Author Topic: AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 16 (Read 1831 times)
Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 16
« on: December 16, 2003, 06:27:10 AM »
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WIN TICKETS TO MEET CLAY
MIX 101.5 is giving away four sets of two tickets to the Carolina Hurricanes hockey game and Clay meet and greet next Monday night.
You must 18 to enter and register by midnight Thursday December 18. They will choose 101 entrants for miscellaneous prizes and a single winner from those entrants on Monday at noon.
Go to WRAL FM to register!
Note: Small print alert - you must live in the listening area! Sorry!
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 16
« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2003, 06:35:19 AM »
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Clay fans mold column reaction
Some blast Ms. -- er, Mr. Heldenfels, while others seem to, why, idolize his comments
By R.D. Heldenfels
The mailbag has been heavy lately. Must be all that Clay.
Last week, I wrote in Enjoy about American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken, who is part of a concert at Cleveland's Palace Theatre tonight. I especially urged him to find his own sound, which was missing from his first album, Measure of a Man.
The reaction to the piece -- dozens of e-mails from all over the country -- was sharply divided.
A lot of thought and passion was on view, and only one e-mail came from a reader who did not like Aiken at all. Some fans who agreed with me even warned me that I would take heat from others -- and I did.
Excerpts from the letters include:
• ``You have written the first article that asks the most important question of all... Where to from here? I agree with your take on this and will look forward to watching Clay's development as an artist. He is capable of so much more than this first attempt.''
• ``What is your point? Clay is a remarkable young man and deserves respect. He has created a foundation for those with special needs. He continues to give us clean, respectable music I can let my children listen to for once.... What more do you want?''
• ``You are the first music critic to get it right.... Everything you said was absolutely right on, from his talent to his good-but-not-great album.... If your article had been printed immediately after the release of Measure of a Man, all of the other reviews would have been unnecessary because yours summed them up neatly and precisely.''
• ``Do you have anything better to do but rank on Clay Aiken? What do you want from this kid. Do you ever look around and see the half-naked, trashy singers out there and pick on them?... You wouldn't know class or a good singer if you saw or heard one. Why in h are you comparing this kid to Frank Sinatra? (Sinatra) was skinny and not even as good looking as Clay as far as I am concerned.''
• ``I am one of those fans who bought his album on `faith.' Must admit I was a bit disappointed.... I would love to have him in a room by myself and have him listen to Sinatra's Nice and Easy album or (Ella) Fitzgerald's Cole Porter Songbook. He can't possibly enrich himself by listening to what is being promoted in pop music today.''
• ``I kind of agree with what you are saying but he hasn't been in this for very long at all and needs time to decide which road he is going to take!''
• ``Apparently you need someone or something to... let all of your frustrations out and you have to pick on him.... What if one of your children were trying to get into the music business and had to deal with someone like you.''
• ``I like what you had to say to Clay... and I agree with you about the content of his album. However, it should be noted that those songs were picked for him and recorded quickly -- within a few weeks after the show ended and while he was touring.''
• ``It is people like you that tend to get a rush out of crushing people's hopes and dreams.''
• ``Thank you for being honest and not cruel.''
• ``Thank you for probably the best article I have read about Clay.''
A few points spread across many letters. First, if Aiken does indeed need a musical makeover, what direction should he go -- and how will he persuade his handlers to do it?
Second, several readers took issue with comments about Aiken's version of Bridge Over Troubled Water and how a version by Idol winner Ruben Studdard would have compared.
Some doubted Studdard would do as well with it. Others said they bought the single for the other song, This Is the Night. One said Bridge ``was not even close to a song I ever really liked'' until Aiken sang it. ``A million other people could sing it and I still wouldn't like it.''
And, because I use initials in my byline and some readers did not have the dubious benefit of seeing my picture, a couple wondered if I was female.
``Maybe you don't know what it is like to be treated like a woman and so you have to bash him,'' said one.
I don't know what it's like to be treated like a woman. Let's at least agree that, by any measure you choose, I'm a man.
BEACON JOURNAL
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 16
« Reply #2 on: December 16, 2003, 06:37:10 AM »
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Ah, I see the holiday spirit has infused the NY Post.
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American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics
By DAN AQUILANTE
December 16, 2003
After all the schlock and slop sired by the "American Idol" franchise, its creators have finally hitched the right artists to the right songs.
"American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics" lives up to its name. Here, even the much-abused Clay Aiken turns in a performance that makes his detractors - this one included - eat their words as he finds inspiration in the manger with "The First Noel," and in a duet with Kimberley Locke on "Silver Bells." Ruben Studdard makes his best showing in "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," a soulful duet with Tamyra Grey that conjures a Motown Christmas, while Kelly Clarkson does herself proud on a two-song bonus disc.
The song selections are classic, performed with a near-perfect balance of tradition and pop.
NY POST
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Jeannette
Guest
two reviews
« Reply #3 on: December 16, 2003, 07:13:06 AM »
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I agree with a lot of what was said by both reviewers, especially what I've thought for a long time about MOAM, that Clay's voice and personality were overwhelmed by the "nutsy overengineered background" (thanks Seattle Blues, I love that phrase, hope you don't mind my using it. I just read another review, of Ruben's single, in Entertainment Weekly, that said exactly the same thing, mentioning "the bombast that overtook the Clay Aiken and Kelly Clarkson albums".
I don't think Clay needs to rework himself, the producers need to rework the overbearing music that drowns his voice and personality.
