting that he figured, at this point, there weren't a lot of people clamoring for the new Elton John album, so he had decided he didn't have to do 'pop', he could do whatever the f*** he wanted. So he looked up his old friend Leon one day, gave him a call, the rest is history.

As for the Decca part, I never pay attention to labels and stuff. Means little to me, even if it's Clay. A label's a label's a label.

AHA! So it was YOU, luckiest, who was holding out on ME. FOR SHAME!!!! And a fellow Beatles lover too. You should know me by now and not keep Macca or Elton info away from me. "g"

I'm the same way on labels being irrelevant to me -- other than to know who is signed to the same label with Clay, because that would/could facilitate future collaborations. No need for those pesky permissions from other labels and such!

If Elton ever heard Clay sing DLTSGDOM, he'd jump at the chance... at least in my dreams he would. LOL

To turn it around and hear Elton John say, Ladies & Gentlemen, Mr. Clay Aiken ... that would be the best! I think Clay has been saving that song for something. In my opinion it is his ultimate signature song -- the one that made me fall for him on Idol, and again on the Idol 5 Finale, when he branded me for life.

keepingfaith Thank you for posting that information about Elton John and Leon Russell. Could you do me and possibly others here a favour and let us know when that album is available.

I love "A song for you". Did he sing that in Mad Dogs and Englishmen? Your post prompted me to get over to iTunes and download it.

Union will be released on October 19 and is in pre-sale at iTunes and Amazon.

"A Song For You" was track one on his debut album, Leon Russell, which was his best IMO. The other one I liked was Leon Russell and the Shelter People - which contained "The Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishman" (as did the live recording of the same name, a retrospective of the famous Joe Cocker/Rita Coolidge/Leon Russell tour), some Dylan covers, the George Harrison cover, and "Stranger in a Strange Land," probably my favorite Leon Russell composition of all time. I remember screaming at the TV watching Idol when Mecrest claimed that "A Song for You" was written by Donny Hathaway when Elliot Yamin sang it. He didn't know jack. Also, as a footnote, Bill Clinton has said that Leon Russell's "A Song for You" is his favorite song of all time.

Oh honey, I was salivating over that yesterday too! Didn't realize that Elton was with Decca and I sure didn't know that he and Leon Russell had made an album together. And the writers!! T-Bone Burnett!!! I kept poking on those "play" buttons yesterday to get some samples, but none worked, but I just found that there's a "preview single" available on iTunes. YAY!!

ETA: According to Amazon,

The Union was recorded in Los Angeles earlier this year, with guest musicians including Brian Wilson, Booker T, Don Was and Neil Young. Cameron Crowe has filmed the sessions for a documentary, creating too a moment of history as this is the first time that the genesis of Elton's music has been recorded on film. Critics who have had an early preview of the album are united in praise for the work that Elton describes as a "Seventies record with a modern feel."

Booker T who was married to Rita's sister Priscilla back in the day? If Rita and her sister were lurking in the background it would be the perfect storm -- but there's gotta be tooooo much baggage for that! That Rita was a heartbreaker. She's "credited" with the first breakup of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, too, leaving Stills for Nash. She's also been a presence on Robbie Robertson's Native American music. And Rita was "discovered" by Elvis Presley. Has she ever written a book?

Okay, who knew and didn't tell me that Elton John is now with DECCA? Who the heck has been keeping that from me? I have to find out from the DECCA newsletter? That's he got an album coming out with Leon Russell in October? Leon Russell, one of my original addictions from Mad Dogs & Englishmen, and the Concert for Bangladesh, and Eric Clapton's first solo LP with Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, and his classic albums with the Asylum Choir in '70 and '71? And that the songs on this new album, entitled UNION, were composed by: Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Leon Russell, and T-Bone Burnett?

Who kept this from me?

Leon Russell who wrote A Song For You about his unrequited love for Rita Coolidge after she spurned him for Kris Kristofferson. (Who wouldn't!)

Leon Russell who wrote Delta Lady and Hummingbird for Rita?

Leon Russell who wrote The Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Stranger in a Strange Land, Shoot Out on the Plantation, and Back to the Island? And who did a magnificent cover of George Harrison's "Beware of Darkness?"

Leon Russell who I saw a few years ago at the Seabrook Blues Festival a couple of miles away, with about 50 other people at the most, while sitting in the grass after a huge rainstorm?

You may as well go ahead and confess now if you knew this and kept it from me.

ELTON JOHN is with DECCA? The same label with CLAY! The possibilities are staggering.

