claytonic

AIKEM-- You are so right about how unfair it is for fans to say Clay was uncouth in the interview. LOL.. Of course, the fans are just so classy when they do their thing. Perception is everything, again, isn't it?

I am an Angela lover. Actually I love them both, but, now, I want something cool for my girl, Angela.

I actually am waiting for a Clay uncouth moment, so far I've not seen or heard anything worth writing home about and I really would like to see it! No really, Clay is way too polite for all the crap he gets.

What is Angela doing?

p.s. I know Angela has a son. Does Quiana have a child?

I was confused about when the Quiana video was taken, too. In the movie, Jennifer is wearing a nice outfit for that number, but in the stage version Quiana is wearing some ill-fitting pants and unflattering top. I honestly thought it was taken during a rehearsal, not a dress rehearsal. I didn't think about the stage version and the film version being that much different (duh!), but of course they frequently are.

I thought her outfit was very similar to the YouTube I saw of the Holliday stage version.

Yes, that was the first thing I noticed, the outfit being similar to the Holliday one in that VERY famous YouTube clip!

After watching that YouTube of Quiana doing And I Am Telling You, I noticed one of her doing I Will Always Love You.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g04xv6rOwIQ <<<<

Was this at a Clay concert?

(Before you roll your eyes, please understand that I am in Australia, I've never been to a Clay concert - except on YouTube - and I never saw the AI2 series (except for what I was able to glean from YouTube and Clack Unlimited - although KAndre is changing all that for me :00000442: ). OK, my excuse is made!

p.s. Quiana does a magnificent version of AIWALY but did anyone see little Charice on Ellen sing that song, as WELL as And I Am Telling You?

"

Speaking of Quiana in Dreamgirls, I think it's very generous and brave of Clay to recommend her for such a plum part...knowing that the more people who hear her sing, the greater the chance he may lose her to her own stardom. I have no idea if she can act, however. heh

I agree it is generous of him but not at all surprising as Clay rarely puts himself first, he seems to always consider what's best for the people he loves. His loyalty is second to none.

claytonic - that is an excessively cute name!

I think play just mistyped - Clay was in line (in queue, heh) - I think they were are sleeping outside on the sidewalk, still in line.

Oooo, Season 3 Solitaire was your first sight of Clay? He was totally tasty!

If you want to see everything, I've got most of season 2 I could do a megaupload or something. Let me know!

Ill PM you!

How...interesting!

Though I think Taylor and Bo had everything but a contract...they both recorded albums pre-AI, toured and played with some big names...

All I can really say is with the knowledge that half the people in the show are actually professionals - I personally will be much less tolerant of any mistakes in voice, song choice, appearance. I was willing to give true amateurs a little benefit of the doubt, but if you've been honing your craft for years, you'd better be kick ass, or I will kick you to the curb.

I have to admit, back in 2004, I watched a lot of the international idol downloads and simple loved Anthony Callea best of the Australian singers - I just liked his voice and his choice of songs best. And I was seriously impressed by The Prayer.

I personally don't mind the plug - just make sure to stick it in the "Entertainment" thread in the Watercooler forum - a good place to spread the word on your other fave artists.

HAHA Anthony Callea was the very one I was talking about. He was runner-up to Casey Donovan but went on to greater success. I believe he is still doing well. He denied that he was gay in the beginning but later admitted it. I don't think it hurt his career, he does have a good voice and yes, The Prayer earned him a "Grande Royale Downdown" from judge Mark Holden. No one else had/has ever received such a 'award'! But he definitely deserved it, it was an amazing performance. He's very much the pop star whereas Casey Donovan is not quite mainstream, but her talent has a level of depth that is incredibly rare, especially for someone so young.

Season 2 - We know that Clay waited on line, he talked about how tortuous it was to spend the nioght on line with Keith and that keith really did believe he was a good singer, so basically his story does hold together. They didn't seem too enthused to see him, he said Simon did not want to send him through, but Nigel pulled rank.

What do you mean by "on line" .. For me "on line " mean on the internet, but then I'm an Aussie, so pardon the ignorance!

Do you mean "in line", i.e. in the queue? If so, where did he sleep? On the ground, in the queue?

I am still catching up on all that I missed because we (in Australia) did not have American Idol screened here until Series 3. The very first performance of Clay's that I saw was his "Solitaire" as a guest on Series 3, and I was blown away!! That version of Solitaire remains one of my top 5 favorite performances by Clay and I prefer it to the Sedaka Tribute performance by far.

I am so grateful to the clack gatherers who have made it possible for me to see all his Idol performances plus his interview with Tyra (which I loved) and his appearance on 5th Grader. (Ha, I knew he was smart!!) I still wish I could have seen the entire series, including everyone else's performances and all the extra bits related to the show and Clay. Ah well. There's been a very kind member of this forum who has been so generous with her time and effort in answering my many questions, as there is still so much I didn't realise that I didn't know!! lol

Nic

My name really is Nic, don't you think my username is appropriate? I am surprised no one has come up with a drink called ClayTonic!)

There is no more Pop idol, that stopped after Michelle wasthe biggest failure as Idol after Simon supported her and she was voted to win. Well, at least she was not GAY. I said it that way because supposedly Simon was not happy the first pop idol was gay, railed against him and he still won and did not want a repeat. And that first pop idol is still selling in England. Anf then half the guys on season 1 AI were gay. England now has the X factor instead of Pop Idol.

We know that Austrailia has its own successful idol show and I believe, so does Spain. But only AI is shown around the world.

