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Archive => Media & Appearance Archive => Topic started by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:07:22 PM

Title: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:07:22 PM
Melodie
Administrator
2003: PRESS & MEDIA
« on: June 25, 2003, 09:12:59 PM »   

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Listen to 5 soundclips from Observer reporter Leigh Dyer's exclusive interview with Clay:

Charlotte.
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:08:02 PM
Melodie
Administrator
 FOX AFFILIATE REJECTED CLAY - OOPS!!
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2003, 09:16:52 PM »   

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CHARLOTTE OBSERVER:

Posted on Wed, May. 14, 2003   
 
Local Fox affiliate rejected Aiken

Did Fox 18 mess up?

That's the question Charlotte's Fox affiliate (WCCB) will try to answer when it airs, for the first time, the tape of Clay Aiken's first audition for the "American Idol" show on tonight's "Fox News at 10" broadcast.

The station held a contest last October to select one Carolinas contestant for a guaranteed audition in front of the "Idol" judges in Atlanta -- and Aiken lost. A panel of judges (Ramona Holloway of 107.9 The Link; freelance television producer Anne Oberlander; Lonnie MacFadden, music director for Swing 1000; and Scott Bauer of the performing arts department at Central Piedmont Community College) instead chose Quiana Parler, a 23-year-old singer from Charleston. Parler was one of the last contestants "Idol" judges cut before the show narrowed its field to the final 32 contestants.

In the audition, Aiken sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" sporting his pre-makeover tousled red hairdo and glasses. Holloway said his voice was great, but his nerdy image wasn't. "It was just like Opie being the next `American Idol,' " she said. "At the time it didn't appear that Clay had the whole package."

Aiken, undeterred by the cold shoulder in Charlotte (where he was a UNC Charlotte student at the time), went on to audition in Atlanta on his own and has become a breakout star on the show, where he is a top-three finalist. He finds out tonight whether viewer votes will send him to next week's finale.

STAFF WRITER Leigh Dyer 

Charlotte.com
 
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:08:57 PM
Melodie
Administrator
CLAY LAUDED FOR WORK WITH YOUTH
« Reply #2 on: June 29, 2003, 11:07:16 AM »   

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From LifeWay.com:

'American Idol' finalist Clay Aiken Lauded for Work with Youth

RALEIGH, N.C. (BP) — After beginning with thousands of hopefuls, "American Idol" contestants have been narrowed to two – including a Southern Baptist. Clay Aiken, of Leesville Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, survived elimination on the May 14 broadcast of the Fox network show and will advance to compete in the final round against Birmingham, Alabama native, Ruben Studdard.

Studdard and fellow finalist Kimberly Locke of Gallatin, Tennessee – who was voted off the show May 14 by a margin of only 4 percent – have both joined Aiken in expressing their religious beliefs on air.

Aiken, 24, was a studious special education major at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, devoted to helping kids through the struggles of life, when suddenly a chance at stardom was thrown his way.

At the advice of friends, Aiken traveled to Atlanta last October to camp out for four days before auditioning for the second season of American Idol, the Raleigh News & Observer reported. After more than 1,800 potential idols in Atlanta were narrowed down to 20, Aiken was among those who joined contestants from six other cities in Hollywood. There, the performers were narrowed down to 30, then to 12 and so on.

Along the way, Aiken's strong character has been noticeable. He has told reporters that the influence he has gained as a finalist is worth more to him than the money or the fame. Influence is something he used for good even before his stardom, as he worked as a YMCA counselor in his hometown.

"I enjoy singing, and I love performing. There's definitely a thrill you get from performing on stage when everybody's cheering for you, and then there's a completely different kind of thrill when you're working with children," Aiken told the News & Observer. "You don't necessarily get the applause, and you don't necessarily get the cheers and the pats on the back and everything, but there's a different kind of acceptance. There's a totally different type of feeling of worth when you work with kids."

Aiken had a strong fan base with the children even before his American Idol days, and the difference he made in their lives was obvious. "I have witnessed him take a child with autism who couldn't communicate, and by the end of the school year, with Clayton just talking to her and working with her with cue cards and picture cards, that child could say a handful of words," Jeff Flake, a supervisor of after-school programs at the YMCA, told the News & Observer.

In his Q&A on the American Idol Web site, Aiken said, "American celebrities have an amazing amount of influence on the way America thinks, feels and acts. I think that such influences should be used in the most positive way possible," when asked why he wanted to be an American idol.

Also in the Q&A, Aiken said success, happiness, and stability are his goals in life. "I would love to be known as a generous and selfless person," he added.

Because of the realization of his influence, Aiken said he holds back sometimes when one of the show's three judges, Simon Cowell, harshly criticizes him on camera. Though he says he has it in him to return some of the quips to Cowell, he refrains because "children might be watching."

"I don't think that's an example I want to set for somebody – not if I want to be the American Idol," he said in the News & Observer.

http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0,1703,A%253D153355%2526M%253D50012,00.html
 
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:10:47 PM
Melodie
Administrator
AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 2 CD
« Reply #3 on: July 06, 2003, 09:33:17 AM »   

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POP: Idolatry Take 2, thy name is love

"American Idol Season 2: All-Time Classic American Love Songs," various artists, RCA **
It would have been nice to have a recording of Clay Aiken's masterful rendition of Neil Sedaka's "Solitaire" or Ruben Studdard's hit-worthy covers of the Manhattans' "Kiss and Say Goodbye" or the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart."

Alas, the producers of "American Idol" are impatient. Rather than waiting to see what the kids had to offer as the season went on, they rush-released this karaoke collection of love songs from the second season's cast to capitalize on the show's popularity while it was still airing.

Hence, Clay is saddled on the CD with Jeffrey Osborne's mediocre "On the Wings of Love." Ruben is luckier. His version of the oft-recorded "Superstar" is soulful, even if he glosses over some of the original song's darker edges. Kimberley Locke's classy read of "Over the Rainbow" is probably the best track.

Since this group of kids can sing considerably better than the weak first-season bunch, "AI:2" is an easier listen than the terrible "American Idol — Greatest Moments" CD featuring the first cast.

"American Idols Live" perform July 8 at Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul. — Howard Cohen, Miami Herald

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/entertainment/music/6227688.htm
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:11:44 PM
Melodie
Administrator
TITN SONGWRITER CHRIS BRAIDE
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2003, 05:56:50 AM »   

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FROM MANCHESTER, UK:

Chris is a number one man

David Skentelbery

A SONGWRITER from Warrington is a hit on both sides of the Atlantic after his new song went straight to number one in America's Billboard Hot 100.

This is the Night, performed by American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken, was co-written by former Woolston High School pupil Chris Braide, 30 and Aldo Nova, from Montreal.It sold 397,000 copies in the first week. And although it has now dropped to third place, it has already sold more than half-a-million copies.

If it maintains its progress, it could become one of the biggest-selling records of recent years.

And it's a second bonanza for Chris. Last year, he co-wrote the song for British Pop Idol Will Young which was a hit before if was even released, with 1.2 million copies pre-ordered by fans.

He co-wrote his new song after meeting Aldo Nova in Miami where he was writing for American Idol.

Delighted

The pair "just clicked" and although Clay Aiken did not win American Idol with the song, the record is outselling Flying Without Wings by the winner Ruben Studdard. This entered the chart at number two.

Chris, who lives in Richmond, Surrey, with wife Olivia, said: "I am absolutely delighted - it's quite rare to go straight in at number one.

"We're still celebrating and I still can't believe this has happened. I've been getting calls from all over the place, including Los Angeles and Miami, from friends in the business who have heard the news.

"The first time my wife heard the song, it brought tears to her eyes, and she predicted it was going to be a massive hit. But we're both surprised just how big a hit it is.

"Now, without wishing to sound arrogant, getting a number one is like an addiction and I can't wait to do it again." The new Clay Aiken album has two more of Chris's songs on it.

Material

Chris is also working on material for Kylie Minogue's new album and for R and B singer Beverley Knight. "Things are certainly going well and keeping me busy at the moment," he said. "Kylie certainly seems pleased with my song - she's walking around singing it!"

Chris left Warrington 11 years ago but his parents, Ann and Ken, still live at Longbarn and he is a regular visitor to the town.

He also wrote the Children In Need number one record, Have You Ever, for Steps.

When he isn't penning songs, he also plays guitar and piano and has his own band, Braide, which specialises in rock and pop.

Dad Ken said: "We are very proud of his achievements.

"Now it looks like his ship has finally come in."


07/07/2003

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/stories/Detail_LinkStory=62257.html
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:12:52 PM
Melodie
 CLAY-MANIA CONTINUES
« Reply #5 on: July 10, 2003, 07:17:24 AM »   

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July 09, 2003
For Immediate Release
Matt DeMargel

Clay Aiken hasn't been at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in over two months, but memorabilia from his appearance is still paying off for the fans. A Durham Bulls souvenir program featuring Aiken on the cover wearing his Durham Bulls jersey sold for $26 on ebay, the online marketplace, on Monday evening.

"Amazing," Durham Bulls General Manager Mike Birling said, "we've had programs featuring (Hall-of-Fame Second Baseman) Joe Morgan on the cover along with a number of other famous Durham Bulls, but none have had the appeal of Clay."

The program, called Play Ball, is handed out free of charge to all fans at Durham Bulls games. The team switched from the 80-page program to the 16-page playbill in 2002 in order to get the team's information in the hands of more fans. Different photos are regularly featured on the cover, however, Aiken is the first person to dawn the cover that is not a member of the Durham Bulls.

The picture features Aiken on the pitcher's mound waving to the crowd of over 10,000 fans before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on Thursday, May 8th. Aiken also sang the national anthem before the game that evening. His popularity covinced Birling to give Clay another run on the cover of Play Ball.

"We will definitely use that picture again," Birling continued, "Clay's appearance generated a sellout at our game that evening, so the least we can do is give him a second printing on our program."

http://www.durhambulls.com/cgi-bin/showPressRelease.cgi?id=949966137
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:13:14 PM
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  CLAY INTERVIEW - COLUMBUS DISPATCH
« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2003, 02:47:50 PM »   

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An Idol Moment
By Ashley McKnight THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Clay Aiken reinvented himself during his American Idol journey. From red hair and glasses to red leather and contacts, he mastered everything along the way to creating a pop image.
Everything, that is, except dancing.
His inability to dance was the subject of controversy: Paula Abdul begged him to give it a try on the show. When he did, Simon Cowell told him to put those hips away. Fortunately for Aiken, professional dancers will gyrate for American Idols Live!, which kicked off Tuesday in St. Paul, Minn.
"Amen!" Aiken said, reacting with relief to the fact that he won't have to shake his groove thing on tour.
The 2003 American Idol runnerup (Ruben Studdard finished No. 1) took time from rehearsals in St. Paul last week to talk about his experience on television and with the tour.
The 24-year-old chatted on a cellphone as he caught up with other Idol finalists and tour members.
"I'm getting in the elevator, so I might lose you," the Raleigh, N.C., native warned in his friendly Southern drawl. "If I do, I'll call you back."
Aiken was a senior at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte when he tried out for American Idol. A special-education major, he worked with a program for people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities.
Aiken said the live show features numbers from the TV show, including Flying Without Wings and Bridge Over Troubled Water. Yet fans can expect to hear more-current songs.
This tour has "lots of stuff that people haven't seen before, so it should be a pleasant surprise," he said.
"We were told that even the Idols can expect some surprises."
He and the other finalists will have the chance to show off their personalities a little more, Aiken said.
"That's the most exciting thing about this tour."
And, of course, he and Ruben will sing from their albums and perform together.
Asked whether their friendship is as tight as it seems, Aiken replied solidly, "Absolutely."
During the conversation, Aiken laughed at a comment from someone in the background. The group has been through so much together that they are "just really excited about being back together. We're doing what we love," he said.
"We knew each other when we started as nothing, when we were just hopefuls. Now we all know where the other person came from. None of us are starstruck with the other.
"We're thrilled about being together for two months, maybe not about being on a bus for two months, though!"
While they might love performing, they don't always enjoy other aspects of the business.
"We hate rehearsals," he said with a laugh.
Aiken recommends American Idol to aspiring performers as a lesson about the inner workings of the music industry.
And he isn't worried that the pop label will keep people from taking him or his comrades seriously.
"I don't think so because the American public picked all of us."

amcknight@dispatch.com

MUST REGISTER TO VIEW ARTICLE & PICTURE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:14:34 PM
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  MTV ARTICLE - TITN VIDEO
« Reply #7 on: July 12, 2003, 08:01:29 AM »   

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MTV : Clay Aiken's 'Night' Video Says 'This Is The Soul'

 The shining moment from Clay Aiken's photo session for Rolling Stone came accidentally, when photographer Matthew Rolston caught the singer looking away while he changed lenses.

Rolston told Aiken not to move and snapped a picture that not only became their favorite in the magazine, it served as inspiration for the "American Idol 2" runner-up's video for his first single, "This Is the Night."

"He's a very soulful artist, and I think that comes from someplace within, and somehow the moment of that photograph seems to convey it," explained Rolston, who directed the video Thursday. "It just was a moment."

Rolston, whose résumé includes clips for Madonna and the Backstreet Boys, recaptured that moment by filming the video in a similar setting.

"It's a little bit like if you could be behind the scenes at one of my photo shoots," Rolston said of the video. "There's a few different scenes, different backgrounds, changes of clothes — it's very simple. First and foremost it's Clay performing, which he does very well.

"You can see a photographer silhouetted in the foreground of some scenes, and a camera and some lights, but it's not pushed very heavy," he continued. "Most of it you're within the world of whatever scene he's in."

The video, which includes scenes shot in black and white, was shot in a studio on the top floor of an old vaudeville theater in downtown Los Angeles. With his selection of backdrops and the natural lighting from floor-to-ceiling windows, Rolston created a timeless feel.

"My visuals don't illustrate the subject of the song; they are all about getting you a portrait of this new young performer," he said.

"This Is the Night," which topped the singles chart when it was released alongside Aiken's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" cover last month (see "Has America Changed Its Mind? Clay Beats Ruben On Singles Chart"), will be featured on his as-yet-untitled debut, due in September (see " 'Idol' Chatter: Ruben, Clay, Others Discuss Post-Show Plans").

Clive Davis is executive producing the project, which will feature many of the same producers and songwriters who worked on Kelly Clarkson's Thankful, including Steve Mac (Nick Carter), Cliff Magness (Avril Lavigne) and Desmond Child (Cher).

Steve Morales (Christina Aguilera) and Rick Nowels (Dido) also worked with Aiken on the album before he kicked off the Pop Tarts Presents American Idols Live tour Tuesday in St. Paul, Minnesota (see "After 'Idol,' Clay And Ruben Will Share A Stage 39 More Times"). The outing hits Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

MTV LINK TO VIDEO STORY

—Corey Moss
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:15:30 PM
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  IS CLAY AIKEN A TRUE IDOL? - FOLLOW UP
« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2003, 01:33:52 AM »   

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Beavers On Idol
American  Idol: Follow Up to "Is Clay Aiken a True Idol?"
by James Shepherd (2003/07/15)

As a courtesy to all Clay fans and "fanatics" who emailed me in response to my article of July 13th, "Is Clay Aiken a True Idol?" this message is for you. Thank you very much for all of your warm, courteous and informative emails. It would be virtually impossible to email all of you individually, therefore, please accept this article as my only way to get back to you.

I do thank each and everyone of you from the bottom of my heart. You reveal the extraordinary class and good nature that Clay has shown as he increasingly becomes the true idol that you are making him. I would also like to take the opportunity to incorporate some of the feedback you have given to me that has proven to be most valuable indeed. This input comes not only from your emails, but also from some of the Clay message boards that I have been trying to follow that are currently discussing my July 13th article. It is so very hard to keep up with the activity on those Clay message boards. I know that if I have missed anything, I will find out very shortly after this article is published.

Profile of a Clay Fan
My July 13th article left the false impression that Clay fans are mainly teenaged girls. I do apologize for this oversight. I knew better than this well before I wrote the article and I should have been clearer. It is difficult to find out the average profile statistics of the Clay fan, and I still assume that a significant proportion are young and female, however, I am more than aware that there are many males who are fans of Clay, and that age seems to be no barrier as to Clay's appeal. There are men and many women of all ages, right up into their 80s who are fanatical about Clay. This is truly extraordinary indeed and shows that Clay has a much wider appeal than the traditional singing idols. In other words, Clay is not necessarily just a "youth-appeal" idol as were Elvis Presley and The Beatles. This is a very important point to make.

The Three Requirements
I knew that I was taking a risk in listing what I felt were the three remaining requirements to establish Clay as a true idol. Obviously, the first requirement of the need for increased security for Clay during the Tour has been fulfilled already. I received many responses on that point, and the evidence given to me was convincing enough to establish in my mind the truth of the claims. Clay, apparently has been assigned two and sometimes three body guards to keep him safe, whereas the other contestants on the Tour freely mix and mingle with the crowd; including Ruben.

Obviously, the Tour management feels this is a necessary precaution, but not because Clay's fans are wild people who would rip him to shreds just to obtain a relic from his person, but simply because there is always a risk that a crowd can get out of hand. It is a wise precaution, in my opinion, but it does speak volumes.

It would seem that evidence is also coming forth through eye-witness accounts that people are swooning when Clay is performing on the Tour. Also, the cheers from the Tour audiences increases significantly when Clay appears on stage. In any event, the first two requirements I listed have or are being fulfilled.

Generally speaking on the three requirements I listed, an argument was put forward that such requirements are really not appropriate because these three have been fulfilled by the fans of performers other than those true idols such as Sinatra, Presley and The Beatles. Quite frankly, I have no counter to this argument for this is quite true. I simply wanted to acknowledge this fact for the record, but also add that time is perhaps the only factor that can identify a true idol. In other words, the impact that a true idol has on the culture or a segment of society can only be seen through the looking back through a point in time decades later. We can now see and understand the impact that Sinatra and Presley had on music. As for The Beatles, their impact was felt not only in music but in fashion, attitude and to some extent, spirituality. As to the positive or negative effects these impacts had is always an area of further argument and debate. This leads me quite nicely into the next topic.

Clay as a Role Model
One of the requirements of the contestants of American Idol is that they should present a good role model to society. Fox took a very firm stand on their decision regarding Frenchie Davis in spite of a rather large and well organized protest to force it to overturn its decision. As for Clay Aiken, it is hard to imagine a better role model for society than what he projects.

The top finalists on American Idol 2 seemed to show strong evidence that they are established in the Christian faith. All  were from the Bible Belt, and so this should not have been a surprise to AI viewers. I admired their willingness not to hide their faith, which shows conviction and courage. In my opinion, this is a very good foundation from which to become excellent role models.

In reviewing previous true idols, some projected through their music a spirit of rebellion against the society from which they came. There is nothing wrong with protest, but if the alternative presented is non-existent or negative, it makes the protest rather futile.

Clay seems to present an extraordinary positive role model for youth and for society in general. He brings with him his Christian values, but he has influenced his fans to support his charities too, e.g., Autism Society and Finley YMCA. There is no telling where this will all lead to, but one thing is for sure, this direction is very positive indeed and makes him stand out amongst the idols that preceded him.

