It's official: Clay is sexy

From an Independent Tour review:

Remember that goofball version of Mr. Aiken from Idol – the one who sang
"Grease" wearing a red-leather jacket while displaying an appalling lack of
rhythm? He's gone, replaced by an ultra-confident, laid-back, rhythmically
competent, bedroom-eyed hunk. It's official: Clay is sexy.

~~Darla Atlas for the Dallas Morning News, March 19, 2004


It wasn't really news to his fans, but it was great that someone else was seeing what his female fans had been seeing since the shirt tugs while performing "Invisible" on the AI2 Tour. It was validation of a sort.

Speaking of those shirt tugs. It was blast watching Clay make the women go wild. He just couldn't believe it. The first tug came in the heat of moment, totally spontaneous. You could see the "what the heck just happened" look on his face. He loved it enough to keep trying it out. Now it is part of the "Invisible" routine, and female fans still dutifully shriek during the tug. Clay's awe is gone from the tug performance, but you can tell he still gets a kick out of it.

The Man is lethal in concert. A full-fledged sex-appeal, pheromones-flying kind of sensuality is in full-force when Clay Aiken sings for a room full of admiring females. Prowling the stage, his piercing laserbeam green orbs scanning his audience making eye contact with a lucky lady, it's a primal experience. He has reduced the most intelligent, educated, sophisticated woman into a quivering, squealing fangirl.

Enough chatter. A picture paints a thousand words.




Need a cigarette yet? Not a smoker. For your viewing pleasure here is something to guarantee a nicotine craving. The extremely talented Montage-Maker Rcknrllmom of Clayversity has produced a masterpiece.


Montage by rcknrllmom, music--> "Sexuality" by K.D.Lang


That's all for now. I need to run out for a pack of ciggies. :)

Additional Blogs to check out:

Yummy!
Clay Aiken on the Brain
Crop Circles, Clay Aiken, and Evolution


Technorati Tags:
Clay Aiken
Aiken
concerts
Invisible
AI2 Tour
Darla Atlas

Transformation--It's Not Just the Hair!

Hair doesn't really make the man, but from all the talk in the media about Clay's look you would he was a model not a singer. The consensus seems to be that he is a great singer. No need to discuss that anymore, at least not until the new CD is released. This is why Clay appearing on AI at this time was brilliant. Focus on his new look, and get all the attention to that out of the way before the promotion for the new CD, whenever that may be starts. Let the focus of the promotion be the CD not "the look", Not that I don't expect it to be mentioned , but the shock of will have worn off. Clay's hair style certainly has changed, but is much more than that. Hair is the tangible change, but only a small part of what is different. A poster at the Clackhouse said it perfectly:

It really isn't "just the hair", IMO, that is making people sit up and take
notice. The hair is a gimmick people can remember and talk about as a
conversation starter, but in my opinion, it is Clay's confidence, his matured
good looks, his swagger and smile that are "new" to people who really did
remember AI2 Clay as someone resembling Michael Sandecki. The Clay Aiken who
strolled onto the stage last night was shockingly confident and not at all
"geeky". He was always handsome, but those who dismissed him because of his
self-deprecating demeanor may never have looked at him all that closely before.
They see the hair, a far cry from the spiky do of memory...and then take a
closer look at the whole package...maybe for the first time. And then he sings
and they are caught off-guard with their resistance down. They trip over their
own expectations of him and fall right into that voice. But when ASKED what they
noticed, they will search their minds to get a handle on "why" and come up with
"the hair". They might not even realize that the hair was just some interesting,
shiny bait...the real danger lurks in that face, in those eyes, in that
smile...and of course, in that voice. Resistance is futile. ~~00lsee at the Clackhouse

There is no doubt that Clay Aiken's look has evolved in the three years since he first came to our attention in the Atlanta AI2 auditions. He's gone from a slight geeky, but still cute college boy to a mature self-confident man. Everyone was able to see the transformation at the AI5 Finale where he commanded that stage with grace and assurance. Not only has Clay matured physically, but now carries himself with a self-confidence that was missing in his AI days. The media has fixated on the hair as the big change because that is a tangible change. The bigger change is Clay's demeanor. He has faced my challenges, worked hard, and expanded his view of the world in the last three years. He is now a Star-- with all the confidence of one.

A lovely illustration of the transformation comes in a montage by the talented Clay Aiken fan and Clayversity poster, Aspiegirl. Enjoy!




"What a Feeling" Montage by Aspiegirl


Blogs to check out:

• Clay Aiken Hangover!


• Hair & There: A Look At The British Invasion

Related Tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol

The New Look: Clay McCartney

Clay has a new look

and a new job.

Clay unveiled a new look last AI5 last night. It's young, hip, smoking hot, and totally unexpected.

The local reporter for the FOX station in Houston is reporting live from the
Kodak. She summarized the evening with this quote:Hands-down the favorite
reaction from the 33 media crews watching the live show.......Clay Aiken! You
gotta love it! ~~Posted by TXwriter at Clayversity

Reaction on the message boards has been overwhelmingly favorable with many casual fans or non-fans remarking on how much they like the new look.

