Topic: AIKEN NEWS NETWORK FEBRUARY 23, 2011 (Read 2383 times)

Marilyn · « **on:** February 23, 2011, 11:01:22 AM »

Clay Aiken concert review: he is more than an amazing voice

Clay Aiken knows how to entertain a crowd. He performed without an intermission for close to 2 hours at Goucher College in Towson. The venue was small and the seats were elevated with plenty of leg room, so there wasn’t a bad seat in the house.

This concert was as up close and personal as you can get. Clay commands the stage and this was like we were all one big happy family. He doesn’t just stand there and sing – he puts on a show that has lots of variety. One thing in particular that is a real eye opener is that Clay lets his back-up singer and band members shine by putting the spotlight on them throughout the show. His bass player was able to tell a joke, he showcases their talent with their instruments and he banters with them as well as the audience.

The songs from his latest CD may have been from the 50’s and 60’s, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this was a boring or formal concert; his fans ranged from age 13 to 94. Clay manages to outdo himself with every show he puts on. This concert was very casual with lots of humor and surprise acts along the way. His camaraderie with the audience is priceless, but his voice is astounding.

Check out the video to the left that samples some of his songs on this tour. Also, you can check out my previous article that includes an 11 minute phone interview with Clay here.

Have you seen Clay’s Tried & True Tour?

NICE REVIEW- AND SHE HAS PICS

EXAMINER.COM

Tiffany · « **Reply #1 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:00:28 PM »

That was Gloria writing that. She sat next to me and my friend and her MIL was the Clay Virgin. LOL That is a great review.

Tiffany · « **Reply #2 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:17:55 PM »

Here's some great pics from The Baltimore Sun.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/music/bal-clay-aiken-pictures,0,5201974.photogallery?index=bal-bs-ae-clay-aiken-pam20110223070617

Tiffany · « **Reply #3 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:32:47 PM »

Clay on the Charlotte Morning show.

http://www.wcnc.com/video?id=116743329&sec=552187

Marilyn · « **Reply #4 on:** February 23, 2011, 03:35:29 PM »

Clay Aiken: "It's none of your business"

by NewsChannel 36
WCNC.com
Posted on February 23, 2011 at 12:54 PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – North Carolina native and former 'American Idol' contestant Clay Aiken visited Charlotte Today Wednesday to talk about his newest album and his experiences in the public eye.

Aiken appeared on the second season of 'American Idol'. Since then he’s managed to stay true to himself while working in the music industry.

“It is a business; people have to make their money. So there have definitely been people who have wanted me to dress this way or whatnot,” Aiken admitted. “I try to equate it to when I was growing up and my mom or my teacher would try to use the slang terms that the kids were using, and it just didn’t sound right coming out of their mouth. I remember one point a record executive tried to have me in this leather jacket, and I was like, ‘really? No, that doesn’t work for me, that doesn’t look right.’ It’s much easier to be who you are. I think people see through it when you’re not really being yourself.”

When Aiken first emerged as a musician, there was a lot of speculation about his sexuality. He has been the butt of several jokes from comedians like Kathy Griffin. As his career has progressed he has figured out how to focus on the aspects of the job that he likes, such as the music, while downplaying things like the media attention and teasing he has received.

“The first year of a job you’re sort of getting used to it so initially, it did hurt my feelings at first. Then I didn’t care as much, I kind of understood it was part of the job. Then that kind of thing became a nuisance and then eight years on – I have a choice. I can go back to teaching or I can stick with it and this is something that comes with the job,” Aiken said.

He does understand the need for media attention in his industry.

“There’s also the argument that if it weren’t for this morbid and completely unwarranted fascination with me the person, I wouldn’t have the opportunities there as much. If I wasn’t so fascinating as an individual, maybe people wouldn’t want to let me keep singing,” he said with a smile. “It’s kind of a catch-22.”

But as far as the speculation into his sexual orientation, Aiken said that publicly admitting he is gay was not a relief.

