ivy

Couch Tomato - You are so right. Love your post. I too probably am more interested in Clay's career now than ever. Let me add, that I love the respect given to Clay on this board.

Love the banner. Very nice. I agree with many of the comments about Clay. I don't think he really gets all the fan excitement about watching him perform or just watching him. When fans go too far sometimes, I believe it does embarrass him. Unfortunately, those who don't recognize themselves will never realize they are the OTT ones. Others who are perhaps overly sensitive to it and who are not doing anything to be concerned about will back off a little, which is a shame.

Awhile ago, I downloaded some converters and found a couple to be hard to use and slow. I don't think the ones I tried were ones mentioned here recently. One of them ran forever, then gave me a message that because it was the free version it only produced 30 seconds. Ugh. I ended up with goldwave and so far converted several songs from the Christmas tour. It was easy to use and fast. The free version supposedly tracks the number of files you convert with a limit on the total, at which point you need to decide to purchase or to lose it. Question. Are there any converters that separate the voices so you can remove individual sounds from the audio? I have a good version of the introductory song from the Christmas tour but there is a woman's voice yelling out that she love's Clay and a man's voice yelling out something that I can't figure out. I would love to take out those two voices from the audio. Does anyone know about any free or inexpensive software that has this capability? I have another audio that I like for Celebrate Me Home but I want the voice part from the play towards the end removed. That may be easy. It seems like it would be a matter of cutting out a section of the audio. So I think this problem is covered. DH loved the CD except for DSIAFCD. He laughed at all the screaming on that song. Clay's voice is sublime on the opening phrases of that song but I never cared for it much overall.

Fans getting to see Clay more than others is nothing that concerns me (as in it is none of my business). I think it is wonderful if people have that opportunity. The recaps by almost everyone are so much fun to read. For those few who always seem to have a snide comment, I now skip their posts so as to not aggravate myself. If someone who is normally fangirly has a negative comment about an event, I read it and think that is too bad they had that experience, feel sympathy for them, but move on. As to the front seats, more power to whoever gets them. It isn't a lottery or a take turns event. I do have to comment on the recent controversy about the yelling at the SD. Surprise. I have an opinion. My impression is that it wasn't so much the shouting as the length of time it went on, several minutes before Clay came out the door and while he was signing things, and a little about what was said. For a couple of other fans waiting there, getting the full experience of it all appeared to be a WTF/STHU moment. Fans shouting out in excitement even during a concert can really add to the excitement. I love it as long as the person isn't next to me yelling the entire concert. In that case, my poor ears especially if I forgot my ear plugs.

That last picture by Morganette is amazing. I never thought I would like Clay as a blond as I generally don't like guys who are blond. But I love the messy hair in that style. Maybe I should say that Clay looks amazing and very handsome on that picture.

Comedic actors often end up being some of the best dramatic actors. Maybe he will give drama a chance one day but I always had the impression that he views himself as a comedic actor. Along the same lines, does he view himself as a lead in a romantic role? I really think he considers himself a second banana. That is my impression only as I have no insight into what one Mr Clay Aiken thinks. Over the years I've read many comments saying that comedy is harder than drama. There have also been many actors who want to play the bad guy in order to stretch themselves in different roles. It will be interesting to see what choices Clay is offered in the future (if we even hear about them) and what he accepts. The other important factor is to see how well he does when working with really good directors and other talented people in the industry.

The things I continue to learn about this fandom boggle the mind. I had not heard this before. I didn't know about all the back channel PMs at the time of ATDW either. The unrest was obvious and people were really touchy about conspiracy theories and all that but I did not have a clue.

I am going to give my assessment of this show, hopefully without giving away actual spoilers. I want to give people an overall flavor of what to expect so they can relax and enjoy the play and not worry about being offended.

After hearing which fans attended recently (Mix and Jess), I'm thinking Clay is hoping to see some different faces or some of the regular fans who aren't stalking him. Just kidding. .

I think the author wanted to play up Clay Aiken the "hick". It was her angle for the story.

keepingfaith Wow. I'm feeling much the same this morning. I don't know why. But the fandom, all the gossip and attention-seekers are getting me down today.

I'm disappointed in these day-time talk shows. They spend more time on the hosts and small segments. Do you think it is because the producers buy into the theory that the young generation can't handle the longer segments because they have short attention spans? So they run interviews that last 5 min or less and bring on ph because of the hits on his web site. Yuck! I'm thinking there is a real opportunity for a new format that allows for longer interviews and less focus on the chit-chat of the hosts which I often find boring. What also happens to me is that I tend to turn the channel more frequently away from those shows. It gives me the chance to find something else to watch or to pop in a DVD. I was wondering why the interview portions of these shows was so short. Now I think I understand the reasons behind it and I don't buy it. ETA: I love stripped socks and have worn them for years. I have one really cute pair with frogs on the top. A young guy in our office (much too young for me btw), thought the socks were great. I think he thought it was cool that an older professional would do something so different. One day while shopping, he saw a pair of stripped socks, thought of me and bought them for me. He left the firm recently. I wore the socks on his last day to say goodbye. To tell you the truth, some of the other people in my area are rude to others. I think he did it as a gesture of appreciation because I gave him guidance and let him handle his problems, didn't jump down his throat if he did something that didn't work but made light of it and directed him towards the right solution.

You asked so I'll try to answer. I didn't think there was any real information in the rest of the report regarding Sardi's. Now if she found out what magazine he was being interviewed with and it was a new and impressive interview, then I would have objected because it could have resulted in the story not being run. I'm serious. Some rehearsals are open rehearsals or not completely closed off to others. It would depend on the circumstances. Reporting on a rehearsal during a tour where they are rehearsing the same old songs doesn't seem bad at all. Reporting on a "closed" rehearsal that someone deliberately crashed is a different story. It really depends on the circumstances. ETA: Ansamcw - I was writing this while you were posting your note. I agree about not arguing. If you want me to remove this post I will happily do so. ETA More: Hee.

