atinal

I've had a thought. No don't run away. All three of the ABC shows that have featured him have started off with some bit of "Invisible" playing or being sung. It's like a reminder, this was Clay Aiken then and this is him all grown up now. It's a small thing, but I just found it interesting..

I loved the Night Line Piece Hmmm. I might have to tune in tomorrow night, Sacred Sex.....

I haven't clicked on the Yahoo link to read or watch that article, I rarely read comment anymore, my heart just can't stand it. I find myself picturing these idiots sitting at their computer and wondering what they look like. How many of them could actually be better looking than Clay. Maybe they should look in the mirror.

The first few times I heard that I thought it was something bad in the recording, it doesn't seem to fit. I'm getting used to it though and still love the song ETA from Cindilu's post That yahoo thing has been up since Monday. There are over 4000 replies. Good thing so many people 'hate' him. It really does make me laugh. They are just as invested as we are. And it's just a tad more weird to spend that much time on someone/something you 'hate' than somehing you love. ------- This is something that has always puzzled me, Clay's fans being OTT and ridiculed in some circles and by media, but man, I find it far more "crazy" for someone to spend so much time on someone they hate, how can they justify that even in their own minds and I find it rather scary.

It kind of reminds me of the king and the drunken guard scene in Spamalot!

I so agree about OMWH..it's one of my favorites on the album and imo it's quintessential Clay. But get this! This is absurd! I read where someone had emailed a DJ on their HOT AC station that takes requests. She requested OMWH but then almost apologized for it telling the DJ that there were more upbeat, radio friendly songs on the album but since this was the single she thought he should play that! Great, request a song but tell the station it isn't radio friendly! Yup, that will help get it air time! I agree with both of you on OMWH, I really think it sets the tone of the album, and Claygasm, I read that post too, and had a wtf reaction to it. Dang, if you're going to request it, just request it, no editorializing needed.

Actually, I kind of like Elizabeth, of course I kind of liked her when she was on Survivor. I'm not a regular watcher of The View but she is way out numbered in her political view on that show and I think some of the other panel members come off just as ding-y sometimes. JMO Plus, she's the only one on the show who ever really acts excited to see Clay, so that give her a couple extra points from me.

I thought it was a great appearance. His singing was great. The interview segments with these gals always seem rushed. I thought his answer to his AI question was good, and they prefaced it with saying that he always acknowledges that he wouldn't be where he is without AI. I know that Clay's feelings about AI pretty much mirror mine, I do believe that the innocence, wonderment and kid next door element is gone, and like Clay the last season I really watched was season 3. I've caught bits and pieces of other seasons and I read articles about it on the web but that's about it for me.

I'd like to be just like Clay Aiken when I grow up. I loved and appreciated his blog, but feel sad that he felt he had to do it. Right now, less than 48 hours from the drop date of his new cd, when he and we should be celebrating, he has to deal with his own disappointment in the sales numbers and address fans who think they know so much more about his job than he does. I believe he handled it with class and lots of titanium. :F_05BL17blowkiss: Muah, Clay!

Well, for me all they would have to do is show video of him singing, talk about someone who can make some bad faces when they sing

I was walking away from the TV at the time, but I thought Diane said something about abc.com and got the impression they might post more online, but I'm not really sure of it since her voice wasn't really projecting very well today.

Yeah, I'm having a little trouble with the acronyms so far. Someone will post one and I'll think, what the heck is that song. GMA, well promo is what it is. Regarding Robyn getting the name wrong, she was close and at least they showed the album cover so I don't think that hurt. They do seem to cram so much into these shows, most of it is crap as far as I'm concerned so I rarely watch them. I guess if I look at it this way, there are a lot of artists out there who would kill to get any time on GMA it keeps it more in perspective to me. For someone whose 15 minutes was supposed to be over 4 years ago Clay is still able to get bookings on these shows.

I love how he sings the line, still I see somehow in The Real Me, I also love how the song builds.......sawoon!!!!

I think that is the song I've listened to the most, it does sound great in the car, and I think it is a masterpiece too,

I agree with you KAndre, 'cept I kinda like the blond. I don't think Clay wants people to expect him to start doing boy band dancing, even though that's choreography too. I think with his statements he's saying I'm a singer, not a dancer or songwriter, when pressed (and pressed hard) I can do it, but I'd really rather just sing. As for me, many of the people whose music I've liked or loved never danced or wrote their own stuff. The part I bolded, that is pretty much me, it's not to say I never skip anything, but if I do it's usually to get to one of my favorites, maybe something I haven't listened to in awhile.