“There was probably more of a feeling of animosity towards people who thought it was their business,” Aiken said.

He said his sexuality wasn’t a secret.

“I wasn’t in the closet before,” he said. “I was out to friends here in Charlotte; I was out to pretty much everyone I knew. I feel like there’s a little bit of hypocrisy there. People who are gay who live in Charlotte, who live anywhere else, they don’t have to come out to the world. And I didn’t either. People knew, I had told my family, I’d told friends, people knew but I had not told ‘you’ and it’s none of your business.”

Aiken disclosed that he is gay in a 2008 issue of People Magazine. He appeared on the cover of that issue with his infant son.

He says that fatherhood is great. Right now, while he’s on tour, his son is with his mother.

“It makes me homesick even more,” Aiken admitted.

But he is enjoying a little downtime from being a dad.

“Several people [on the tour] have kids and while we miss them, we enjoy the fact that we can sleep a little longer in the morning,” he said.

Aiken is currently touring to promote his album “Tried and True.” The album is made up of songs from the 1950s and 1960s.

“It’s songs my mom played or sang while I was growing up and that was the soundtrack to my childhood,” he explained.

Clay Aiken grew up in Raleigh and graduated from UNC Charlotte in 2003

THERE ARE 25 PHOTO'S AT THIS SITE

WCNC

Marilyn · « **Reply #5 on:** February 23, 2011, 05:11:11 PM »

For Clay Aiken, it's all about being comfortable.

After a slight adjustment period, the former special education teacher from North Carolina who shot to prominence on "American Idol" in 2003 has come to terms with his post-"Idol" life.

"I really loved the TV aspect of 'American Idol' and the idea of doing something different for people every week," said Aiken, calling from a tour stop in Pittsburgh. "In high school, I would always say, 'I can do other things, too.' That's followed me into adulthood. . . . I have a lot of different irons in the fire."

Aiken's current priority, aside from his 2-year-old son, Parker, is his current "Tried and True" tour, which stops at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury Saturday.

"Tried and True" features songs from the '50s and '60s. How did you get an attachment to songs written before you were born?

The biggest reason is my mom. She loved that music and would sing these songs around the house. . . . Another reason is that in that era people really sang well. They were singers instead of artists where the producer makes them sound like a robot the whole time.

It should make for a different tour than your last one with Ruben Studdard.

It lets me be more flexible. We even let the audience take a song and choose the style. We had a calypso style the other night. . . . The important thing for me is to make sure the songs all fit the show and feel like they're from that era. We even take contemporary songs and give them a lush, orchestral arrangement. . . . We've done "Invisible" that way, and even "Footloose" and "Baby One More Time."

You don't have a record label at the moment.

The industry is more interested in immediate hits rather than careers that last. If I was going to sign a deal, it would be a short-term one, not for multiple albums. I don't really want to be in the studio as much right now. I love touring. I love what I'm doing.

The music industry has certainly changed.

It's in the process of reinventing itself and we have to look at things in a different way. A few years ago, you had to have a major label behind you. Now, it doesn't necessarily behoove you to have one.... just won the Grammy for Album of the Year and they're on a tiny, tiny label in Durham, near where I'm from and that's not exactly a music industry mecca. With everything changing so fast, I don't think it's a good idea to be in a long-term deal. It restricts you.

You've spent a lot of time recently talking about bullying.

I got bullied my entire life, so it hits close to home. I've always been tracking that cause in particular. Unfortunately, last year it got a lot of attention because so many gay males tragically took their own lives. That wasn't a new thing. Bullying has been happening for decades but it just got more attention... The group I've joined GLSEN focuses on an area where most people won't disagree. No matter where you are on the ideological spectrum, no one believes that kids shouldn't be safe at school. Nobody thinks that kids should be abused or called names so much that they want to take their own lives. That's not OK.

WHAT: Clay Aiken WHEN | WHERE: 8 p.m. Saturday, NYCB Theatre at Westbury, 960 Brush Hollow Rd., Westbury

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