claytonic

Actually I really enjoy the recaps of those who go multiple times, because they can give us progress reports on what's changed, what Clay has done differently, how much he has improved/improvised. It also would be interesting for those who have only been once, they can keep tabs on what's changed etc.

I am indebted to you for life! Perhaps I will no longer feel so out of the loop about 2003.

I agree, I really like Ruben's voice as well, he ALWAYS sang so effortlessly (REMINDER: I did not watch AI#2, and saw Clay perform for the first time at #3 doing Solitaire) and from what I have been able to see on YouTube and Group Performances from Clack Unlimited, he seemed like such a nice guy. Australian Idol #2 (2004) had an identical result.... the one who was EXPECTED to win (Anthony Callea) was runner-up but went on to create history with the biggest selling Single of all time here (The Prayer) and has had an amazing career. The winner (Casey Donovan) had a #1 single and #2 album here but her other singles from the album just didn't do as expected, and she was dropped by SonyBMG. She holds the record as the youngest Idol winner in the world but she just did not fit the pop princess image, and has battled weight issues and family problems. But her latest EP (her own work) is testament to her true talent as a musician, and she is still only 19. I read/heard that Clay and Ruben are still close friends but they don't discuss careers. Sometimes I wish Clay would have the ex-Idols as guests on his tours, just if he has a date close to where they live.

WOW no one has posted in this thread for two and a half years! OK - I have a suggestion. How about a thread exclusively for random You Tube videos, NOT about Clay. I have seen some fantastic stuff on YouTube and feel it would be good to have a place to share something special we have come across on YouTube. For example, I'd recommend the following: ABBA, Olive N-J, Andy Gibb. TIMELESS. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nprteZX80tk Billy Joel sings 'The Lullabye', Masterclass Concert 2001 BJ wrote this song for his daughter when she was about 7, and she has stated in interviews that this is her favourite Billy Joel song.

Well.I recall Simon Cowell saying something about Clay being one of the few that listens and takes criticism like an adult. I think Clay's intelligence and humility has played a huge part in his success.

Has anyone seen this vid on YouTube, set to "One" from A Chorus Line? I love it, the lyrics are so appropriately applied to what's flashing on the screen!

Playbiller..... :medium-smiley-075: I want to thank you again for telling me how to find all posts by a specific person. I can't believe how I used to tediously go through pages and pages trying to find a post from someone (because someone else had made reference to it and I needed to see the original for it to make sense) or for me to find a post I had only read half-way through 2 days ago and find it buried in a bunch of other posts. NOW I find them so easily I can't believe how DUH DUH DUMB I was !! I thought that by coming here I'd be learning a lot about Clay, and I'm learning so much more. To think I've been going to Invision forums since 2004 and I never knew some of these incredible features! THANKS PLAYBILLER!!!

Happy Birthday Luckiest!! I love Annabear's pic so had to repeat it! p.s. I watched this on YouTube, it is the announcement of the Wildcard winners. Kimberly C is about to be named at the first one, but it seems as if Clay is already kissing her before her name is announced. Can someone explain it? At first I thought that the audio was out of synch but from the look of Kim's face, it isn't . (I never watched series#2, that is why I am asking. Just curious about Clay kissing her as if he knows she is about to be picked)

Thanks for sharing the link claytonic...its very sad. You're welcome Ansamcw, I just saw this, BELOW it is very moving. Michelle Williams Takes Ocean Plunge to Honor Heath It is hard to not feel the tears when I think of Matilda and of course his family. His father is utterly devastated.

Ledger farewelled in emotional service

I am not sure exactly which category this post belongs to, but since it has something to do with travel, I figured here could be the place. OK, for those of us who are struggling with weather conditions and anything else that makes getting from A to B a challenge, let's ponder the following two scenarios.... Hanoi traffic http://www.snotr.com/video/843 Icy collisions in Portland http://www.snotr.com/video/694 I will be more appreciative of the bad-road-days that pale into insignificance by comparison.

Will you be queuing up at the Stage Door after the show with a sign that says "Ausclaylian Fan" so that he KNOWS what a long swim it took for you to get there? I wonder if anyone else from Down Under has made the trip...

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the current banner and hope it does not get replaced too quickly...

So....how much does Shannon pay the producers for her "job"?

Gosh Donna, I just turned green.... I wonder why! LOL

Kelly is extremely talented, I was astounded that she wrote "Because of You" when she was only 16. However, Clay's talent is multi-dimensional, and it stretches beyond the entertainment platform. He is more talented than anyone from any Idol Season, in ways that cannot be measured in terms of CD sales. A couple of posts ago, I commented that Clay's pic was the least attractive in the 'official' Season 2. But if they had taken a pic of his heart, it would have been THE most beautiful. While I became a fan when I heard him sing for the first time (Solitaire on Season 3), it was through discovering all about who he was/is as a person that made me the fan that I am today. I was so touched when I saw the vid of the Season 2 guys on tour, and when they had a day off they went to the White House. Clay, on the other hand, used his day off to raise awareness to the autism cause. That really got to me, that someone would use their new-found celebrity status to help a truly vulnerable group of children rather than indulge in what it could do for him.