Nigel was very disappointed in World Idol, but what did he expect for people from other countries to vote for the American when Bush is invading coutnries? Yeah, right. There will be no more world idol.

I meant the using professional talent is nothing new.

Season 1 - kelly was a back up singer with a contract and had negotiated with labels year before. Of course, that was when this was jsut a summer show and I don't believe they really worked that hard at finding someone for this summer show the first year.

Season 2 - We know that Clay waited on line, he talked about how tortuous it was to spend the nioght on line with Keith and that keith really did believe he was a good singer, so basically his story does hold together. They didn't seem too enthused to see him, he said Simon did not want to send him through, but Nigel pulled rank.

Ruben, not sure, he said he waited on line overnight with a bfemale band member, could be true or not. It is certainly plausable. I don't think anyone knew yet how big a deal it would be. I did hear that some guy who auditioned in year one was called back by the judges for season 2, but I can't rememberwhere I saw it and it was in 2003, so that is probably aged off in cyber vapors.

Season 3 - This is where it seems strange to me,so many stories that strike me as odd and I first thought people might be recruited.

Fantasia didn't wait on line because she forgot something and had to drive back home ( an hour or so VS overnight) and when she got back, they were done, but a security guard let her in to see the judges??? Very odd story. Not likely. Especially since the auditions are not in front of the judges the first day.

Diana had a professional career, but, although they had auditions in her home town, she went to Hawaii to interview? Never said why she went. Actually the number of people in the top groups who were under 18 was pretty astounding, and the number of people hiding professional careers was funny as well.

Season 4 - Carrie's professional page was removed pretty quickly when it was publicized just a little, but she was touring with a band at that time. If I were to guess people who were brought in I would guess Carrie, Constatine and Anthony. I don't think they were happy with Bo in the top 12. This si when they had videos from home during auditions or Hollywood week and they showed Carrie on the farm collecting eggs and carrying milk (do people on huge farms carry milk anywhere or is it trucked from the dairy? Constantine was shown performing wtih his band and quitting the band (much like Daughtry the next year. ) But my favorite was this boy who was working on hisfarm and it was revealed that he was a city boy who's parents had rented a farm for the video - the height of foolishness. That hit the boards and the guy did not make it inot the top 12, I thinkmost people on-line (who vote the most) called him "fake farm boy".

Season 5 - I think there were a few video people again that might have been recruited - Katharine, Daughtry - not Elliott or Taylor though. I have no question about Taylor sleeping in-line, he was the personification of a guy hungry for a break.

Well, Australian Idol is still very popular as a show but the winners haven't been doing as well as the winner and runner-up (Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll) of the very first series in 2003. (Guy represented Australia at the World Idol comp)

My favourite singer in the world is Clay (of course!) but my favourite Australian singer is Casey Donovan who was 16 when she won Australian Idol in 2004. She still holds the record as the youngest Idol winner in the world. Her win was a surprise to everyone because she was up against a very cute guy with a huge following among the girls - the public didn't know at that time that he was gay. Unfortunately, the record company promoted the runner-up at the expense of Casey, because it was obvious they could make a quick buck with him. To be fair, he did have a good voice and is still doing well, but it is sometimes still a sore point with many of Casey's supporters.

Anyhow, although Casey's winner's single went to #1 and her album (completed in one week - rushed in time for Christmas) reached #2, the record company pretty much ignored her in favour of the runner-up. Sony BMG then dropped Casey. As an over-weight teen with family problems (with her long-time estranged father), she just didn't fit the image of a pop princess.

THIS week, Casey released her much-awaited work independently!! I am gonna shamelessly plug Casey's new EP, not just because she needs it but because this amazing EP DESERVES recognition.

The 4 songs are written by 19 year old Casey, and snippets can be heard at her MySpace. Eye2Eye is a hauntingly beautiful/sad song she wrote about her parent's divorce and the absence of her father in her childhood. It is in stark contrast to Lindsay Lohan's aggressive and angry song about her estranged father (check it out on YouTube). Everyone I know who has heard Eye2Eye has shed a tear. If you knew what Casey has been through in her life, you'd shed a few more for this young woman who has had more than her fair share of pain and rejection. Like Clay, she was also bullied at school because it wasn't cool to be overweight. Like Clay, she also released a book about those experiences.

Please check out her new (self-penned) songs at:

http://www.myspace.com/caseydonovanlive

She wrote:

Help Me (for her best friend, who lost her dad)

Did It Again (about addiction, in her case her struggle to quit smoking)

Eye2Eye (about her devastation of her parents' split)

Here's Where I Stand (also at her MySpace) is her Australian Idol semi-final performance which earned her a "Touchdown" from judge Mark Holden. In 5 series, she is the only contestant to receive a Touchdown for a SEMI-final performance. (If you go to YouTube and search "Casey Donovan+Here's Where I Stand" you will find that performance. My favourite performance of hers on Idol was "Beautiful".

The 4th song on her EP (which is not currently at her MySpace) is called Shattered. Some people think that the lyrics are about how she felt when she was dropped by her record company, but she says it is about the break-up of a relationship... not her own but one that she observed when sitting in public transport).

I hope I am not breaking any rules in giving Casey this plug but she really deserves recognition after what she went through. She already has a few fans in the USA and Canada but we want her to have a few more!!!

p.s. Natalie Gauci's (winner of Australian Idol 2007 ) winner's single reached #2, the first time ever that the Aust Idol winner's single didn't make it to #1.