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CLAY IN COSMOGIRL DEC/JAN ISSUE
« on: November 10, 2003, 05:59:00 PM »
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About a year ago, Clay was studying to be a teacher - now he's a superstar. Meet the man behind the idol.
By Lauren Brown
CosmoGirl: Our readers really love you. Were you always the popular guy back in high school?
Clay: The first two years of high school, I was shy. I got picked on for the way I dressed; I had Coke-bottle glasses, and my hair was always just atrocious. But by my senior year, I was popular, even though I still looked the same. It had nothing to do with how I dressed - it was how I carried myself. I got more confident with who I was. Ijust realized, I'm never gonna be a Brad Pitt, so get over it, be happy with yourself, and move on.
CG: How have things with your friends back home changed since you were on American Idol?
C: I've found that the people whose interest in me just went 'shoop!' up are the ones who aren't my best friends. The people whose interest in me stayed the same are the ones who are genuinely concerned for me as a person, not as the guy on the cover of a magazine.
CG: You're such a nice guy, but now that you're a celebrity, have you had to start being tough?
C: It's a line Im' having to teeter on to make sure that Im' being respectful to everybody and still not being disrespected myself. I don't want to be taken advantage of. I've been lucky so far, but I pick my battles. You don't get everything you want anyway, so why fight for everything? Just save it for things you really need.
CG: What battles have you fought?
C: I save my battles for things that don't represent me well, likelines in certain songs that I didn't think were appropriate. Or, like, they want me to wear some ripped up t shirt and run around half naked - no, that will not happen!
CG: We're sure you know that a lot of rock stars go into music precisely to get girls. What about you?
C: Ruben used to say to me, "Look at all these panties they're throwing you onstage. You could get any girl in this room!" But I'm not interested in getting any girl in the room - I want to find one that I'm serious about. I respect women much more than that. I'm like, you know what? It's okay for musicians not to be womanizers.
CG: But people fantasize about one night with a rock star...
C: Yeah, but that's all you're getting. And for the rock star, whoever it is, it's just as horrible for them. I'm not interested in trying to find 17 different girls for every city I'm in. That's just stupid.
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