Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 31
« on: December 31, 2003, 09:49:12 AM »
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Well this is it folks, the last day of 2003. A day to think back over the past year and be grateful for all the blessings that came our way. A day to think ahead and prepare for the upcoming months. A day for many to resolve to make changes in their lives for the betterment of their health, their happiness, their bank account or of society in general. Or, if you aren't into all this year end introspection, it's just Wednesday. Either way, you are most likely on vacation tomorrow, so have fun tonight! Be safe, and stay warm.
And here now is the news!
THIS WAS THE YEAR FOR AIKEN
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By MATT EHLERS, Staff Writer
Clay Aiken began the year as an unknown singer with a bad haircut and funny glasses.
Now he has been on magazine covers, chatted with Oprah Winfrey, Jay Leno and Diane Sawyer, and smiled as fans bought more than 1.7 million copies of his album, "Measure of a Man." A bobblehead doll has been crafted in his image.
Clay Aiken's 2003
JAN. 21: "American Idol" telecasts begin.
MARCH 4: Clay Aiken performs Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," earning enough audience votes to continue as a wild-card entry.
MAY 8: Raleigh's newest heartthrob comes back to the Triangle to meet the governor and sing the national anthem before a Durham Bulls game.
MAY 21: Aiken finishes the contest in second place. Ruben Studdard of Birmingham, Ala., is the new "American Idol."
JUNE 10: Aiken's first single, "Bridge Over Troubled Water/This is the Night" is released, selling nearly 393,000 copies in its first week.
JULY 10: Aiken appears on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. In the story that appears inside, he discusses everything from his family to cats.
AUG. 6: In front of a sold-out crowd at the RBC Center, Aiken performs as part of the "American Idol" tour. He tells the audience, "There's no place like home."
OCT. 14: "Measure of a Man," Aiken's debut full-length album, is released. Lines form at local record stores that begin selling the CD at midnight. More than 1.7 million are sold by the end of the year.
NOV. 25: "An American Idol Christmas" featuring Aiken and other "American Idol" alums singing holiday tunes airs on Fox.
NOV. 27: Aiken performs during the annual Macy's Thanksgiving parade.
DEC. 22: He closes the year with another trip home, this time singing the national anthem before a Carolina Hurricanes game.
Aiken has benefited from the hype surrounding "American Idol," the TV talent show that made him famous, and from a music business primed to sell a ready-made star. At the same time, he filled a wholesome, good-boy slot left unfilled by a recording industry that had ignored middle-of-the-road music.
He has grabbed fans across generations, with daughters and moms and moms' moms following his career together. Aiken's success differs from that of most popular singers. And the "why" isn't simple to figure out.
But a Carolina Hurricanes game at the RBC Center on Dec. 22 proved a good place to start.
A sold-out hockey crowd containing fewer hockey fans than most had just watched Aiken skate across the arena ice during a game intermission while he sang "I Will Carry You." The girls screamed.
Afterward, wearing an Aiken T-shirt and carrying a handful of homemade signs, Renee Tanner, 13, needed only three words to explain her attraction to the Raleigh-born teen idol.
"He's dead sexy."
That would explain part of the nation's fascination with Aiken. Just then, Betsy Moline of Fuquay-Varina leaned toward her daughter and offered a mom-speak addendum: "And he's polite."
"Yeah," Renee conceded, deciding that her mother had a point, albeit one a tier below Aiken's all-around hotness. "He's got good manners."
Fans love him because he loves Jesus and his mother. He named his puppy after his hometown. He doesn't use the f-word. Before becoming famous as the runner-up on "American Idol," he had set his life on a track to help special-needs children. Afterward, he used his fame to start a foundation to do just that.
Aiken finished his year by appealing to the young and old, and to a TV and record industry ready to sell something different.
The Beginning
Diane Bubel remembers when Aiken told her he wanted to try out for "The Amazing Race," a reality show that sends contestant teams around the world to compete for $1 million. Bubel, who had heard Aiken sing when he worked with her autistic son Mike, couldn't believe it.