The second review was right on too. After the frustration of listening to MOAM, when I first heard Clay singing The First Noel, I burst into tears. It was pure Clay, a quiet but appropriate background, one of the most moving songs I've heard this Christmas season. And I think that others are responding the same way. I noticed in Billboard today The First Noel was on one of the charts, I think Adult Contemporary.
About Bridge over Troubled Water, I thought on the AI finals that the gospel choir drowned Clay out, and was much more appropriate for Ruben's song than BOTW. Some of my friends even thought that it was part of the conspiracy to give the title to Ruben (maybe a little far-fetched!).
If there is a new single with a song from MOAM, I pray that they rework it with bettter music. And also that if Solitaire is on it, that they give us pure Clay, just as it was sung on AI
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Jeannette
Guest
another review
« Reply #4 on: December 16, 2003, 07:28:03 AM »
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Here is another review, one that is one of the best I have read of MOAM. It's not that I think the reviews are all that important, I think the production is so important because of what we are missing when it interferes with hearing Clay's complete performance.
The review is by Howard Cohen, Knight Ridder Newspapers. It appeared in the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinal.
"Measure of a Man" will not please hipster critics who will carp--not without some accuracy--that the music isn't edgy enough. The album is the equivalent of a Celine Dion CD sung by a man with an equally strong voice. Windswept production? Check. Unabashed mid-tempo love songs? Check. Instantly accessible hooks? Got those, too.
This isn't the album a talent such as Aiken's deserves. Simpler production, organic instrumentation and classier songs would better showcase his rich voice.
That said, "Measure of a Man" is also an upbeat and likable CD, soaring on the sheer force of Aiken's buoyant personality. Highlights include the intectious soft-rock single "Invisible", the Elton John-style "No More Sad Songs" and the melodic "I will carry You."
--Howard Cohen, Knight Ridder Newspapers
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mcraig2
SuperFan
Posts: 2,436
WRAL contest....
« Reply #5 on: December 16, 2003, 10:30:37 AM »
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Only one problem with that contest...this is in the rules:
Eligibility: All listeners (18 years of age and older) with residence within the WRAL-FM listening area as defined by Arbitron are eligible to win.
So, I guess you have to live pretty near Raleigh to enter. (Just thought I'd save some people a little time..no need to enter if you don't qualify).
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"Keeper of those mesmerizing green eyes." (as long as there's no guyliner)
Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 16
« Reply #6 on: December 16, 2003, 11:18:46 AM »
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CLAY AIKEN BOBBLE HEAD NIGHT SET FOR JAN. 10
December 15, 2003
The Charlotte 49ers will honor one of the nation's hottest recording
artists, Clay Aiken, with a bobblehead doll at the January 10th men's basketball game against East Carolina at Dale F. Halton Arena. Aiken, who will graduate from the university Dec. 20, paved his way to fame through a finalist performance in "American Idol". Since the American Idol competition, Aiken has released a double-platinum debut album, "Measure of a Man", that peaked as the #1 best-selling album in the country. He has become, unquestionably, one of the entertainment industry's hottest commodities.
A total of 9,105 Clay Aiken Bobble Head Dolls will be given away FREE
to fans attending the Jan. 10 Conference USA matchup while supplies last,
compliments of Food Lion and Healthy Choice. As in the past with the Food Lion/Healthy Choice Bobble Head Series, all attendees will be encouraged to show their Food Lion MVP Card when they enter the Halton Arena doors. Each fan who presents a game admission ticket will be limited to one (1) Clay Aiken Bobble Head Doll.
NINER ON LINE
I want one. :mrgreen:
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 16
« Reply #7 on: December 16, 2003, 11:20:52 AM »
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O Canada!
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Top CDs in Canada according to Music World
Mon Dec 15, 6:58 PM ET
TORONTO (CP) - The following is Music World's top 10 CDs based on
national sales for the week ending Dec. 13.
CDs
1 Afterglow - Sarah McLachlan (news)
2 Closer - Josh Groban (news)
3 The Very Best of Sheryl Crow (news) - Sheryl Crow
4 Life for Rent - Dido
5 The Long Road - Nickelback
6 MuchDance 2004 - Various Artists
7 Measure of a Man - Clay Aiken
8 Home - Ryan Malcolm
9 Fallen - Evanescence
10 As Time Goes By... The Great American Songbook Vol. II - Rod Stewart
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 16
« Reply #8 on: December 16, 2003, 11:22:43 AM »
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Clay is doing really, really well in sales for last week.
Really well!
And Ruben is number 1 with over 300,000 sold. It's all good. :mrgreen:
Stay on top of the sales numbers at HITS DAILY DOUBLE. (registration required)
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81.68% of outlets reporting.
1 RUBEN STUDDARD J RECORDS SOULFUL 333,609
2 ALICIA KEYS J RECORDS 286,821
3 JOSH GROBAN 143/REPRISE 199,328
4 OUTKAST ARISTA 197,634
5 VARIOUS COLUMBIA/CRG 182,293
6 TOBY KEITH DREAMWORKS NASHVILLE 178,461
7 ROD STEWART J RECORDS 168,760
8 HILARY DUFF BUENA VISTA/HOLLYWOOD 157,168
9 NO DOUBT INTERSCOPE 145,713
10 SHERYL CROW A&M/INTERSCOPE 141,816
11 MUSIQ DEF JAM/IDJ 141,254
12 BRITNEY SPEARS JIVE 128,567
13 WESTSIDE CONNECTION HOO-BANGIN/CAPITOL 125,379
14 SARAH MCLACHLAN ARISTA 124,091
15 AVANT GEFFEN 120,891
11 16 CLAY AIKEN RCA 119,954
