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ClayManiacs.com  |  Archive  |  Aiken News Network (ANN)  |  AIKEN NEWS NETWORK September 14, 2010
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Author Topic: AIKEN NEWS NETWORK September 14, 2010  (Read 1813 times)

clayharmony

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AIKEN NEWS NETWORK September 14, 2010
« on: September 14, 2010, 01:32:14 AM »
Bringing the text of this blog over. (Tiffany provided the link for it yesterday) ..click on the link...the responses between readers and the blogger are also quite interesting...by the way, if your reaction after reading the blog is 'huh?'...you are not alone! :-)




Lessons Clay Aiken Taught Me


Quote
Lessons Clay Aiken Taught Me

Posted on September 13, 2010 by jenjones

Back in 2003 when America still wanted, nay needed, an Idol, an emaciated, 24-year old ginger kid named Clayton—clad in what looked like a white puka shell necklace and oversized everything—sashayed into a room with the sinister Simon Cowell and told the bitter Brit to his face, (albeit with Cackalacky accent, but without pause or sense of irony) that he was indeed an American Idol. He went on to sing the song he could sing “Always and Forever,” (backwards…and in high heels!), and the Clayton kid who didn’t “look like a pop star but had a great voice” was subsequently welcomed to Hollywood where he would be transformed from fledgling GLEE[k] to shiny, spike-haired showman Clay Aiken, destined to bridge the troubled waters of teen idoldom and middle-aged doldrums, and come in a very close second to season two Idol (R&B Teddy Bear and Luther Vandross revivalist) Ruben Studdard.

Fast-forward seven years, and one of our country’s most beloved reality acts has squeezed a half-dozen albums, a Broadway run, and a series of tours and concerts out of his full 15-minutes of fame. No longer “Invisible” as his first single suggested, Clay Aiken can now be considered a post-modern reality pop culture icon, strongly situated in the same dim but still humming light of public broadcasting specialness shining above John Tesh and below Josh Groban.

There are many reasons to take an askance Cowell-like view of Clay. In a cynical world where a black, Christian community activist from Chicago can be dubbed a Muslim Hitler, just for being called President; where threatening to have a book burning is considered a negotiating tactic; and where the word “celebutante” need exist in the first place; a skinny, red-haired friend of Dorothy from Raleigh, North Carolina, with Welkian inflections and a showtunes repertoire doesn’t stand much of a chance.  So, if you’d told me even a week ago that I’d have learned some hard lessons about life in the fast lane from the man once called the gay Buble’, I’d have said, “maybe?”

I work in public television, where anyone with a PBS contract, a penchant for touring station to station, and a semi-personable demeanor fit for fundraising is considered a friggin superstar. And, in the process, I’ve grown accustomed to the fanaticism surrounding G-Listers, many of whom my friends have never heard of: from Donny Osmond to Mario Frangoulis to the boys from Celtic Thunder (not to mention Tesh and Groban). But the amount of achin’ for Clay Aiken, as he joined us Saturday night to promote his new special and album, “Clay Aiken—Tried and True,” taught me some valuable lessons about the power of self-promotion, social media and selflessness.

Lesson One:
Sustainable Success Appears to Involve Clever and Not-so-clever Name-Sampling
Never heard of “Clack” (News and Information about Clay considered so addictive, it’s Clay + Crack)? Ever been diagnosed with “OCB” (Obsessive Claypulsive Behaviors)? Don’t think you know a “Claynadian,” eh (Clay’s Canuckian Collective)?  These are just a few of many pandemic plays-on-Clay I discovered in the process of promoting “Tried and True” to the obsessive thousands (millions?) of Clay devotees out in The Cloud. The Claynation (I can go on and on) might not have been the first fans to adopt nauseating nomenclature (meet the Grobanites and/or the [Celtic]Thunderheads), but they may the most frenzied (“enthusiastic,” says Aiken). So powerful are the cougared Claymates they’ve been known to stoke the fire of Claytroversy (see the Lambert-Aiken bitchinessfest that could be dubbed “spikeygate”) and even cause the baby-faced object of their Clayfection to stay in the closet well beyond the obvious. Do not F**K with the babysitter, indeed. They are powerful consumers of CDs, concert-tickets, and now, social media about the people they want to listen to and see live. And, if you’ve got something to sell, you should listen. Don Draper would. Because 18-24 year-olds are nice is you can find one with a paycheck. But these Boomers are the true believers and buyers. And this past Saturday, Clack was on sale.