Sis said he looked fantastic. She went to see A Little Night Music in NY tonight -- with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. My sister is a major Bernadette Peters fan from way back and has probably seen everything she's ever done on Broadway through the years. Anyway, Clay was at the end of her row (8th row I think she said) and stood up during intermission and talked to several people and shook hands, etc. He looked great. He had short brown spikes. A dark maroon-maybe shirt, and a tie. She repeated that he looked great. That he really looked great.

He didn't look as if he'd gotten a bit wet or even a hair out of place in the intense thunderstorm. She didn't notice him being with anyone, but there were several people he was greeting and visiting with during intermission.

Oh, she said he looked great. She doesn't remember pants. Must be The Fog.

ETA: We discussed that he has decided to show up at places where we have announced plans to be. He must be stalking us. It's the only explanation.

ETAA: Our conversation earlier tonight was like this:

Me. Hello

Her. (hushed) I'm at the Walter Kerr Theater on West 48th seeing Bernadette Peters in A Little Night Music.

Me. I know, how is ..

Her. Clay's right here.

Me. What did you say?

Her. Clay Aiken is standing right here.

Me. No!

Her. At the end of this row.

Me. No!

Her. I'm in my seat and he's standing in the aisle.

She was sitting with an Australian guy who has something to do with the show, or the musicians, I didn't understand her completely because she was speaking low. Anyway, she was distracted talking with him, and when the lights dimmed she turned around and Clay had moved out of the aisle and into his seat. When it was over and the lights went up, she didn't see him.

i still can't believe I was that close to him. I just got excited all over again. I now have proof that it reallly happened.

I know I'm still quasi-realizing it all. And now this sister thing. Send in the clowns.

EEEEE!! Your sister knows we need a report on his hair, clothes, shoes and companions, doesn't she kf?

Well, yuh, bottle, she knows ME!!! She loves to hear about Clay, however, I usually go over her threshold limit and I get her "TMI" hand. But ..... she's excellent at observation. MUCH better than me.

The strangest coincidence of a sort ever - eight days a week. My sister called me, she's out of town and she said in a low voice, "Clay Aiken is here. He's standing right by me." I best not divulge his location while he's there. But the fact that my sister is seeing him tonight is freaking me out. I could tell she was a bit stunned herself. She became a Clay fan the day before I did back in 2003. She insisted I watch the results show. She's never been on a board, but she loves his voice and she especially loves Tried & True. I can't wait to talk to her later!

Wonder if Clay is a Pepsi or Coke person? I seem to remember Sprite at one point, but his tastes may have changed...

I think he mentioned during the OFC Q&As that he gave up drinking sodas and drinks water instead.

LadyJ, I understand about the power of the imagination, but that is imaginary, and I'd rather just go ahead and see the nude forearms! And the way the tight white shirt pulls across his chest. And the gapped jeans. And the La Vida Loca moves all at the same time. But that's the way I roll.

Keeping you just about killed me off

I'm completely innocent. CLAY did it!

So y'all think you got something better than the jeans and white shirt from the 90's? The case for the prosecution .....

It's always like the first date all over again with Clay, and I always end up falling in love.

jmh... thread title???

I absolutely associate myself with my thread title.

ETA: My fave part of the Timeless Tour is the 80s. Not only Eye of the Tiger, but Footloose has me by the throat and hasn't let go yet. I was watching them all last night and noticed (and, I was there in person, too, but too far back to notice at the time) how well Clay's jean's fit him in Reno. I have five more venues to watch, so I can't say if he wore them again, but wowser!!!

I'm visiting Reno again and again thanks to those jeans. Fans self vigorously!!! Whoever shrunk those jeans... thank you!

Oh my, I rather recall the roar of the crowd over those Reno jeans. In fact, Reno was pretty much fantastic. You know how, when you know someone is experiencing him for the first time ever, you just want him to be extra fantabulous and then some? In Reno, they were and he was. And then he debuted the white shirt and jeans, no less. To ACCLAIM! I LOVED that show. His dancing in Reno was HOT! I repeat, in those jeans. The 90's. I guess it was the 90's in Reno for me!

I'm still watching and listening to the 70's medleys to make my determination there. Such a delightful task!

Kareneh, when you are coming back to Houston to hang for a while, eh? I miss you. Your pictures capture once again. GAH!

That's my daughter's personality. We're great friends as well as mother and daughter. We laugh together, a lot, and at each other's expense when necessary! She's fine with my Clay love, it blew her away at first but now she's adjusted.

