#23: Lordy. He is one more hunkalicious dude!

[KAndre]

Aaah - end of the year queries!

1. What is your favorite Clay recorded song?

That's hard! You know I cheat right? Top five (random order): Broken Wings, Perfect Day, When You Say You Love Me, All Is Well, Everything I Have

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance?

That's harder! Continuing my cheatin' ways (and in no particular order): DSIAFCD & AIW (2006 Long Island), To Love Somebody & Build Me Up Buttercup (AI2), Solitaire (AI3), I Survived You & Chain of Fools (Houston NAT), Signed, Sealed Delivered (Minneapolis NAT), Rosanna at some casino (NAT), When I Need You (Miami), the entire Jukebox set from both days in Atlantic City.

3. What is your favorite Clay tour?

You already know the drill, right? Again, in no particular order: NAT, Jukebox, Xmas 2006, Summer 2007

[Couch Tomato]

ya'll are cheatin'

ETA: oh yes I did answer..ONE answer each... even though it kills me and I want to edit and add to what I wrote heee.

[KAndre]

I see you ain't answering the questions!

[annabear]

Anybody want to play a little game? I just thought it would be fun to talk about some of our Clay Favorites <snip>

Why yes, I would like to play a game 'cause I'm bored here at work.

1. What is your favorite Clay recorded song?

From each album? Hee! I think I'm going to have to go with Lonely No More. I fell in love with the snippet with that little growl before ATDW was released. I was soooooooo hoping he'd add that one to the SRHP tour. I still hit repeat when it pops up on my iPod. But then, I Know How The River Feels still gets me everytime, too...

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance?

I think right now it's Good News from the JNT '04. We were listening to Clack of that on the way to Merrillville last weekend.

3. What is your favorite Clay tour?

The JBT. My first Clay-friend & I took a week off and road tripped all over OH, IN & MI. We had a blast! Close second would be the SRHP tour because I absolutely adored bantering Clay this summer.

Dang - these were harder to answer than I thought they would be! I keep changing my answers. :8:

[cindilu2]

1. Favorite recorded song? I've always said if I could only listen to one song ever again, it would be Measure of a Man. (Close second is If You Don't Know Me By Now. I can't ever listen to that one just once.)

2. Favorite Live performance? Is most memorable the same as favorite? Because the most memorable for me will always be the very first time - him rising up out of that mist on the AI2 tour in Toronto. For the first time, I understood all the footage I'd ever seen of screaming/crying Beatles and Elvis fans. I was overcome. My favorite performance that I actually saw in person? It just might be MGUCL from Merrillville this tour. Perhaps not the best vocal ever, but it was awesome and he looked SO proud and happy. V. V. special. Favorite performance that I didn't see live - the very first appearance on Leno, singing Invisible.

3.Favorite Tour? I guess I too would have to say Jukebox. So much versatility. I never believed I'd get to hear him sing Unchained Melody in person (my personal epiphany moment on AI2). The wonder of ICMYLM. The 'don't hit the juice-box' ending. And come on..... he sang on top of a piano and showed us his Great Balls of Fire!!! Dang, I'm back to say maybe DCAT, for all the same reasons, AND for live and orchestrated WY and MOAM. Gah.

[jumpingjacks]

1. What is your favorite Clay recorded song?

This is tough...I think it is "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" or "If You Don't Know Me By Now" or "Lover All Alone"

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance?

Yikes...."Fantasy" on AI(3?)..."Solitaire" on AI...All of the JBT but especially the Elvis segment...Good News and YWT.

3. What is your favorite Clay tour?

Hands down the JBT...although I loved the NAT and the IT as well. Haven't been to as many Christmas shows, unfortunately.

[Couch Tomato]

We need someone to rate Mary Did you Know from CITH if anyone is interested.

[muskifest]

1. What is your favorite Clay recorded song?

Clay Aiken's Greatest Hits, Vol. XX

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance?

The last few seconds of AIW, Merrillville 2007

3. What is your favorite Clay tour?

The one that will not require a plane ticket and hotel reservations.

[bottlecap]

1. What is your favorite Clay recorded song?

I Will Carry You [broken Wings is a very close second.]