Other blogs on the new look:

Reactions to Clay

Oh What A Night

Clay Aiken...Making an Entrance

That's Clay Aiken???

The AI5 Finale... And the Return of Clay Aiken

American Idol Surprises!

Related Tags: Clay Aiken, Beatles, Paul McCartney, AI5, American Idol

Still A Star

"it's been almost 5 freakin' months since we've seen
him!! And that's about 4 months too long"

-- A Clay Aiken
fan
from The Clackhouse

Rumours are flying.



It was announced that Clay Aiken will be making an appearance on the AI Finale Show by both ET Online and The Insider. It's been quite a while since Mr. Aiken graced our TV screens, so there was some excitement over this appearance. Whether he will be there are or not is unknown, but the thought of the possibility brings back fond memories of his AI3 Solitaire performance where he looked gorgeous and sounded fabulous.



Singing "Solitaire"

Who can forget the 19 bondage-breaking Fantasy. Earlier, Clay had severed contractual ties with 19M reportedly due to conflict of interest. Clay had signed onto a new management company, The Firm, with Simon Renshaw as his manager. He sang the words:

Its your day, shining day, all your dreams come true

As you glide, in
your stride with the wind, as you fly away
Give a smile, from your lips, and
say

I am free,
yes I'm free, now I'm on my way

Singing "Fantasy"

Truer lyrics were never sung. Clay was on his way with some measure of control over his own career which 19M did not afford him.

So after a year's absence, there is a possibility Clay will again be on the that stage.* He might only be making a non-singing appearance, but that appearance would be seen by more than 30 million people. The American Idol stage might not be where I would want to see him, but realistically the show is a huge pop culture phenomenon. Clay is tied to it for the duration of its existence, so if there is some kind of symbiotic relationship, so be it. Clay hopefully can benefit.

Even if the information that Clay was going to appear on American Idol turns out to be no better than a rumor, it still proved Clay Aiken's star has not dimmed. Entertainment outlets from ET, The Insider, E!, radio stations, newspapers, etc were reporting an appearance by the Season 2 runner-up while virtually ignoring the confirmed appearances of Carrie Underwood and Daniel Powter.


*Latest rumor:

Caught Bill and Sherri's show on the way to work this morning (WRAL FM), and
they mentioned it again - twice. They said they had received a ton of calls and
that it was confirmed again to them that Clay would be performing. They went on
to say that they don't know why there was all kinds of confusion, but that the
information they are getting now is that he will be there, and that he will
perform. They went on to say that with all the hoopla about what will and won't
happen, everyone will just have to tune in to see the finale and find out who
and what actually happens. It was all positive, including their mention about
all the calls they had received.

Posted at The Clack House

"Solitaire"



"Fantasy"

Related Tags: Clay Aiken, Solitarie, Fantasy, AI3, AI5, American Idol

Above The Fray

There was a man,
a wonderful man - a man who had been bullied his whole life
and still made lemonade out of lemons.

A man who wore his heart on his sleeve,
who always said "what you see is what you get"
a man who became a sensation overnight and suddenly became the target once
again for the bullies.

This wonderful man just kept on going - trying to help those less
fortunate, working hard on his craft
and gave his fans more than they ever imagined.
He gave it all with warmth and humor and talent.
This made the man an even bigger target of the people with hate in their
hearts and jealousy in their blood.
I pray that his man can continue to stand tall and know he will win - we
will be
be here by his side
and give him the love he so deserves.

~~Posted Board by a Clay Aiken fan on the Clayversity Message Board

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's a sad world that you can assess the level of celebrity by making it into the sleazy rags. People want to read about you if you are famous. If there were no buzz around you, the tabs would not sell papers on your name. There is no such thing as journalistic integrity in the tabs, we all know that. They take rumors and gossip started on the internet by anyone with an agenda and call it fact. Gossip columns in legitimate papers pick it up, give it a patina of truth which gives even more legitimate outlets a way to report it. No one really gets their hands dirty. The tabs have their sources even if it is lies, Page Six picks up the stories that are "sourced" by the tabs, legitimate outlets start talking about like it is fact since it was in the Holy Grail of Gossip, Page Six, and so it goes. No one seems to care that there are real people being lied about. Lies that can verge on character assassination. Lies that can damage reputations. Lies told about people who have done nothing other than to be famous. It's really sickening.

Clay Aiken has been the object of tabloid rumor-mongering. He has chosen to remain silent for the time being. Answering every lie told about you is not an answer. Clay Aiken is a man of honor and class. He is a man who walks a path and will not be swayed.

His time will come.

Related Tags: Clay Aiken,, Tabloids,, Integrity

The Ode to the Orange Shirt

Blend by AmazingCA

No one can say that Clay is boring when it comes to his fashion choices. There has been as much debate about his clothes as about his music. He seems to favor untucked button downs with a tie for performing outfits. My favorite was the orange shirt he wore in the Jute Box Tour the summer of 2005. It was a sizzling hot orange that made you feel warmer just looking at it. It could have been the man inside because he's pretty dang hawt himself. So this blog is devoted to the Orange Shirt of Complete Hawtness.

Taking a Moment

A special thank you to all the fantastic ClayNation photographers.

