#24: Somewhere out there Clay is looking cute and talking with an accent and practicing a dance.

[muskifest]

Oh kill me...just put me out of my orgasmic misery/bliss.

That auction video.

The man is just too hot. Too beautiful. Too handsome. Too gorgeous. Too smart and witty and quick. Oh.

Holyshit.

I'm toast.

"Any night you want..."

gah.

Say that to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!, Clay....

gah.

RIP, Muski.

ETA: This post brought to you by Happily Married Middle-aged Woman 'R Us

heh

[playbiller]

The new videos have made me act like a pig - instead of working - I am downloading and watching. eeee.

Random Hair theory - he is trying to make his hair look similar to the wig because tat way he does not have people wondering who he is on Broadway? or he is growingthis look now and he will change when it is time forthe show so he can be anonymous on the streets? Or most likely somethingelse.

As to the bitching about Timberlake, I admit I was one of the worst bitchers and frequently felt over the line. The guy is the antithesis of a gentleman to me. Pissed me off with his song about Britney and then when he let Janet Jackson carry all the blame. I really just see him as a coward and not anyone I would like as a person. I think I can liken him to the chicken hawks in governemtn and on the radio shooting their mouths off about supporting troops while arguing for less medical support - and who goes over to entertain in Iraq? None of them, that is for sure.

[bottlecap]

From Entertainment Weekly:

Another Idol label deal bites the dust. Hollywood Insider has learned that Katharine McPhee is the latest former contestant to part ways with her record company. Like season 2 winner Ruben Studdard and season 5 champ Taylor Hicks, who were signed to J and Arista Records, respectively, a rep for RCA Records confirms that McPhee is no longer on the label's roster, adding that, "Katharine is going to record her next album on her own." McPhee’s self-titled debut charted at a promising No. 2 in February 2007, but it never reached gold status. Sources close to McPhee complain the label didn’t support the album — but Idol Phatigue seems to have conquered McPheever. Still, she shouldn’t lose all hope: The singer, who is managed by Guy Oseary, makes her first feature-film appearance (opposite Anna Faris) in I Know What Boys Like later this year, and we hear she's already in talks with another label.

As for this recent spate of Idol exits (we double-checked, and deals for Clay Aiken and Fantasia are still intact), a rep for the RCA Music Group (which includes Arista, RCA, and J Records) tells Insider, “After six seasons, we are proud of the eight artists on the roster who started their careers on the show. With respect to Taylor, we have an understanding that he will come back to us to play music once he’s finished writing his new material.”

Bolding mine.

[skybar22]

Thanks to Bottlecap for bringing that EW blurb. I can't imagine RCA dropping Clay at this point. He has only just begun and hopefully his next CD will be what he envisions.

I often ask myself what it is that keeps me so obsessed with Clay and all I can do is let it be. He certainly has had a similar effect on thousands of us. I'm loving all the GFI videos. He is as gorgeous as I've ever seen him and he looks so happy.

[cindilu2]

Jeez is that the whole EW blurb? *checks for blue moon in sky* A whole two paragraphs without finding a way to slam Clay? How about that? *g*

I think RCA is glad to have Clay. I know nothing about nothing, but I'd have to guess that his return ratio is still pretty damn good for them. And I know couchie has said it many times, and I thoroughly agree - to 'wish' for Clay to be dropped, ever, by RCA or any other record company is just wrong. Whatever the reason would be, the stigma would always be there in this 'soundbite' world we live in. People do not care about reasons why - they only care about the headlines. Clay said it best, and I will always believe his actual words over any 'informed' speculation - fan or otherwise.

[playbiller]

Heh, I guess I was wrong about Katharine still remaining, maybe she will go to Foster's label and make others crazy.

I think it is a good thing not to be dropped. Clay seems to be happy at RCA. I do wonder if his comment "staying as long as they want him" was inspired by knowing that Ruben was leaving and the word is that Ruben knew he was leaving.

[gbmifan]

That auction video has go to be the most handsome he has ever looked. I have watch it numerous times, and he is adorable.

The pictures from this day are unbelievable, and his voice was gorgeous. I hope he keeps this look for awhile.

Sorry to here about Katherine. It looks like nobody is safe. I think Clay is happy right now and hope he gets to record what he wants. Even though many thought he did not get much promotion this time around, he was on our tv far more than many. When you are with a smaller label you just do not get that much. Look at Bo and Klo, when their CD's came out you sure did not see or hear much. Bo does not get radio even though Klo does

[JennaZ]

Thanks for the EW quote, bottlecap! I do find it reassuring.

And I know couchie has said it many times, and I thoroughly agree - to 'wish' for Clay to be dropped, ever, by RCA or any other record company is just wrong. Whatever the reason would be, the stigma would always be there in this 'soundbite' world we live in. People do not care about reasons why - they only care about the headlines. Clay said it best, and I will always believe his actual words over any 'informed' speculation - fan or otherwise.

WORD! The assumption that he would be better off if RCA dropped him seems dangerously speculative to me. I know there are artists who have suceeded after leaving their labels, but there are undoubtedly many more who don't.

I'm not shocked that Kat McPhee lost her contract. Aside from the less than spectacular sales, she never seemed to really penetrate the public consciousness after Idol, no matter how much support David Foster gave her. She's pretty and she has a decent voice, but that's not necessarily enough in a competitive marketplace. (BTW: I saw her mom at a sushi restaurant last night. No, I didn't talk to her.) It is interesting that Kat's people claim the label didn't support her album. Seems like every time I went on Yahoo!, I saw her picture prominently featured. But I'd bet that everyone who doesn't sell as much as they'd hope thinks their label didn't support them.

Aside from his phenomenal talent, I think that one crucial thing that Clay has going for him is the fact that even in his off-cycle, he is able to remain in the public consciousness, through things like 5th Grader, the skating show, Unicef, and now, Spamalot. We may not like every random slam or joke about Clay, but the fact that he is so often mentioned is a sign that people know who he is.

[jmh123]

And I know couchie has said it many times, and I thoroughly agree - to 'wish' for Clay to be dropped, ever, by RCA or any other record company is just wrong. Whatever the reason would be, the stigma would always be there in this 'soundbite' world we live in. People do not care about reasons why - they only care about the headlines. Clay said it best, and I will always believe his actual words over any 'informed' speculation - fan or otherwise.

I agree. I saw the news about Taylor Hicks being dropped on the CNN crawl this morning. That can't be good publicity for him.

The idea that it might be bad for Clay in the short run to be dropped, but good for him in the long run (and that RCA was "devaluing him prior to dropping him) was introduced by some people who coincidentally arrived at all the same conclusions as fake Clay's minions have been touting, but of course never believed a word of any fake insider talk.

[playbiller]

FYI off topic, Jessica Sierra is about to be on Tyra to talk about Celebrity rehab. I am bad, but I am going to watch.

ETA - Agreed Jennez

Ah, JMH, you are singing my song about how people are ready to blame all sorts of bad things on the "insiders". I don't think they realize how deep this insider information went and how many of their own friends, if not themselves, were fooled.

[wandacleo]

Here I sit reading when I should be packing and cleaning my house before the animal sitter arrives. I'm off to St. Louis in the morning to see my daughter and grandsons.

I don't believe Clay has ever looked better than he does right now. He just keeps getting more handsome. Just imagine what he'll look like in 5 years!!!

[bottlecap]

Jeez is that the whole EW blurb? *checks for blue moon in sky* A whole two paragraphs without finding a way to slam Clay? How about that? *g*

Hee. It helps that the EW Chief Clay Hater Michael Slezak didn't write the blurb.

I wouldn't consider the article about the status of Clay's deal to be definitive, but it's reassuring to me that he seems to be okay for the time being. It's a wildly changing music world out there, and I prefer that Clay have a bit of a safe harbor that I think a major label can provide. Let somebody else be the trail blazer for the new means to do music distribution.

[skybar22]

I know you all have probably discussed RCA stuff before but let me add my 2 cents. I have no insider info and never really cared to hear those who claimed they did. And as JJ knows too well, we tried to talk Huskerfalcon off her edge. Can we name some names here? Well, I did so if not, sorry. But, I don't understand why RCA didn't take care of business with ATDW and I have no love for Clive. I have read many books about the business and he doesn't have a nice guy rep so RCA is not on my list of Clay loving entities. Having said that, I agree that Clay staying with RCA for now is what is probably best for him and I think he knows that all too well based on his comments. I trust Clay to know what is best for him and I trust he is smarter than me about the music business. Besides, he does have those high powered attorneys who DO their jobs well.

[Clayzorback]

And I know couchie has said it many times, and I thoroughly agree - to 'wish' for Clay to be dropped, ever, by RCA or any other record company is just wrong. Whatever the reason would be, the stigma would always be there in this 'soundbite' world we live in. People do not care about reasons why - they only care about the headlines. Clay said it best, and I will always believe his actual words over any 'informed' speculation - fan or otherwise.

I agree. I saw the news about Taylor Hicks being dropped on the CNN crawl this morning. That can't be good publicity for him.

The idea that it might be bad for Clay in the short run to be dropped, but good for him in the long run (and that RCA was "devaluing him prior to dropping him) was introduced by some people who coincidentally arrived at all the same conclusions as fake Clay's minions have been touting, but of course never believed a word of any fake insider talk.

Bwaaahaaa...........Yep. They were going to devalue him so that no other label would want him. So Clay's deal with RCA is still on and good. Imagine that.

Close call YSRN..............Your home looks very lovely and fits your personality, I think.

Do we have any totals for the GFI charity event yet?

ETA: I just went over to BAF site and didn't see anything up yet about how much they raised. However, I did see that the Beta Alpha donations, for FCA, had gone up. $1,033.70 for FCA-Making a Difference

[laughn]

But, I don't understand why RCA didn't take care of business with ATDW

...but who says they didn't? FakeClay and Co.? Just because things were done that didn't suit all the fans doesn't mean that RCA dropped the ball or that things were done in a way that made Clay unhappy. For all we know Clay didn't want a lot of promotion for this album, but would rather save the $...or not...or some other scenario we could not even imagine.

I see Clay as one smart business man also, and I think he has some good people working for him. I'll feel pretty content with RCA as long as I see Clay acting the same.

(eta...sorry. that 'weren't' should have been a 'were')

[liney23]

YSRN... whew... someone what watching out for you, that's for sure. It always hurts my heart to see a tree go down, but at least you didn't go down with it! LOL

The first time I saw Clay was the final 2 night. They showed his make-over and I couldn't believe my eyes. The voice was fantastic, but, man, the difference between the audition and BeeGee night (I think that was the night he wore the black suit/black shirt/blue tie). I couldn't pick my jaw off the ground. I eagerly watched the next night and was sooo mad he lost. I erased that whole show, but kept the final 2 night.

A few months later I got laid off. I hadn't discovered the boards yet, so the video was all I had. There was something about him that lifted my spirits and gave me hope. I watched over and over and over until I knew how many I needed to count while fast forwarding to get from one Clay segment to the next... It's a wonder the tape survived.

Once I discovered the message boards, I was a goner as I learned more and more about him and it all made me love him more. He brings me joy and why in the world would I want to give that up for housework?

I, too, hope he keeps his hair like this for a while... It is gorgeous and makes him thudorgeous!

[Bookwhore]

..... I would fall asleep at night with his voice in my ears, when I gardened, he was with me, when I woke in the morning his voice was singing in my heart. He got me through a rough patch.

What a beautiful way to sum it up! :F_05BL17blowkiss: I think you've just described how most of us feel about Clay. Many of us have had incredibly rough patches in the last few years that Clay has helped us through. He's truly a phenomenal man.

It looks....what's the word.... lush.

??? Really? And all this time I thought it was spelled L.U.S.T.

Back to catch up a little more...

Ok, I''m back.

I'm downloading the newest files here at work, we have a T-1 connection and it's sooo much faster. And I'm d/ling directly to my flash drive, not to the computer. I do wish it would go a little faster, though. I leave in 15 minutes.

Can someone direct me to the link for the Spamalot video? How large is the file? Will I have to stay up all night?