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance?

That I saw with my very own eyes? MOAM at Sterling Heights. He blew that song out of the water and the well-deserved ovation went on and on even though Clay tried to wave it off.

3. What is your favorite Clay tour?

Jukebox - not only was it tons of fun, it was the very first time I got to see Clay and to experience the whole deal first hand.

[atinal]

Now ya'll are making me feel guilty for not cheating at my own game and it looks like you love him more than me. But seriously, as I read each of your answers, I wanted to jump in and say. oh, I loved that too. I was going to make catagories for AI performance and TV guest appearance. maybe I should have.

[Ansamcw]

We need someone to rate Mary Did you Know from CITH if anyone is interested.

oh I thought someone took that...I will if its available...

[wandacleo]

What is your favorite Clay recorded song?

(I love Muski's answer!). Lover All Alone.

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance?

(I trust I didn't have to actually BE there.) Broadway Cares: Can You Feel the Love Tonight.

I'll just NEVER forget the absolute swelling of pride and joy and love when I saw that first grainy bootlegged video.

3. What is your favorite Clay tour?

This is too much like asking me who my favorite grandson is. I love them both for special reasons. I loved ALL of the concerts, but I have a special warm spot for JNT05 because I loved watching him watch the others with such love and joy on his face.

[cha cha trusty]

OOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo -- I'll play, I'll play!!!

1. What is your favorite Clay recorded song?

I really like MOAM from AOL Sessions, his voice is so hauntingly delicious on that. A close second would be a toss-up of DSIAFCD & MDYK from MCWL

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance?

I'd have to say Solitaire from the Neil Sedaka Tribute. A close second would be any of the Elvis medleys from JBT.

3. What is your favorite Clay tour?

JBT, hands down!!!

LOVE that random blog mention!!! Makes me want to write and acquaint this person with more of Clay's work. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[skybar22]

Thanks for the welcomes. Big Hi to JJ who didn't tell me about the latest development. I am praying with all my heart that it works out for you my friend.

I'll play.

Favorite recorded song: LAA because it is Clay's song and it made me cry when I first heard him sing those words. It also made my male friend cry and he wasn't a fan at the time. He has since seen him live and is now a fan.

Favorite live performance: I have only seen Clay live 4 times due to my own limitations and Clay live is by far the most amazing voice I have heard. I will go with UM from JBT Boston because I always wanted to hear that live and it, too, brought tears to my eyes. Yes, I am a big ol sap.

Favorite Clay Tour: Definitely JBT.

[Bookwhore]

As for the topic du jour - and yester-jour:

Y'all all need to post like me. If you can't (or worse, don't wanna) post like me, I don't think you really tried. But if y'all are serious about this free will stuff - the way I look at it is that the fandom is a community, for better or worse, and we are all affected by all the members - and sometimes scrolling doesn't help. Happiness, unhappiness, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, positivity, negativity, horror and glee tend to be contagious, and I think people's opinions are affected by a general atmosphere - if only to be contrary - especially on the Internet. That "no man is an island" stuff have some basis in reality. It's hard not being influenced by people you have voluntarily been drawn together by a common interest.

I generally do say Clay has never disappointed me because I have no real expectations for him beyond singing pretty for me on CDs and in person. He sings pretty even when he sings songs I dislike, like that damn mouse song, so we're good. Whispery breathy part of My Grownup Christmas List does not count as singing so I can dislike it with a whole heart. I have to admit, I totally disagree with the idea that Clay's fans are "gifting" him with a career, any more than my company has "gifted" me with one - at the very least it's a exchange of equal value. We really don't throw money at him for free. And it is possible to enjoy his talents for a lot less than we voluntarily spend on him. Us commenting on a note he missed or the Random Aiken Lyric Generator is for us - it's not like he gets a do-over.

....

Defensiveness on either side is bad. Avoid it. Aggression can be fun - if you are entertaining. If you are not, you will be crushed. Passive aggressive just works my last nerve. Tone in any communication counts for a lot.

waves back at cindilu2 who has the right idea about not being Clay's friend, but notice she didn't deny being his lover and wonders...

I also refuse to think about thrumming crotches at work! You people!