Lesson Two:
Seasoned Fans Know Clack is a Dish Best Snorted Socially
Ever tune in to CNN? That’s the Clay News Network to all of you neophyte nellies out there. Maintained by a self-described “dedicated group of fans with the goal of keeping you updated on all the Clay Aiken news as it happens,” this 24-hour “news” network provides real-time Twitter feeds about all things #clayaiken, video posts, chat rooms, online radio, and profiles visitors from around the world…er, Claynation…making Anderson Cooper, and his online efforts, look like a behind-the-times bottom. In an attempt to harness some of this social networking strength in the weeks leading up to his LIVE appearance on our air, we attempted to capture the affections of the Claymates, challenging them to mobilize and add over 1000 fans to our Facebook page in just 10 days (no small feat on a page that had only managed to accumulate approximately 3000 fans in the two years prior). The 4000th fan (and the “liker” who recommended them to us) would then receive a meet and greet with their very own American Idol. As a consolation prize, non-winners and out-of-staters could participate in a Twitter party while Clay was in the studio (aptly named the “Clay Aiken Tried and True Twitter Party”). At the time, we naively believed we’d struggle to reach 3500 “likers.” But we gambled on the Aiken girls, and much to our social media surprise and delight, in only a week, and with little to no promotion on our own outside of a few teaser posts on Facebook and Twitter, we/they had adopted an additional 700 “likers.” The day prior to Clay’s arrival in studio, we were only 180 fans shy of 4000. In addition, we had recruited well over 200 Twitter party followers (@unctvclay). The all-female Claynation had come through for North Carolina’s public television network, yielding fans from all over, including Brazil, Kenya, Japan, Spain, and not to mention Claynada. Our Facebook “Insights” (the social networking site’s stats) plummeted for males as our middle-aged female Claynation militias came out in full force to like, comment, and debate the upcoming special. Trouble even erupted when we attempted to bring our [Celtic] Thunderheads in on the fun as both sides began debating who was the more talented of their respective pop princes. The Claymates saved the day and the date. On Sept. 10, we chose our Clay Aiken meet and greet winners—a local Facebook fan who had recruited nearly 200 friends and family to the cause along with her best friend, another rabid fan who had never met Clay (satisfying a specification many wanted)—and we proceeded to give all a night to Claymember.

Lesson Three:
Love Thy Claybor
Any social media guru will tell you (although without metrics to prove it), that all the virtual love in the world is nothing without the occasional, or even frequent, in-person community-building. This was never truer than on Sept. 11, 2010. While many joined together to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the worst act of U.S. domestic terrorism ever, about 75 folks came together at UNC-TV to man the cameras, audio, phone banks and Twitter “headquarters,” to open our Fall pledge event with our hometown hero, Clay Aiken. As we balanced trying to make our Claymates feel like goddesses with the demands of an Aiken entourage attempting to limit access, photos, interactions, demands, and the like, we watched a slightly-disaffected, and larger-than-expected red-haired gentleman in an untucked black button-up shirt, tie, frayed jeans and oversized sneakers, wow a local crowd with trivial tales about his latest album, an old-time ode to standards like “Unchained Melody,” and “Build Me Up, Buttercup,” as his PBS special—featuring the same songs live—played in the background.

You’re not star-struck around Clay Aiken—in his spikey hair and man-child demeanor he looked more like one of my interns—unless you’re a Claymate: a woman who remembers both her handsome, high school crush and her actual, sweet high school boyfriend and, in her 40s, 50s, and 60s, longs for only the latter. These mothers of three and grandmothers of more, look at Clay, all true sexuality aside, as the man your man could smell like.

And, ladies and gentlemen, this cynical observer has to say he was just that. (+ bag of chips).

After several hours of Aiken coming in and out of the studio for pledge breaks, we were told the meet and greet might not happen. That Clay’s handlers were too handsy. That the reins were pulled tight and the PBS superstar might not “Clay nice.” But when push came to shove, (meaning when the Claymates reached out to grab him), he was lovely. He even remembered one of them—a fan he had met briefly four years ago—a fact that stuns me to this day.  He hugged them both. Took pictures. Signed autographs. And left the studio and the women in a titter…as Southern women are normally left. And as much as people were happy that we reached out to them virtually via Facebook; or tweeted Clack all night lone; the most over-the-rainbow cats in the whole known universe were obviously the Claymates in the studio, who had just been touched, [quite literally] by the man with the molten locks—and left cuddling their autographs and unable to capture the experience into words (until I forced them to do so on YouTube seconds later).  They ran this show.

That night North Carolina’s local public television network received 236 contributions from 18 states and four countries, eclipsing expectations and I believe solidifying social media’s power and place at the organization’s table.

This was a perfect storm of community and crowdsourcing that only Clayton Holmes Grisson and his merry band of Claymates could teach us. And as I sat exhausted at the end of the night, after all the American Idols and their American fans had gone home, not sure whether I was invisible or invincible but just happy to finally be outside of the night’s Claynado, I knew two things for certain:  the most dangerous thing in the world is the moment you buy what you’ve been selling; and that I had never been Clayer.
Clay's jois de vivre gladdens my heart;
his spiritual consciousness and musical gifts bring  harmony to my soul.