Whenever I see A-List celebrities like Tyra and Diane Sawyer get all fangirly around Clay, I am reminded of what Gladys Knight said to Clay during Season 2, that there was something magical about him/his look. She said she didn't know what was going to happen for him, but that it was going to be something big. Although Clay has had 5 years to get used to the female attention, I recently saw some early interviews (the Idol tour, I think) where he seemed genuinely baffled about it .. "I don't understand it", he said. I wonder why his 'magic' wasn't evident to girls before Idol, because apparently he never got the kind of attention even the average guy gets in high school. I do sometimes wonder what it is about Clay that is so appealing to women, that he is now a bigger sex symbol than the likes of Justin Guarini or Joshua Gracin. And honestly, looking at the 'official' Idol pics for the Top 12 for Season 2, Clay's pic is the worst one (sorry, I really think it is crappy) out of all of them. And then look at him for his Wildcard performance and the rest is history, despite Simon comments about preferring him with his eyes shut. His story is so amazing, some day a movie will be made about his life. I wish Clay would write a book for every decade of his life as it progresses.

OMG this CMSU!!!!! seriously...a debate on the wig and Clay had to settle it...too surreal!!! As per usual, LOL, I don't know what CMSU and OFC means. I assume OFC is another big forum ... I joined another forum before FCA but I stopped going there because I found it too complicated, and this one is easier on the eyes. How do I find those other posts, are they normally pasted over here... or should I go there to read them? So many questions, and everyone is asleep right now....

Ok, now that I've had my rant for the day, I am off to bed. 12.43am my end.

KAndre, you truly crack me up.... The YT vid I posted was the reminder about how I felt about the Sedaka Tribute and the glory notes being drowned out to the point where he may as well have saved his breath. I was SOOO excited when I first saw the video available for view... hence the huge disappointment. Solitaire is special to me - it's the VERY FIRST SONG I ever heard/saw Clay sing as a guest on Season 2, and it remains my single favourite Clay performance. Up until that point, I am not sure I could have recognised him from a pic although his name had become familiar. Remember, I am a poor deprived Aussie. Solitaire was already a fav of mine as a Neil Sedaka fan myself, but as far as I am concerned Clay owns Solitaire, (and also BOTW - sorry Mr Garfunkle). <sigh> I kinda feel that Clay surely would want us to listen to his glory notes to the end, THEN go crazy.... huh? huh?

OK, I have a question that I have wanted to ask for a while. I just did my daily quick look on YouTube to see if any new and interesting clack has been added in the last 24 hours. I found this: ... and here is my question. WHY oh why would a fan ruin a big note by deliberately drowning it out? I truly felt that Clay's performance at the Sedaka Tribute was ruined somewhat because of the screams during his big notes. It isn't right that this happens. I, for one, really was disappointed when his singing was drowned out... I mean, it wasn't a rock concert. There would have been many people in the audience who were NJUs (see, I found out what NJU stood for in here!!) and goodness me, they may have never heard the familiar big notes that WE wait for. Although live artists love and NEED enthusiastic participation from a live audience, surely they can't be happy about the level of disruption that compromises their performance, especially during a special event and during a special moment in a song that they have become known for. Sorry if this issue was already addressed before I joined this forum. I just know that if I had travelled a great distance to see Clay live, I'd be furious if every big moment in a song is drowned out by over zealous fans. Am I overreacting?

OOps... I was 'parked' ... physically absent.... but here in spirit

No offense taken claytonic, but all I can tell you is that the gay people in my life do not like or engage in gossip. I think, just as any other group of people, you can not stereotype. This doofus apparently just likes to cause trouble. Meh. I just wanted to chime in my banner love here. It's a beauty. OK, but see what I mean by the fact that we can never be rid of those kinds of troublemakers who influence weak minds... people who cannot think for themselves and believe what they hear in the media. I have one "friend" in the USA who made a statement about Clay ... she had no interest in him, does not know his music but her statement, as if it was a fact, resulted from media gossip and lies. I told her "and you KNOW that is a fact?"... then she said... "well that is what I have read." I prefer the way Clay has decided to deal with it, i.e. just refuse to play their stupid games.

Nothing angers me more than gossip mongers, and I never cease to be amazed that people will buy tabloids KNOWING that it was probably full of crap, that any story that has an ounce of fact is probably stretched beyond any semblance of reality. In one Australian Idol season, we had a popular female singer who did a hit song by Dusty Springfield. Shorlty after that, I was in a chat room full of her supporters and one of them said "hey, she sang a Dusty Springfield song. Let's spread the word that she is gay.". I immediately PM'd him and said, "are you kidding me? How can you say that when you know it is not true"" His reply? "Gay people love gossip, we don't care if it is true or not, it's fun". Now, the person concerned worked in some gay club as a female impersonator. He didn't think there was anything wrong in fabricating a story for his own enjoyment. I do get mad when I read stuff about Clay in the media that I know will hurt him and/or upset him. But I always remind myself that despite Clay's appearance in 2003, he is as tough as nails. Clay has amazed me with the way he has taken some things on the chin or let it fall away like water off a duck's back, but then stood his ground when enough was enough. Refusing to answer questions that had become OLD (yawn) shows that he wasn't going to let them use him for their own "glory". And for that, as well for others things that he does to benefit OTHERS, I admire him. (No offence to anyone here who may be gay. I am just reporting what I was told by that guy, but his views could well be his own. Since he was so comfortable spreading a obvious lie, perhaps is other statement about gays is also fiction.)