Actually I had no problem with the Sardi report. To say that Clay was "struggling" in rehearsals, was the only part I objected to. Unless filming is permitted, it is only the final product that is presented to the public. In my business, there are times when we struggle during testing. My company would be livid with people who spread rumors about the status of an unfinished product. It is no one else's business until we are ready to put out the product. This is true about an entertainer as well. What goes on behind the scenes in preparing is up to those who own the show or the actors themselves to talk about and no one else's responsibility. My reaction to "great and flawless" would have been skepticism. ETA: If she goes around questioning people all the time about Clay then I stand even more firmly behind my comments. That is downright icky.

I agree that they get one shot or perchance two shots, if they work hard and take advantage of opportunities. Nothing is really handed to them. Once the opportunity is there, they have to bring it. One thing I really hated though were the comments about Ruben being lazy. Ruben was very heavy and I am sure that had a hand in him not always feeling his best. When something happens, I wish people would be more understanding instead of making comments that imply something so negative when they have no first hand knowledge of the real truth.

This may not be a popular view, but I wish fans would stop prying into Clay's business. Most of that report from Sardi's and the theater was fine but to talk third hand about how Clay actually did in rehearsal, seemed wrong somehow. It was an observation by someone who wasn't part of rehearsals. Clay already said the dancing was hard to learn and he was sore. The wording put a little different spin on it that may or may not have been accurate. Maybe he did well with everything else but did struggle with part of it, yet the report because it was 3rd or 4th hand by that point, implied that he struggled with the entire role. I can compare it to myself when I learn something new in software development. I may have 95% of what I need well in hand but the 5% that I have not used before, would take some studying and extra testing to make sure I new how it worked. If someone observed that part of my work, they might wonder how much I really knew. Clear and accurate communication is very difficult. I just believe there are times when we need to separate the 3rd-hand stuff and agenda-driven reports from the other things that are acceptable to share. Does this make sense to anyone else? I don't mean it as a criticism but more of a discussion point from which to learn. That is another reason we need to continue to talk with each other so we can help each other look at things from a different perspective as to how they might appear to others, when our intent was completely different. Bring on those light-bulb moments so to speak.

I had not realized it until you mentioned it playbiller but around the time of Clay's season on AI, I used to have CNN on all the time too. Now we only watch some in the mornings often changing the channel. I finally watched Spamalot. I love DHP but found him wooden in this role. Can't wait to hear how Clay does next week. I'm a little afraid to read the boards Friday night as I don't respect a couple of people who tend to post the most negative crap after these events and don't give balanced reports. So I'm not sure if I'll be on the boards but as I write that I wonder who I'm kidding. I'll be sitting anxiously at my computer on Friday night.

I can't quote anyone but I sure remember some totally rude and crude comments about Clay from some of his fans, yet those same people are calling him rude for his responses to this interview. Give me a break. Pfft. I did not know that. Over Christmas, we met several relatives and ending up complaining about CNN. Surprisingly, we all used to watch CNN in the mornings. Now that they are allowing celebrity news to creep in, a lot of us have been switching the channel in the morning. I don't care for MSNBC but my husband and I often switch to MSNBC when CNN starts in with their celebrity junk.

Clay was getting a golf lesson when that picture was taken. I love that picture.

I'm fortunate because my family is supportive especially my husband but because of my childhood, if anyone in my family put me down, they would be out of my life. That may sound harsh but I decided a long time ago that I wanted to be happy and would not tolerate anyone who is abusive in my life again. It would be an easy decision. I have seen what life can be like when you are surrounded by good people who truly care about you and whom you love as well and I'm not giving that up.

Look at it this way. If they were good people, they would not do this. Some are jealous so try to take away from the joy of others. It is a mean thing on their part. I don't know much about psychology but I bet there are articles on this topic. I really think it says much more about them than the person they are trying to put down. So {{{{hugs}}}} and if it happens to you, consider the source and try to ignore them.

The skating show was so good. The two interviews were fun. Clay sang well, except for a couple of notes on DSIAFCD but it was live and how many singers could do as well. The skating was lovely. Did you notice how humble Clay was after the songs. He kept clapping for the skaters and trying to step back. What a great guy! Hi jumpingjacks. I see you are logged in. Hope you found something better to eat or were able to drive to your destination later on.

I'm a little down and frustrated today but not sure why. How do we allow legitimate discussion on our fan boards in order to accept diverse and opposing opinions, while not allowing those with agendas to take over? As someone who is fairly liberal in views though conservative in my own lifestyle, if another person says to me, "but what if Clay is gay", I think I may throw something. Let me assure you, I used to view most saying that as trying to reason through their thoughts. Now I see agenda with great big red flags. It upsets me a little to have such an instant reaction but I can't turn the clock back. Maybe tomorrow and in the days to come, I'll have less of an emotional reaction.

I'm always surprised by people who say if Clay makes an xyz CD I'm out of here. Maybe it is because I'm not necessarily a lyrics person, but if the songs are beautiful and they connect with you, why does that matter? Maybe you would find a few songs that you like, so why not listen first before condemning Clay for it? Now when it comes to lyrics, if he copied some of the bad language of the current rap/hip hop artists, then I would notice and walk away but that ain't going to happen. I love WTOW but I can't even sing along with it because I keep forgetting the words. I only seem to remember snatches of phrases. It is a beautiful song. If I read the words, I might not agree with them but do I ever love that song.

There have been some great posts here today. I have not had time to read them all. I'm kind of tired of the free speech excuse for poor manners and lack of respect. I'll try to catch up soon. Just wanted to comment on this.