Related Tags: Clay Aiken, Jute Box Tour, Orange

WOW Moments

AI5 is almost over this season and there has been a decidedly lack of WOW moments...the performances that cause a buzz outside the fandoms. Clay wowed his overgrowing fandom week after week, but the buzz spilled out to the general public through media and watercooler talk. Who can forget the sassy uptempo "Build Me Up Buttercup", the cute and sexy "Tell Her About It", the haunting "Solitaire" with the soaring glory note, the sexy "To Love Somebody" or the stunning, take no prisoners, knock that note out of the ballfield "Bridge Over Troubled Water.


Bridge Over Trouble Water


To love Somebody


Build Me Up Buttercup


Tell Her About It

You can view the Solitaire video in the May 17th blog entry.


Related Tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol

There Was A Man

The defining moment of my fandom came during Neil Sedaka Night on American Idol 2 when Clay sang "Solitaire".

There was a man, a lonely man
Who lost his love, through his indifference
A heart that cared that went unshared
Until it died within his silence

And solitaire’s the only game in town
And every road that takes him, takes him down

And by himself it’s easy to pretend
He’ll never love again

And keeping to himself he plays the game
Without her love it always ends the same
While life goes on around him everywhere
He’s playing solitaire

Another day, a lonely day
So much to say that goes unspoken
And through the night, his sleepless nights
His eyes are closed, his heart is broken

And solitaire’s the only game in town
And every road that takes him, takes him down
And by himself it’s easy to pretend
She’s coming back again

And keeping to himself he plays the game
Without her love it always ends the same

While life goes on around him everywhere
He’s playing solitaire

Watch Clay's AI performance:



There was a man....a man that sang his heart out week after week, but who we never knew if he would make it until the end. The judge's seemed to have other ideas as to who should win the competition. The defining moment came when I knew no matter what happened Clay would be okay, that he would have a career, and when I knew that I would hear him sing beyond American Idol. At the end of Neil Sedaka night, Neil said he "lost my song forever to you, it will always be a Clay Aiken song" and said he would kill to produce one of Clay's CD's. Clay had set himself apart from his competitors. His true talent shone like a beacon on a lighthouse,(well that might of been the Son of God lighting he had that night, but nonetheless his talent could not be denied. Yeah, the man with the vox of gold was not going anyplace. All would be well with the world.

"Solitaire" was a WOW moment in AI history. One of those performances that was head and shoulders above performances that came before or after it. Clay had many excellent performances and more than one WOW, but Solitaire was sung with a heartfelt passion that came from somewhere deep inside.

It wasn't until Learning to Sing, Clay's inspirational memoir was published that we learned that emotion came from memories of his birth father.

"My memories of Vernon are few and fragmented. The most
vivid image I have of my birth father is of him sitting in his easy chair in his living room. It was a long, narrow room, with couches on two sides and a television at the end. Every time I'd visit, I'd lie on one couch, while Grandma Grissom, his mom, would sit on the other couch an crochet and he would sit in that La-Z-Boy recliner and play solitaire on a big piece of plywood. He rarely said anything. He just sat in the chair and played solitaire.

I would be lying if I didn't admit that when I sing this
song, I think about him."

Another day
A lonely day
So much to say that goes unspoken.
And through the night
His sleepless nights
His eyes are closed
His heart is broken.

Related Tags: Clay Aiken, Learning to Sing, American Idol, Solitaire

He Had Us At Take

There is a saying in the Clay Aiken fandom or ClayNation as it is sometimes called, "He had me at take". It refers to the first time we heard Clay sing at the Atlanta audition. Clay opened his mouth and glorious golden notes fell from his throat singing "Always and Forever".

Take time to tell me you really care
And we'll share tomorrow together
Ooh baby, I'll always love you forever

The saying "He had me at take" is not literal for most of us, even though I am sure it might be true for some. Instead, it really illustrates how special this very un-idol-looking guy sounded. It was a sit-up and take notice audition. He was someone we watched for during the rest of the audition process hoping he would make it through. While we heard his glorious voice in that audition episode, we were unaware at that point at Clay's potential, and what a big impact he would have on our lives.

Disclaimer: The Clay Aiken fandom is very large and very diverse. There really is no such thing as "we" or "us". The only thing for certain is that there is no agreement on anything except that we are fans of Clay Aiken.

Technorati tags:
Clay Aiken
Atlanta Audition
American Idol

The Start of the Journey

Clay started his American Idol journey on 10-26-02 in Charlotte NC. He was cute in dorky college boy kind of way. His fashions sense is a precursor for things to come. Heh.
He auditioned for radio station 107.9 for the chance to audition in Atlanta in front of Randy, Paula and Simon without being vetted by the Producers. Clay sang" Somewhere Over the Rainbow" which was not the best choice for him. Unfortunately for Clay, Ramona from 107.9 cut him in favor of Quiana Parler. In their shortsightedness, AI cut Quiana later in the audition process. Luckily for us Clay and Quiana became good friends, and Quiana performs as one of Clay's talented back-up singers.





Clay Aiken, Quiana Parler, AI2, Atlanta, Audition, Always and Forever, video