FCC Investigation
One would have to be blind in following American Idol material to have missed that there are Clay fans who have swamped the FCC with complaints that something was wrong with the final voting. I do not know if anything will come of this investigation, if there is one. At this point in time, it might be best to simply let the whole thing drop because Clay's true "idolship" will be confirmed or denied by his fans.

However, I did want to comment on this area because when I first started to write about American Idol, I wrote about the voting system and how it should be changed. Later on, I reversed my position because if American Idol is not to be just a singing competition, and if it truly did want to find an "idol," then the multiple vote method that AI uses is perfect for finding an idol.

This is what I find disturbing about the final vote for American Idol 2. Clay fans have demonstrated time and time again their intense loyalty to Clay. You can see it plastered across the Internet today, and I doubt it was much different a couple of months ago. So, how in the world Ruben received the majority of the votes is beyond me. It just does not make any sense.

A loyal fan of a contestant will continually vote on the telephone for the entire time allotted, whereas a "normal" fan might vote for a few minutes and then walk away. Considering the non-activity of Ruben's message boards on Ezboard.com, I would safely say that Ruben might have a lot of fans, but they seem pretty normal to me. Whereas if you go to one of Clay's message boards, your head will spin because of the activity.

Perhaps there is a simple and logical explanation as to why so many Clay fans could not get through to vote on the phones. I understand that Clay's mother tried for two hours before giving up because not one call would go through. But quite frankly, to me this whole business sounds very suspicious. It would be nice to find out the truth behind this matter.   

Clay's Singing
After discussing the voting controversy, I just wanted to leave on a positive note. Over the past few days, I have been trying to analyze as to why Clay's singing has affected so many people and so deeply. You just have to read some posts or emails from Clay's fans and it won't take long to realize that this is a firm truth.

I doubt this is an original thought, and I do not have the time to scour all the Clay Aiken boards to find where I should give credit, but I'm sure it's there somewhere. In any event, all I can do is go by my own reaction to Clay's singing and start from there. Yes, I do like his singing, and yes, there is something special about it.

I believe that Clay has a unique gift of taking a well-known and great song, sung by an equally great singing star, and somehow making it sound better than the original. How Clay does this is beyond me, but I do believe that this is at least the effect. Surely such a special gift as this should allow Clay to have a very long and successful recording career.

James Shepherd is the Editor of Beavers On Idol and webmaster for www.americanidolatry.com (a website for Canadians who love American Idol).

BEAVERS ON IDOL
 
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:19:00 PM
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  A NEW BREED OF FANS FOR A NEW BREED OF STAR - ARTICLE
« Reply #9 on: July 20, 2003, 11:13:02 PM »   

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American  Idol: A New Breed of Fans for a New Breed of Star
by LWLHD Committee (2003/07/17)
 
The New Breed of Fan
There’s a new breed of American fans out there. To borrow a phrase, a softer, gentler breed . These are the fans who don’t grab the media’s attention because they don’t make splashy sound bites. You won’t see them clamoring for autographs or jumping in front of studio cameras or pushing through the red carpet line. In fact, you probably wouldn’t have noticed them at all if they hadn’t multiplied by the hundreds of thousands, behind the meteoric rise to fame of American Idol star and Billboard chart topper Clay Aiken.

Somehow Clay Aiken attracts the kind of fan who doesn’t really like the label “fan.” Many of the people buying Clay’s singles and requesting airplay for his songs have never before belonged to a fan club. They are themselves somewhat perplexed by their fascination with the young singer from North Carolina .
 
Scratch almost any Clay Aiken internet fan club, and you won’t find the homogenous, frenzied, teenaged pack you’d expect. The tweenies are there, of course, but they’re joined by an older, steadier crowd who has helped put Clay over the top because their own brand of fervor is backed by their pocketbooks.

If you enter a Clay internet message board, you could find yourself exchanging messages with folks who have Masters degrees, who run their own businesses, who are up for partnership at their firm. Sometimes you have to pry that information out of them—they still haven’t quite convinced themselves that there isn’t something unseemly about adoring a 24-year old pop star.
 
But as you talk, you discover this brand of adoration isn’t much like the usual fan club fawning over a star’s eye color or love life. There’s a little more to it. People are talking about Clay because of who he is beneath the stage makeup and newly-spiked locks. Why the fascination?


The New Breed of Star
Clay's explosive rise to fame confounded accepted industry wisdom about what America wants in a “pop star.” Why did the first single from a relative unknown sell more units its first week than those of any recording star other than the venerable Elton John, whose single “Candle in the Wind” was a tribute to the immensely popular Princess Diana?

Yes, Clay does have a tremendous set of pipes. But, honestly, so do a lot of other people the media never says boo to. And, yes, he’s easy on the eyes. But in the entertainment industry, personal trainers and the magic scalpel guarantee that a pretty face is no rare commodity. And winsome personality? Sure. Clay’s got that in spades. As do a lot of other celebrities—or, shall we at least submit that projecting charisma on Leno is second-nature for most in Tinseltown. So how did Clay Aiken get picked up on the radar screen like an incoming missile?

Let’s pull out an old-fashioned word: character. Your character is the genuine, guileless you. The you that decides what’s most important in your life and pursues it, consciously or unconsciously And if you’re an artist, your character—your heart, your soul, your intentions, your dreams-- is what distinguishes your art from the art of others.
 
Why is it when Clay Aiken sings, jaws drop? Because his character and personality well up and out of his throat in a way that turns his amazing range, tone, and near-perfect pitch into a sound that transcends technique. It’s a sound that raises goose bumps. It’s a sound coming from somewhere deep inside Clay. And people don’t forget it.

Clay's character is what makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Something shines above and beyond his good looks and raw talent. Something pulls it all together into a whole that rises enough above the rest of the pack that we sit up and take notice. It’s Clay's character that propels him uniquely apart from the generic, pouty-lipped pop stars the music industry hands us with a knife and fork.

Traditionally, the music industry dictates what’s “cool” and we nod happily and run out to spend our money on it. Sit in at an industry board meeting while they map out the schema for their next star-in-the-making. Do you really think you’d hear them suggest the next big thing will come in the shape of a 24-year old who says grace in public restaurants, who never swears, and who refuses to drink alcohol in public? All of which Clay Aiken does. Or do you think they’d propose the star-to-be de-emphasize his entertainment career by stating that he’s only doing this for a few years before returning to a teaching job? Which Clay has also done.

Music industry types might not have chosen Clay Aiken as the arbiter of “cool” for their star-making machine, but, by sticking to his guns, Clay has managed to redefine cool. Clay is going to follow his own moral compass no matter what you think. And it doesn’t really matter if Clay’s beliefs and actions are ones you yourself would choose. Living inside your own convictions, without apology, without concern for others’ opinions, is perhaps the coolest thing of all. And it’s also, without doubt, one of the most attractive traits an individual can possess. Good bone structure and a nice set of pipes can’t even touch the sheer force of a steady self-assurance.

Where Star and Fans Meet
So it only makes sense that a pop star who breaks the mold will engender mold-breaking fans as well. Clay’s got character. He stands for things. And Clay’s fans, that new breed, want to stand for things too.
 
Here’s an example. Clay has stated publicly that he wants to use his celebrityhood to raise public awareness of a cause close to his heart: helping children with autism. So what do his fans do? They organize bake sales and car washes and donation drives to raise funds for their local autism societies. They set up web sites and non-profit associations to bring attention and money to autism support services. That’s work. That’s a little more than buying posters or concert tickets.

If you talk to these fans, many will tell you that Clay first caught their eye because of his undeniable talent. But Clay stayed in their sights as little parts of his character trickled out into the media. The fans point out that Clay—who has been handed more instant fame and money than most of us can even imagine—said the first thing he’ll do with his money is open a foundation for autism. And this is not idle talk: foundation setup is under way.
 
Many fans assert this young man from North Carolina has re-ignited their own ideals, which had somehow gotten lost under the shuffle of job, marriage, and children. In some way that’s still not entirely clear, Clay has struck a chord. And, to judge by record sales, hundreds of thousands of people are responding.

So we’re left with a new breed of fans for a new breed of star. If you push one of these new fans hard enough, you’ll probably get an abashed admission that, yes, as a matter of fact, Clay is pretty darn hot. Wanting to do good works doesn’t preclude wanting a hug or a five-minute conversation with Clay. But just as Clay refuses to view himself as a pop icon, so does this new breed refuse to treat him as a commodity that must be shared with any stranger who asks. These fans prefer to honor Clay without hounding him for attention or pushing themselves into the spotlight alongside him.
 
Clay Aiken, by remaining true to his character and his passions, demands a respect we would much less likely give any prefab, impossibly cool, pop-star product doled out to us by the music industry. And so these new fans step back from the autograph line, step towards non-profit work, and make room for the young singer who has reminded them of what matters most in their lives and their world.
 
The LWLHD Committee (Look What Love Has Done), can be reached at this email address: lwlhd2003@yahoo.com
This Committee also manages the following website: http://www.lwlhd.org

BEAVERS ON IDOL ARTICLE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:20:30 PM
Cruiser
Guest
  DETROIT FREE PRESS - ARTICLE
« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2003, 11:42:32 PM »   

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Feat of Clay: Ruben won 'American Idol,' so why is Clay Mr. Popularity?
July 18, 2003
BY JULIE HINDS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

When the second season of "American Idol" ended, Ruben Studdard was declared the winner, the people's choice, the big man on TV's talent-show campus.

But ever since, runner-up Clay Aiken has been generating heat.
Clay was on the cover of Rolling Stone. Clay's single beat Ruben's on the Billboard charts. Clay reigns on the Internet.
Clay, Clay, Clay.
To use a Brady Bunch analogy, Clay is Marcia at the moment, with a tendency to hog the attention. And Ruben, well, he could be feeling a bit like Jan.
On Sunday, the "American Idols Live" national tour arrives at Joe Louis Arena. The show was sold out, but some tickets are now available.
With it comes the continuing saga of Clay vs. Ruben.
Buck Head, a disc jockey at WKQI-FM (95.5), says he gets 50 to 80 e-mails each day from Clay fans across the nation.
He can't remember the last time he got a Ruben-themed e-mail.
Last week, the Smokinggun .com posted an item about letters sent by angry Clay fans to the Federal Communications Commission calling for a probe of the Fox network and the "American Idol" viewer voting process.
Hey, Clay fans aren't described as Claymaniacs for nothing.
Some "Idol" watchers, however, are having a hard time figuring out what all the fuss is about.
"People need to get another hobby," says disc jockey Man@ Large of WDRQ-FM (93.1). "Both of them were talented singers . . . This is not Bush and Gore in Florida."
From the start of this year's "Idol" contest, it was clear Ruben and Clay would be standouts.
Ruben, a plus-size hopeful from Alabama, charmed the judges with his velvety tone and unspoiled personality. Clay, a North Carolina contender who looked more like a geek than an entertainer, shocked everyone when a Broadway-ready voice came out of his Harry Potter body.
By the night of the final episode, it was a neck-in-neck race between the two. Then the controversy started.
During the live broadcast, "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest twice announced the wrong numbers for the voting margin. First, he said the difference between Ruben and Clay was 13,000 votes out of 24 million, then he changed it to 1,300. The actual margin was 135,000, and the fumbles were blamed on the TelePrompter and a cue card. Another figure raised more questions. Verizon and SBC Communications reported a surge in calls on the night of the "Idol" vote -- 200 million more than a typical weeknight. Some Clay fans speculated jammed phone lines robbed their favorite of a win. Were the "Idol" results an accurate measure of popularity? Statistics experts caution it's impossible to compare the "Idol" vote -- which allowed viewers to call more than once -- to a one-person, one-vote election or even a national opinion poll.
"I wouldn't take this as who America prefers," says Don Dillman, a social scientist and leading figure in survey methodology who teaches at Washington State University. "This is more of a game. If you want to know who America prefers, I'd go to the Gallup organization and have them do a sample of 1,200 people."
In the days since Ruben's victory, Clay has continued to best him in various contests.
When Clay and Ruben's first singles were released simultaneously -- the better for the "Idol" producers to cash in on their instant fame -- Clay's single ("This is the Night") went to No. 1, with Ruben's single ("Flying Without Wings") close behind at No. 2. This week, Clay is eighth on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and Ruben is at 18.
Clay is also a hot topic on the Web. On the weekly Lycos 50 list of top search topics, Clay rose to No. 1 in mid-June and remains at No. 3. Ruben isn't on the list.
But those who follow the music industry say Ruben could prevail in the long haul.
Clay had a few early advantages in this matchup. Physically, he is closer to the boy-band pop star mold than Ruben.
"He's spiky-haired, cute, looks like Ryan Seacrest," says WKQI's Buck Head. "Ruben's a little bigger. He's not selling sex appeal."
Clay also gave what many considered a grabbier performance during the final "Idol" sing-off. His emotion-laden version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" blew away the judges and eclipsed Ruben's performance.
"I think that's kind of why Clay has been igniting things more than Ruben has," says Detroit native Zena Burns, who's music editor for Teen People.
Clay also was comfortable with the media blitz that accompanied the "Idol" finals. Ruben, in contrast, seemed surprised at the attention.
Burns says Teen People readers seem evenly split between Clay and Ruben. And she predicts Ruben's day will come.
"I think things are going to change drastically when their records come out . . . That's going to be Ruben's time to shine. It's going to be more of an urban pop sound, and that's so hot right now."
For his debut album, Ruben has been working with rapper Fat Joe, among others. Burns says the singles from his album may have a better chance of climbing Billboard's Hot 100 list.
Clay's first album is expected to be in keeping with his image as "more of a male Celine Dion," as Burns puts it.
The albums won't be pitted against each other, as the singles were. RCA has dropped its original simultaneous release date of Aug. 19 and now plans two September releases that will be spaced apart.
Perhaps this will give Clay and Ruben a chance to compete on their own terms, in their own unique styles.
May the best music win.
Contact JULIE HINDS at 313-222-6427 or hinds@freepress.com.

DETROIT FREE PRESS ARTICLE
 
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:23:28 PM
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  THE MARKETABILITY OF CLAY & RUBEN - ARTICLE
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2003, 07:36:09 AM »   

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The Marketability of Clay and Ruben
by Christina Olanick -- 07/22/2003

Simon Cowell may have declared that America choosing Clay and Ruben as the two American Idol finalists was going for talent over image, but Christina would argue that both Clay and Ruben in fact had marketable images from day one. Just what are those images? And who seems poised to be more marketable in the long run?

This past season on American Idol, a big hullabaloo was made out of the whole “talent vs. image” issue. On the Tuesday night finale, judge Simon Cowell, in his supreme wisdom, declared that America got it right by choosing Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken as the top two finalists, thus apparently going for talent over image. Does this indicate a new trend in pop music - one towards quality and away from commerciality? Maybe - but then again, maybe not.
Despite what Simon would have us believe, Clay and Ruben had marketable images from day one, the winner of AI was chosen based on who had the better image, and the real-life winner will be determined by who has more long-term marketability.
In their very lack of the “right” look, Ruben and Clay rediscovered a highly marketable image – that of the lovable misfit. Considering the past popularity of similar personas, from Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp to Ernest Borgnine’s Marty, it’s surprising that everyone was so taken aback by Clay and Ruben’s success. The music industry has been concentrating on promoting brooding bad-boys, simpering sex-kittens, and the like for so long that it’s slipped their minds that people have a need for celebrities they can identify with, relate to, and sympathize with.
Ruben and Clay on American Idol represented the common person’s potential to transcend their own personal stereotype and become a success. Thus, for their representative in the music industry, the American public chose the contestant who appeared to be the most successful. It was Ruben who had that “winner” image. Clay may have been the only contestant never to land in the bottom two or three, but Ruben had the overwhelming support of the judges and the media. They told the public time and time again that Ruben was the winner. Of course, the millions of ordinary people voting wanted a winner to represent them. Ruben’s image in the media won him the AI title (DISCLAIMER: I’m not saying that Ruben didn’t deserve to win, or that Clay should have won. But I have read enough critiques of Clay and Ruben’s singing – by musicians, vocal coaches, music teachers, and even an engineer who used audio analyzing equipment to quantify the quality of their voices – to convince anyone that if the winner was chosen based on vocal skill alone it would have been Clay).
So why was Ruben preordained by the judges (read: Simon) and the media?
In Simon’s case – as third place AI contestant Kimberley Locke astutely pointed out to Paula Abdul after being voted off the show – it was because he thought Ruben was more marketable. That is, Ruben had a cooler image. Really, Simon doesn’t seem to have any taste or discerning ear of his own, but he’s able to pick up on signs and signifiers of what will most readily be accepted by the public. It’s an attribute of his that is most vividly depicted by his wildcard pick – cute and bubbly, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Carmen Rasmusen, whose singing has often been harshly criticized. So when faced with the choice between a big, raspy-voiced, jersey-wearing black guy and a gangly, giggly, freckle-faced white boy, Simon didn’t have too tough a time deciding which one he’d support.
The media was likely thinking along the same lines as Simon – that it was cooler to support Ruben. But they probably also found it easier. After all, there really wasn’t all that much to say about Clay. Sure, he was a nice guy, he worked at the YMCA and taught autistic kids, but who really wants to hear about that? Ruben, meanwhile, seemed to come with his own marketing campaign. He was “representin’ the 205.” He was the “Velvet Teddy Bear.” He was “Ruuuben!” Ruben’s gimmicky image was much more marketable than Clay’s within the American Idol framework and led to him winning the popular vote.
The contest is over now, but the comparisons continue. Will Ruben or Clay have more success in the real world? Now that the fans have the opportunity to get to know their idols beneath their gimmicks; whose image has the power to captivate the public for years to come?
Ruben’s image, unless you count the addition of a new nickname (the “Round Mound of Sound”), has been pretty static. He doesn’t say much in interviews apart from the same-old thanks to God and his fans, the awestruck statement about what an amazing experience it’s all been, and the occasional monosyllabic quip. We haven’t learned anything new about who Ruben really is.
Meanwhile, Clay’s image has been getting more detailed and better defined ever since he was unleashed upon the interview circuit. His chatty nature dominates interviews and he always has funny stories to tell and goofy faces to pull. Clay is an entertainer through and through. He’s also made it clear that there are certain principles he stands for. Besides being the unofficial spokesman for the Autism Society and YMCA and his general good manners, Clay doesn’t believe in premarital sex and would never dream of doing anything he’d be ashamed to have his own children know about. And as Clay’s troubled childhood becomes known to the public, he is becoming an even more sympathetic and admirable person.
Not only is the media finding Clay the more interesting and charming of the two AI finalists, but they’re also beginning to recognize that he has a certain appeal that was not shown to its full advantage on American Idol – namely, sex appeal. Some find it baffling and try to deny it, but hordes of screaming girls can’t be ignored – the fact is that Clay has sex appeal, and plenty of it. It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that possessing such an appeal definitely gives Clay’s image an edge.
The frenzy surrounding Clay is already being compared to Beatlemania. His enormous overall appeal is reflected in his chart-topping single sales, his making the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, his unnamed album rocketing to the #1 spot on Amazon, and the sheer adoration of the crowds for him at the American Idol concerts. Clay’s genuine, sincere nature is what most fans find so endearing about him. Image is still an essential factor in any celebrity’s success, but Clay has proven that “image” is more than how one looks and that it doesn’t have to be constructed by production executives and publicists. He achieved all that he has just by being himself. Ruben may be the “Velvet Teddy Bear,” the “Round Mound of Sound,”and the American Idol, but it’s Clay – plain ol’ Clay - that people can’t get enough of.