This must be the real Washington Post Review: Reviewer: Allison Stewart Aiken Finds His 'Way'; Diamond Is Right at 'Home' 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? Aiken may sing through gritted teeth, but Diamond, who found himself similarly adrift in schlock during his post-"Jazz Singer" years, always seemed to enjoy himself immensely. At least until he met producer Rick Rubin, who rescued Diamond from his rhinestone leisure-suited purgatory more than a decade after working similar magic on Johnny Cash. Their latest collaboration, "Home Before Dark," is a follow-up to 2005's stark and nifty career resuscitator, "12 Songs." Like its predecessor, it's steeped in the sort of somberness Rubin confuses with authenticity, though Diamond now occasionally seems more exuberant and less straitjacketed. He sounds more like Neil Diamond -- and less like Neil Diamond trying to sound like Johnny Cash trying to sound like Neil Diamond. Though Rubin is accompanied by a band that includes two Heartbreakers, Dixie Chick Natalie Maines -- on the perfunctory but pretty duet "Another Day (That Time Forgot)" -- and a string section, "Dark" still feels as stripped-down and immediate as "12 Songs," even when a bigger sound might serve it better. "Dark" features a similar mix of love songs, homespun homilies and tales of woe, in roughly similar proportions: "Don't Go There" is one of a host of advice-dispensing ballads; "Pretty Amazing Grace" is one of several "I found love again! And I'm pretty old"-type ballads; the record opening "If I Don't See You Again" couldn't offer more tomblike gravitas if it had been sung by Tommy Lee Jones. On its best track, "Act Like a Man," Diamond addresses the difficulties facing male musicians who follow the charts instead of their hearts ("Song maker/You heartbreaker/You faker/You better stop it while you can"). Clay Aiken could probably sing the heck out of it, if given half the chance. DOWNLOAD THESE: Aiken: "On My Way Here," "Ashes"; Diamond: "If I Don't See You Again," "Act Like a Man"

I can't pick a favorite yet. This album, seems to get better with each listen. I think there is a lot of depth to it. I love it.

I'm listening too!!!!WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

One of the last things I did in New York before we flew home a few of Sunday mornings ago was walk through a deserted Shubert Alley a final time. I certainly hope I'll make it back to NYC again in the future, and I may even walk through that alley again, but I imagine it will be all long time before it buzzes again with the kind electricity that Clay's stage door appearances brought. Farewall Sir Robin. You brought chivalry to a rude and churlish time. Hello, Mr. PopStar. You've learned to fly... I've read a few posts in the past couple of days that have made me choke back tears. This was one of them. Even with the excitement of the new cd ahead I can't help but feel a little sad that his broadway run is over. The successes that Clay has had can't be taken away by the words of some asshat music reviewers. I think keepingfaith's post about the relevance of music reviewers rings so true. Why would people take their word for anything, when they can listen to snippets and make up their own mind. So take your final bow brave Sir Robin, you can make it anywhere now........ :F_05BL17blowkiss: crack like an egg, my ass.

OMG. Thank you for that bottle. My real first smile of the day! :F_05BL17blowkiss: WOOHOO, me too!!

Thanks for the input ldyj, I was looking at Seagate and Maxtor earlier. I've seen the Western Digital as well. KAndre has got me thinking about thre 250GB now, it doesn't look like there is much difference in the price

I think I knew you were going to say that!!!! Yeah, I thought of you when I saw the terrabyte ones. Do you have any recomendations on brand?

I got my shipping notice from WalMart too EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! I'm thinking of getting an external hard drive for my laptop. I'm not looking for one with lots and lots of memory, I'm thinking about 160GB (I don't save as much Clack as some of you ahem, kandre). I was wondering if any of you have recommendations as to brand?

