Author Topic: AIKEN NEWS NETWORK MAY 31 (Read 777 times)
Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK MAY 31
« on: May 31, 2004, 07:17:26 AM »
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CLAY SPECIAL TODAY!
From 11:00 - 1:00 pm today, Radio Max Music is featuring Clay as the artist of the week. Tune in and check it out!
RADIOMAX MUSIC
Listen HERE!
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK MAY 31
« Reply #1 on: May 31, 2004, 07:25:02 AM »
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If you're Aiken for Clay, travel Jackson (MI) way
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Sunday, 30, 2004
Special to the Gazette
Sure, he was technically the runner-up to Ruben Studdard in the second "American Idol" contest, but in terms of record sales and popularity, Clay Aiken is the hands-down champion of all "Idol" stars -- with the possible exception of William Hung.
Aiken, who'll perform at the Jackson County Fair on Aug. 12, transformed from geek to chick magnet in a matter of weeks during "Idol." His fans -- known as "Claymates" -- have bought more than 2 million copies of his debut album, "Measure of a Man," since October.
The Charlotte, N.C., native uses a combination of dorky Southern charm and a mix of his own pop hits and classics by Neil Sedaka ("Solitaire") to win over his audience, which is usually packed with women of all ages.
Tickets for the show are $29 and $32 and are available at Star Ticketsplus locations, including Meijer stores. Call (800) 585-3737.
M LIVE
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK MAY 31
« Reply #2 on: May 31, 2004, 07:25:59 AM »
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Clay AIken's 'Solitaire' / 'The Way' drops from #1 on U.S. charts after 9 weeks
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By Wade Paulsen, 05/29/2004
After another long streak atop the U.S. charts, Clay Aiken's second single, 'Solitaire' / 'The Way', came up a week short of his first single -- or maybe three weeks short.
For the week ended May 23, Clay's single slipped into second place on the Nielsen SoundScan U.S. Singles Sales chart, behind Jojo's 'Leave (Get Out),' after nine straight weeks atop the chart. That is one week short of the 10 straight weeks that Clay's platinum first single, 'This Is The Night' / 'Bridge Over Troubled Water,' topped the charts ... and three weeks short of the 12 weeks overall that the first single topped the charts.
Since sales of 'Solitaire' / 'The Way' had slowed to fewer than 10,000 per week, it comes as no surprise that the single dropped from #1. However, 'Solitaire' has finally started to climb the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts, checking in this week at #27 -- so it could still rebound to challenge its predecessor's overall stay at #1.
A bigger question is whether 'Solitaire' / 'The Way' will sell enough copies to be certified gold by the Record Industry Association of America ("RIAA") for sales of 500,000 copies -- a distinction that no U.S. single has reached since Clay's first single and his Idol 2 rival Ruben Studdard's Flying Without Wings / Superstar both accomplished it in July 2003.
Meanwhile, Clay's single remained #2 on the Nielsen SoundScan Canadian Singles Sales chart for the sixth straight week (behind Usher's 'Yeah' every week), after spending its first three weeks at #1 (just ahead of Usher's 'Yeah' every week).
While Clay remains hot in sales, his roommate and former Idol 2 competitor Kimberley Locke continues to do well with her Curb single '8th World Wonder,' which holds the #20 spot on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart based on its strong airplay. Kimberley's album One Love dropped from #39 to #48 on the Nielsen SoundScan U.S. Album Sales chart (also known as the Billboard 200) in its third week, with sales of around 20,000 units. Its three-week sales total is around 100,000 units -- meaning that it will almost certainly outsell Idol 1 runner-up Justin Guarini's self-titled bomb, which topped out at sales of 134,000 and led to Justin's release from RCA Records, to become the fourth best-selling CD from an Idol contestant, behind only Clay, Ruben and Idol 1 winner Kelly Clarkson.
However, the three CDs ahead of Kimberley on this list all were certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of at least 1 million units. We wish Kimberley good luck in her bid to catch up to them.
REALITY TV WORLD
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Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK MAY 31
« Reply #3 on: May 31, 2004, 07:31:56 AM »
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Crunching `Idol' numbers
Fox show's stats and voting methods leave lots to gripe about
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MARK WASHBURN
The Charlotte Observer
(snip)
Next, let's look at the voting.
Fox says Fantasia Barrino won by 1.3 million votes out of 65 million cast, about a 2 percent margin.
Last year, Reuben Studdard beat Clay Aiken by 134,000 votes out of 24 million cast. That's a 0.6 percent margin, still thicker than what President Bush wound up with to beat Al Gore in Florida (and it took a month to figure that out).