THE MARKETABILITY OF CLAY & RUBEN
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:24:46 PM
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  CLAY SUPPORTS AFI'S NATIONAL EXPANSION PROGRAM - ARTICLE
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2003, 04:12:47 PM »   

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AFI's Jean Picker Firstenberg, American Idol's Clay Aiken to Visit Washington July 29 to Support AFI Screen Education Center
Press Release - Tuesday July 22, 3:29 pm ET

Aiken Supports AFI Proposal for Program's National Expansion
 
LOS ANGELES, July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- American Idol's Clay Aiken will visit Washington DC and Capitol Hill on behalf of the American Film Institute (AFI) and the AFI Screen Education Center on Tuesday, July 29.
Clay Aiken, who was completing his studies to become a special education teacher before entering the "American Idol" competition and an astonishing rise to super-stardom, supports AFI's efforts to expand the K-12 AFI Screen Education Center program nationwide.
AFI's Screen Education Center empowers teachers to use filmmaking and media production to engage students in the study of traditional subject matter, get them excited about what they are learning, and give them new tools for expressing their knowledge and understanding. AFI believes screen literacy -- the ability to read and write the language of the screen -- is a core 21st Century skill.
Joining Aiken on July 29 will be AFI Director Jean Picker Firstenberg, AFI Co-Director James Hindman, Director of AFI New Media Ventures Nick De Martino, and Director of AFI Screen Education Mitch Aiken. A day-long itinerary includes visits to the US Department of Education and Capitol Hill, a tour of the White House and an evening reception at Morton's of Chicago.
     
SCHEDULE:

     9:00 a.m. (Estimated)   White House tour (without press)
     10:30 a.m. (Estimated)  U.S. Department of Education
                             Visit with Secretary Ron Paige (tbc),
                             Under Secretary Eugene Hickok
     12:30 p.m.              Lunch in US Capitol's SC-6 with Members of
                             Congress
     2:30 p.m.               Press Opportunity outside US Capitol's Swamp
                             press area
     6:00 p.m.               Reception at Morton's of Chicago,
                             1050 Connecticut Avenue, NW
                             Hosted by AFI Trustee Allen J. Bernstein

More About AFI
AFI is the preeminent organization dedicated to advancing and preserving the art of film, television and other forms of the moving image. AFI trains the next generation of filmmakers at its world-renowned Conservatory, provides film preservation leadership and explores new digital technologies in moviemaking. AFI's New Media Ventures programs bring together the creative and digital communities, as the department seeks to develop a literacy program for the 21st century, helping young people learn to read and write screens of all sizes-cinema, television, computer and the Internet. With AFI ON SCREEN, the institute is the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the US, with programs at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival (AFI FEST); the AFI National Film Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC; and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. A 49,000 square foot complex with three theatres -- one historic, two new state-of-the-art stadium-style theatres -- the AFI Silver exhibits film and video generally unavailable elsewhere in the region. AFI's annual almanac for the 21st century, AFI AWARDS, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year. AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies, 100 Stars, 100 Laughs, 100 Thrills, 100 Passions and 100 Heroes & Villains have ignited extraordinary public interest in classic American movies. During the past 31 years, AFI's Life Achievement Award has become the highest honor for a career in film. More information about AFI can be found by visiting its Web site, located at www.AFI.com .
For further information, please contact: Joan Kirby, +1-301-495-6747, or Peter Mirijanian, +1-202-857-0670, both of AFI.

YAHOO - AFI PRESS RELEASE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:25:06 PM
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  CLAY AIKEN & NYC MAYOR BLOOMBERG - PRESS RELEASE
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2003, 12:46:21 AM »   

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Press Release   Source: Wachovia Bank, N.A.
American Idol Clay Aiken and NYC Mayor Bloomberg Join Wachovia for Grand Opening Celebration Monday
Friday July 25, 9:32 am ET
CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Wachovia Bank, N.A., one of America's leading customer service banks and the largest retail bank on the East Coast, opens its first two Manhattan retail financial centers, Monday, July 28, in Rockefeller Plaza and at Madison Avenue & 45th. The financial centers offer smarter, easier ways to manage money for customers in Manhattan.
     WHAT:     Clay Aiken, the American Idol runner-up whose single, "This is
               the Night," has sold more than a million copies, denoting the
               single as platinum, and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg join
               Wachovia (wa-KO-vee-ah) executives and employees for a
               celebratory ribbon cutting and press conference Monday, July
               28.  The ceremony will include brief remarks from all
               participants and a public Q&A session, followed by an
               opportunity for private one-on-one interviews and photos,
               including interviews with Clay Aiken.  Other activities that
               day include Wachovia street teams, a contest to win one of two
               $5,000 Wachovia accounts, Krispy Kreme donuts for the masses,
               and more.

     PARTICIPANTS:
               Clay Aiken, American Idol Runner-Up, Currently on American
               Idols Live Tour
               NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg
               Ben Jenkins, Head of the General Bank, Wachovia Corp.
               Reggie Davis, CEO, Atlantic Region, Wachovia Bank, N.A.
               Jim Fitzgerald, Regional President, New York/Connecticut,
               Wachovia Bank

     WHEN:     Monday, July 28, 2003
               7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.

     WHERE:    Wachovia Financial Center
               49 Rockefeller Plaza, Suite F
               New York, NY 10020

     CONTACT:  David White, 336.774.9229 (w); 336.406.5622 (cell)
               Kris Kriofske, 336.774.9229 (w); 336.577.7542 (cell)
               Fran Durst, 908.598.3062
               Mary Beth Navarro, 704.374.2292

    SATELLITE: Satellite coordinates for the July 28th Manhattan branch
               opening VNR:
               Feed time:  10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m., July 28
               Telstar 6, Transponder 14
               11966.5 Horizontal

               During the next 18 months, Wachovia plans to build additional
               financial centers in Manhattan and expand its existing ATM
               network throughout the city.

 
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:25:33 PM
Melodie
Administrator
Claynewbie

Posts: 53



     liveDaily Interview: 'American Idol' star Clay Aiken
« Reply #14 on: July 27, 2003, 07:00:37 AM »   

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
by Christina Fuoco

July 25, 2003 04:46 PM - "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken seems naturally inclined to be impeccably nice. While speaking to liveDaily by phone, he pulls up to First Union Arena in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and quickly diverts his attention to a fan.

Oh here. Let me give you a hug," he says to the admirer.

Aiken, 24, of Raleigh, NC, made his way into the hearts of "American Idol" fans by being nice--and having the type of voice that raises the roofs of Broadway theaters.

His first single, "This is the Night/Bridge over Troubled Water," debuted at No. 1, besting "Flying Without Wings/Superstar" by "Idol"-winner Ruben Studdard. The Aiken cut sold nearly 393,000 copies in its first week, making it the biggest debut since Elton John's 1997 "Candle in the Wind" remake surrounding the death of Princess Diana.

Aiken's sales success isn't good enough for some of his fans, apparently. A group of them recently wrote to the FCC claiming that the "American Idol" results were fixed, something that Aiken laughs at. However, the FCC reportedly is looking into the matter.

Aiken talked to liveDaily about his forthcoming album--due out in September--the "American Idols Live" tour and the perils of being popular.

liveDaily: How's the tour going so far?

Clay Aiken: It's going really well. We're having a good time with it. We had some rough dress rehearsals but our shows have been extremely, extremely good.

What was rough about the dress rehearsals?

Oh, we were just forgetting when we were supposed to come in; not knowing our songs, all that stuff. We just had trouble with that. I didn't know the words to some of my songs until the first show.

What are some of the songs that you're singing?

I'm doing "This is the Night" and Ruben and I are doing stuff that will be coming off of our new albums. We're having a good time with it.

Is your album finished?

It's almost done. I'm driving to New York [on July 16] to finish up one [song on July 17], and then I'll be finished. I'm lovin' being finished. Hopefully I can relax.

Who are some of the songwriters you worked with?

Chris Braide worked on "This is the Night," …; Cathy Dennis, she wrote "A Moment Like This" from last year's show. And just a bunch of big-name producers: Clif Magness, who did some stuff with Avril Lavigne; Rick Knowles, who works with Savage Garden, Santana and Michelle Branch; Steve Morales, who did all the Enrique [Iglesias] and Shakira stuff.

What can people expect from it?

The nice thing about it is that it's not a huge departure for me. The record company, myself and the management group have been able to really agree on what we'd like to see from it. We're not going to see a lot of hardcore, inappropriate stuff that I'm not all for. A lot of the stuff is like "This is the Night." It's a pop-flavored album. I think there's a lot of people out there who may not be the best influence for kids. I wouldn't want my kids listening to some of the stuff out there. None of the stuff on the album is like that.

What do you think about all the complaints that "American Idol" was fixed?

It's kind of flattering because it's coming from fans who like me, and all that stuff. But I was on the show and involved closely in it for a long time, and I know everyone who was involved in it. I totally trust the outcome of the show. It was so close. It wasn't like the outcome was 70 to 30 percent. I completely trust the results. Sometimes I just wish people would put their energies into supporting a charity or something like that instead of calling the FCC. (laughs) It concerns me because Ruben's a good, good friend of mine. I totally am proud of him and support everything that he does. Both of us really got exactly what we wanted out of this show. We both went into it hoping to get a recording contract and get this type of career--and we both got it. He's got the title and that's what different. Other than that, we're both having a great time and I'm totally happy with where I am. So, people who want to write letters can write letters to the Autism Society and help them out. (laughs)

How have you handled the sudden stardom?

It's been difficult. It's hard to look at our pictures in newspapers and on magazines and all that type of stuff and think of it as anything more than, "Oh, it's just me. That's my picture. That's not a big deal. Who cares what cover it's on. Who cares what magazine it's in. It's just me." People who scream and cheer for us, it's like, "Wow." It's really hard to take in a lot of times. We're just ourselves when we go up there and sing. It's amazing that--what, nine months after we started the show?--so many people want to be around us and hear us.

How do you get used to that?

You don't. I don't think you can. Every night something's different and new. Last night I had panties thrown on the stage. Every night it's something different. It's extremely flattering every single night. It's all a new experience. It's something that we all wanted to do for so long. We're just enjoying the ride and trying to take it all in.

How do you keep from laughing when women throw their panties on stage when you're trying to sing?

I laughed, right there in front of them. (laughs) How can you try to not laugh? The lady who was sitting in the front, I just asked her, "Please tell me you weren't wearing these before you threw them on stage." It's very funny. I'm not used to it, don't worry.

What is the format of the "American Idols Live" show?

We start with Charlie Grigsby, and the first half is all solos. We start with Charlie and work all the way to Ruben through the first half. The second half is all group songs, medleys, Ruben and I do a duet, Ruben and I both sing our songs from our album during the second half. The guys sing together, the girls sing together. We do a tribute to the Bee Gees.

What song do you and Ruben do together?

That's a surprise!

What is it like to tour with the other "Idols"?

We know each other so well. I think that's what's so cool about it. We've all known each other for nine months now. We know where everybody came from. We're all just friends. Nobody gets star struck at anybody. Everybody's just hangin'. We've known each other for so long that we're really like a family. We travel together. We live together and all that stuff. We definitely enjoy being together. We really perform well together. We used to rehearse for the show and just have the nastiest rehearsals on Wednesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons. Then when the show hit the airwaves on Wednesday nights, our medleys would come together flawlessly. That's just the way the whole show has worked because we know each other so well.

http://www.livedaily.com/news/5265.html
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:26:48 PM
 AFI Proposes National Expansion of AFI Screen Education Center
Tuesday July 29, 12:30 pm ET

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  CLAY AIKEN ON CAPITOL HILL - YAHOO ARTICLE
« Reply #15 on: July 29, 2003, 01:15:02 PM »
 
Joined by Clay Aiken, AFI Leadership Urges Congress, DoED to Support AFI's Screen Education Program in Schools Nationwide

Quote
WASHINGTON, July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Executives of the American Film Institute (AFI), accompanied today on their visit to Capitol Hill, the White House and the US Department of Education by AMERICAN IDOL's Clay Aiken, urge the expansion of AFI's Screen Education Center into schools across America....

"We are so pleased that Clay Aiken has joined with AFI today to help emphasize education's crucial role in American life," Firstenberg said.  Clay Aiken, who was completing his studies to become a special education teacher before the AMERICAN IDOL competition and his astonishing rise to super-stardom, supports AFI's efforts to expand the K-12 AFI Screen Education Center program nationwide.

"Since I've had to put my own work with special needs kids on hold for now, I am excited to do what I can to support worthwhile educational efforts, particularly those which reach kids who might otherwise fall through the cracks. The AFI Screen Education Center programs certainly work with highly motivated students, but also engage those who for one reason or another-language barriers, learning disabilities, different ways of processing information-haven't enjoyed success with their studies before. I'm here to thank members of Congress and the Department of Education for supporting this great program," said Aiken.

Congressional leaders, including Majority Leader William Frist (R-TN), Senators Dole (R-NC), Edwards (D-NC), Feinstein (D-CA), Boxer (D-CA), Specter (R-PA), Harkin (D-IO), Mikulski (D-MD) and Lott (R-MS), plan to meet with the AFI delegation.
The day includes a 9:00 a.m. White House meeting for Clay Aiken...


READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030729/latu072_1.html)
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:28:28 PM
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  THE ARTIST VS THE ARTISAN - ARTICLE
« Reply #16 on: July 29, 2003, 09:48:18 PM »   

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American Idol: The Artist Versus the Artisan
by Alexandra Corbin (2003/07/29)

For many centuries pundits have debated the difference between these terms. Instinctively – we all know it. The difficulty is in describing exactly what it is we know and how that translates into the medium of voice.
Clearly – the world is falling head over heels over OBC (Our Boy Clay). There are many reasons why he is the right man for the times. He is the recipient of our collective need for freshness and lightness and charm to relieve national anxiety and dread. We needed something new, an interactive reality Rocky story to develop under our noses with a favorable ending we could actually control and predict. Our need to control the outcome of anything at that point had an addictive momentum in and of itself. This is the total opposite of where we had been -- sitting like ducks in a pond dodging grenades and threats for well over a year. So yes, the geek to chic, the Rocky story, the everyman boy next door personality, the apparent naiveté, the accent, the Huck Finn' ness of the guy all hit us where we needed it most – in the realm of belief and hope. Had it not been Clay it might have been someone else. But it is Clay and as such he must rise to the challenge. Which he is; baring his flesh, grinding, smoldering his eyes, catching red thongs, playing at sexy and making it very believable. Is he laughing after the shoots? Gawd, I hope so, but Huck has molted.

Clay three years ago would never have been the same phenomenon, sorry – I can’t see it. The times make the man. But he is here, nevertheless and we love him. Had it not been for American Idol, he would never have had the gumption to keep kicking in doors with his cd’s and getting invited to leave. He hungered for stability smarting from his first six years of phobic nomadism and fear of drowning. Had it not been for AI’s audition road system he might never have taken himself to Atlanta and would have remained a woeful asterisk in Charlotte with a painful rendition of Over the Rainbow -- and it was "god awful." The mania grows and Clay can sustain it. He has legs -- as they say in the industry and that is what this article is about.

The first lesson I ever learned and probably the only one I ever learned at film school was from a wizened old lady who bored me to death except for the first sentence out of her mouth: “Don’t bother writing if you haven’t got a heart.” At the time -- I truly believed I didn’t. But life had dealt me some blows and I did have a heart -- it had been sorely broken. But then, we all have had our blows. So what really makes a heart and what did she really mean? And here is the nub, the crux of artist versus artisan and why Clayton Aiken is an artist and Trenyce is an artisan, and why Ruben could be an artist but is still not yet completely.

A heart is a human being who is not scared to feel the pain of feelings both good and bad and who can channel it into their métier. It is the role of an artist to interpret universality of human behavior and emotions and draw it neatly into a composition
that tames it and releases it in such a way that it is modulated and drawn out by means of the tools of the trade; sounds, notes, tempo, phrasing. And in so doing he draws us out and pulls us along. The artist must first be an artisan. He must be a master craftsman. He must know his notes and how to use them and hit them and round them and balance them better than anyone else given the quirks and qualities of his physical voice. He must know music. He must be able to combine words with sounds and imagine a high note and hit it because he has hit it a million times before and it is no longer a mountain he can’t climb. But this is an artisan still -- beautiful execution, impeccable technique.

When a heart that has felt enormous feelings through sadness and happiness, who has grappled with extreme misery in children both in his own childhood and in others, and is not frightened by it, but runs toward it where others shy away, and then takes a note that describes loneliness -- this is a man who brings something different to the sound. It is the melding of all his elements expressed in a vibration that derives from an enormous brave heart and allows his mastery of the métier to tame it enough to enunciate it more, specify it, encapsulate it. When he pulls out a note, his voice may not be the greatest instrument, but there are layers of nuances to it that no one can explain but only a true artist can amalgamate. We feel through it.

A tall thin man who gently holds a mic and leans his head out over his neck with a voice that tells you how human he and we all are, who stands and bends like a willow whip, alone like a line itself that can describe a sentiment by bending or straightening, or curling or springing, adds to the physical expression of that emotion and even more to the notes alone. We have a visual expression of a feeling as well. I could not take Clay with my eyes closed. I need to see his body draw the music for me like a painter pulling a line across a page. There is grace in his litheness, beauty in his gate and moves when he is entranced by the sentiment and evoking through sound our primal feelings; bounce in his joy, romping in his happiness, quiet and steadiness in his intensity. He doesn’t know how he does it. Other artists don’t know either except that they have enormous hearts that need to express and find a concise way to do it. They just know how to pull out a sound and make it sing and you can’t teach that. You feel that.

Art is the controlled and selective presentation of an aspect of humanness that is enhanced by the artist through their unique personality and guts. Clay has guts. When Ruben stops protecting his feelings and starts to let his heart break while he sings, then he too will be an artist. When he lets himself feel the exuberance of how positive life can be and then actually be that exuberance for three minutes, then the sounds that he has masterfully crafted for twenty years will become art. But he has to be brave enough to feel it thoroughly. An artist must put himself into every song. This is a lot to ask. It could be exhausting. It certainly is rewarding because when it works, we all now know what’s inside your heart. It is what’s inside ours. You have just called it back for us in a way that we can revisit it and never forget. This is art. This is Clay.

ARTIST VS ARTISAN
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:29:11 PM
Melodie
Administrator
CLAY SINGS "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" TO SEN. ELIZABETH DOLE
« Reply #17 on: July 30, 2003, 12:38:09 PM »   

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'Idol' star Aiken sings to Sen. Dole in D.C. trip
 
By Teresa Black : The Herald-Sun Washington bureau
Jul 29, 2003 : 9:52 pm ET

WASHINGTON -- Raleigh native Clay Aiken took a break from his "American Idol" tour Tuesday to sing "Happy Birthday" to N.C. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, visit the White House and promote a film education program.

"There was a time when I wanted to be a politician," Aiken told a group of staffers at the Capitol. "It's nice to be here to meld two worlds that are new to me."

Before his rise to stardom on Fox's "American Idol" talent competition, 24-year-old Aiken was a special education major at UNC Charlotte. On Tuesday, he met with officials from the U.S. Department of Education and the American Film Institute to promote the expansion of the K-12 Screen Education Center program, which encourages literacy through filmmaking. Aiken's cousin, Mitch Aiken, works for AFI.

