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ClayManiacs.com  |  Archive  |  Media & Appearance Archive  |  10/21/03 PBS KIDS - CLAY IT'S MY LIFE INTERVIEW
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Author Topic: 10/21/03 PBS KIDS - CLAY IT'S MY LIFE INTERVIEW  (Read 2625 times)

Marilyn

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10/21/03 PBS KIDS - CLAY IT'S MY LIFE INTERVIEW
« on: April 29, 2010, 10:52:33 PM »
Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
PBS KIDS - CLAY IT'S MY LIFE INTERVIEW
« on: October 21, 2003, 10:36:14 PM »   

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He was runner-up to Ruben Studdard on American Idol, but Clay Aiken is number one in the hearts of millions of fans. His debut single, “This is the Night,” was a chart-topping hit, and it earned him an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Male Pop/Rock Artist. Clay recently released his first full album, Measure of a Man, and he took some time to sit down and chat with IML.

IML: What has your life been like since American Idol ended?

Clay: It’s been very busy. I’m on the road, doing interviews, or at a photo shoot. Every day I’m doing something different.

IML: Were you prepared for all of that?

Clay: Not at all. I did not expect to be here at all. My life was much quieter back in North Carolina. It’s still an adjustment to try to get used to going to the grocery store and being stopped, or having people stare at you everywhere you go. In Raleigh, they’ll stop you. In L.A., people just stare and that’s even worse sometimes. Just the other day, I pulled into a parking lot and somebody recognized me in the car. I was parked, on my cell phone. Two people stood behind my car and the others started beating on the window. That’s just a little bit too much, don’t you think?

IML: Of course! Do you ever wear a disguise when you go out?

Clay: It depends. I don’t like to do that. I can’t wear hats because my hair’s too big!

IML: With all the attention and craziness surrounding you, how do you stay grounded?

Clay: I have to remind myself constantly that I’m one of 70,000 people or even more who would trade places with me in a half second if they could. If I get upset about things and start to get jaded, I think, “Stop complaining, because people would trade places with you!” There are many days where I’m willing to do it, to trade places with my friends who are teaching back in North Carolina. There are days where I’m ready to give it up.

IML: What keeps you going?

Clay: The fact that it’s not so easy to give it up. It’s a little too complicated to trade places.

IML: What’s the biggest lesson you learned from the American Idol experience?

Clay: Perseverance. I got cut twice. I got cut in Charlotte. I didn’t have to go to Atlanta to audition. I could have said, “I’m not cut out for this.” But I said, “I think I’m better than that, I can go try again.” So I went to Atlanta and I made it through. Then I got cut the first time around. I could have told them I didn’t want to come back for the Wild Card show but I did and look how far I got.

IML: Simon Cowell wasn’t very nice to you at first.

Clay: Simon was never nice to me. Simon still isn’t nice to me! But he did say a number of times that he thought I was going to win.

IML: The voting was very close. Was there ever any rivalry between you and Ruben?

Clay: Not at all. We’re very good friends!

IML: Who else from AI are you close friends with?

Clay: Kimberley Locke is my roommate out here, we got a house. We lived together for 11 weeks in the same house, then on the bus and hotels for two more months. We both have the same outlook on life. We’re both enjoying this for what it is and we’re both realistic and realize it may last for a long time or may last for a year. It may not even last that long. So we’re just going to enjoy and have fun with it. We’re both very similar thinkers. It made sense because neither of us knows anybody out here. Carmen and I are really close, too. Carmen [Rasmusen], Ruben, Kim, and I were all on the bus together. There were two buses; they split us up, four on one and five on the other.

IML: Have you always had close female friends?

Clay: Yes! You don’t have to be either dating or not friends. There can be a middle ground and that’s what a platonic relationship is. I think platonic relationships can be closer than dating relationships sometimes. Dating relationships end and platonic relationships are going to be there no matter what.

IML: What was the American Idol tour like? Was it tiring?

Clay: It was nice because we were able to do what we like to do: sing for the fans. We went through this experience together for nine months. It wasn’t hard because it was a routine, and I’m all about a routine. We never practiced because we practiced for a week and a half beforehand. If you do a show every night, you don’t have to practice. We just did our thing. We did the show, drove to the next city, slept. We were with family, and there was no pressure of anyone getting cut. It was just singing and entertaining people and having fun.

IML: Was it an adjustment, moving to L.A. from North Carolina?

Clay: Goodness, yes! The traffic is horrible. The people can be kinda nuts. The food has avocado on it everywhere you go. I don’t dislike L.A. The weather is nice, but it’s always the same. I love seasons. I like snow. I like the leaves to change color. If I lived in Raleigh I’d get all of that in the same yard.

