A Diamond in the Trash Pile

Graphic by Linda Carrelli


Billboard Chart placement for A Thousand Different Ways:

Billboard 200 - #2

Billboard Comprehensive Albums - #2

Top Digital Albums - #3

Top Internet Albums - #1

Top Canadian Albums - #6

Not bad for someone out of the public eye for most of the year and has not released a mainstream album in almost three years, for someone who was "advised" to do a cover songs, for someone whose promotion did not start until the week of release, for someone without a radio single to support sales and for someone the DJ's and critics love to trash. Congratulations Clay. Your sales are a testament to your phenomenal vocal talent. People do love to hear you sing. Now if people could just leave your private life alone, I'd be totally happy. Let the focus be on the music where it belongs.




Speaking of private life, Larry King tried to get the big scoop on the big "is he or isn't he question". Clay was very polite, much more so than I would have been, but Clay reiterated that it does not matter what he says, there is only one answer people want to hear. (The complete Larry King Live interview transcript can found here.) He can't give the answer that everyone is tuning in for so he's done talking. Good for you. Stand your ground Clay. When Clay Aiken is done with something, believe it because there is no man more stubborn man than he. Who else would wear an ugly perm for two years to torment his mother because she didn't like it. Who else would become a vegetarian for two years because he didn't like a meal his mom cooked. Yup, stubborn and sometimes foolish, but in this instance, Clay is right. People will think what they want about him, and I'm glad he stopped giving a rat's behind about it.

This Clay Aiken fandom has been a wake-up call to me. I never knew there were so many jerks (I want to say d*ckh**ds, but I'm too nice *g*)in the world. People who are content to tear down and trash another human being, to try to ruin his reputation. And for what. To be cool. Too be a famewhore. Too get hits to their blogs or websites. How about the media outlets like MSNBC who you would think practice responsible journalism. They are the first to happily pick up any rumor about Clay Aiken whether it has a legitimate source or not. They'll print half stories with the most unfavorable slant possible. It's been quite amazing to me with what they get away. I no longer watch their cable station or give any hits to their websites. With all the misinformation on Clay Aiken, I wouldn't trust any of their news.

It's not just MSNBC though I find them the worst offender, it's journalism in general. Sources are many times dubious. (Even outside the celebrity reporting genre, hardcore news vets like Dan Rather circumvent the truth.)Who can we trust? Anonymous tips on gossips site are often used, sites where anyone can make up anything. Facts are rarely checked, and all you need is one legitimate website like MSNBC to pick up the story and before you know it spreads like a bad rash all over the media. I have seen it time and time again. Truth can no longer be separated from fiction. Why does this happen? Is it the tabloidization of America which sells in the form of a newspaper or a webstie hit, in a time where people have less and less time for cold, hard factual news? Is it agenda-driven by the real people behind the keyboards? Is it laziness? I wish I knew why it happens. I tend to think it is a combination of factors, but the bottom line as long as American buys the trash, that is what we will get. Clay Aiken glitters in his squeaky clean goodness in the trash pile of celebrity sensationalism. Whoever had at the initial idea of melding of hard news and entertainment news should be shot (not literally, maybe just hit over the head).

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