"It was pretty exciting when Mitch told us about this cousin from North Carolina," said AFI Director Jean Picker Firstenberg.

Through the AFI program, high school students improve their literacy skills by turning books into movies. A video presented at a Capitol luncheon Tuesday showed students acting out "All Quiet on the Western Front," by Erich Maria Remarque.

Aiken said the AFI program also gives kids with disabilities the chance to work with children who don't have special needs.

"He has a huge heart and a very mature mind, and he's already setting up his own foundation for children with special needs," Firstenberg said of Aiken.

"The goal today is to get money for this program in your neighborhoods," Aiken said at a news conference peppered with young fans.

Among the devotees was 15-year-old Emily Rehm of Maryland.

"I just hope no one starts screaming or going crazy," she said before Aiken arrived. "Then he won't come over here."

Aiken joined other politicians at a small luncheon at the Capitol, where he passed out CDs of his single, with the songs "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "This is the Night."

http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-376527.html
 
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:29:35 PM
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  CLAY AIKEN ANNOUNCES BUBEL-AIKEN FOUNDATION - ARTICLE
« Reply #18 on: July 31, 2003, 01:00:05 AM »   

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Clay Aiken Announces Start of Bubel-Aiken Foundation
Wednesday July 30, 2:22 pm ET
Press Release   Source: Wachovia Corporation
American Idol star makes surprise proclamation during Wachovia's Manhattan grand opening

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wachovia's Manhattan financial center grand-opening festivities Monday were punctuated by a surprise announcement from Clay Aiken, the American Idol II runner-up who joined New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Wachovia executives for a press conference and ribbon-cutting ceremony in Rockefeller Plaza. After a grand entrance and a few kind words about Wachovia, Aiken, a North Carolina native and long-time Wachovia customer, surprised all in attendance by announcing he would like to open the first official account in the name of his new Bubel-Aiken Foundation, which he said he was starting to benefit mentally challenged children. ·  (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030730/NEW020 )

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v381/marilyon/wachoviaprnphotos034080.jpg)
"The Bubel-Aiken foundation is something I was going to have Wachovia help me set up and manage anyway, so I just thought 'why not do it today,'" said Aiken. "Diane Bubel is a close friend of mine from home and she changed my life because she's the one who encouraged me to audition for American Idol. That's why I'm starting this foundation in her name. Hopefully we can make some positive changes in the lives of children with mental disabilities." Wachovia, which opened its first two Manhattan retail financial centers Monday in Rockefeller Plaza and at Madison Avenue & 45th, granted Aiken's request and gave him the honor of opening the first official account at the Rockefeller location. Ben Jenkins, head of Wachovia Corporation's General Bank, graciously accepted the offer to open the Bubel-Aiken Foundation account for Aiken, which was completed immediately following the press conference, and also offered to make a $10,000 donation in Wachovia's name. "We are thrilled that Clay Aiken thinks so highly of Wachovia that he would announce the start of his foundation during our grand-opening celebration," said Jenkins. "Despite his meteoric rise to fame, Clay remains true to his passion -- helping those in need. Wachovia is proud to help Clay make the Bubel-Aiken Foundation a success."

CLAY ANNOUNCES FOUNDATION START UP
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on April 26, 2010, 10:32:42 PM
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  THE RETURN OF AN AMERICAN IDOL - ARTICLE
« Reply #19 on: August 01, 2003, 12:40:08 PM »   

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The return of an American idol
His old principal at Leesville Road, the current students there and his former teachers answer the question: Clay who?
B Y G R A N T B R I T T
July 30, 2003

A little touch of fame can make a man weary. Good Morning America, MTV and a slew of other media giants have been after him to tell his side of the American Idol story, but he's turned them all down. Richard Murphy is Clay Aiken's high school principal, but he's been besieged by the media like he was the Idol millions of people have made their favorite son. Principal Murphy says that he has refused offers not because he doesn't think Clay's worthy but because the timing was bad. "I tell them Clayton Grissom, whom we knew him as, [Aiken is Clay's mother's maiden name] had his day here, and we certainly support him, but the other kids, they won't do Good Morning America in the middle of AP exams. Then they wanted to do an MTV special during final exams, so basically I've kept below the radar screen because this is not about us or not about me, it's about Clay."

The Leesville Road High School principal is a bit wary of the media after his Rolling Stone experience. He says that the interviewer didn't take notes and that he was misquoted. The Stone had Murphy saying that Aiken "was absolutely a gift. A gift." The principal says that what he actually said was that Aiken had a gift. "Any child is a gift to us; I don't mean to put him in a category other than any other person who entrusts us to look after our kids. They are gifts to us. But he had a very special gift, and he's choosing to develop it."

By now, most of the country knows about Clay Aiken's gifts, thanks to his exposure on American Idol. Aiken went from being one of 234 applicants chosen in an Atlanta contest in October 2002 to becoming the second-place finisher seven months later in a contest viewed by an audience estimated at 24 million.

Ironically, Aiken's second-place finish has gotten him more publicity than winner Ruben Studdard. Aiken's poise and graciousness have earned him as many points with fans as his looks and singing style have.
The Idol-to-be also glowed from without as well as within. Before his makeover, the future pop star's wardrobe made him a high school standout. "You don't see too many yellow, high-top Converses," Murphy says of Aiken's shoe selection. "And he used to wear madras pants as well."

Though Aiken has downplayed his prior performing experience, it's obvious from his onstage demeanor that he's comfortable in front of people. [On one fan site, his "official questionnaire" lists his past performances as being limited to "school functions in high school."]

"There's nothing shy about Clayton," says Murphy. "Clayton was very at home in front of a school of 2,000 kids and at pep rallies, singing or onstage in front of a packed audience for our musicals. There are people who glow or develop in the limelight, and he was one of 'em."

The principal says that Aiken's gift was constantly on display in the musicals and school assemblies. "Anybody who's ever heard Clayton sing knows that he's been blessed. He was not only very talented vocally, but he was quite the young actor, too, as I'm sure that a lot of people can surmise from watching him. And he's worked hard to develop it."

The 24-year-old stirs up quite a reaction when he returns to his old haunts. When Aiken stopped by his old high school recently, even though it was the last day of school and most of the student body had already left, the principal was roused from his office by a commotion in the building. "I saw these young kids, these young-looking girls running down the hall," the principal chuckles. But it was the reaction of another, older group of women's reaction to the Idol's return that really amused Murphy. "He was visiting his teachers, and it was kind of ironic to me that the teachers that were here when he was here were able to chat with him as if he had a brain instead of being some heartthrob--it was as if he had never left. But the teachers who were not here when he was here, I'm talking about middle-aged women, were acting like the Beatles had just come to town."

Aiken may not be as big as the Beatles, but his fame has made an entourage and a bodyguard necessary. Still the singer doesn't seem to be affected by the trappings of fame. Murphy says he's still "just as accommodating as he could be--just a nice kid who was brought up working at the local YMCA."

And although the principal says Clayton was not a disciplinary problem, his acerbic wit noted by teachers and the principal during school days is still in place. "We were just sitting around chatting, and I began carrying on a conversation with his bodyguard," Murphy recalls, "and his bodyguard was from the same town out in Southern California where I spent some time. And Clay looked over at me at one point and said, 'That's good, Mr. Murphy, that's so typical. I come back to visit you and you find more things to talk about with bodyguard than you do with me.' "

But rather than be put off by it, Murphy, like the others who have come in contact with Aiken in person or on TV, is an admirer of his wit, along with his personality and his talent. "He was different, but he wasn't one of these on-the-edge kids," Murphy says fondly. "There are a lot of people, who, walking down the hall, what you see is what you get. It wasn't a kind of, 'Hey look at me--I'll do anything I can to capture your attention.' It was just who he was."

THE INDEPENDENT - DURHAM, NC - ARTICLE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 10:37:10 PM
Cruiser
 CLAY AIKEN TAKES WASHINGTON BY STORM - PEOPLE MAGAZINE
« Reply #20 on: August 01, 2003, 12:42:08 PM »   

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Clay Aiken Takes Washington By Storm
STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN
and CANDIE JONES
   
America's almost "Idol" Clay Aiken ventured to America's capital Tuesday to emphasize his other passion beyond singing -- education, reports PEOPLE.
And he was one busy guy. After a closed-door meeting with officials at the U.S. Department of Education (including Education Undersecretary Eugene Hickok and Assistant Secretary for Special Education Bob Pasternack), Aiken said: "Since I've had to put my own work with special needs kids on hold for now, I am excited to do what I can to support worthwhile educational efforts, particularly those which reach kids who might otherwise fall through the cracks."
The 24-year-old crooner later went up to the Capitol with members of the American Film Institute to discuss the institute's K-12 Screen Education Center program.
Aiken, in D.C. as part of the "American Idols Live Tour," also took a private tour of the White House and stopped in to pay a surprise visit to his home state senator, Elizabeth Dole (R-North Carolina).
Nicely dressed in a suit, the lanky Southerner sang "Happy Birthday" to Dole, who turned 67. It was the first time the two had met.
As for the concert, The Washington Post critic adored Aiken, extolling his "epic voice and flirty ways" and calling him the evening's winner, "if not the show's."
The Post also had nice things to say about "AI" champ Ruben Studdard, 25, saying that he has "charm."   

PEOPLE MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 10:37:42 PM
Cruiser
  BUFFALO NEWS - ARTICLE
« Reply #21 on: August 03, 2003, 08:11:15 PM »   

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"Idol" chat ...

Alex Moshenko, 10, of Amherst recently had a chance to meet his idol, and Clay Aiken left a lasting impression. Aiken was the runnerup in this spring's "American Idol" television show talent contest and Alex, who is autistic, had longed to meet him. "It was more than special, it was a moment Alex will never forget," said his mother, Monica Moshenko. Aiken just happened to be playing HSBC Arena on July 19, which was Alex's 10th birthday. His mother had written to Aiken asking for a backstage meeting.
"Clay came in, walked up to Alex and said, "Hi, how are you doing?" Moshenko said. "Alex's eyes just lit up. Clay then asked him about school. Alex was thrilled." Moshenko asked Aiken to tape a public service announcement for the Buffalo Niagara Walk for Autism on Sept. 14. Aiken, who studied special ed in college, agreed. "Clay's really a nice guy," Moshenko said.

BUFFALO NEWS ARTICLE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 10:39:19 PM
Cruiser
  RDU NEWS 14 RALEIGH - ARTICLE
« Reply #22 on: August 05, 2003, 11:21:15 AM »   

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Fans gear up for Clay to come home
Updated: 8/5/2003 9:50 AM
By: Heather Moore & Web Staff

Fans are snatching up Clay Aiken T-shirts as the "American Idol Tour" heads to the Triangle.   

As Clay Aiken gears up to come home Wednesday, fans are literally gearing up to welcome him.

Fans stocked up on tons of Clay Aiken merchandise during his run for "American Idol" and now with the "American Idol Tour" hitting the Triangle this week, hometown fans want the world to know Clay is still their idol.

PKD Screen Printing is the only company authorized by Aiken to make official Clay Aiken stuff and they’ve been so swamped with orders, they have a Clay coordinator, whose job is to fill fans’ Clay needs.

“We’ve sold shirts to every state in the United States,” owner Paulette Disbrow said. “We’ve sold to Canada. We’ve sold to Great Britain. We’ve sold to New Zealand.”

“About two weeks before the concerts in other places, they start calling and placing their orders to make sure they get their T-shirts in time for the concerts,” coordinator Deanne Phillips said.

Fans stocked up on tons of Clay Aiken merchandise during his run for "American Idol" and now with the "American Idol Tour" hitting the Triangle this week, hometown fans want the world to know Clay is still their idol.

Concertgoers won’t find official Clay Aiken merchandise at the concert Wednesday night. There, they'll only find "American Idol" items so fans are coming in now to get their Clay Aiken gear early so they can wear it to the concert.

“Everybody wants the blue concert T-shirt to wear to the concerts,” Phillips said. “These ladies from Virginia had been on vacation in Kentucky, went home, spent the night, got up the next morning and came to Raleigh to pick up Clay Tshirts just to be ready for the concert.”

“The thing that touches me about Clay is he's reached the human soul in a way that none of the great evangelists, none of the politicians have been able to do in my lifetime,” Disbrow said.

A portion of the proceeds from Clay's official gear goes to the Autism Society of North Carolina and the YMCA.

Disbrow said the company has already contributed more than $13,000 to Clay's charities.

RDU NEWS 14 ARTICLE
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 10:41:07 PM
Cruiser
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER - ARTICLE
« Reply #23 on: August 09, 2003, 11:36:05 PM »   

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"Idols" grow closer without show competition
LEIGH DYER
The Charlotte Observer

In a recent telephone interview from New York as the concert tour was wending its way to North Carolina, Aiken, 24, spoke to The Observer about his life since "American Idol." (His words are edited for length and clarity).

Q. Reviewers of your concerts have said that when you come out on stage to sing your first song, the screaming gets so loud it drowns out your singing. What goes through your head when that happens?
'Please be quiet so I can hear my song.' (laughs) They added some microphones in the auditorium to pick up the audience. I asked them, 'Can you take the audience out of my monitor? Because I can't hear my music.' And he said, 'You're going to have to get used to it, because I already took them out.' It's just a lot of energy for the last three of us who sing. There are some loud screams.

Q. I've also heard you've gotten some underwear thrown at you on stage. (Laughs) I have gotten a few panties. It did surprise me. I went, 'What in the world? This has to be for somebody else.'
I've also gotten two pairs of Depends. They have notes attached that say, 'From your older fans. We love you too.' People are very creative. I think they're doing it to embarrass me. No matter how many times it happens, I always blush. Ruben always makes fun of me.

Q. Are you guys staying pretty good friends during the tour?
Everybody is actually probably closer. We're not going through all the competition and stress of the show anymore. Nobody's getting voted off of the tour. Everybody's pretty laid back and easygoing, so we're really getting along extremely well.

Q. Before the show and this tour, you hadn't had the opportunity to do much traveling, had you?
I had not done any, really. Just like the show, everything has been fast, furious and trial by fire. I went through the show and had all of the experience of being on TV all of a sudden, really quick. And now I'm having all of this traveling happening really fast. I don't think I've been in the same city to sleep for more than one night yet.
In Washington I got to go to the White House and Capitol Hill. I'd never been there before at all. I used to want to be a politician back in school.
I met Bob Dole -- he knew a lot of information about what had happened on the show. I guess after you retire you have more free time to watch "American Idol."

Q. What are you looking forward to doing the most in N.C.?
Just seeing family and friends. "Primetime Live" is in Raleigh for three days because they're filming a special (about me) for sometime in September. I'm doing a lot of filming while I'm at home.

Q. What's the music like on your upcoming album? A lot of it is similar to "This is the Night." It's not a huge departure for me. It remains true to who I am and my character. Nobody has to turn the radio down when the kids are in the car. It's a pop sound. There are some upbeat, catchy pop songs, like the one song "Invisible" that I do on the tour. There are a few things that are reminiscent of some Steve Perry stuff. And then there are some covers. "Solitaire" is hopefully going to be on the album.

Q. Between your song hitting No. 1 on the charts and now the concert tour, it seems you really are living the life of a pop star. Is it everything you thought it would be?
It's been more than I thought it would be, really. Sometimes I used to think they had it easy. All they have to do is go up and sing a song, and they get paid for it. I am wrong about that. It's a lot more work and less sleep than I thought it would be.
I'm just amazed at the amount of support that people have shown, and how enthusiastic the fans are.
I'm so thrilled to be coming back to North Carolina. It's going to be quite a show.

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER ARTICLE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 10:43:29 PM
Cruiser
ABC NEWS ENTERTAINMENT - EDITORIAL
« Reply #24 on: August 14, 2003, 10:19:20 PM »   

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Recall Ruben
If the American Idol Winner Broke the Rules, Let’s Demand a New Vote
CommentaryBy Heidi Oringer Aug. 14

As the only person not running for governor of California, I'm demanding a recall vote — not in the Golden State gubernatorial race, but in American Idol.
 
American Idol winner Ruben Studdard should have his title revoked if he really did receive money in exchange for wearing 205 Flava Inc. shirts during his appearances on the Fox talent competition, as has been reported. Contestants on the TV show are banned from accepting outside contracts, according to a statement by Michael Jaffa, vice president of business and legal affairs for American Idol Productions Inc. A lawsuit recently filed by Willie and Frederick Jenkins, owners of the Birmingham, Ala.-based 205 Flava Inc. clothing company, contends Studdard approached them with the idea of receiving a fee in exchange for donning their duds on national television. The designers contend Studdard asked for compensation totaling $10,000. They also claim checks were written for $1,000 a week. These eventually escalated to $1,500 per week as Studdard advanced in the competition, the suit says. The Jenkinses go on to allege that these checks were made out to Studdard's brother and manager to keep the paper trail from leading back to the singer. This legal wrangling originally began with a suit filed by Studdard himself, who alleged the Jenkins brothers were using his image for profit. Studdard's suit contends that 205 Flava Inc. kept his photo on its Web site, which has enabled the company to garner more than $2 million in sales. Thus far, both suits have been filed in court and the Jenkinses' lawyer, LaVeeda Morgan Battle, held a news conference where she revealed what she said were copies of the checks to Studdard's brother. Studdard has yet to respond to the allegations on his own. His attorney, Byron Perkins, has told The Associated Press, "The public will hear from us soon," and has declined further comment. Ron Edwards, Studdard's personal manager, told me likewise, saying, "No comment pending things we're working on." Producers of the show are equally tight-lipped. "We don't comment on the contestants' personal lives," said Eric Green at 19 Television. So, where do we go from here? Other Contestants Got the Boot In case there are 10 people out there who haven't watch the show and don't know, it's important to note that other contestants have been kicked off American Idol for various infractions. Franchelle Davis, aka Frenchie, was given the heave-ho because she had appeared topless and posed in a lurid manner on a Web site. Frenchie contended that she was over 18 when she posed for the photo and that she did it to help pay her way through college. She didn't, however, make mention of this little impropriety when she tried out for the competition. When producers found out, they banished her from the show. Another contestant, Corey Clark, got the boot after producers learned that he had been arrested on three misdemeanor counts, which included battery (the alleged victim was his teenage sister), criminal restraint and resisting arrest. Clark was eventually dismissed, but not before he was given the opportunity to explain to the viewers that his banishment came as a result of not being honest with the producers. Apparently, had he confessed his legal predicament when he was originally being considered, he would have been allowed to continue. The same is supposed to be the case for Frenchie. Let the People Decide The fact of the matter is, if Ruben actually violated the rules of the show, then regardless of his immense (no pun intended) talent, he should relinquish his title. But to whom — the second-place contestant, Clay Aiken? Not necessarily. You see, this show, which has become a phenomenon, is supposed to represent more than just a shot at fame for a talented few. It has separated itself from other such competitive shows by allowing the American public to be the decision makers. Millions of people tuned in each week to watch their favorite performers and hundreds of thousands of those folks took the time to call in and vote, to give the one they thought most worthy a chance at fame and fortune. Frenchie's Web involvement and Corey's arrest did not make them any less talented as individuals. Nor does Ruben's alleged profiting from wearing a jersey make him any less of a singer. But the question is: Were rules violated, lines crossed, regulations dishonored? If Frenchie and Corey would have been allowed to continue in the competition, who knows what the outcome would've been? If it's proven that Ruben did benefit financially for wearing the 205 shirts, then what should happen? What if this had been revealed while the show was going on, wouldn't he have been eliminated along with Frenchie and Corey? I know there are a lot of woulda-coulda-shoulda items here, but something fishy is going on, and the American Idol that America chose may not be someone to be idolized after all. Time will tell as more details unfold, but if in fact the claims against Studdard are true, then we've been foiled once again by reality TV. As Simon Cowell would say of a first-round American Idol reject, "It's appalling." 