I've always been iffy about how much feedback from the fans is actually useful to Clay - since I frankly don't think we could get more than 10% of the fans to agree on less than 5% of anything. Not his singing, not his clothes, not his hair, not his glasses, not his cargo pants, not his mandals, not his giggle, not whether his eyes are really green, not whether he's actually human, not whether he loves me best of all...I think we could all agree that he should avoid getting sick. And continuing singing. That's about it. Hell, Team Clay probably has a hell of a time determining that the organism known as Clay Nation actually thinks. I think it just rampages around strictly on instinct.

What the hell is Clay Nation stressing about now? I shall go and look - and then I shall probably mock a little. It's what I do.

Now, multiples of stuff? If I like it, I'll like it again. It's why I have turned my child's bedroom into a small library (hey! I bought him a futon! He can sleep among the books!). It's why I have approximately 1700 of my very favorite songs in WMP. It's why I own about 40 DVDs. And that stuff's the same each and every time I consume it. Clay is a little different because he is different in each live performance. I personally don't need a huge amount of novelty - if I like it, I don't get bored with it.

All my exes quickly learned not to debate with me - they would lose and I would dance around their smouldering corpses.

Claygasm succinctly expressed my feelings for skating heifers touching my boyfriend.

I agree that Clay likes to stick with the "klutz" persona, keeps expectations low for areas not in his expertise, and puts him as a sympathetic character.

KAndre, I hope you intened for your post to be funny, because I laughed myself silly through most of it. If you didn't mean for it to be funny, then may I just say I found your post to be wise, insightful and thought-provoking?

The bolded part struck a chord with me. You're right, it's very hard to remain cheerful and upbeat when everyone around you is pissing and moaning because he didn't clip the threads on his back flap. **rolls eyes** The worst part of it is that some folks get so much joy out of being miserable that they feel they need to spread the joy, so we can be miserable, too. did that make a lick of sense to anyone else?

OK, its a bit slow at work today so I ventured out of these hallowed halls to see what was being discussed elsewhere. Let me know if this summary is about right.

I think I have discovered that the downfall to Clay's career is that he lied when he said he was cheesy and saying that just doomed his next CD because no one will know its a rockin' CD and that his voice sucked so badly the special wasn't even worth watching, and his hair looked liked Moe from the Three Stooges - which would turn most everyone off - but the worst offense of all was - and I was SHOCKED to read this - SHOCKED I tell you - the worst offense, the one truly unforgiveable thing, was a badly, sewn back flap on his suit jacket!

No wonder he hasn't won any Grammy's! No wonder he doesn't get radio play! Doesn't he know the key to success in the music industry is a well sewn back flap??????

Excellent synopsis! I was hoping someone would give us the Cliff Notes version so I wouldn't have to venture out....

[jumpingjacks]

Thanks for the welcomes. Big Hi to JJ who didn't tell me about the latest development. I am praying with all my heart that it works out for you my friend.

Sorry!! I think I'm still in shock!!

[laljeterfan]

I kept my promise to myself that I made yesterday and didn't go to any boards today that I knew would put me in a bad mood. It's amazing how much better your day can be when you don't subject yourself to the negativity!!!

Anybody want to play a little game? I just thought it would be fun to talk about some of our Clay Favorites

1. What is your favorite Clay recorded song?

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance?

3. What is your favorite Clay tour?

I saw this while I was at work and couldn't wait to get home to play!

1. Favorite recorded song

I'm a sucker for really romantic break-your-heart songs and really sad break-your-heart songs, so I have to go with "I Know How the River Feels" for the first, and "Lover All Alone" for the second.

2. Favorite live performance:

I'm going with only ones I was there for in person. They fall into two different categories: ones where there was definite, no doubt about it eye contact: (swoon inducing!!) Worcester- IT, Perfect Day; Syracuse- NAT, Run To Me; AC night 2-JBT, Great Balls of Fire; Long Island-JNT 06-Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas; Poughkeepsie-CITH, Jazzy medley (specifically, TMWTOTY). WHOA!!!