Seems odd it's been so close? Fox doesn't like to discuss how it tallies the votes or gives weekly results -- and why should it? Most viewers are deluded into thinking it's a fair fight.
It's not. First off, you can vote as many times as you want. If you're bright enough to program your phone to keep calling until it gets through, you'll have the advantage over the geezer who still actually pushes buttons to make a call.
In theory, the phone votes should be exactly identical. The reason you're getting a busy signal is because the lines are full.
It's fluid dynamics. Imagine opening two equal sluice gates in a dam holding back a full lake. The amount of water getting through each gate should be equal, assuming they open and close in unison. There will still be water waiting to get out.
So, how do you win? I believe the winner is selected by people with text-messaging phones, which aren't subject to the confines of the sluice gate.
All the text messages get counted, and those are numbers that logically determine the outcome, when heaped on the two equal piles of calls.
Fox should come clean and admit it, but that would interfere with the suffocating hype that drives "American Idol." At the least, the network should limit votes to one per phone number so the results aren't swayed by autodial technology, and the time window for voting should be broadened so fevered fans can be heard.
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER (registration required)
Anyone here text message their votes? And what do you think about this opinion?
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Pamela
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« Reply #4 on: May 31, 2004, 07:43:46 AM »
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Opinion - In Our View: 'American Idol'
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Saturday, May 29, 2004
Columbian editorial writers
Who says young people don't vote? "American Idol" Fantasia Barrino and runner-up Diana DeGarmo know differently. More than 65 million votes across the nation crowned Barrino winner of the popular contest-TV show this week. Many of those voters are said to be young people.
What young people, or old people for that matter, don't do is vote in a race that doesn't interest them. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Let people, young and old, who are experts on renditions of "Summertime" and Barry Manilow "hits" vote for American idols. Let people, young and old, who know about foreign policy issues and the nuances of the energy debate vote for presidents.
(Based on such criteria, perhaps too many people are voting in presidential races and too few are text-messaging "American Idol." Of the voting age population, 55 percent 111 million people participated in the election of November 2000, the Census Bureau reports.)
Because the 2004 presidential election is predicted to be as tight as "American Idol's" last-season race between Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, however, Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry probably feel any vote informed or uninformed is a good one. So here are some ways for Bush and Kerry to get people who are completely uninterested in things such as war, terror or Medicare engaged in the presidential contest and into the voting booth:
* Hire Simon Cowell to criticize your every move. "American Idol's" love-to-hate judge has a sharper tongue than James Carville. People will flock to press conferences ready to hear him lash out. When he does, sympathy votes will fly in your direction.
* For Kerry, show running-mate interviews live, making each contender sing Ricky Martin's "She Bangs." It's endearing, really.
* Finally, wear low-waist jeans and a flower in your hair. Even if you have no speaking talent, Hawaii is yours.
COLUMBIAN.COM
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shaikeninseattle
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK MAY 31
« Reply #5 on: May 31, 2004, 09:33:30 AM »
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Pamela, I totally agree with the article about the votes. In my unskilled way, that's how I theorized the phone line fiascle. If you have an equal number of lines for each contestant and they are all plugged up continually, how can one possibly get more votes than the other? That's what I kept saying about the Ruben / Clay debate. I came to the same conclusion. It has to be the text messaging. If that's the case, then it's not fair voting, as not all of us have that feature. I don't see how it can be fair anyway, when in order to vote out West, we have to stay up until midnight or one o'clock in the morning in order to utilize all four hours of voting. Even starting at nine o'clock as we do here, I was up until midnight trying to cast ONE VOTE for Clay. Never got through and it was a work night. I am usually in bed by nine. I know there are many stories just like mine and I don't know exactly what time the Central or EST get the show, I only know that's the story here. I still think the best way to handle the votes is exactly how TRL (ugh) uses the three vote limit per phone line. Thanks for posting this article!
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Retired, but not tired!
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clayMaine-iac
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK MAY 31
« Reply #6 on: May 31, 2004, 11:46:27 AM »
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THE SALES CHARTS FOR THIS WEEK HAVE BEEN UPDATED.
VIEW THE CHARTS HERE:
SALES CHARTS
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Clay "is" the "News"
When Words Fail--Let Music Speak
Pamela
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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK MAY 31
« Reply #7 on: May 31, 2004, 11:51:00 AM »
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If you have DirecTV or another digital cable service, you may have access to listen to Music Choice. Solitaire is number 2 on their soft rock channel!!
Go to the Music Choice site, at Music Channels, select Pop and Rock, then Soft Rock. Tell them Thanks for playing Solitaire!
MUSIC CHOICE