"We're like, 'Clayton, are you crazy?' " She thought Aiken, who worked with her family while he was a student at UNC-Charlotte, stood a better chance on "American Idol."
So the family helped talk him into it, finding the application forms on the Internet. Aiken did well in his Atlanta audition and earned a spot among the final 32 contestants.
He connected with viewers, who voted him back on the show as a wild-card candidate after he initially was rejected. Fervent Internet groups sprung up, as fans dissected his performances and chatted up their Clay lust. The groups continue on claytonaiken.com, claymaniacs.com and lbfca.diaryland.com (lecherous broads for Clay Aiken), among others. When he made a brief appearance this month at Crabtree Valley Mall, fans videotaped it and are selling copies on the Internet.
Bubel said Aiken's personality touched viewers.
"You meet him and you feel like you've known him your whole life," she said. "He has this way about him that really takes you in."
To delve into Aiken's appeal is to explore the "American Idol" phenomenon.
Marc Berman, who covers television for Media Week online, said "American Idol" has earned its huge audience in its two seasons by connecting with it.
"It struck a chord because it features real people that viewers, that people, can relate to," he said. "We relate to it. We root for it. We love it."
Aiken also benefited from a TV audience with its reality-show appetite whetted by successes such as "Survivor" and the first season of "American Idol," Berman said.
Fans felt they had a part in Aiken's transformation, as his wardrobe and hair got hipper as the show progressed. "He wasn't a hunky body builder who already had it. He was a skinny little nothing," Berman said.
And fans had a stake in the outcome because they voted each week.
Aiken's followers take their fandom personally, said Zena Burns, music editor for Teen People, which has received lengthy e-mail -- some "might as well be term papers" -- from fans requesting Aiken coverage. "His fans are working hard for him because they had to work hard for him during the ["American Idol"] process," she said.
After finishing second in the competition, Aiken released a single, "This is the Night/Bridge Over Troubled Water," which won Billboard's best-selling single of the year award. His album, "Measure of a Man," which was released in October, is in the top 20. The album, with its sentimental PG-rated love songs, fills a void in the market.
"I think his appeal is as the sort-of clean-cut, nonsexually threatening or predatory nice guy," said John Covach, who teaches courses in popular music at UNC-Chapel Hill. "It's one of the prototypical teen idol images."
Aiken's image might not be new, but it stood out in 2003.
"There's nothing out there right now like Clay," Burns said. "Everything these days that's popular is very sexualized. Even the teen things are adult, with Britney Spears singing songs about masturbation."
Staying Power
Sure, he's a pop star now, but pop stars fade from memory faster than the lyrics to Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice Baby." Already, copies of "Measure of a Man" are turning up in used CD bins. The record-buying public is a fickle bunch.
But Covach thinks Aiken might have a future in the music industry, in large part because of his reputation as a mainstream song stylist.
"Shooting for the center of the market will do Clay well," Covach said. "He won't die the death of flavor of the month when a new flavor of the month comes along."
Burns has a similar opinion. Like a lot of fans and people in the music industry, she likens Aiken to a young Barry Manilow. Manilow hasn't been hip in years, but women still line up at the box office when his show comes to town.
"Think what you want about Barry Manilow, but Barry Manilow is a career artist," she said.
"He could do this for the next 20 or 30 years," Covach said of Aiken's musical future. "He'll maybe have a couple of hits in those years, too."
NEWS & OBSERVER LINK
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 31
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2003, 09:58:14 AM »
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THE 10 MOST MEMORABLE SHOW BUSINESS MOMENTS OF 2003
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6. The moment Clay got robbed
No sooner had Ruben Studdard been crowned the new "American Idol" than fans of second-place finisher Clay Aiken cried foul. The runner-up took the high road, however, and implored his fans to stop demanding a recount. But if we were to compare each singer's record sales, it would appear as if Clay really did get more votes.