I want to share some of the quotes from the HoustonPBS in-studio breaks with Clay after watching the DVR again today with a note pad:

Ernie: The seats are all in the first eleven rows.

Clay: That's where you'll be able to smell me. And the spit will FLY right there on to you.

Ernie: Does it ever get tiresome performing?

Clay: I like touring and doing concerts more than anything. There's a consistancy to it. The show is somewhat the same, although I change it every night a little bit because I talk a lot. But you know where you're gonna be the next day. You know what you're gonna be doing. I like sleeping on the bus. I like the consistancy and the routine, so touring is my favorite thing.

Abby: It's so amazing that Clay started as a contestant on American Idol and now he's a big artist, and he's giving back to PBS.

(Ernie asked him about hearing himself on the radio and Clay tells that story of hearing TITN on the radio while driving in Raleigh on one of his first visits home and almost running off the road. Clay then says that he doesn't have to worry much about that because radio doesn't play him very often.)

Ernie: Whether you're on radio or not, you have a career and a name that is known. And you've got great music and you have put together a wonderful library, and now with this new album you're going more into the singer-songwriter material. It must be very rewarding to know that this is the career you've been able to forge for yourself.

Clay: I think a lot of people would love to do this. It wasn't necessarily something I planned on doing. I was going to be a teacher and this was going to be my hobby. Singing was going to be something I would do on the side. I would sing at a wedding here and there. I'm still available for that, by the way. (Laughter)

Ernie: Don't say that! They will be calling in with requests to sing at their weddings!

Clay: For the right amount ...... (Laughter)

(Later)

Ernie: I see Clay on the phone. I wonder if he is taking requests for weddings? (Laughter)

I put the PBS pictures on my Facebook album and just saw this comment from my daughter:

I'm a little confused, I am trying to figure out why this didn't make the National news... you in the vicinity of the love of your life

Yes, she is a smartass like her mother.

I commented back, "Because Walter Cronkite died. He would have mentioned it."

Hee....cute avi, kf

Sandy and Clay

sittin' in a tree <<< well, I had to get in there somehow

L - I - C - K - I - N - G

You know I've always liked the way you think. But Clay couldn't touch any treenuts, could he? Or were you referring to a different kind of nuts?

I'm bringing this to all the sites I read for those who may be interested:

Here's something of interest about Ernie Manouse of HoustonPBS, who interviewed Clay in NY earlier in the summer. This will be broadcast on HoustonPBS in two weeks. I was checking wikipedia about him and saw this:

In 2004, Manouse launched the syndicated series InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse. This award winning series is distributed nationally to PBS stations across the country, and airs in more than 100 cities in the U.S. and the Virgin Islands. The show features Manouse in unedited, one-on-one interviews with noted personalities such as Patti LuPone and Jamie Foxx. Manouse thoroughly researches his guests before interviewing them, and arranges an informal setting to encourage spontaneous discussion.

If InnerVIEWS airs in over 100 cities, it may be available for almost all of you on your local PBS station. I hope so, anyway.

Check this out as it has more info and you can see some of his interviews. I've loved him for a long time, and I was excited to see that Ernie was hosting the show Wednesday night. He only does that for special people.

http://www.houstonpbs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=con_innerviews_ernie

You can also purchase any interviews directly from PBSHouston. Here's the list and it's quite a group he's talked to. And now Clay Aiken! I consider that prestigious. Clay's interview should go on sale as soon as the program airs.

https://secure2.convio.net/kuht/site/Ecommerce?store_id=4841&PAGENUM=4

Oh keepingfaith, you write a wonderful recap, even with no sleep. I'm so happy for you and all you Houston fans!

And this:

There was so much snark, but there's sweet humor behind all of it.

Even though I've never met the man, I can see that in him. Someday, someday...I will get to experience that in person.

Question: how can I go about making a donation in order to get that interview? I wanna see!

Ernie said the interview will air in two weeks. There should be some clack available from that when it happens.

Now, THIS picture I cropped. It just happens to be 3/4 of our Biloxi roadtrip. 00lsee, where were you last night? It struck me after desertrose mentioned last night on the way home that it seemed the magic began in the Beau Rivage elevator when we were singing "The Time of My Life." It was just getting started!

Great summer girls, or WHAT??? Orgasmic summer! We flat out had Clay Aiken all last night. Just fucking unbelievable. I signed up for this thing last night when they STRESSED to us, repeatedly, that Clay would definitely NOT be there. Oh My God. Was he ever THERE!