Heidi Oringer is director of entertainment programming at ABCNEWS Radio.

ABC NEWS EDITORIAL
 
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 10:46:37 PM
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  CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR - ARTICLE
« Reply #25 on: August 15, 2003, 12:43:01 AM »   

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N.C. happy for, if bemused by, its 'Idol'
Charlotte cheers loudly for returning college boy Clay Aiken, but classmates are a little puzzled by the fuss
By Erik Spanberg | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A little less than 12 hours before Clay Aiken will take the stage with the rest of his "American Idol" colleagues at the sold-out Charlotte Coliseum, he stands in a nondescript radio-station conference room surrounded by adoring female fans and the city's mayor.
"What a great role model for Charlotte, for North Carolina, and for the whole country," says Mayor Patrick McCrory, after declaring Aug. 8 as Clay Aiken Day. McCrory reads a proclamation and then gets down to business. He snares an autograph and a photo of his niece, Molly, with Aiken, the unlikely, gawky heartthrob known for his carrot-top coiffure and Broadway-meets-pop crooning.
The nine Idol alums touring arenas this summer - led by Ruben Studdard, who beat runner-up Aiken by less than 1 percent out of 24 million votes - now find themselves in the role of conquering heroes in their hometowns of Birmingham and Raleigh, N.C., respectively. Charlotte, the largest city in the state, staked claims of its own because Aiken attended the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
Somehow, Fox TV's blend of glorified karaoke and high-school talent show entranced millions of viewers. Studdard and Aiken have scored hit singles, though airplay has plummeted precipitously for each since the second "Idol" show left the air in May. Both have albums coming out later this year: Studdard with Clive Davis's J Records and Aiken with RCA Records.
The 39-city "American Idols Live!" tour, wrapping up on Aug. 31, scored sellouts in Raleigh and Charlotte this month. The Idol tour is sponsored by Pop-Tarts, but no one, save Rolling Stone, seems cognizant of the joke. Ninety minutes before show time, Aiken runs around the side of the arena to wave hello at a line of fans snaked halfway around the building. A mob of veteran Pop-Tart shoppers surges forward before Clay makes his getaway.
Backstage, several of the female Idols - Trenyce, Carmen Rasmusen, Kimberly Caldwell, and Julie DeMato - are kibitzing in sweats and T-shirts.
Nearly a year of media saturation has left them not quite jaded, but not quite wide-eyed, either. They swiftly dispense with a variety of queries, but grow weary when the topic of Clay arises. "[When we talk to fans], it's 'How has the whole experience been? Are you tired? And where's Clay?" Ms. DeMato says. Ms. Caldwell quickly corrects her: " 'Where's Clay' is always first, then the other two."
No one seems resentful, but Aiken, despite finishing second, has become the most popular Idol, even surpassing Studdard, the rotund teddy-bear champ.
Aiken's routine now includes regular meet-and-greets with fans and the media. He's accompanied by a bodyguard who resembles an NFL linebacker and a petite publicist who is a cross between Bridget Jones and Lucky Star-era Madonna. Both keep Aiken on a strict schedule, and both serve as caddies for the array of stuffed animals, colognes, and other gifts that fans bestow on him.
Angela Coachman and Amy Pusey, a pair of 22-year-old UNC-Charlotte graduates, were among the Clay admirers, wearing form-fitting red shirts to the show. They both majored in special education, like Aiken, and attended class with him every day for several years. "He was always the class clown," Ms. Pusey says, grinning. "He was the only guy in every class - it's a small major and it's all girls - and Clay was always joking around."
Did last month's Rolling Stone cover boy have many admirers in college? "He had lots of friends," Ms. Coachman says. "I'm sure he's not having any trouble with girlfriends ... now."
Even so, Aiken resonates much more with the Sela Ward-Lifetime gang than the Reese Witherspoon-"Friends" set. Judging by the arena crowd, the combination of geeky chutzpah and hammy showman is a winner among middle-aged moms.
Kimberley Locke, a 25-year-old administrative assistant from Nashville who became an Idol alongside Aiken, knew where matters stood in Charlotte.
"We're in Clay Town, obviously," Locke says onstage, eliciting an overwhelming, and sustained roar as she introduced him. Aiken emerged from beneath the stage, sporting a natty black suit, purple tie, and a grin reminiscent of Alfred E. Neuman. He launched into "This Is the Night," a soaring pop ballad that melds Barry Manilow with Andrew Lloyd Webber. With dry ice flowing over the stage, Aiken's by-the-numbers moves - arms spread wide, hands clasped over his heart - produced thunderous squeals. "There's no place like home, that's for sure," he said after several minutes of applause. "I am amazed."
For his former classmates, the $30 Clay T-shirts and $10 Clay posters (to say nothing of the throngs of self-proclaimed Claymates) seem just as hard to fathom.
"It's weird to think that all these people are here to see Clay," says Pusey. "I'm happy for him, but he still seems like the same old Clay, y'know?"

 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
   (http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0815/p18s01-altv.html)
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 10:49:47 PM
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  ST LOUIS TODAY - ARTICLE
« Reply #26 on: August 16, 2003, 08:10:08 PM »   

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American Idols are idling on radio playlists
Kevin Johnson - Post-Dispatch Pop Music
08/16/2003

Thank "American Idol" for re-inventing the amateur talent show, not to mention inspiring a raft of inferior imitations.

But, despite the proliferation of talent contests, "American Idol" remains the best. For two seasons, with a third on the way in January, we've grown accustomed to — even to love — Simon Cowell's bitchy barbs, Randy Jackson's insufferable "dawgs," Paula Abdul's constant tears and Ryan Seacrest's tousled hair. They are the constants in a weekly musical drama featuring fame-seeking singers giving their all — even when they have nothing to offer.

Sure, "American Idol" has spawned its share of bombs. The "From Justin to Kelly" movie and Justin Guarini's CD vanished quickly — thankfully. But most of what comes out of the "American Idol" camp is sunny and successful from season one champ Kelly Clarkson's hit CD to the quick sales of singles from Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken to the hot "American Idols Live!" tour coming to Savvis Center Sunday night.

The franchise is at the top of its game.  So why hasn't radio tuned in?

Regardless of how popular "American Idol" CDs and singles are in record stores, the music can't catch a break on radio, including St. Louis airwaves. Radio is the consistent hitch in the "American Idol" onslaught. The notable exception is Clarkson, who's accepted at pop and adult contemporary stations. But the others are suffering, including the top two from the show's second season, Studdard and runner-up Aiken, along with Guarini.

When Aiken and Studdard released double-sided singles of their songs "This Is the Night" / "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Flying Without Wings" / "Superstar," respectively, sales figures startled the record industry. Aiken was good for 393,000 copies his first week out, while Studdard brought in 286,000 copies. Those CD singles flew off the shelves, while many radio programmers looked the other way.

On Billboard magazine's Hot 100 Singles Sales chart, Aiken is enjoying his eighth week on top, while Studdard is No. 3. But on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, neither artist is listed.

One local Aiken fan, Ami Christianson of Glendale, called it an "American Idol" taint. "A lot of DJs see 'American Idol' as a cheesy show and have this idea (the contestants) haven't paid their dues yet. This instant stardom doesn't make it legit. But what's legitimate and what's not? Who decides who's good and who isn't," says Christianson, who has never heard a song by an American Idol on the radio.

"The public wants to listen to this, or they wouldn't be buying it," says Christianson.

So why has radio shunned "American Idol" music? Some say the music isn't good enough, doesn't fit in with what's hot or that the show is just a fad. Others suggest the music doesn't work outside of the context of the TV show.

"You can't deny a hit record," says Dwight Stone, program director at KATZ-FM (100.3 the Beat), one of a couple of stations in St. Louis playing Studdard's "Superstar."

But some of his on-air cohorts have decided you can.

KATZ's main competitor, WFUN-FM (Q95.5), isn't playing Studdard. A representative from the station said they were "waiting to see the development of the song. But we're big fans of Ruben's."

Taylor J. is music director at KSLZ–FM (Z107.7), the most likely home for "American Idol" music. But that's not what's happening there. "We're not touching those songs," says Taylor J. "That Ruben song is good, but it completely doesn't work with what we're doing. Neither does the Clay song. The songs aren't compatible with everything else that's going on."

Clarkson is what's going on at Z107.7, along with Justin Timberlake, Eminem, Avril Lavigne and Michelle Branch. Guarini never made the cut. "It was really unfortunate timing for him. The movie bombed, and, the same week, they wanted his song to break," says Taylor J.

It's just as tough for Studdard and Aiken. "The singles were disappointing. We were hoping what was produced out of the second 'Idols' would be closer to Kelly," she says. "It's beyond me why the producers and record companies aren't trying to do the same thing."

Z107.7 targets 18-to-34-year-olds, and Taylor J. believes those two songs sound older than their demographic. "Maybe the record company knows they already have 18-34 locked in, so they're trying to get the older audience, then come back to the core audience. We hope that happens," she says.

She has faith Studdard's CD will come through for them once she learned he's recording with rapper Fat Joe.

Greg Hewitt, music director at adult contemporary station KYKY-FM (Y-98), tested Studdard and Aiken's songs on air but didn't get much response. "I wasn't a big fan of either of those songs," Hewitt says.

That wasn't the case with Clarkson. "We played (Clarkson's first single) 'A Moment Like This.' At the time it was a novelty. Nobody knew what this girl was about, if she'd have a career. But of all the people on the show, she's the one who probably does. We had great success with (follow-up single) 'Miss Independent.' We're still playing it."

But Studdard and Aiken are a different story for Hewitt and Y-98. "There wasn't anything terribly special about either one of them. The good thing about 'Miss Independent' for us was that it was fun, upbeat and danceable. Clay's and Ruben's songs were a little 'schlocky.' They didn't have great appeal for our audience, and requests died down. Ruben didn't do anything different that made his song special, and Clay's song wasn't great."

But there's a different feeling at KATZ and KMJM-FM (Majic 105), sister stations to KSLZ, all owned by Clear Channel Radio. Stone says Studdard did a great job with "Superstar," which is played alongside hip-hop hits by David Banner and Bone Crusher. But stations with hip-hop formats are shying away because it sounds too old. Stations fear listeners will "punch out" because the record is too "ballady."

Though Stone wanted to take on Studdard's "Superstar," he didn't play it immediately. "At first I was the same way (as the other stations)," says Stone. But Stone allowed history to play a part in spinning Studdard. Before coming to St. Louis, Stone worked in Birmingham, Studdard's hometown. He remembers Studdard coming to the Birmingham station when he was part of the group Just a Few Cats.

Studdard asked Stone personally why he wasn't playing his new record. "Relationships go a long way. So I said I'll give it a shot. It doesn't make sense to watch someone grow and not give them a shot," says Stone.

But what if Stone didn't know Studdard? "That's hard to say, because I do know him. But all the stations playing it are doing well with it. You can't say it sounds too old. Look at Ron Isley. He's the oldest man in the game," says Stone of the lead singer of the Isley Brothers, who is still a force at R&B radio. "So don't be afraid to play the man who won the respect of the country but not the respect of the playlists."

Chaz Saunders, on-air personality at KMJM, says her station embraces "Superstar" because "American Idol" is so popular. "The whole 'American Idol' thing is the biggest thing people are talking about. It's huge. So I think if radio stations are going to play it, now is the time. The record is a good record. I hear a hit. We wouldn't be playing the record if it wasn't a hit," says Saunders. "The phones are going off the hook for it. People are calling for it."

"When it's your season, it's your season, and right now it's Ruben's season," adds Saunders. But she thinks the song could be bigger. "Ruben needs some work, some PR work."

Joe Litvag heads up the St. Louis offices of Anschutz Entertainment Group/Concerts West, which is promoting "American Idols Live." He chalks up the problem with radio to radio's strict formatting, playlists tightening by the day and big corporations dictating what stations must play.

"They can't think outside the box and play something they might not normally play. But if the product is solid enough, I think they'll play it," Litvag says. "Radio play, or lack thereof, has no effect on ticket sales. Sales are extremely strong. We've already surpassed paid attendance figures from last year."

With or without radio, Litvag believes that "each one of the 10 finalists from the second season has the chance to become stars in their own right."

ST LOUIS TODAY ARTICLE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 10:52:42 PM
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  PEOPLE MAGAZINE - Q & A
« Reply #27 on: August 18, 2003, 12:42:20 AM »   

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The American Idol runner-up talks about his new album, his friendship with Ruben and the power of Stevie Wonder
 By AMANDA ORR
 
"It's a lot of hard work," says Aiken about recording his first album, Measure of a Man.   
 
What's the measure of a man? If you're Clay Aiken, it's more than just a vote tally on American Idol. Ever since his second-place finish on FOX's hugely popular talent hunt (behind "velvet teddy bear" and good friend Ruben Studdard), the big-voiced 24-year-old from North Carolina has topped the charts with his single "Bridge Over Troubled Water/This Is the Night." Aiken is now finishing up work on his hotly anticipated debut album, Measure of a Man. PEOPLE caught up with Aiken while he was in Washington, D.C., lobbying lawmakers to support the American Film Institute's Screen Education Program. It's a subject close to Aiken's heart: He was on his way to a career as a special education teacher before competing for the Idol crown.

When will we get to hear your album?
Soon. We are very close to being done — almost finished. We're actually waiting on Ruben (Studdard) to finish because his album comes out first. We're best friends, but we want to make sure that we don't compete with each other.

So, you and Ruben actually are best friends?
Oh my goodness, yes. We see each other every day, but when we don't, we talk on the phone. Is making an album what you thought it would be? It's a lot of hard work. Ruben and I talk about how amazed we are when we listen to older albums like Stevie Wonder (made) back in the '70s. You think to yourself, Stevie Wonder had to sing that song all the way through from beginning to end — with the band, in one take, with no mistakes, because they couldn't cut and paste. It amazes me. And that's what surprised me, is how intricate the recording process is today. The microphones pick up any little difference between takes so you have to go back and record things over and over again. And you know, sometimes it gets a little old, especially when you're not singing the whole song. When I'm singing one line at a time, seven times in a row, I'm thinking, "I'm sick of that line, let's move on to the next one."

Who are you working with on the album?
Well, my album is solo, so there aren't any duets, but I'm working with a lot of amazing producers like Steve Morales — who wrote and produced for Enrique Iglesias and Shakira — Cathy Dennis, who wrote and produced Kelly Clarkson's "Before Your Love," and Desmond Child, who wrote a lot of Ricky Martin's biggest hits. I like that fact that every producer I've worked with is unique so they all bring something else to the table, and I learn something different from each one of them. (But) everything on the album is true to me. There is nothing that is inappropriate. It seems like pretty often I have to turn the radio down when somebody comes on. This is an album that you can play completely through without having to turn it down at all.   

After the album, what else is in your future?
I'd love to sing a duet with Faith Hill. I really want to sing one with her. I hope she reads this article. I know Simon said I should do Broadway, but it's not anything that I ever thought I'd be interested in. Maybe down the road I might consider it.

How are you adjusting to fame?
It still confuses me. Sometimes I just don't get it. Like today, I was did a press conference and there were fans there. And I was just never star struck personally.

Do you still get tips from judges Simon Cowell or Randy Jackson?
Nope, I don't. Randy helped us put the band together for the tour, and we got some really good advice from him about how to tour, and how to do a live show. That was really beneficial to us. Simon Cowell's record label is distributing the album when it goes international, so I haven't had any contact with him yet, but I will when that happens.

You seemed so confident on stage during the show. Were you nervous at all?
I was scared to death inside, but I told myself, "You can be nervous all you want to before and after, but while you're out there, you better hide it." Because if it shows, you'll get voted off.

What do you want people to say about the album when it comes out?
I want them to say, "I have seven copies."
 
PEOPLE MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 10:54:44 PM
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  BILLBOARD - ARTICLE
« Reply #28 on: August 18, 2003, 03:53:37 PM »   

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THE LONGEST 'NIGHT': Clay Aiken's "This Is the Night" / "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (RCA) becomes the longest-running No. 1 single from the "American Idol" franchise on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Sales chart, as it remains in pole position for the ninth consecutive week. The previous record-holder was the single "This Is the Night" succeeded, "God Bless the U.S.A." That song by the American Idol Finalists was on top for eight weeks in a row. The first "American Idol" single, "A Moment Like This" by Kelly Clarkson, ruled for five consecutive weeks in October-November 2002.

"This Is the Night" -- which has managed to retain its crown despite some extremely close competition from Korn's "Did My Time" and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday" -- has the longest consecutive run at No. 1 since Madonna's "Die Another Day" led the list for 11 weeks in a row from November 2002 through January 2003.

Aiken's tenure at No. 1 on Hot 100 Singles Sales faces a new threat, from another "American Idol" single. The spin-off series "American Juniors" comes to a conclusion Aug. 19, and the single "One Step Closer" (Jive) will debut next week. If the American Juniors debut at No. 1, it will be the third consecutive single from the Simon Fuller-created franchise to be No. 1 on the sales chart. The last time a non-"Idol" single was the best-selling single in the U.S. was the week of April 26, when "Picture" by Kid Rock featuring Sheryl Crow was in its 12th non-consecutive week at No. 1.

BILLBOARD
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 10:55:59 PM
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CLAY TO PERFORM TITN LIVE ON MISS AMERICA PAGEANT 9/20
« Reply #29 on: August 20, 2003, 05:35:43 PM »   

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SINGING SENSATION CLAY AIKEN TO PERFORM HIS HIT SONG,
“THIS IS THE NIGHT,” LIVE ON ABC’S “MISS AMERICA” TELECAST SEPTEMBER 20

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – August 19, 2003 – “American Idol” singing sensation Clay Aiken -- who has catapulted to the top of the singles charts with “This Is the Night” -- will help kick off this year’s live “Miss America” telecast with a dazzling performance of his hit signature song. Emmy-winner Tom Bergeron, star of ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” and “Hollywood Squares” will host “Miss America’s” final night of glittering competition, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
Aiken, the 24-year-old Raleigh, North Carolina native, whose spectacular voice and boy-next-door charm won the hearts of millions of viewers who voted for him in the climactic “Idol” finale in May against eventual winner, Ruben Studdard, will take the stage on Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall shortly before his debut CD on RCA Records hits the stores.
Aiken’s first single with his lush original song, “This is the Night,” and his towering rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” soared up the Billboard Hot 100, debuting at number one. More than 392,000 copies were sold the first week, the highest one-week total of any single since Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” in 1997.
The busy singer has spent the summer on tour across America with “American Idols Live!,” even as he worked with legendary executive producer Clive Davis, “American Idol” creator Simon Fuller and a team of other top producers and songwriters to complete the recording of his first album, which is scheduled for release in October. He has also recently set up the Bubel-Aiken Foundation, an organization that helps integrate individuals with disabilities into programs that traditionally have been reserved for those without disabilities.
A special education major at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Aiken loves working with children and individuals with autism, and had an entirely different plan for his life mapped out when opportunity came knocking and he auditioned for the second season of “American Idol.”