IML: Let’s talk about your album. How did you choose the songs?

Clay: Clive [Davis, of RCA Music] picked the songs. They were actually picked before the show was over and I started recording two weeks after. During the show, we recorded each song we did, and we worked with one producer for every track. On my album I had different producers, so I was able to pick and choose different styles and it helped me learn a lot.

IML: We hear that you also sing on an American Idol Christmas album.

Clay: Yes. I sing “Silver Bells” and “The First Noel” with Kim Locke. It’s Ruben, Kim, and myself from this season and Justin [Guarini], Christina [Christian] and Tamyra [Gray] from the first season. There’s a bonus CD that comes with it that Kelly [Clarkson] sings on. There’s also a TV Christmas special that we’re going to do in November.

IML: What does the title of your album, Measure of a Man, mean to you?

Clay: I picked it because I liked the song but it’s a reminder to me that I’m setting only the best example. People who are celebrities have a responsibility. They’re influences whether they want to be or not. Sports figures, celebrities, singers and actors…kids look up to you. You’re a role model. You can be a good one or a bad one. I got to this point and it’s a high profile job and on top of that, there are the rigors and pressures of being in the public eye all the time. And my absolute priority, more than having a good song, is to set a good example. I accept it as a responsibility.

In Part Two, Clay talks about teachers, bullying, and his work as a Special Education teacher.
 
 
ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

Marilyn

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Re: 10/21/03 PBS KIDS - CLAY IT'S MY LIFE INTERVIEW
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2010, 10:55:51 PM »
Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
PART 2
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2003, 10:38:47 PM »   

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IML: Who are your idols?

Clay: Musically, I have people who I think are good but my idol, since I wanted to be a teacher, is Mr. Rogers. When people ask me what three people I’d like to have dinner with, living or dead, I say Jesus Christ, Mr. Rogers, and Jimmy Carter.

IML: You worked with special needs kids. Did that prepare you in any way for show business?

Clay: Definitely. In Special Education, you have to work each child and situation individually. And in the entertainment industry, each situation is different. Nothing is the same. Also, you learn a lot of patience working in Special Education, and you really have to have quite a bit of patience here in Hollywood!

IML: What else did you learn working with Special Ed. kids?

Clay: Not to sweat the small stuff. Kids with disabilities learn a lot from kids without disabilities, like socially acceptable behaviors. But kids without disabilities learn a lot from kids with disabilities. There are so many things that are so much bigger than what to wear that day. I don’t feel sorry for children with disabilities. I feel excited for them for the opportunities that they do have.

IML: With Diane Bubel, you started a foundation to help kids with autism and other disabilities.

Clay: Yes. The goal is to put kids with disabilities in the same situations as kids without. Diane is the mother of a child I worked with, and she got me to go on the show. I said, ‘Fine, I’ll do it if you just keep quiet!”

IML: What was your own childhood like? Were you popular?

Clay: I was more sociable with adults. I was with my mom and her friends, and I didn’t go off to play that often. It was just my mother and me until I was six, and then I automatically got a brother and a sister when she got married. There was a big gap in age; they’re 36 and 31. I’m 25. I also have a 17-year-old half-sibling.

IML: Were you ever bullied when you were younger?

Clay: No. I don’t think I gave anybody a reason to bully me. The thing about bullies is if you show them that you’re intimidated and you’re upset by them, they’re gonna keep doing it. I’d be, “Forget you, then” and walk away. I don’t let things get under my skin as much as some people do.

IML: Did you have any teachers who really made an impression on you?

Clay: I did in high school. I wanted to be a teacher and there were two teachers, Miss Probst and Miss Stone, who were very good and in tune with high school kids. They had an ability to get passionate about whatever the students were passionate about and they made me want to be a teacher.

IML: When did you know you could sing?

Clay: At the risk of sounding cocky, I always knew I could sing. I was young. I think I started singing when I was four. A kid that will jump up and sing at that age, it’s not that they’re good, it’s just that they’re outgoing enough to do it. It was probably eighth grade when I realized, when people started telling me.

IML: Were you in musicals at school?

Clay: I did the freshman, sophomore, and junior musicals but got cut from my senior one. I don’t think I’m the best singer ever. I don’t think I’m better than all 32 of those people who sang. I still don’t. Kim Locke is going to do well. She’s already been signed to Curb Records and she has an album coming out I think the same day as Ruben’s. Her first single is better than mine.

IML: You’re afraid of the water, hate cats, bite your toenails and wanted to be on The Amazing Race. True or not?