What is beautiful is a joy for all seasons...

Life is a Song ~ Love is the Music

Tiffany

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Re: AIKEN NEWS NETWORK September 14, 2010
« Reply #1 on: September 14, 2010, 09:27:48 AM »
Thanks Johanna. :) It's interesting to say the least. LOL At least the crew did love Clay.

clayharmony

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Re: AIKEN NEWS NETWORK September 14, 2010
« Reply #2 on: September 14, 2010, 11:50:42 AM »

You are welcome, Tiffany...always appreciate your timely contributions to this thread!


Just went back and read the latest responses to that blog...and I don't know who this poster is...I love her reply...have a read...it's great!!


   

Quote
Anne W. Cotton

September 14, 2010

Good read. Clay surprises people constantly because they have this media-driven impression of him that has little to do with the man himself. I do take issue with one thing in your blog: ” even cause the baby-faced object of their Clayfection to stay in the closet well beyond the obvious”. I want to try to say this nicely. I read Mitchell Gold’s book “Crisis” (40 stories of coming out in America). Check it out on Amazon. There’s no way in hell that Clay’s fans had anything to do with his personal timing for coming out. And most of us – hear me – MOST of us – didn’t Give a Damn. But we RESPECTED his right to his personal life, personal decisions. The question should never have been asked of him. He should never have had to answer/dodge/address his sexuality to anyone who wasn’t planning on a date with him! I feel strongly that his timing has WAY more to do with family. He has/had grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, siblings, etc, who have to deal with his celebrity. Not their choice. He is the “star”. He can take a lot of hits. But if you affect someone in his family or inner circle he comes out fighting.
I feel he chose when to come out (and, again, he should have never had to!) according to his personal time table, the people close to him, the people who would have to face the looks, comments and condemnation.
I’m sure he had concerns about the effects on his career. But I think protecting his family was paramount.
Certainly not people like me.
As for me? I love the man. I love his voice. He’s about my son’s age and I think he’s sexy as hell! Doesn’t matter to me who HE thinks is sexy! LOL!
But – I deferred to him to choose what part of his personal life to make public.
Nothing to do with me.
Thanks,
Cotton
Clay's jois de vivre gladdens my heart;
his spiritual consciousness and musical gifts bring  harmony to my soul.

What is beautiful is a joy for all seasons...

Life is a Song ~ Love is the Music

Tiffany

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Re: AIKEN NEWS NETWORK September 14, 2010
« Reply #3 on: September 14, 2010, 02:18:50 PM »
Thanks Johanna. That's Cotton. Great response!

Here's a new interview with Clay from the NY PBS Station. It's 3 parts.

http://www.clackunlimited.com/clack/TV_Appearances/PBS/100913_WLIW-GardenCity-NYC_PledgeBreaks/small_wmv/

He mentions something cute about Parker in Part 2. ;)
« Last Edit: September 14, 2010, 03:04:04 PM by Tiffany »

Tiffany

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Re: AIKEN NEWS NETWORK September 14, 2010
« Reply #4 on: September 14, 2010, 03:04:51 PM »
Clay's PBS Special is on PBS in CT.

CPBN  8PM TONIGHT on CPTV: Clay Aiken--Tried & True Live! http://j.mp/b0mwOR American Idol star performs iconic songs w Linda Eder, Ruben Studdard

Tiffany

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Re: AIKEN NEWS NETWORK September 14, 2010
« Reply #5 on: September 14, 2010, 03:47:57 PM »
From the OFC..........

Special Chicago Concert in October!

9/14/10 at 9:40am by brian

We are excited to announce Clay will be performing an exclusive, one-night-only concert as a fundraiser forWTTW at Park West in Chicago on Oct 14! The performance will be held at the intimate Park West Theatre in Chicago where he will sing his chart-topping hits as well as songs from his brand new album, Tried and True. Enjoy this intimate Clay performance and support local public television all in one night!

Tickets are available now by calling (773) 509-1111 ext. 6 or by visiting www.wttw.com/events. Tickets are non-refundable

Tiffany

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Re: AIKEN NEWS NETWORK September 14, 2010
« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2010, 05:08:38 PM »
Clay blogged at the OFC.

www.clayaiken.com

Marilyn

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Re: AIKEN NEWS NETWORK September 14, 2010
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2010, 01:12:59 AM »
Quote
This just posted on the CB from Kim:

Hey Guys,

My aunt received an email today for the Palace Theatre in Waterbury, CT. It was to announce two new shows that have been added - Wanda Sykes and Clay Aiken. It doesn't list a date for Clay, just February 2011 - though it looks like it may be February 20th as said above.

It lists a number to call and I was going to call them tomorrow (they're closed now) to try to get all the information I can.

Hopefully they will tell us more tonight, but I will still call the box office tomorrow and will keep you guys up to date.

Kim
ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

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