Clay and His Harem

"Clay Aiken has a harem... He controls them with a flick of a wrist"~~LiveJournal Blog





Clay recently appeared on the Megan Mullully Show. The fans always love when Clay makes talk show appearances because it gives people a chance to see him in a intimate setting and for those of us not lucky enough to be there, gives us a chance to get first-hand accounts of what went on at the show...a sort of behind the scenes kind of look. From all accounts Clay was a perfect guest by making it easy for the interviewer. His humor, wit, and charisma were in full force as seen in the interview video and the opening skit.

~~Opening Skit~~


~~Interview~~

~~Performance of "A Thousand Days"




Here are some excerpts from some recaps of attendees:

"I think one of the greatest things about this appearance is that it was very close to concert Clay in terms of the banter. During the breaks, he just chatted away with the audience, and as we noted several times, bossy Clay was in evidence, and all the staff got a big kick out of it.

I don't think they were kidding about being the best audience ever. A young writer gal was out at the line a couple hours before the show and passed out cards to ask questions for possible show fodder....what is the craziest thing you've ever done....what's the weirdest thing in your purse....etc. She first asked us who was excited about seeing the Megan show and everybody cheered. She grinned and said that she wished all the audiences they had were like us. All of the crew, director, etc. seemed very happy, and more and more staffers kept creeping onto the set to see what all the laughing was about." ~~Posted at the Clackhouse

"Disco balls again! Suddenly, they started to lower from ceiling... first one, then another... Clay said, "Megan's balls are dropping." The audience coordinator said, "I've been wanting to say that, but I need to keep my job." ~~Posted at the ClackHouse

"He was very animated on stage and interacted with the audience more than I've ever seen him. In fact, he looked around the audience once and seemed to be scanning faces - like he was looking for someone.

When Clay asked Angela how many copies of ATDW she bought. She said "one". And Clay said "and you paid for it?" And Angela replied "yes, remember? . . . you were with me when I bought it." And then he remembered and nodded yes with a chuckle. This followed him asking Quiana the same thing and she said that she had two - one purchased, one given to her by him. He then asked us how many we bought. I was so busy bending some of my fingers to make a total of 8 that he looked at me in wide-eyed astonishment like I was flashing 10 times 3 or something." ~~Posted at the ClackHouse

"Clay made a head-count of the guys in the audience...there were 8 and he said that was better than the usual percentages."~~Posted at Clayversity

"One of the people that came up today with me was the receptionist from my Dr. office. She likes Clay. I've given her DVDs and CDs before, but she has never seen him in person. She left the show in that ClayFog most of us experience the first time we see him up close. It's very cool to watch someone go through that for the first time -- to see that initial, personal comprehension of, and appreciation for, his charisma and talent, and the magic that he weaves."~~Posted at Clayversity

"Random ramblings. Of course I love his singing, talking, laughing, “dancing” and just plain old breathing. But…ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE THINGS is extemporaneous Clay. The TALKING, the banter on tours—like on JBT—engaging the audience, the off the cuff quips, the spontaneous quick wit, snarky, flirty, playful, funny, cute, adorable sexy…the stuff that is natural, regular, just plain old Clay. Nothing plain about him, but you know what I mean. This goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. I don’t know Clay, and I don’t pretend to know how he thinks or feels. So here’s some of what I experienced and observed.

There is an overall feeling of confidence about him; not to get weird…some call it aura. But he truly “feels” different of late—like an inner calm, a settling, like he’s really growing into himself. I saw it at the Kimmel sound check (a full hour and a half) and his whole demeanor and appearance at the CD signing and Kimmel’s. He seems confident and self assured. He seems at ease, comfortable, like his life fits—it’s the difference between his custom made designer suits and his Salvation Army baggy pants. Of course both good, but one is VA VA VOOM! He interacts with the stage people, band, Q and A both professionally and personally at the same time if that makes sense.

Please no darts. But I remember in the early days, USUALLY at a TV taping, he appeared to be all business. He came out on stage very serious and totally focused and took care of sound/backups/directions…the cameras came on and he lit up. It seemed like the “performance” was job 1 period—rather than the appearance/experience/performance all as one. It was almost as if he were trying too hard to be perfect. Performance over—lights off--and it was over. Often very little or NO audience recognition or interaction—before or after, especially at the end of a performance or show. He seemed a bit awkward, like he didn’t know quite what to do with himself. Just stood there, shifted his weight, made uncomfortable faces, didn’t know what to do with his hands and that was it. Of course, always LOVED HIM and the performance and all, but the appearances and his comfort level varied quite a bit—especially in regards to audience interaction. Sometimes he seemed in kind of a far away alternate universe and not quite fully there. I know there were a few Meet and Greets where a few felt he was preoccupied and wasn’t quite present. Two entirely different people—Real Life Clay and Performance Clay.

These days he seems—well, just different, easy, loose and relaxed—and it’s more than just growing older and maturing. I wonder if it might have been a conscious decision--like he wrote in LTS--as soon as he stopped worrying about what everybody else thought and was himself, life got good. Now, he comes out on stage and it’s the same person that “sings.” He is him and the performance is part of him, not separate from him. He enters, acknowledges the audience, smiles, waves, often says something, nods in appreciation of the cheering and welcoming fans. He interacts, sings, whatnot—and it all matches. Totally NOT IN A COCKY WAY, but in a playful way he almost hijacked the show—personally playing with the audience, teasing, bantering and Megan loved it! It’s the closest we’ve come to capturing Concert Clay on live TV. On the couch, he includes the audience in the conversation. He brings us into the performance so we can celebrate with him. He “invites” us in. Talking and teasing and being totally present and engaging with the host as well as us. It honestly felt like we were sitting around the living room eating cheese and crackers. It really is quite remarkable. These days he seems less guarded and more uninhibited, genuinely relaxed and having the best time. The “aw shucks” stuff was missing, and he even graciously accepted a couple of compliments—AND he didn’t even act embarrassed. Can’t explain it, but I’m so totally hooked—and I know I’m not alone. Clay recently seems to embrace his fans, and it looks like he really is just crazy about us and is proud of us. To me, he doesn’t “feel” detached anymore or incongruent. He also on the last several performances is nodding almost in a bow after sings and lets us cheer and appreciate him. That is so different. Now when the lights go off and the show is over, he doesn’t seem in such a hurry to “run.” His hugs to the hosts seem huggier. After I see him I feel like I’ve been so lovingly and warmly embraced and kissed sweetly on the cheek. (And all tingly from head to toe too.)

He really seems to have come into his own, hit his stride as some might say. OH, HOW I HOPE HE REALLY IS HAPPY. He sure does sprinkle joy all over the place everywhere he goes, and I feel ever so lucky to get a first hand dose once in a while. Delicious! And from what I’ve seen and where I sit—Kimmel day and Mullally day—HE WANT THIS—HE AIN’T GOIN’ ANYWHERE! "~~Posted at Clayversity

Note 1: A duet of "Silver Bells" by Clay and Megan was also taped to be shown on December 22nd.

Note 2: A Thousand Different Ways has been certified Gold by the RIAA. Congratulations to Clay.

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