As the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women and one of the nation’s leading achievement programs, The Miss America Organization made available more than $45 million in cash and tuition scholarship assistance last year. Based in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the Miss America Organization provides young women with a vehicle to further their personal and professional goals and instills a spirit of community service through a variety of unique nationwide community-based programs.
Additional information about the Miss America Organization can be found at http://www.MissAmerica.org/
Media who wish to cover the 2003 Miss America Competition can download a Press Credential package online at http://www.MissAmerica.org/news/presscred.asp.
For photography, contact PR@MissAmerica.org or call 609.345.7571 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              609.345.7571      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

MISS AMERICA PRESS RELEASE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 10:57:26 PM
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 NEWS & OBSERVER - BILLBOARD CHARTS ARTICLE
« Reply #30 on: August 22, 2003, 03:46:23 PM »   

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Aiken slips on Hot 100 chart - The Raleigh singer's single does better on the adult contemporary list

Friday, August 22, 2003 12:00AM EDT
By MATT EHLERS, Staff Writer

Clay Aiken's hit, "This is the Night," is tumbling down Billboard's Hot 100 chart while performing better on the adult contemporary meter. That conjures up a career-direction question for the Raleigh native and "American Idol" runner-up: Is he headed for a lifetime of opening for Celine Dion, or will he end up kickin' it with Justin Timberlake?
 
The Hot 100 chart uses a mixture of radio airplay and sales to determine the country's most popular songs. Lately the chart has been heavy with hip-hop and R&B acts such as 50 Cent and R. Kelly. This week Aiken's single "This is the Night," is No. 65, down from No. 58. It debuted at No. 1 when it was released in June.

Billboard's adult contemporary chart measures airplay on radio stations that appeal to a more mature crowd. Phil Collins hit No. 1 on the AC chart not long ago with "Can't Stop Loving You." This week "This is the Night" is No. 15, down from No. 13.

Although "This is the Night" is performing better on the AC chart than the Hot 100, it's too early to pigeonhole Aiken as an adult contemporary artist, said Sean Ross, editor in chief of Airplay Monitor, Billboard's radio magazine.

The pop-chart slippage is "more of a function of the record they decided to make," Ross said. "This is the Night" is a pop ballad that fits better alongside Collins than P. Diddy.

That could change with the release of a full-length album by Aiken, who came to national prominence via Fox's fan-voted TV talent show.
"Pop radio would like to have something to play other than 50 Cent and Nelly," said Ross, who believes the album will probably have a more contemporary sound than "This is the Night." If the songs sound like hits, pop radio will play them, Ross predicted.

The release date of Aiken's album has been pushed back several times, with Amazon now listing it as Oct. 14.  Joe Wade Formicola believes the record will be a smash, producing two top-10 singles. Formicola, operations manager and program director at adult-contemporary WRAL-FM (Mix 101.5), isn't big on chart labels.  "He's on all different kinds of charts," he said. "Nobody pays attention to them."

Formicola predicts that Aiken will find chart success similar to matchbox twenty and Sheryl Crow, artists whose tunes often become hits on multiple charts.

One tune from the album that has that potential is "Invisible," which already has been passed around the Internet. Aiken performs it regularly in concert.

"It doesn't sound like "This is the Night," said Chris Edge, program director at Top-40 WDCG-FM (G105). "It's a little bit quicker and hipper sounding."
Edge can imagine the song being performed by a number of artists, including Timberlake and Johnny Rzeznik , lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls. "I think that means it's a quality song."

Although he works in Aiken's hometown and would play the song no matter what, Edge said he would spin "Invisible" anywhere in the country.
"A hit is a hit," he said. "It's really good."

Staff writer Matt Ehlers can be reached at 829-4889 or mehlers@newsobserver.com.

NEWS & OBSERVER ARTICLE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 11:00:20 PM
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  LIFE AFTER AI: NEWS ON CLAY'S UPCOMING ALBUM (EXCERPT)
« Reply #31 on: August 26, 2003, 01:14:21 PM »   

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Life After AI: News on Upcoming Albums from American Idol Contestants
by L.C. Lee -- 08/26/2003

It seems like news is breaking almost every day about one former American Idol contestant or another. L.C. brings it all together to get us up to date on Clay, Ruben, Kim Locke, Trenyce, Vanessa, Nikki, and more!

Good thing American Idol 3 isn’t starting until January, because the TV show seems to be churning out idols much faster than the idols themselves can record their albums. As David Bloomberg mentioned in a previous article, the current projected release dates for Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard’s debut albums are October 14 and November 11, respectively. While some Clay and Ruben fans have emailed me expressing their outrage over the repeated delays, pushing back a release date is fairly standard with musical releases these days. I think it’s quite a feat that Clay and Ruben will likely both have albums completed within five months after the end of AI2.

Beyond all the release date hoopla, I’ve put together a rundown of recent news and insights regarding the upcoming albums from Clay, Ruben, and other American Idol finalists.

Clay Aiken: In addition to information provided earlier in my article previewing Clay’s album, a cover of Leo Sayer’s “When I Need You” has been added to the self-titled album. Not sure why Clay feels the need to cover this particular song, considering we’ve already heard cover versions from Rod Stewart and Celine Dion. This song is borderline cheese, but should allow Clay to showcase his phenomenal belting range.

A new clip of Clay’s “I Will Carry You” has been leaked to Promosquad.com, and I am liking this song even more after hearing this clip. A bridge, with a sudden crescendo, has been added. Very nice added touch, which keeps the song from sounding too formulaic. With this new version being leaked, it leads me to believe that the clips that surfaced at Pickthehits.com last week could be headed back into the lab for further mixing. If this is the case, it’s nice to see that Clive Davis/RCA have emphasized quality control.

Much to the delight of Claymates I’m sure, Clay has confirmed that there will be no duets on his album. A Clay & Ruben duet on Ruben’s album is still a possibility, but no word on it since Simon Fuller brought up the idea in June.

I have received a flurry of emails from Claymates regarding the possibility of a Grammy nomination for Clay. I’m no expert on the Grammy scene, but I do think that Clay deserves strong consideration for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “This Is the Night.” It doesn’t look like there’s too much competition this year – there are some big names (Luther Vandross, Brian McKnight, R. Kelly, Craig David, Justin Timberlake, John Mayer), but none of their releases were anything mind-blowing. Clay should have a shot. And quite frankly, Clay’s “This is the Night” is the best male pop vocal performance of the year. That said, bias in the music business may keep him out of the running.

American Idol Christmas CD: A Christmas CD featuring American Idol contestants is currently scheduled to be released October 14 (I’ve also heard November, so it could get pushed back) and is tentatively titled Idol Christmas. Clay, Ruben, Tamyra, Justin Guarini, Kelly Clarkson, and possibly more will be recording songs for the album. Justin has already recorded “I’ll be Home for Christmas” for the CD. I imagine the 19 Entertainment cross promotion machine will be marketing the X-Mas CD on the coattails of Clay’s and Ruben’s upcoming albums.

For those who have emailed me inquiring about the American Idol tour special on Fox, a date has been scheduled: September 24. Just in time to promote Clay’s and Ruben’s upcoming albums. How convenient.

This should prove to be an interesting fall/winter as several idols are graduating from reality TV contestants to professional recording artists. Will they be able to kick down the door and prove their worth as legitimate artists? Or will doors be slammed on them due to the stigma of being associated with a manufactured talent show? Only time will tell…

READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 11:01:42 PM
Cruiser
CLAY IS THE COVER STORY - ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
« Reply #32 on: August 30, 2003, 01:23:31 PM »   

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And The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth!
Entertainment Weekly

At some point since the cheesy early Guarini-esque ballads, the ubiquitous Ford Focus commercials, and the sad-sack lone dance move (you know the one, the shoulder pump crossed with the knee bend), ''American Idol'' runner-up Clay Aiken has become one of the most natural, confident, and addictive voices in contemporary pop music.
And thanks to his ''superstar Eye''-popping physical makeover and his show-stopping vocal range, he's emerged as the biggest star from ''Idol'''s second season.
Earlier this summer, his debut release, ''This Is the Night''/''Bridge Over Troubled Water,'' shot straight to No. 1 on the Billboard charts, trounced the offering from ''American Idol'' winner Ruben Studdard by 200,000 copies, and became the fastest-selling single since Elton John's ''Candle in the Wind 1997.'' ''I was going to be a teacher or a principal,'' Aiken, 24, says of his pre-''Idol'' plans. ''Thank Jesus I came back for the wild-card show!''
We'll give up a hallelujah as well. With the Backstreet Boys MIA and Justin Timberlake essentially an R&B artist, the world needs a new prince of pop. ''There's a lot of singers that have incredible instruments,'' says Steve Ferrera, RCA Records' senior vice president of A&R, who, along with mogul Clive Davis and ''Idol'' creator Simon Fuller, is helping to oversee Aiken's musical output. ''Clay is one of those rare singers who has the chops, but he's also able to make the connection to the lyric. So when some people might be just doing vocal histrionics, he's imbuing the lyric with passion and feeling.''
Although cuddly crooner Studdard won the right to release his CD first, the pair's labels, RCA and J Records, have now pulled a Rehnquist and reversed America's decision, opting to debut Aiken's album on Oct. 14, a month before Studdard's. ''It was with Ruben's blessing,'' insists a rep for both singers, adding that Studdard isn't finished recording yet. ''He didn't want to hold up Clay's record.'' That's the noncynical take. Here's another: ''Idol'' execs recognized they were wrong to throw so much weight behind Studdard during the competition. (Some speculated they did so because they were afraid to be put in the position of having to back Aiken, who was rumored to be gay. The singer has said he is straight.)
Publicly, ''Idol'' judge Simon Cowell says marketing Aiken is a no-brainer. ''He is the clean-cut American boy, and he has the advantage of being able to appeal to 3-year-olds and 80-year-olds with pretty much pure pop music.'' Aiken's life story, which resonates with so many, is also a draw. ''If I was naming Clay's album, I'd call it 'The American Dream,' because he encapsulates all of that,'' Cowell says. ''He is the American dream, which is the geeky little kid who went on to win over the hearts of America through a singing competition.'' (Start lobbying, Simon: Aiken has yet to decide on an album title.)

(This is an online-only excerpt of Entertainment Weekly's Sept. 5, 2003, cover story.)

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
 
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 11:04:00 PM
Cruiser
NEW YORK METRO - THE UN-STAR SYSTEM
« Reply #33 on: September 04, 2003, 12:40:01 AM »   

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The Un-Star System
The 10,000 kids who swarmed the Javits Center last week weren't just angling for American Idol-dom. They were rallying against the record industry.
By Simon Dumenco
 
Somewhere in the jumble of bodies sprawled across the sidewalks outside the Javits Center, there is, quite possibly, a future American Idol. It’s after midnight on Monday, August 25, the day of the New York auditions for the third season of the Fox-network megahit, and as I check out this rather astonishing encampment of thousands of kids on sleeping bags and inflatable mattresses—even in pup tents—I’m thinking about how elusive star quality is these days.
Nobody would have been able to pick last season’s winner and runner-up out of a lineup, either. Ruben Studdard is an obese food addict whose face, in performance, is perpetually streaked by rivers of flop sweat. Clay Aiken is an underfed, flappy-eared Fievel Mousekewitz look-alike whose pants always seem like they’re about to slide off his non-hips. But both can sing real pretty.
The kids here at the Javits seem so boundlessly optimistic that, honestly, it embarrasses me. They have something like abject longing in their faces. It’s a vastly different sort of longing, though, from what you’d see among the encampments that form outside concert venues before, say, Justin Timberlake tickets go on sale. The desire there is to engage in group worship. The desire here is to attain group worship.
For that reason, I realize, I find myself repeatedly looking away—exercising the same sort of denial mechanism that kicks in when homeless people attempt to make eye contact. These moppets—oh, man, look at that Christina Aguilera wannabe strumming her guitar on a blanket!—are so brazenly starving for attention that it’s unnerving. All this naked desire to be nakedly desired.
But, of course, American Idol amounts to much more than just the aggregated neediness of its most eager participants. As a mass phenomenon, it suggests multiple, intertwined orders of psychopathology: the culture at large gorging on hordes of fresh “talent.” A populace parodying the idea of democracy by choosing exactly the entertainment it wants (and deserves). And, perhaps most pointedly, the fame factory engaging in a sort of ritualized cycle of bingeing and purging.
You were hoping, perhaps, that the whole American Idol thing would have blown over by now. If so, you were probably heartened by the poor box-office showing, earlier this summer, of the breathtakingly lame Idol movie, From Justin to Kelly (starring the first-season’s runner-up and winner), and the generally lackluster ratings performance of American Juniors, the disturbing kiddie version of the show that just ended its first (and possibly only) season.
But these were mere spinoffs, attempts to leverage and milk the brand. The core product itself not only shows every sign of being unstoppable but may just permanently alter the way the music industry molds and markets talent.
Consider the stakes: 24 million votes (almost evenly split down the middle) poured in for Ruben and Clay during American Idol’s second-season finale in May—which drew 34 million viewers (more than the Oscars). Clay and Ruben then went on to score Top 10 singles. In fact, Clay’s “This Is the Night” held the No. 1 spot for ten weeks and went platinum in July, the first single this year to sell more than a million copies. (Platinum singles are surprisingly rare and hard-won. Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Part II,” for instance, took decades to turn platinum—it was one of only two singles certified platinum in 2001.) Clay’s sales are all the more staggering when you consider that his single doesn’t even have a video on MTV yet. (It’s currently in postproduction; Matthew Rolston shot it in mid-July.) Ruben, meanwhile, does have a Top 10 MTV video, and his single, already certified gold, is probably just weeks away from turning platinum, too. Both singers will release full-length albums—Clay in October, Ruben in November—that are guaranteed to be among the year’s uncontested blockbusters. And the “American Idols Live” tour, headlined by Ruben and Clay—and sponsored by, I’m not kidding you, Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts—has packed arenas in 39 cities.
Even Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner—who would surely much rather be giving his buddy Mick Jagger five-star reviews than paying attention to all this American Idol nonsense—has succumbed to the marketing magic of Clay and Ruben. Over the years, Rolling Stone insiders have told me that male stars on the cover generally don’t do well on the newsstand, which is why everyone from Eminem to Justin Timberlake has had to up the ante by submitting to the homoerotic topless, baby-oiled treatment. Clay and Ruben (thank God!) didn’t have to take off their shirts to score their own Rolling Stone covers, in July and August, respectively, and Clay (both he and Ruben are Baptists) was even allowed to wear his own W.W.J.D. bracelet, surely a first for the magazine.
It’s entirely possible, of course, that Wenner assumed it stood for What Would Jann Do? The answer, obviously, is Follow the Money.
What’s most remarkable about the American Idol phenomenon is how quickly it has hijacked the recording industry. Producing legend Clive Davis is masterminding both singers’ records, Clay has lined up a cast of heavy-hitters to produce tracks, and Ruben has lured artists ranging from R. Kelly to Missy Elliott to serve as collaborators.
Talent has seemingly come out of nowhere before, but “nowhere” has almost always been the record industry’s farm system. Eminem, for instance, was hand-picked by an L.A. radio D.J. and carefully nurtured in the studio by rap impresario Dr. Dre before emerging, seemingly overnight, as a fully formed icon. Christina Aguilera spent years as a diva-in-training, putting in time as a Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club and recording a laboratory-tested song for a Disney movie soundtrack before breaking out with “Genie in a Bottle.” Justin Timberlake was famously cast by a boy-band impresario in ’NSync—a band whose seemingly overnight success in the U.S. was actually the culmination of a phased roll-out in Europe during the mid-nineties. The bottom line is that most A-list artists require years, and millions of dollars, of investment.
Now we’ve got Clay and Ruben, whom nobody—not a soul in the record industry—had heard of before this spring, and they’re already on track to become among the best-selling recording artists of our time.
There’s a limit, of course, to how many American Idols can be churned out—and lots of people will argue that Clay and Ruben are mere flashes in the pan whose careers can’t possibly endure. But to the record industry, it really doesn’t matter if they quickly fade—and not only because Clay and Ruben are creating instant dynastic wealth for American Idol creator Simon Fuller (who also controls their recording careers) and his partners. (Watch for Ruben and Clay to bitterly recount the terms of their contracts on Behind the Music five or ten years from now; for instance, the singers reportedly get a mere $5,000 per stop on the Pop-Tart tour.)
Not only is American Idol a reality-TV blockbuster, but it’s harnessed the reality-TV genre to show the fast-fading recording industry a new path to riches: turning poorly paid nobodies into overnight pop-cultural icons, with virtually none of the usual behind-the-scenes primping and preening. Turns out the record industry’s star-making machinery becomes entirely irrelevant when you really let the market decide.
In the same way that network executives have had to get used to the idea that television—its aesthetics and its economics—has been permanently transformed by the reality-TV phenomenon, record executives are going to have to live with an infrastructure upended by the American Idol effect.
The farm system seems suddenly useless. Megastars, it turns out, can be born with hardly any help at all from the usual cabal of A&R guys, talent coordinators, publicists, and image consultants.
For now, the industry’s bingeing on American Idol’s spoils, but it’s pretty clear what—and who—is going to end up getting purged in the end.

NEW YORK METRO

EDIT - The video for This is the Night has reportedly been scrapped. - Cruiser
 
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 11:04:50 PM
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Assistant Webmaster
ROLLING STONE - CLAY IS HOT!
« Reply #34 on: September 05, 2003, 03:52:32 PM »   

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"The hottest artists at Rollingstone.com for the week of Aug. 31, 2003."

1. Clay Aiken
   

CHECK IT OUT!
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 11:06:02 PM
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  THE IDOL FROM UNCC - COLLEGIATE STANDARD MAGAZINE
« Reply #35 on: September 07, 2003, 12:16:49 AM »   

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The Idol from UNC-C
 - Wayne Cooper

Clay was crying in the Fox TV Red Room after his friend and fellow contestant, Kimberly, was voted off American Idol. He was holed up in there and needed time to compose himself before he could come out and face the Newsweek reporter milling around waiting to interview him. Simon the Judge, blew a whorl of smoke from his Kool cigarette, and made a comment that if there were actual tears coming from Clay, then the tears were tears of relief - that it was Kimberly and not him who was voted off the show. The cynical critic was not buying that Clay’s heart was breaking for Kimberly. But millions of fans, mostly women, believe that Clay’s sincerity is one of a kind; and many believe genuineness is one of the qualities that makes him so appealing.

For an artist, Clay’s fans are to die for. During his run on American Idol, there was an around the clock 24 hours a day/7days a week prayer chain for Clay; at any moment in time there was someone somewhere assigned to pray for Clay Aiken. One new mother named her son, Christopher Clayton - after Clay (A Fox TV producer convinced Clay to change his name from Clayton to Clay). High school girls say they are inspired to alter their attitudes toward the geeky kids at school because of Clay. Young boys are asking for a Clay when they go get their hair cut. There’s the Claymates, a group of girls and women whose ages range from 15 to 68. How about the Claynadians, fans from Canada? He has fans from all over the world. “Clay puts love and joy out there. He gets it back and gives it out again, That’s why we stay in love with him,” explains one of his legion. “And when he smiles he just has you smiling back. He is thoroughly enjoying himself and we enjoy him back.”