From the CH: Rodney Ho from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution posted his interview with Clay (interesting stuff) Quote: 5/2: Clay Aiken interview, ratings update, song choice By Rodney Ho | Friday, May 2, 2008, 07:51 AM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Those Clay Aiken fans have been waiting for this since I’ve been teasing it. But his first album of originals since 2003, “On My Way Here” comes out Tuesday. (The Claymate crew will be at Manuel’s Tavern, 602 N. HIghland Ave., Atlanta, at 8;30 p.m. Monday for an album release party.) Clay is definitely the gabby sort. I had a lengthy list of questions to ask him for my 15 minutes, including several from Clay fans I solicited. But I only got in a handful of my own before the publicist said time was up. We spoke on April 23, a couple of weeks before his final “Spamalot” show on Broadway, which is Sunday. What’s the coolest part about doing “Spamalot”? This deal was for 18 weeks. I really thought I was going to hate it by now. [He then compared it to school and how the third quarter is such a drag.] I’m in the third quarter. And I’m not miserable! I’m not! I’m enjoying it. This show is funny. It’s a little different every night. It’s always fresh. At the same time, the people I work with are unreal… I was worried they’d hate me. I came off a reality show! I didn’t pay my dues. i didn’t have to audition. But they’ve been warm and inviting. I’ve been thrilled. I’m not going to say I’ll shed a tear, but I’ll miss it a little bit. I’ll miss the people. I’ve made friends I’ll have for a long time. What was the toughest part of doing Broadway? Everything has to be precise. You can’t change anything. But the hardest thing for me the first few weeks was not looking into the audience. I’m so used to playing for the audience and looking at them. At concerts, you have a spotlight on you so you can only see the first two rows. In this show, you can see the first 15 to 20 rows. And for me, it takes energy to be another person. I think I’ve gotten it down. But it was some work to be able to do that. The reason we did this show versus other because it was work. Most other shows were about singing, no dancing, less acdting. This one was so far out in left field. I had to learn a British accent! It took some training to go from a Southern redneck to proper British! So do you sing much at all? It’s comedic. The song that I do is actually a patter song. It’s spoken though they changed it in a couple of places so I sing some notes and do my thing. Still, it was a challenge to do. That’s why we chose it. I wanted to expand myself, something people wouldn’t expect. Maybe that’s why I’m not bored. It’s so different! I saw you at Chastain last summer and yes, you interacted with the crowd a lot. I’m constantly doing that. I stop the show to talk to people. I remember you commenting a lot about the bugs flying around. Forget bugs. In Asheville. N.C., we had bats! Those are rodents with wings! And the moths were so big, one flew down the tops of one of my background singers. We had a bit of fun with that! Why has it been so long since you did a full album of originals? The record label latched on to me doing a Christmas album. It kind of made sense. It worked beautifully for whatever reason. The truth is, we ain’t radio people. Clay Aiken and the radio don’t happen as easily as Kelly Clarkson or Chris Daughtry. They wanted me to do an album with songs they could sell on TV. Radio is like an advertisement for your album. They thought they could sell Clay Aiken songs for commercials. So I did mostly covers. It ended up being a product I liked quite a bit though there was some resistance from the fans. They call me the next Barry Manilow but at least he has his own music. I wanted stuff that was mine whether it gets played on the radio or not. We went at this saying, that’s not a priority. I don’t want to think about doing radio friendly songs. Look-I’m not top 40. I’m not cool enough to be on there. If you walk into a nightclub and they put on Clay Aiken music, I hope they’ll run out. How about soft rock stations? The “lite” stations? We might have a shot there. We are trying to do AC [adult contemporary] stations. I spent five years trying to be a politician. That’s stupid. We obviously have sold enough, I’m able to be comfortable to do what we want to do. We’re fortunate to have people come to concerts without airplay. Let’s do what feels right. That’s really all that matters. Do you think your first single “On My Way Here” can do well on radio? The label thinks so. We never tired to find a single. We used to try to do that. We tried and tried. Nothing worked. We do things that are good for me, that sounds believable. If you saw the show the last time, I did a bit of “Sexyback.” It was totally a joke, totally tongue in cheek. If I tried to sing those songs sincerely and put it on the radio, that’d be a caricature. I know that. Give me a cool song. I start singing it, it’s not cool anymore. What’s different about this vs. your first album? I used to not care about lyrics. I could have sung about watermelons as long as it’s pretty. This is the first time we looked at lyrics. I wanted every single song to connect with me lyrically. Some of them are songs that don’t necessarily connect with me directly but a majority of people will experience. We produced a very diverse sounding album. If some of these songs were sung by someone else, they might end up on Q100… Lyrically, it’s all connected. I have time for one more question. I just saw you on ‘American Idol Rewind,’ the week you did “Grease” in that red leather jacket. Good memory or bad? [He laughed.] That’s the one week I’ve wiped out of my memory completely! I remembered “To Love Somebody.” That was great! The truth is, the little hip thing I did. [He did a hip thrust during “Grease.”]. That’s a really good connection about what we were just talking about. That was not cool. About the jacket - we always went shopping with a stylist and we had a budget. We can spend so much money each week. I wanted to wear stuff that looked good but not too edgy. I’m not edgy. You can’t make me look like Justin Timberlake. The stylist kept pushing me. That week, I gave in. I bought this red leather jacket. I had never spent money on clothes. I was really cheap. So I had some money stored. I spent $2,000 on that jacket and wore it. It didn’t work. -------------- I love him.

Interesting?? Posted at the CH: From the Late Night TV page listing for Regis & Kelly: Quote: Fr 5/16: Alyson Hannigan, the winner of the middle school competition Math Counts, Bryan Adams, guest co-host Jimmy Kimmel Isn't that the day that Clay is supposed to be on Kimmel? Could Clay be hosting? Is the date still messed up? Why is R&K showing up on the late night TV page listing? Enquiring minds want to know ETA: I guess with the time differences in the 2 coasts Kimmel could do both shows.