Clay: All of them are except for the toenails…I’ve stopped! Actually, I don’t hate cats, I’m just kind of afraid of them. I wanted to be on Amazing Race. I was prepared to put in applications with a number of different people.

IML: What do you do in your spare time?

Clay: Sleep!

IML: Where did you get the nickname ‘Gonzo’?

Clay: At the Y, everyone has a nickname and I went through a number of them. At some point Gonzo stuck.

IML: Have you splurged on anything special for yourself?

Clay: I got a car for Raleigh and I got a car for here and that’s pretty much all I’ve gotten. And furniture. I debated long and hard about getting two cars. I could have kept the one I had in Raleigh but I decided to sell it. Here’s what I consider a splurge: I needed a couch and I had to get it and didn’t look at the price tag. Before I had the money, I would have checked the price tag before I even looked at the couch.

IML: Where do you want to be in the next 5 or 10 years? What goals do you set?

Clay: In this arena, I don’t set goals because it’s part of my realist nature. But there are things I want to do. I always wanted to sing on the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade and I’m doing it! I want to have a second album.

IML: What advice can you give kids who want to be singers?

Clay: If you think you’ve got it and you really want to do it, you’ve got to do it and you’ve got to stick with it. You really need to believe in yourself no matter what other people say. If you don’t, the only thing you’re going to be able to say is “What if?” What if I hadn’t auditioned
ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

Marilyn

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Re: 10/21/03 PBS KIDS - CLAY IT'S MY LIFE INTERVIEW
« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2010, 10:58:22 PM »
Clayomyheart
Guest
  PBS KIDS - CLAY IT'S MY LIFE INTERVIEW
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2003, 09:22:40 AM »   

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Thank you so much for putting this interview up on the site.  It is one of the most honest and revealing yet.  They actually asked interesting and thought provoking questions.   Many of the pros on TV could take a lesson from this.   :D  :D  :D  :D  :D
ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

Marilyn

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Re: 10/21/03 PBS KIDS - CLAY IT'S MY LIFE INTERVIEW
« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2010, 10:58:38 PM »
cassms
Guest
  Good interview
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2003, 12:43:27 PM »   

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I agree; this interview tells us a lot about the man Clay, showing he has a good head on his shoulders.  His ability to see that patience and perseverance are needed in both careers will serve him well.  And I like that he doesn't feel sorry for those with disabilities, but gets excited about what they can do instead (and now with the foundation is able to foster more opportunities).
 
ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

Marilyn

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Re: 10/21/03 PBS KIDS - CLAY IT'S MY LIFE INTERVIEW
« Reply #4 on: April 29, 2010, 10:59:12 PM »
Fan2817
Guest
  This is My Favorite Interview
« Reply #4 on: October 25, 2003, 10:16:18 AM »   

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I felt that this interviewer did an excellent job getting to the "real" Clay. He got to talk about what he was about in ways that fit naturally into the conversation -- religion, role models, kids, teaching, friends, and singing.

I thought this interviewer set out to make him comfortable, as opposed to certain other interviewers whom I thought were out to get a story to sell a TV show or magazine (Diane Sawyer and Rolling Stone). I thought these sources focused more on Clay's estrangement with his father because of the headlines it could generate. But really, Clay isn't about the estrangement with his father -- he is about giving back to the world by working with special needs children and sharing his voice and taking his role model status seriously by starting a foundation and keeping certain lyrics out of his songs. These concepts were the main motifs in this interview, which is why I think it is the best.

I'm surprised I haven't seen it before this forum, because it captures so well who he is; again, three cheers for these moderators who take time to collect and post everything!
 
 
 
ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

Marilyn

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Re: 10/21/03 PBS KIDS - CLAY IT'S MY LIFE INTERVIEW
« Reply #5 on: April 29, 2010, 10:59:45 PM »

 Char
Guest
  PBS KIDS - CLAY IT'S MY LIFE INTERVIEW
« Reply #5 on: October 25, 2003, 11:24:05 PM »   

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Fantastic interview! I loved the fact that they asked Clay more about his education and felt that they presented more information about him and truly showed his morals. I have always felt that Clay is a fantastic role model and this interview proves that. I agree about the tie-in with his estrangement from his biological father that someone else brought up. Diane Sawyer even dredged it back up in the pre-performance interview the week that MOAM came out on Good Morning America. I felt like shouting- Diane...get over it and let it go! Clay has, why can't you? Why can't the press just leave it alone? Anyway, thanks for posting the interview. I would never have seen it otherwise :)
 
 
 

 
ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

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