The passion of Clay’s fans rivals the Beatles’ in their heyday. At the height of Beatlemania, John Lennon complained that wherever they played, the disabled in their wheelchairs were always placed on the front rows, a wall of imperfect flesh, separating the group from the young healthy teenagers screaming for them. But there is no way you would ever hear Clay Aiken complain if the infirmed were occupying the front rows of his performances. On the contrary, he paid his dues with service to the needy out of his compassion, before he became famous, unlike the celebrities who make a public show of their charitable sides when the camera light turns red and a tax deduction plan is in the works. Some of Clay’s fans report that when he sang, they were freed emotionally and physically from areas of their lives that held them in bondage for years in prisons of misery. Mimi Shinn knows. Her teenage autistic son, Nicolas, was one of Clay’s charges when he was in the final throes of a special education degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She remembers the first time Clay showed up at their home: "There is something about Clayton - he just walks into a room and fills up the room," Mimi says.

Not so when he walked into the judges’ room of American Idol for the first time. "When he walked in, let's face it, he looked like he had two satellite dishes growing out of his head," said the show's co-executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe. There’s Clay, on the audition tape, feebly announcing to Simon and Randy, the show’s judges, that he is “the American Idol”, nervously shifting his weight from his toes to his heels, looking like what you’d expect the little brother of the Jerry Lewis character in The Nutty Professor to look like. Reedy, bespectacled, a goofish grinner with hidden assorted physical and psychological baggage. Clay’s fear of water is so intense that when the finalists of AI were touring the mansion in LA where they would be housed, he refused to go down the steps leading to the swimming pool. He’s allergic to coffee, chocolate, mint and shellfish. He required three cortisone injections to quell an allergic reaction just prior to his performance of Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It" on AI, after he inadvertently ate mint in a fruit salad. And he’s prone to eccentricity: it was reported on the TV show The View that he chews his toenails.

But Clay has a set of pipes and his stage presence is underestimated.
When he appeared on Oprah with Ruben, tears welled his eyes and both sides of his cheek muscles quivered like the hearts of unrequited lovers as he held the last note of his ballad. The audience collapsed into meltdown and Oprah took his hand in hers and preserved it with an extended period of tenderness - even for Oprah. Many point to his singing voice as the source of his appeal. Who can argue? Roger Shuford, the pastor of Leesville Baptist Church in Raleigh, where Clay sang and attended church, said, “It's amazing to watch him. When he feels a song you can see it all over his face.” One of his friends from Raleigh, Suzanne, writes on a Clay web site, “His voice is an incredible gift from God and he acknowledges that, and desires to share those gifts with the world.” Another NC friend, Cara, says, "I can remember all of the talent shows at summer camp where I would wait all summer just to hear the sound of Clay's voice. His voice takes me to another place. It is so inspirational.”

During an Idol show, when Clay had performed ‘Solitaire’, a teary-eyed Neil Sedaka, said of the haunting song he had penned before Clay was born, that from that day forward it would be remembered as a Clay song.
There are few voices as pure as Clay’s. Frances Wilson, a friend, said she first heard Clay sing in church when he was 13. "He blew me away. This tiny little boy with red hair and wire-rimmed glasses and a bow tie - and that incredible voice," she said. During an interview with Leigh Dyer of the Charlotte Observer, Clay’s mother, Faye Parker, talked about how Clay started singing “country music one-liners when he was less than a year and a half old. “The first song I remember him singing was ‘Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys’. At the Sears store where she worked, he’d get a $1 from her co-workers to stand on a counter and sing. "I knew he had something special”, Parker says. “I knew God gave him a great voice.”

Friends who know him say his sense of humor is one of his most appealing traits. “Clay can make me pee in my pants on a regular basis. He is seriously one of the funniest guys I know,” says Christie. Meredith Cox, who worked with him at the A.E. Finley YMCA on Baileywick Road in Raleigh, says he has a wicked sense of humor. "These days, he really gets stereotyped as being this sweet Southern Baptist boy," Cox said. "He is all that, but he also is this really funny guy. He can just be really witty and sarcastic."

Clay never curses. He doesn’t believe in premarital sex either. He has a profound respect for his mother that is reminiscent of a young Elvis. He even legally changed the name he was born with, Grissom, to Aiken, the maiden name of his mother. But he credits his biological father for helping make him the man he is today. In an interview in Rolling Stone he says, “If I have anything good to say about him, it's that I think I learned to be who I am by being everything he wasn't,'' he said. “Part of the reason I don't smoke is that he did. He drank, and I don't. He's a racist, and I'm not. I don't want anything to do with any of that.''

Fortunately, he has different feelings for his step father, Ray Parker, whom he loves. And Clay was always Parker’s favorite singer. He encouraged him to sing and landed him a position in his brother’s country band when he was a teenager. Unfortunately Parker never saw Clay make it nationally: he died of lung disease just four months before Clay auditioned for American Idol. But not before he endued Clay with a groundedness that belies his 24 years.

"I'm really a person who likes stability," says the unlikely idol. "That's probably why I never pursued music, because there's no guarantees when it comes to music... of where your next paycheck's going to be, and all that type of stuff. I really appreciate the stability of working as a special ed teacher. To see my name in lights has never really been a dream of mine. I’m perfectly happy teaching. I really, honest to God, am.”

He admits he is the first person to be surprised with his astounding success. "It's been so fast paced, so exciting. I could have never dreamed this happening to me," he says. "It's been surreal. But I’ll be honest, when I got to the ‘X-Men’ premiere, and everyone’s looking at me, and when I go home and I’m on the front page of both the papers, there is a little bit of me that doesn’t want it to stop,” Aiken says. “After you’ve finally seen how cool it can be, it is kind of contagious. But what comes out of this is what God wants to happen. I totally rely on him to put me where He wants to put me and He did that. I never would have auditioned for something like this. He allowed this to happen to me.”

Clay’s mother, Faye, says she hopes the experience doesn’t change him too much and, no, he doesn’t have a steady girlfriend yet. From the millions of girls and women who adore Clay Aiken, the one who will hold his interest, in his own words, “I’m interested in a lady that is into helping other people and not one who is primped, and curled, and permed and very materialistic.”

A girl like his mother, no doubt.

 COLLEGIATE STANDARD   (http://www.collegiatestandard.com/stories/8_03/clay/clay.html)
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 11:12:07 PM
Cruiser
Guest
  WAKE WEEKLY ARTICLE - MAY 2003
« Reply #36 on: September 08, 2003, 12:15:36 AM »   

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American idol has local ties
by Colleen Lowry, Wake Weekly Staff Writer
May 1, 2003

Millions of American Idol fans have recently developed "Clay fever," supporting Raleigh's Clay Aiken in his quest for stardom, but one Youngsville woman has had the condition since her half-sister gave birth to Clay 24 years ago.
Donna McGhee, Clay's aunt, packs her car with Clay memorabilia each week to sell at the Raleighwood dinner theatre, where dozens of fans meet to watch Clay compete in one the nation's highest rated television shows.
American Idol is in its second season and more popular than ever. Tens of thousands of young adults auditioned before three judges in the entertainment industry to be selected for the next round in Hollywood. Viewers then vote to push their favorites into the final 12 and beyond. Those 12 perform each Tuesday night before a live studio audience, and the one who receives the fewest votes is eliminated from competition each week.
After Tuesday's performance this week, Clay was voted through to the final four.
It's showtime
"He's doing so good," McGhee says while watching him on the big screen. She is part of a group that religiously makes the weekly trek to Raleighwood to join a packed room of Clay supporters.
Every week Raleighwood is filled to capacity, McGhee said, and Tommy from the Bob and Madison's Showgram on G105 is there giving out prizes weekly.
"I am so glad to see all this support," McGhee said.
Clay is last to sing on this particular night, and when it's finally his turn, McGhee and her friend, Jean Hester, look over his outfit to see if he's wearing the clothes they advised.
"He finally listened!" Hester said. "That's what I told him he should wear!"
McGhee and her best friend, Mary Greene, huddle together staring intently at the screen as Clay belts out his rendition of Billy Joel's Tell Her About It. The audience goes wild when Clay hits a big note and the smile on McGhee's face gets even bigger.
Pleased with his performance, it was time to phone in their votes to keep Clay on the program for another week.
"He did great! He looked so good," McGhee said. Her sister, Joan Mabrey, chimes in, "He was wonderful!"
The next night, the results are revealed, again, live on television. But instead of heading out to Raleighwood, McGhee joins about 15 to 25 close friends and family at Clay's mother's house in Raleigh for the viewing. And to their delight, he gets enough votes to stay in the running.
The real Clay
Clay is an avid volunteer and has done a lot of work with students with autism and other developmental disabilities. In fact, he is scheduled to graduate from UNC-Charlotte this May with a degree in special education.
McGhee, owner of the jewelry design business B'jeweled, has been busy creating pendants and several different T-shirt designs to sell each week.
The Clay memorabilia has been selling like crazy, McGhee said, and not just locally. All of the proceeds are going to different charities, including the student council for exceptional children at UNCC and programs supporting autistic children. This is Clay's wish, McGhee said. "He's a great kid. He's just a good, young Christian boy," she said. "Clay is quite a giver."
Clay was born and raised in Raleigh and graduated from Leesville Road High School in 1997. McGhee says singing has always been a part of his life -- in the Raleigh Boys Choir, Raleigh Little Theatre, the North Carolina Theatre. She remembers a time when Clay's mother and grandmother would bring him to work with them at Sears, and "he would stand on the countertop and entertain customers."
Clay's talent has always been a source of comfort for the family, said McGhee. When his grandfather passed away, they asked him to sing at the funeral. As long as he could stand behind a screen so he didn't have to see his family's emotional reactions he could do it, he told her. So he sang Sheltered in the Arms "and he did such a good job," McGhee said. "And when he finished ... he just hugged my neck and lost it."
Raleighwood to Hollywood
Just last week, McGhee and several other family members flew out to Los Angeles to be part of the live studio audience for the show and support Clay in person.
McGhee's 76-year-old mother, Amaryllis -- "Nanny" to Clay -- had never been on an airplane before, but she said she has never missed one of Clay's performances and she wasn't about to start now.
Amaryllis says she has talked to Clay on the phone and he doesn't seem to be too nervous. "He's so relaxed anyway. He's so used to being in front of an audience," she said. And though she is a bit biased, she thinks Clay might go all the way and win the competition.
"He's just such a super guy ... in his manners and in his singing," Amaryllis said. "I just feel like he's going to make it. And if he doesn't, he'll get something out of it."
Amaryllis' plane ride was a success, McGhee said. "She did great. She'd never been on a subway before either, and she did that," McGhee said. "She had a good time."
The American Idol host even gave Amaryllis the pleasure of introducing her grandson on live television when it was time for him to perform.
Watching Clay on the stage was quite different than seeing him on a big screen, McGhee said.
"The set is totally different from what you see on television," McGhee said after the family got back last Thursday.
They were able to spend three evenings with Clay after three consecutive nights of live television shows. And everywhere they went, he was recognized "big time," McGhee said.
Clay told her that sometimes he isn't even able to eat when he goes out because he is bombarded by fans. "You don't understand," he told her; "everybody attacks me."
Sure enough, during a walk on the boardwalk in Santa Monica, fans swarmed in begging for autographs once they realized it was Clay.
McGhee said Clay seems a bit homesick and misses his family and friends. The contestants will tour the country performing for two months this summer, and she said they are planning a family cookout for him when the tour makes it to Raleigh.
She said Clay has been educating those in Hollywood about the South.
"He says Raleigh is like Mayberry" compared to Los Angeles, McGhee said. "And he's told them all about pig pickin's."
American Idol airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox, and the results of the votes are announced each Wednesday at 8:30 p.m, also on Fox. McGhee encourages everyone to watch Clay perform, then call in your vote to make her nephew America's newest star.

WAKE WEEKLY  
  (http://www.wakeweekly.com/archives/2003/May1-3.html)
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 11:16:01 PM
Cruiser

  EASTERN WAKE NEWS ARTICLE - JULY 2003
« Reply #37 on: September 08, 2003, 12:47:27 PM »   

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Fan finds an 'Idol' in Aiken
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
By MICHAEL A. BELL

ZEBULON NC - "American Idol" wannabe Clay Aiken of Raleigh has an abundance of fans across the entire nation, but none like Zebulon native Bonnie Parrish.

Aside from her "Clay Mobile" - the Nissan Maxima which displays support aphorisms all over it - she wears T-shirts and buttons parading his portrait and even a "Clay" silver slide around her neck. "I just want everyone to know about him," Parrish said, adding she has practically forced her adoration on all her Debnam Insurance co-workers and customers. "They have no choice but to like him."

About five years ago, Parrish and her sister-in-law were at a country music amateur show in Garner NC. The show was hosted by the now-famous/then-unknown Aiken, and he also performed a song called "Heroes" as a tribute to the autistic children he works alongside. A video played behind the song showing those less fortunate.

When he started singing, Parrish and her travel companion looked at each other "with our mouths wide open," she said. "Wow. That said a lot about him."

She promptly "stampeded" into the lobby to buy his tape which included Christian songs with proceeds benefiting autism research. From that point on, Parrish followed him around Selma and Dunn to various appearances.

"Those of us that are Clay fans are fans not just because of his beautiful, pure voice and the magic that's about him, but because of his caring and his work with children," Parrish said. Aiken has already admitted on the big stage he was pursuing a UNC-Charlotte "special education" degree before his big break occurred on one of prime-time television's highest Nielsen-rated programs.

If "our youth" must have an "idol," then Aiken represents the "character and values" our young need to look up to today, Parrish said.

Much to her delight last fall, she saw Aiken audition as an "American Idol" contestant hoping to follow in the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson (the show's first winner who later released a No. 1 single and has a major motion picture in the works), Justin Guarini (the one with the "Sideshow Bob" hair and a co-starring feature film role) and Tamyra Gray (currently enjoying an acting run on the "Boston Public" Fox series).

Even though his advancement to the finals may have been a shocker to many, she knew his destination of stardom long before anyone else. "We can always say we knew him back when," Parrish added.

She even took the artistic passion for Aiken internationally. "I have three Canadian e-mail buddies," she said. "They love Clay." Weekly call-in voting, however, is not open to anyone across the border.

She mentioned fans have surfaced because of his heartfelt songs, and she even received a call at 2 a.m. from one of those "addicted" to the unlikely heartthrob. "We now have a large group (some Watkins Chapel Baptist Church members included) going to Raleighwood on Tuesday night to cheer him on. You would not believe some of the age groups we have convinced to watch Clay on American Idol and vote. I have personally cast 1,391 votes for him."

His soaring public popularity paid huge dividends before the final dozen performers were culled from thousands of candidates. Originally passed over in the semifinal round, Aiken was invited back for a "wild card" edition where four more were selected. There, he answered the bell with the most phone calls to advance.

Now not only is he living in a multimillion-dollar Los Angeles, Calif., mansion, but he also received ringing endorsement from one celebrity judge. Toughest panel critic Simon Cowell told an Entertainment Weekly magazine writer in the March 28 edition: "You might as well end the competition right now. You have to put your money on Clay. I just can't see anyone beating him at this point."

Though that source radiates irritation on occasion, at least Parrish appreciates the opinion. "He does give honest criticism," she said of the top insult dog infamous for brutal retorts, even when addressing fellow talent evaluators Paul Abdul and Randy Jackson.

Even though the prominent comments may mean Parrish has hitched her bandwagon to the right budding star, she still bites her nails every Tuesday and Wednesday night in front of the tube. "We can't hardly stand it, we are so nervous for him," she said. "It's been fun having people see our buttons and comment on the car."

She has even joined the topic of conversation because of her unbridled enthusiasm. New people approach her and talk, lightening her days. However, her zealousness doesn't please everyone - namely, her uninterested brother. "I know he's tired of hearing Clay, Clay, Clay," but "we don't care," Parrish declared. "We're just excited to be able to be a part of this journey he's on. We're having so much fun."

She promptly calls herself the self-appointed "president" of the Clay Aiken fan club and even cites Scripture to reinforce her support. "He's inspirational, and something magical about him comes out when he performs," said Parrish. "He wants to make a difference, and it takes a special person to work with special-need children."

EASTERN WAKE NEWS
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 11:16:37 PM
Cruiser
  UNCC NINERONLINE - MUSIC REVIEW
« Reply #38 on: September 09, 2003, 12:42:58 AM »   

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Aiken's 'Invisible' debuts online at AOL First Launch Music
First single heralds new sound for UNCC crooner
by Nick Smith - Special to NinerOnline.com
September 07, 2003

UNC Charlotte's very own Clay Aiken, runner up on the most recent season of "American Idol," is looking to beat out "Idol" winner Ruben Studdard in the only competition that really matters -- the charts -- with his October 14 debut release "Measure of a Man."
If first single "Invisible" is any indication, he should have no problem making himself very visible on radio play lists across the country.
One common criticism Aiken has had to endure is that his powerful voice is more suited to slow ballads or Broadway-style tunes than pop music, but "Invisible" goes a long way to answering those naysayers.
In the same way "Miss Independent" showcased a new sound and style for former "Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson, "Invisible" gives Aiken a chance to branch out from the type of music he's done so far and to prove his staying power is far more potent than many might believe.
Though the song, about the difficulties of being "invisible" to the person you want to be with, features lyrics that could be considered vaguely stalker-esque ("If I was invisible/I could just watch you in your room"). The upbeat and jaunty music and Aiken's inimitable delivery make it a lively and hopeful number.
Much faster than anything Aiken's done to this point, the tune nevertheless gives him a chance to let out the full power of his voice, creating the same sort of chill-inducing moments he was known for on the show.
Critics may still attack the song for being somewhat overproduced -- the music is big and bold and there's a plethora of background vocals -- but considering Aiken himself is doing much of the background work, it's difficult to find a reason to hold it against him.
While maybe not as earth-shattering as his powerful re-imagining of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" or his show-stopping "Solitaire," "Invisible" does prove that Aiken's got what it takes to forge a successful pop career after all, and makes one very excited to hear the rest when "Measure of a Man" hits in October.

NINERONLINE
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 07, 2010, 11:18:35 PM
Cruiser
SOUR GRAPES FROM SIMON COWELL - REALITY TV WORLD ARTICLE
« Reply #39 on: September 10, 2003, 11:24:44 AM »   

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'Idol' judge Simon Cowell says Clay Aiken's success due solely to choice of song
By AyaK, 09/10/2003

The sniping from American Idol judge Simon Cowell toward Idol runner-up Clay Aiken may have begun during American Idol 2, but it clearly isn't over yet. Entertainment Weekly (subscription required) reports that Simon dismisses Clay's chart success compared to Idol winner Ruben Studdard -- and even his platinum single -- as merely a consequence of Clay's decision to cover Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

Said Simon, "'If Ruben had had 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' on his record, he'd have had the No. 1. I think that was the hit song. If you asked 100 record buyers who bought Clay's single 'What song did you want to buy?' I wouldn't be surprised if 70 percent at least said 'Bridge Over Troubled Water.' People will disagree, but that's my opinion.'' During Idol, Simon had dismissed the featured side of Clay's single, "This Is The Night," as "''American Idol: The Musical."