I haven't written a recap from last night, because I got NO sleep after talking to merrieeee until all hours on the phone, then watching my DVR of the show, and then being unable to sleep at all. Then I had one of the busiest, craziest days in a long while today at the office. That was NOT good, but it was all worth it beyond price.

The interview with Ernie Manouse is available with any credit card purchase of Clay Aiken merchandise. I'm sure it will be worth it for that half-hour interview because Ernie is a most excellent interviewer. When he first mentioned this, before Clay arrived, I told him how thrilled I was about it because I consider Ernie to be the best interviewer that I've ever seen -- politicians, celebrities, anybody - and I watch him regularly. He does such a great interview that I've watched through an entire program without being "acquainted" with the subject beforehand. Ernie brings out the best in people. So toward the end of the evening, Ernie asks me why I haven't told Clay what I was "supposed to tell him," and I didn't understand what he meant. He said, you know, about me being the best interviewer ever. So I said, Clay, Ernie is the best in the world, and Clay said, Oh he put you up to that, to which Ernie said, No she volunteered that to me before you even got here. And Clay then said, Well, it's true. I think it's one of the best, if not THE best interview I've ever had. So Ernie said, Yeah, and I can't believe CNN passed me by for that Piers Morgan. They had to go for an Englishman, they couldn't find an American? Etc. etc. It was such fun.

If you think that shot of merrieeee ogling the Aiken backside was something - I only wish there was a picture of her when he bent down over me to point out something on the screen. I'm sure that picture of her eyes would have revealed a lot about what she was seeing! It was a surreal experience. I'm still a bit numb from it. All I can say is that very close up, he looks amazing. Gorgeous skin. Very well put together. The hair color was fabulous. His outfit MATCHED!!! Quite a guy. When he was lying on the concrete block, it was just crazy. There's Clay Aiken lying down on his back RIGHT THERE!!!! He's such a Master and Commander! Kept telling us to get to work! He's funny all the time. There was so much snark, but there's sweet humor behind all of it. What a great guy. The studio crew LOVED him. He took over. He was running the show. And we were told at the end that the show had done VERY well and they were quite pleased.

Now, just a note about the calls I had. I had two calls from women, one of whom was lucky enough to have Clay take the headphones and talk to her. Every one of my other calls, at least 20 of them, were from men. They ALL wanted the two concert tickets for $300. I anticipated women calling, but apparently there are going to be a lot of Houston women who receive a nice surprise for Valentine's Day.

A very good friend of mine of many years, my former boss actually, who kids me about my Clay love, and jokingly always refers to him by another name ... "How's Claude? What's going on with Clyde? So how's Clem?" -- he called in bought two tickets from merrieeee!! She told me he asked her to say hello and I was SHOCKED!

I don't know how I drove home last night. Oh yeah, I missed two turns on streets I drive every day! But the three of us in the car were having some out of body experience, I think. Nothing was the same.

My sister told me today -- Well, you're just starstruck aren't you? And the answer, Oh yes I am. I've never loved him more. I've written about how I never expected to ever, ever have a M&G because if it weren't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all. So last night we were "hanging out" with Clay, and I got a signed CD, and a picture with him, several in fact, and I'm going to get that M&G after all on Valentine's Day!! What the hell is going on in my life??

Maybe this was a life-changing event. All I can say it that I had a life-changing health problem in May that I had to overcome in order to attend the Reno and Biloxi concerts. Seeing Clay and traveling with my friends was inspiration to overcome a lot of physical issues. I've never had more fun in my life than I did in Reno and Biloxi. Until last night. What a summer! This is one for the book. And the book is all Clay.

It was a great treat to meet some fans I'd never met before.

Maybe one day I'll come down, but not yet. I don't see that happening yet.

Do I look happy, or what? Especially after he was scooching his butt to "get into the picture." That was world-class ass-scooching! I can't emphasize enough just how dominating the Aiken Ass was last night. It was always so THERE!

Question for the Houston PBS peeps: Did Clay have any entourage members with him last night (Decca / management peeps or friends) or did he seem to be by himself?

Cheryl was with him.

He looked wonderful, brown shirt, tie and jeans....at one point he was standing in front of me, leaning over keepingfaith and let me tell you those are some nice jeans!

The ass inside those jean, weren't too bad either, huh? And the stubble so close to my face, I could have licked it. And I can't spell while he's standing over me barking orders on how to fill out the form. At that point I couldn't find backspace on that computer to spell Ms. "Love"'s name correctly. He knew what he was doing to me. He knew I knew he knew. Merrieeee knew. Close contact, he was breathing on me, an autograph, a picture ...

Jesus Christ.

Best night of my life.