The other category is WOW moments: Wilkes Barre-IT, when we sang MOAM to Clay, AC night 1-JBT, Livin La Vida Loca- good lord, those hips and thighs were SMOKING!; Canandaigua-DCAT-Lover All Alone- the vids and audios don't do it justice- it was raining, and the sound of the absolute stillness of the crowd, Clay's beautiful voice with the orchestra, and the sound of the rain falling on the roof of the venue was MESMERIZING!

3. Favorite Tour:

JBT, without a doubt! We went to 5, and I wish we had gone to many, many more!

[KAndre]

What? Bookwhore, you can't picture me dancing around the smouldering corpses of my exes? I sang, too!

[underthespell]

Anybody want to play a little game? I just thought it would be fun to talk about some of our Clay Favorites

1. What is your favorite Clay recorded song?

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance?

3. What is your favorite Clay tour?

My Answers: .

1. This was hard, I'm going to say MGUCL

2. WDC from the IT and it wasn't because of the dancing for me, I just loved hearing him wail on that song

3. Jukebox tour

I'll play : :PickMe-1:

1- It's a tie MDYK and LAA - I love his voice in both, he just makes me melt.

2- MOAM in Orlando -Summer 2007- a masterpiece ! I still have goosebumps thinking about it . It was so unbelievable, everyone on their feet, quiet and in awe. An experience I will never foget !

3- It's a tie between the Jukebox Tour and the Summer Tour of 2007 !! The Elvis medley was so wonderful, I never thought I would see Clay on top of a piano, shaking his bootie to "Great balls of fire " !!

jumpingjacks, I went back to find out what your big news was. I am hoping it all goes well, it is such fantastic news ! :thbighug-1:

[jmh123]

This is hard, but I'm going to try to play by the rules:

1. What is your favorite Clay recorded song? MDYK (fingersnapping version)

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance? not really live, as in concert, but GMA MGUGL

3. What is your favorite Clay tour? It's always the most recent. I loved the JBT. It was entertaining and fun, but the CITH tour was an orchestral and vocal masterpiece. So, for now, the CITH tour.

[Bookwhore]

Anybody want to play a little game? I just thought it would be fun to talk about some of our Clay Favorites

1. What is your favorite Clay recorded song?

2. What is your favorite Clay live performance?

3. What is your favorite Clay tour?

Wow, this is hard. I don't think I can pick just one.

1. O Come O Come Emmanuel

I Know How the River Feels

2. a. his entrance with Kyrie during the IT tour. Looked like a prize fighter entering the ring

b. singing OCOCE in Kansas City the night after Jacob split. I was in Council Bluffs the night Jacob left, and by the next night he was singing it like that had been the original plan all along.

b. standing on the piano singing GBOF. I forgot which city...I blacked out afterwards

3. JBT - Loved the variety of music and had a lot of fun. Plus he looked majorly hott.

Disclaimer: The above are my favorites as of 4:16 pm on Dec. 27, 2008. I reserve the right to change my mind in about....oh, 2 minutes?

ETA: edited at 4:30 pm. See? I told you so.

[playbiller]

EEE video of Clay in Mexico - boy does he look like white out - he could get lost in a blizzard. MsMarmalade at CH put up a you send it, I moved it to my 4shared, so people can play it at work or download it. here

Oh my answers would simply be it is like having a favorite chiold, just can't do it. i like too much of it. now if you asked me what I didn't like, it would be a short list - Hmm, I wonder if that explains why people dwell on what they don't like?

[aikim]

Hi All,

I just love coming home and catching up here; nodding along, laughing and just lovin' Clay...that's what it is all about.

Favorite Recorded Song: I know How The River Feels...wish he would re-record it now...probably kill me dead!

Favorite Live Performance...Lincoln Center Solitaire

Favorite Tour...Definately JBT

Kim

[wandacleo]

Love that Mexico video.

He can spin me anytime.

[bottlecap]

EEE video of Clay in Mexico - boy does he look like white out - he could get lost in a blizzard. MsMarmalade at CH put up a you send it, I moved it to my 4shared, so people can play it at work or download it. here

A couple of screencaps from CV:

Still workin' that handshake line. Think a few "Thanks for coming"'s slipped out from habit?

If I'm not mistaken, that woman has her hands all over Clay's big pole. She best back off.... :thdom2: