#31: The Very Handsome Sir Clay of Aiken

[KAndre]

Oddly enough, I took my temperature and simply couldn't drag myself to work this morning (do not even bother to ask what the thermometer registered...I'm sure you want to keep some delusions about moi...HA)

What can I say - predictability is one of my many charms! Yeah, yeah, I've heard of "understated/tasteful" (though I think it's definitely in the eye of the beholder) once you start adding stuff to your face, you've left natural behind. Lips of that color or shininess (no matter how pale or dark as the case may be) - a painted on line following the row of lashes - something red or pink or brown applied to the cheekbones - is fake, period. What looks "understated" now will look odd in 20 years. I've heard those say, I wanna look like I didn't put anything on - well, no matter how subtle, you do.

As for acronyms or short names, the initials are starting to kill me - I can remember the old ones but have no brain cells left for new one - me, I'll look for unique words in the title:

OMWH (this is OK 'cause I've already learned it)

Ashes

Don't

Something

Falling

Draw the Line

Real Me

Weight

Long

Sacrificial

Grace

Forget

The muppet one

[cha cha trusty]

I think they had him sing "Invisible" to remind people that "THIS IS CLAY AIKEN, REMEMBER HIM????"

OK, I think I will go back to bed now............ :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[playbiller]

I love calling one the muppet one, I always loved the muppets and Jim Hensen. I got my first TV as an adult because I wanted to watch the muppet show.. Such sweet memories.

[Ansamcw]

Well, that should sell a lot of albums - only not.

Brief "interview". A few moments with a 5 years old song and a very clipped version of his "hit" single, OMWH off his new album "On My Way" (which Robin called it TWICE!).

What a waste.

Make them get up at the crack of dawn and then that???? Has he ever had that little time on GMA?? GMA supposedly LOVES him!

DO.NOT.GET.IT!!!

Now I have to go to work. Bummer.

Sorry but no promo is a waste. Its better to have this than nothing at all. I do think they love him...I still think TC were a bit late in putting this promo together and TV shows usually have their shows planned in advance...Maybe it took a lot of pull to actually get him on this morning...who knows.

the one unfortunate thing was that Diane had laryngitis and they were not able to talk much...

To elaborate on my feeling that this promo planning was rushed...Clay said himself that they just finished the recording and post production of this CD. I don;t think this is the usual pattern when putting together a project like this. Usually the recording is done ahead of time then lots of post production time...and lots of time to put together the promo. This time Clay was doing all this while doing spamalot. I bet RCA was not sure he could do it until lately...therefore it was tough to plan promo until they were certain clay could finish the product in time. I say they put a lot of faith in him this time around.

This first promo may seem rushed...but he has all the time in the world after his vacation to do more promo...and to visit GMA again if they need to. They need to keep selling this product. I don;t think they will go to the next project riht away the way they did with ATDW.

[atinal]

Yeah, I'm having a little trouble with the acronyms so far. Someone will post one and I'll think, what the heck is that song.

GMA, well promo is what it is. Regarding Robyn getting the name wrong, she was close and at least they showed the album cover so I don't think that hurt. They do seem to cram so much into these shows, most of it is crap as far as I'm concerned so I rarely watch them. I guess if I look at it this way, there are a lot of artists out there who would kill to get any time on GMA it keeps it more in perspective to me. For someone whose 15 minutes was supposed to be over 4 years ago Clay is still able to get bookings on these shows.

[bottlecap]

Thanks for the screen caps, cha cha. If any pics of Q & A show up, I'd love to see the new hairstyles.

Hopefully, ABC.com will post some video online so a few more people can see it.

[muskifest]

Sooooo....shall I assume that today was a good day to go back to the office?

[luckiest1]

There are reports that he sang Ashes in studio, so hopefully we'll end up with clack of that, some way or other. And I'm in the camp that any promo is good promo, and not everyone gets a shot on GMA. Wish it was a longer bit, but I'll take it. Looking forward to watching it later tonight.

[claytonic]

It is really important they capitalize on the Spamalot momentum and get the word out while Clay's name is still the buzz. While Clay deserves his break asap, I don't see how he will get it while there's a brand new album to promote. (All the songs have now been put up on YouTube)

GMA starts at 4am my time i.e. Thursday 8th May. They will run what you guys have just seen, so I will have to set the alarm to wake up for that unless someone uploads it to YouTube in the meantime. I guess it will be at Clack Unlimited if I don't wake up for it.

ChaCha, thanks for those screencaps, at least I can see EXACTLY what time he will be on as the clock shows on the TV screen.

[luckiest1]

From PodSoda at CH:

He did ashes! DAYUM,he he REALLY did ashes! EEEEEEEEEEEEE!

No standby's got in. (Sad face).

Some nice expressions on clack, he igned autographs for the kids.

We r all sooooooo tired an worn out but soooooooo happy!

Ttyl

P. S. A shes kicks some serious assm must have video and single.

[playbiller]

Clay looked good, happy, but tired. I can see him get ready to mentally sleep for a week. I was kind of surprised to hear him say he was still sore, guess he never got used to all that aroebics every night. I used to get tired watching him and wondered how some of the heavier dancers managed to get by without panting a lot. When close, I did notice that the run away scene was not pretned tired, everyone seemed really exhausted (except the King who just kind of trotted). Good thing they had intermission to rest up. What an exhausting show!

Whee Mike and Juliet have a sheltie on - a connection - I had a sheltie as a child.

[cindilu2]

Any chance of fan-clack of the off-air performance? Seems to me we got that once before (Perfect Day?)

[footloose]

we probably should just distribute Ashes clacks to NJUs. I have a feeling RCA is going to leave it up to fans to promote this great CD.

sorry guys...I haven't been here for a while and now I only have one pissy post. But i'm really disappointed at the TV promos. I didn't care about ATDW sales but I want this album to get what it deserves.

[luckiest1]

I read somewhere that a well known clack gatherer got into the studios, so I'm hoping.....

[merrieeee]

A little Clay is better than no Clay and I still have one fabulous album to listen to!!

[atinal]

I was walking away from the TV at the time, but I thought Diane said something about abc.com and got the impression they might post more online, but I'm not really sure of it since her voice wasn't really projecting very well today.

[ldyjocelyn]

Yeah, I'm having a little trouble with the acronyms so far. Someone will post one and I'll think, what the heck is that song.

But that's what makes it FUN for me -- it's a puzzle! And it keeps my brain sharp!

OK, I'll shut up now....

For claytonic:

IIEOOU -- It's In Every One Of Us (iTunes bonus track, now forever known as "the Muppet one")

FIEKY -- Forget I Ever Knew You (WalMart bonus track)

GMA, well promo is what it is. Regarding Robyn getting the name wrong, she was close and at least they showed the album cover so I don't think that hurt. They do seem to cram so much into these shows, most of it is crap as far as I'm concerned so I rarely watch them. I guess if I look at it this way, there are a lot of artists out there who would kill to get any time on GMA it keeps it more in perspective to me. For someone whose 15 minutes was supposed to be over 4 years ago Clay is still able to get bookings on these shows.

Bingo! Perspective is a pretty good thing.

Man, I'm feeling some worry about Clay around the fandom. Once again, IMO, if he doesn't get certain things, he's just going to "go away." I simply can't do that. I think Clay (and his team, for that matter) have a good handle on his career, and he will be fine.

OK, gotta run. Work calls. Sorry I missed the sociological discussion last night.

[luckiest1]

From donnamom at CH who was watching the later ABCNN broadcast:

Nice interview - some Spamalot footage -

"Ashes" rocks! Wish it had been shown earlier. I'm sure it will be on the web site.

Did/can anyone cap? I have it on DVR but have a doctor's appointment this morning.

[KAndre]

Me, I loved the performance - I liked the periodic cutaways to the Grand Canyon - it made the song seem sort of iconic to me. He sounded pretty, looked good (even with the blond thing), they emphasized he was a multi-million seller, no whining about ATDW, and just worked off the assumption that this was his latest hit, and got in a plug for Mother's Day. Works for me. They aren't pushing Ashes right now - they're pushing OMWH (which I think not coincidentally is the name of the CD) which I think is appropriate for this stage in promotion.

[playbiller]

we probably should just distribute Ashes clacks to NJUs. I have a feeling RCA is going to leave it up to fans to promote this great CD.

Follow another artist, you might be amazed at how little time people get, unless they are a bonofide hit already.

We followed other artists fora while to see what people said about them and found that Clay was not treated tghe worst, maybe it is time to follow others to see the promotion they get.

I will say tghat I followed Johy Mayer, and since that time, I hear he is the selected "douche" for TMZ - they keep trying for embarassing video of him.

[Couch Tomato]

Any chance of fan-clack of the off-air performance? Seems to me we got that once before (Perfect Day?)

I bet they put it up on the website.

Clay has a bunch of appearances coming up - so I'll look at the whole of it after a couple of weeks. As long as he showed his pretty face, sang a song, and they showed the album it only helps. And ON MY WAY ... well anybody that's interested will find the album. I'll take this over three days of tabloid issues he got last time. Ithink the fans give themselves too much credit if they think they'll do a better job of promoting the CD than RCA. It's too early to move to the dark side already. Clay's book on a lot of shows that not anyone can get, whether it's what WE want it to be or not.

hee Or what Kandre said..should have just waited.

So was all the satellite clack froim different cities audio or video.

[atinal]

I will say tghat I followed Johy Mayer, and since that time, I hear he is the selected "douche" for TMZ - they keep trying for embarassing video of him.

Well, for me all they would have to do is show video of him singing, talk about someone who can make some bad faces when they sing

[annabear]

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend's wife, CG. That certainly does put life in persepctive.

Being on ignore isn't so bad. I've been on it for weeks, now, it appears.

Hey! *Someone* read enough of your posts to get you a KMart CD and (hopefully) poster! I didn't even know we had the ignore function on this board. The only place I use it is on the OFC, everywhere else I just scroll & roll my eyes, which should be classified as aerobic exercises when used as much as they are in this fandom......

I love calling one the muppet one, I always loved the muppets and Jim Hensen. I got my first TV as an adult because I wanted to watch the muppet show.. Such sweet memories.

This made me smile, Play. I also loved the Muppets.

I taped GMA, but my mom called to tell me that it seemed very rushed. Thanks for the caps, cha cha! He looked very yummy at the CD signing yesterday.

I'm really, truly loving this whole album! I got a teaser of the WalMart bonus song last night at our CD release party. Mine still hasn't shown up - this Pony Express shipping crap is for the birds!! I still need to listen to it more (such a hardship) before putting any kind of order to the songs, but there is something about "Where I Draw the Line" that keeps tugging on my heart. And "Sacrificial Love". And "Something About Us". That's it. For now.

[luckiest1]

Clay singing "On My Way Here" on GMA

Heh, I watched. Boss is out for the day, so wth. Not nearly as short as I thought it was going to be, and I love that he did the verses he did. My favourites. He looked and sounded great, and it was so nice to see the girls back with him again!

[Ansamcw]

Any chance of fan-clack of the off-air performance? Seems to me we got that once before (Perfect Day?)

I bet they put it up on the website.

Clay has a bunch of appearances coming up - so I'll look at the whole of it after a couple of weeks. As long as he showed his pretty face, sang a song, and they showed the album it only helps. And ON MY WAY ... well anybody that's interested will find the album. I'll take this over three days of tabloid issues he got last time. Ithink the fans give themselves too much credit if they think they'll do a better job of promoting the CD than RCA. It's too early to move to the dark side already. Clay's book on a lot of shows that not anyone can get, whether it's what WE want it to be or not.

hee Or what Kandre said..should have just waited.

So was all the satellite clack froim different cities audio or video.

I was just going to make this point...give me 5 minutes of music promo over 3 days of tabloid discussion.

Right now...Clay is treated like any other musician guests by these shows...a bit of interview...sing a song then buh bye!!!

I am pretty confident that there will be other singles from this CD. Clay said the label thinks there are radio friendly songs here...so I think he will probably bring out another single...probably in the fall after his vacation and UNICEF trip.

I do understand the angst...as a fandom we had a pretty rough time with ATDW release and I think a lot of people are still sensitive from that time. But at this point I am focusing on the music and will take this one day at a time. He had 5 minutes national coverage for a very popular morning show, he had continued coverage on their News Network...then he will have a video up on their site. That is pretty cool IMO. yesterday he was on a lot of local news programs selling the CD...he got to sell on QVC...he has several promos on different retail outlets ...I say he is very much ahead than most artists today.