Muski, I don't think I've ever told you, but whenever I see your screen name, for some reason I read it as "Smutskifest". I have no idea why....

[muskifest]

I now have a cap from that auction video as my work computer desktop.

idiot that I am...

I mean...how the HELL am I supposed to give a flying *(%$^ about a freakin' spreadsheet when I keep seeing hi....

Did I just type "spread" sheet?

heh.

[laughn]

Did I just type "spread" sheet?

muski, you are nothing else if not a woman with a clear sense of purpose...and thankfully so! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[skybar22]

But, I don't understand why RCA didn't take care of business with ATDW

...but who says they didn't? FakeClay and Co.? Just because things were done that didn't suit all the fans doesn't mean that RCA dropped the ball or that things weren't done in a way that made Clay unhappy. For all we know Clay didn't want a lot of promotion for this album, but would rather save the $...or not...or some other scenario we could not even imagine.

I see Clay as one smart business man also, and I think he has some good people working for him. I'll feel pretty content with RCA as long as I see Clay acting the same.

I think we will have to agree to disagree on this. Like I said, I don't pay attention to Fakers or "insiders" but I do pay attention to my own awareness and IMO, and it is just an opinion, RCA did not do what they could for their multi-platinum selling artist. They gave very average promotion. I know people who were fans of his who had no clue he had a new CD out and they were surprised at the lack of promo he got because he was so successful and they considered him a major star. I've bolded the word acting because I think Clay is very good at diplomacy and he did make some statements about RCA much later which made me go hmmmm. Let's hope he gets what he wants and deserves for his next CD, whatever that may be. For now, he looks very happy and content. I have no complaints.

[jamar1700]

DAMN!!! I'm traveling home the morning of the 22nd. Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! [/selfish moment].

I'll be selfish with you. I have the day before off *pouts*

I often ask myself what it is that keeps me so obsessed with Clay and all I can do is let it be.

Yep.

- to 'wish' for Clay to be dropped, ever, by RCA or any other record company is just wrong. Whatever the reason would be, the stigma would always be there in this 'soundbite' world we live in. People do not care about reasons why - they only care about the headlines. Clay said it best, and I will always believe his actual words over any 'informed' speculation - fan or otherwise.

Amen.

Off to download all the new things to download.

[aikim]

I think we can all agree that the promotion for ATDW was not what we all expected for a talent of Clay's caliber; what we don't know is why and I think that is where the discussions often veer off into the Twilight Zone for me...consipiracy theories; Clive is the devil in disguise; RCA was punishing Clay...it goes on and on...but whose to say that Clay wasn't in agreement with the promotion or given the hellish year that 2006 and considering how thin Clay was on Kimmel; that maybe healthwise he wasn't up to a big promotion campaign...he began taking Paxil for his panic attacks...he was very ill earlier that year Europe and we really don't know how long it took him to recover from that. Way too many unknowns, but honestly; for me, that particular horse has been long dead and I am so ready to move on to Spamelot and beyond.

Kim

[Cotton]

I don't know if you will be interested, but I made a few screencaps.

They aren't good enlarged, but they are fine for avi's.

He's one HAWT MAN when he's selling himself!!!

[Cotton]

The rest of the batch.

These are in my photobucket so I'll leave them up for a few days then prob. delete them!

[laljeterfan]

OMG. I just watched Katy's WAMLAW video clip. You know, something floods through me at the sound of that first note coming out of his mouth. Seems unexpected and he's so EASY in the delivery...yet the SOUND is so...

visceral

penetrating

rich and full

soulful

....that it just....floods, fills...it makes me need to....

crap....it just DOES something to me....

and then the clip is so maddeningly, cruelly short that I'm left breathless and wanting....

gah....that VOICE!

Oh kill me...just put me out of my orgasmic misery/bliss.

That auction video.

The man is just too hot. Too beautiful. Too handsome. Too gorgeous. Too smart and witty and quick. Oh.

Holyshit.

I'm toast.

"Any night you want..."

gah.

Say that to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!, Clay....

gah.

RIP, Muski.

ETA: This post brought to you by Happily Married Middle-aged Woman 'R Us

heh

Muski-

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I'm getting the feeling that you kind of like this guy?