SUN HERALD LINK
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 31
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2003, 10:00:58 AM »
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On Tuesday, TRL counted down the videos that spent the most time at #1 and show's best moments of 2003. Invisible made the #9 spot after spending six days at #1 out of the 35 days it's been on the countdown!
Also, one of the best TRL moments of 2003 was Clay's appearance when he ate 'clay'-doh and made a Christina A out of clay.
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 31
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2003, 10:03:42 AM »
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Don't forget this...this is like a soothing tonic for a stressful day.
CLAY RADIO ALL CLAY ALL DAY
Just click 'listen.' You can shrink the page and listen to Clay all day. Old songs mixed with new songs and AI songs. Good times!
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houstonclayfan
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 31
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2003, 10:04:05 AM »
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Not only was that a GREAT year summary of Clay but they mentioned CLAYMANIACS as one of the three discussion boards for Clay ! WooHoo ! Congrats Clay and forum managers ! Oh, yeah, and us regular visiters too !!!
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 31
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2003, 10:05:11 AM »
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TRL will not air again until Monday...but let's make the most of the downtime! We only have a couple more weeks until Invisible will be retired, so let's make sure to keep it on the charts until that time. Remember there is a new sticky thread in the GOT CLAY forum for all TRL discussion now!
ThanX!
VOTE FOR INVISIBLE ON TRL!
You can vote on the Net or by phone (AI flashback!)
It's more effective to call in your votes if at all possible, because 1 phone call=50 online votes. Your phoned in votes count for the next day's show, and no calls are accepted on the weekends.
You can only call in thirty minutes prior to the show. TRL starts at 5pm EST, so that means you can call from 4:30pm-5pm EST, and then adjust for your time zone.
You can vote online all day, but you can only call in 3 times a day per phone line.
The phone number is 1-800-DIAL-MTV (1-800-342-5688)
Call 30 minutes prior to the show starting!
To vote online, go to TRL VOTE.
Vote online all day!
I think it's very important for Clay's video to get lots of airplay. It's a desirable demographic. Since MTV hardly ever shows videos anymore, outside of TRL, it's our best chance of seeing it, and it's our best opportunity to help Clay in this demographic.
Go to ABSOLUTE TRL for daily recaps!
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 31
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2003, 10:23:13 AM »
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L@@K! It's a Clay joke without being rude or condescending! I had to save it!
BOLD PREDICTIONS FOR 2004
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CELEBRITIES
After their televised love affair, Trista and Ryan file for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences." Sources say she is leaving Ryan for American Idol Clay Aiken. ABC plans a two hours special.
TROY RECORD LINK
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 31
« Reply #7 on: December 31, 2003, 10:32:29 AM »
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It's reported that Clay and MoaM are #15 on the Hot 100 Billboard Album Sales Chart for last week's sales! No numbers yet, but based on an estimate of 175,000, Clay has now sold over 2 million CDs and all in two and a half months!
SALES TRACKING: (all numbers are approximate)
#1 W/O 10/21 - 612,859
#1 W/O 10/28 - 224,854
#3 W/O 11/04 - 140,957
#8 W/O 11/11 - 113,375
#13 W/O 11/18 - 93,688
#15 W/O 11/25 - 107,246
#14 W/O 12/02 - 143,000
#11 W/O 12/09 - 122,000
#11 W/O 12/16 - 156,827
#11 W/O 12/23 - 212,000
#15 W/O 12/30 - 175,000 (estimate)
TOTAL - 2,101,806 *DOUBLE PLATINUM SOLD!*
CONGRATULATIONS CLAY!
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huckleberry
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK DECEMBER 31
« Reply #8 on: December 31, 2003, 10:38:52 AM »
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Don't forget this...this is like a soothing tonic for a stressful day.
CLAY RADIO ALL CLAY ALL DAY
Thanks for this site Pamela!!!!! I've clicked on it before and the server was down.....NOT today though!!!! They're playing "I Know How the River Feels"....WOW!!!! TERRIFIC!!! Thanks for ALL you do!!