For his part, Clay doesn't want to get involved in yet another Clay-versus-Ruben battle. ''The whole country wants Ruben and me to be at each other's throats. We spent nine months competing with each other. And we both got what we wanted. He's got a title, and I'm nothing but proud of him." Makes sense to us.

We have no way of knowing what portion of Simon's comments were motivated by his real opinion and what portion were motivated by his desire to protect his reputation, since Entertainment Weekly notes that he seemed to favor Ruben consistently during the latter stages of Idol. However, we find ourselves in the awkward position of simultaneously agreeing and disagreeing with Simon.

As we reported here, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" has indeed become the featured side of Clay's single, at least in our opinion as well as Simon's -- and in the opinion of Nielsen SoundScan, which has been listing "Bridge" as the featured side for several weeks. On the other hand, any hit is due to both song selection AND performance, and "Bridge" (like many of the songs associated with Art Garfunkel) fits comfortably into Clay's style and range of singing but doesn't appear to fit Ruben's.

We detect a slight aroma of sour grapes eminating from the direction of Simon Cowell ... a sensation that is strengthened by reading Simon's characterization of Clay as "the geeky little kid who went on to win over the hearts of America through a singing competition." We tend to think that such a characterization could also be applied to Mr. Cowell himself.



  REALITY TV WORLD
   (http://www.realitytvworld.com/index/articles/story.php?s=1710)
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 11, 2010, 12:41:17 AM
Cruiser
CLAY #1 FOR 11TH WEEK ON BILLBOARD HOT 100 SINGLES CHART
« Reply #40 on: September 12, 2003, 12:30:13 PM »   

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Quote
The Hot 100's fastest-growing track at retail is Jagged Edge's "Walked Outta Heaven," which gains 65-58. "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken continues to enjoy the No. 1-selling single in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, with his "This is the Night/Bridge Over Troubled Water." The cut has led Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Sales tally for 11 non-consecutive weeks.

WASHINGTON POST
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 11, 2010, 12:42:01 AM
Cruiser
Guest
  CLAY VISITS UNC CHARLOTTE - ARTICLE
« Reply #41 on: September 12, 2003, 12:33:20 PM »   

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Quote
Aiken visits old school with TV crew in tow
Album coming out Oct. 14
CHRIS KEANE/STAFF - The Charlotte Observer   
 
Clay Aiken made an unannounced visit to the UNC Charlotte campus Wednesday, trailed by a crew filming a segment about the "American Idol" runner-up for NBC's "Dateline." Aiken, a former UNCC student, just wrapped up a national concert tour. He has more than a dozen appearances scheduled on national television and in magazines, ranging from "Primetime Live" to People, in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 14 release of his album.   

CHARLOTTE.COM
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 11, 2010, 12:42:41 AM
Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
CLAY AND RUBEN MINI CONCERT FOR FORD
« Reply #42 on: September 15, 2003, 12:16:41 AM »   

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Adcraft will kick off its 2003-04 meeting season on a high note (literally) on Thursday, September 25. We’ll feature two new faces from last year’s television season, who are now two of the fastest-rising names on the musical charts: Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, stars of FOX-TV’s “American Idol.” The pair will treat Adcrafters to a mini-concert at our annual “Ford Motor Company Day” at the Ford Conference & Event Center. All seats in the main ballroom have been sold out, but seats were still available in the Center’s beautiful atrium, where the performance will be shown on a wide screen.

ADCRAFT
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 11, 2010, 12:43:39 AM
Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER - ARTICLE 9/17
« Reply #43 on: September 17, 2003, 05:47:45 PM »   

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Aiken will study and sing this fall - See him on pageant broadcast Saturday
MARK WASHBURN
TV/Radio Writer
   
"American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken, who sings this weekend at the mother of all scholarship pageants, says he'll finish his own degree this fall.
Aiken, who will sing his signature song, "This Is the Night," at the Miss America Pageant, said Tuesday that he is working out arrangements to complete his final hours at UNC Charlotte, where he is pursuing a special education degree.
"I'm hoping to graduate in December," he said. He said he will finish through a distance-learning regimen so he can continue his public appearances.
Aiken's song will be an opening act in the three-hour show from Atlantic City, N.J., which will air Saturday at 8 p.m. on WSOC (Channel 9).
Hurricane Isabel, on a track that could take it along the New Jersey coast late this week, doesn't worry Aiken.
"I'm from North Carolina, and we've survived a few hurricanes down here," he said. Aiken's family lost power for a week after Hurricane Fran pummeled Raleigh in 1996.

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 11, 2010, 12:44:21 AM
Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
CLAY TO SING AT PAGEANT - ARTICLE 9/19
« Reply #44 on: September 19, 2003, 11:21:13 AM »   

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Pageant looking to hook viewers
American Idol singer on boardwalk in N.J... He's got his favorite
By R.D. Heldenfels

Hurricanes don't worry Clay Aiken.
They should, since the American Idol runner-up could see the effects of Hurricane Isabel up close on Saturday night when he appears on ABC's Miss America telecast from coastal Atlantic City, N.J.
And when he talked to reporters via conference call earlier this week, he was at his North Carolina home, where people were also anticipating havoc from Isabel.
Still, he said, "We've survived a few hurricanes down here.... We're fully prepared. I think it will make the show more exciting.''
Besides, Aiken has been spending his time in a whirlwind.
His first album, Clay Aiken, recently ranked 20th on the amazon.com sales list and it does not hit stores until Oct. 14. He is nominated for an American Music Award for favorite male pop/rock artist -- against Kid Rock, John Mayer and Justin Timberlake.
The publicity machine has been endless if not always favorable. Entertainment Weekly put him on the cover -- of an issue about guilty pleasures.
"I've been on the road or in the air pretty much since the entire (American Idol) show ended,'' Aiken said.  "My schedule changes every day.... I have to be prepared for changes at any moment.''
Being home in North Carolina reminded him that he sometimes misses life before fame -- "getting to drive around and hang out with friends, and not having to worry about where I have to be and what photo shoot I have to do....
"But you take the good with the bad,'' he said.  "I think the benefits outweigh the downside.''
In fact, you could argue that Aiken is helping Miss America more than the telecast is helping him.
It's not as if he is going to unveil a new song to promote his album. No, it's This Is the Night that he will sing -- again -- during the three-hour telecast, which starts at 8 p.m. Saturday on ABC.
"This is the only song I sing that I don't get tired of singing,'' he said.  "It's going to be very poignant. It speaks a lot to what I was going through on the American Idol show, and the words speak a lot to what the ladies are going through on the pageant.''
And the pageant needs a boost from Aiken -- and other reality stars.
Aiken's American Idol series averaged about 21 million viewers according to Nielsen estimates. Last year, Miss America averaged about 12 million viewers.
Even more importantly, Miss America reached that many because of people tuning in near the end of the show to see who won. It started the night with 8.3 million viewers. So you can safely expect to see Aiken pretty early in Saturday's telecast.
You'll also be seeing a lot of Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter, the happy couple from The Bachelorette. ABC says they will "host a viewing party for some of their closest friends, as they invite the television audience to guess along with them about the evening's competition.''
Of course, ABC is hoping that those closest friends will include the 16.7 million people who watched The Bachelorette every week.
That said, Aiken also likes Miss America. While noting that it is "definitely flashier'' than it used to be, he thought it had values and a family-friendly attitude that fits well with his American Idol following.
"American Idol was very popular because it was a family show,'' he said. "Miss America is the same. It's very family-oriented. It's a safe show. People can sit and watch it together. I know I did with my mother and my father and my brother when I was younger.''
Besides, he said, "I kind of have a crush on Miss California.''
Aiken said that he and Idol winner Ruben Studdard went on the pageant's Web site -- www.missamerica.org -- and checked out all the contestants.
He and Studdard remain friends, talking every week, Aiken said. And it was Studdard who arranged for Aiken's album to be released first even though, as the winner, he could have made Aiken go second.
"Ruben is nothing if not a friend and a gentleman,'' Aiken said. When Studdard saw that Aiken's album was finished and he needed more time, Aiken said that "he made the decision that it didn't make sense for mine to sit around and wait.''
Aiken was very upbeat about his album, which he says is "definitely a pop album, so it's not a big departure for me. But there's a little bit of a rock edge.... I kind of compare it to a Steve Perry/Journey flavor, which is really stuff I grew up listening to, and I loved.''
But let's get back to that stuff about checking out the contestants.
Aiken said that his home state loyalty meant he had to root for Miss North Carolina to win -- and that he was sure that Studdard would be cheering for his state's Miss Alabama.
Still, he said, "I think Ruben was interested in Miss Hawaii, if I'm not mistaken.''
And Aiken had a good reason for Miss California not to win.
"If Miss California won Miss America, she wouldn't have time (for Aiken). She'd be too busy.... She can be first runner-up.''
Just like Aiken.

OHIO BEACON JOURNAL
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 11, 2010, 12:47:11 AM
KittyDreamz86
Guest
  AMERICAN IDOL SINGER ON BOARDWALK IN NJ
« Reply #45 on: September 19, 2003, 01:32:03 PM »   

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Didn't know if anyone has read, but and article from Beacon Journal gives really recent info about Clay. Included is a quote from him that he and Ruben surfed the Miss America website and he has a "little crush on Miss California." Simply FYI. Here's the article:

Pageant looking to hook viewers

`American Idol' singer on boardwalk in N.J. He's got his favorite
By R.D. Heldenfels

Hurricanes don't worry Clay Aiken.

They should, since the American Idol runner-up could see the effects
of Hurricane Isabel up close on Saturday night when he appears on
ABC's Miss America telecast from coastal Atlantic City, N.J.

And when he talked to reporters via conference call earlier this
week, he was at his North Carolina home, where people were also
anticipating havoc from Isabel.

Still, he said, ``We've survived a few hurricanes down here.... We're
fully prepared. I think it will make the show more exciting.''

Besides, Aiken has been spending his time in a whirlwind.

His first album, Clay Aiken, recently ranked 20th on the amazon.com
sales list and it does not hit stores until Oct. 14. He is nominated
for an American Music Award for favorite male pop/rock artist --
against Kid Rock, John Mayer and Justin Timberlake.

The publicity machine has been endless if not always favorable.
Entertainment Weekly put him on the cover -- of an issue about guilty
pleasures.

``I've been on the road or in the air pretty much since the entire
(American Idol) show ended,'' Aiken said. ``My schedule changes every
day.... I have to be prepared for changes at any moment.''

Being home in North Carolina reminded him that he sometimes misses
life before fame -- ``getting to drive around and hang out with
friends, and not having to worry about where I have to be and what
photo shoot I have to do....

``But you take the good with the bad,'' he said. ``I think the
benefits outweigh the downside.''

In fact, you could argue that Aiken is helping Miss America more than
the telecast is helping him.

It's not as if he is going to unveil a new song to promote his album.
No, it's This Is the Night that he will sing -- again -- during the
three-hour telecast, which starts at 8 p.m. Saturday on ABC.

``This is the only song I sing that I don't get tired of singing,''
he said. ``It's going to be very poignant. It speaks a lot to what I
was going through on the American Idol show, and the words speak a
lot to what the ladies are going through on the pageant.''

And the pageant needs a boost from Aiken -- and other reality stars.

Aiken's American Idol series averaged about 21 million viewers
according to Nielsen estimates. Last year, Miss America averaged
about 12 million viewers.

Even more importantly, Miss America reached that many because of
people tuning in near the end of the show to see who won. It started
the night with 8.3 million viewers. So you can safely expect to see
Aiken pretty early in Saturday's telecast.

You'll also be seeing a lot of Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter, the happy
couple from The Bachelorette. ABC says they will ``host a viewing
party for some of their closest friends, as they invite the
television audience to guess along with them about the evening's
competition.''

Of course, ABC is hoping that those closest friends will include the
16.7 million people who watched The Bachelorette every week.

That said, Aiken also likes Miss America. While noting that it is
``definitely flashier'' than it used to be, he thought it had values
and a family-friendly attitude that fits well with his American Idol
following.

``American Idol was very popular because it was a family show,'' he
said. ``Miss America is the same. It's very family-oriented. It's a
safe show. People can sit and watch it together. I know I did with my
mother and my father and my brother when I was younger.''

Besides, he said, ``I kind of have a crush on Miss California.''

Aiken said that he and Idol winner Ruben Studdard went on the
pageant's Web site -- www.missamerica.org -- and checked out all the
contestants.

He and Studdard remain friends, talking every week, Aiken said. And
it was Studdard who arranged for Aiken's album to be released first
even though, as the winner, he could have made Aiken go second.

``Ruben is nothing if not a friend and a gentleman,'' Aiken said.
When Studdard saw that Aiken's album was finished and he needed more
time, Aiken said that ``he made the decision that it didn't make
sense for mine to sit around and wait.''

Aiken was very upbeat about his album, which he says is ``definitely
a pop album, so it's not a big departure for me. But there's a little
bit of a rock edge.... I kind of compare it to a Steve Perry/Journey
flavor, which is really stuff I grew up listening to, and I loved.''

But let's get back to that stuff about checking out the contestants.

Aiken said that his home state loyalty meant he had to root for Miss
North Carolina to win -- and that he was sure that Studdard would be
cheering for his state's Miss Alabama.

Still, he said, ``I think Ruben was interested in Miss Hawaii, if I'm
not mistaken.''

And Aiken had a good reason for Miss California not to win.

``If Miss California won Miss America, she wouldn't have time (for
Aiken). She'd be too busy.... She can be first runner-up.''

Just like Aiken.
------------------------------------------------------------
R.D. Heldenfels writes about television for the Beacon Journal.
Contact him at 330-996-3582 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              330-996-3582      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or rheldenfels@t...

I think it's kinda cute myself. Enjoy! :)
 
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 11, 2010, 12:48:25 AM
Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
 BILLBOARD REVIEWS 'INVISIBLE'
« Reply #46 on: September 20, 2003, 02:06:53 AM »   

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CLAY AIKEN Invisible
Producer(s): Desmond Child
Writer(s): D. Child, A. Carlsson, C. Braide
Publisher(s): Desmundo/Deston, ASCAP; Warner Chappell, PRS
Label/Catalog Number: RCA 56600 (CD promo)
Source: Billboard Magazine
Originally Reviewed: September 27, 2003

Since first single "This Is the Night/ Bridge Over Troubled Water" topped The Billboard Hot 100 and became 2003's best-selling single thus far, "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken has graced numerous magazine covers, electrified the Internet with dozens of (scary) fan sites and stormed the country with the sold-out "Idol" tour. And that was just the beginning. New single "Invisible" is one of the great British pop imports of the year (after the song scored overseas for Irish boy band D-Side), with its scorching power-pop chorus and radiant production. Aiken's vocal is potent, colorful and another reminder that you don't have to win "Idol" to be its real victor. Hilary Duff's No. 1 CD on The Billboard 200 illustrates that there are plenty of hungry pop fans. Won't it be fascinating to see how corporate radio responds to millions of requests for a song that is neither hip-hop nor hard rock? "Invisible" deserves to be No. 1, on airplay alone.—Chuck Taylor

BILLBOARD REVIEW
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 11, 2010, 12:50:10 AM
Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
ELLE ARTICLE NOW ONLINE
« Reply #47 on: September 20, 2003, 11:44:52 AM »   

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The ELLE article is now online.

Quote
ACHING FOR AIKEN


Quote
How did a baby-faced, jug-eared special ed teacher—and American Idol runner-up—become the fantasy fodder of sophisticated women everywhere? Allison Glock follows the rising star to find out.

Clay Aiken smells like fresh laundry. It's the first thing you notice about him—that he's well-scrubbed, radiant in his cleanliness, a walking, freckled dryer sheet. The second thing you notice are his lips, which are plump and ripe and shell pink. Much has been made about his hair—the whole flatironed, geek-hipster red nest of it all—but little, too little, has been made of his lips, perhaps because most of the world has only ever seen them contorted and trembling in song.

Aiken, for the uninitiated, was the second-place finisher in this year's American Idol contest. “I lost,” he says, then laughs, which is easy enough for him to do since his single “This Is the Night” has already gone platinum. He has also graced the cover of Rolling Stone (before Idol winner Ruben Studdard did; the issue allegedly sold more copies than any in the last two years, including the Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera, and Eminem covers, to name a few). His first album, Measure of a Man (RCA), out in mid-September, was ranked number three on Amazon.com back in July. His fans range from Diane Sawyer (who admitted to a serious Clay crush on Good Morning America ) to Neil Sedaka, who cried on camera when Aiken covered his hit “Solitaire.” “His voice is incredible-the pitch, the tone,” says Sedaka. “I think he'll be the new Frank Sinatra.”

“So much has happened in the past nine months that I haven't had time to think,” admits the 24-year-old, from the back of the van that's shuttling him from New York City to a concert appearance in Hartford, Connecticut. “Honestly, last night I was sitting in the hotel room crying for about an hour. I had to call someone back in Raleigh to wake them up because I needed to talk. Certain things have just hit me.”

Most recently, it was his inability to take a walk.

“I wanted to clear my head, and I realized that if I were to take a stroll in New York, I'd have to wake my bodyguard, Jerome, and then I'm not really alone, so what's the point? I felt trapped and miserable. Sometimes I just want to go back to teaching.”
That's unlikely, because while Aiken was, by all accounts, a gifted special ed teacher working mostly with grade-school children, he possesses a voice that's impossible to ignore.

CALLING ALL CLAYMATES
“I was going to go to music school but decided against it,” Aiken says. “I didn't see the point. Then I was running an after-school program at the YMCA, and I thought, Forget music, I love this. I want to work with kids with behavioral disabilities.”

But Aiken still sang at the Y, and when he sang, people noticed. Whenever he belted out a song—and he is a belter—the whole room quieted. Heads lifted. Eyes widened. Hearts swelled. When American Idol happened along, the mother of one of his students encouraged him to try out. Reluctantly, he did.

“I liked singing, but I never wanted to make a career out of it,” he says with a sigh. “When you work with kids who have autism, they don't reciprocate any affection. You learn to find your self-worth within what you do, not what people tell you about yourself. Now with all of this, I really have flip-flopped. Also, I'm not much of a crowd person. It's a lot to get used to.”

Unlike many of his fellow Idol finalists, Aiken didn't grow up a fan: “I never idolized celebrities or musicians.” Even now, he can barely name one. “I liked that guy in The Pianist [Adrien Brody],” he offers lamely when asked which famous people he admires. As a boy growing up in a conservative family in Raleigh, North Carolina, Aiken enjoyed TV but was limited in his viewing options. Even The Golden Girls was considered too risqué. As a result, Aiken is the rare pop idol who knows next to nothing about pop culture.

“You know who I idolized? Mr. Rogers. Is there a market for the next Mr. Rogers? Because I'd love to do that. I'd much rather be quiet and important like him than live large and be some useless celebrity.”

Aiken's ignorance of all things hot translates into a doofy authenticity and a captivating vulnerability. He's so uncool, he's cool. Dressed in loose khakis, a striped polo-style shirt, New Balance running shoes, and his ever-present WWJD bracelet, Aiken resembles a slimmed-down, Christian Charlie Brown. His hair is mussed but not in the artful, deliberate way it was on Idol. His teeth are white, square, and shiny. The only concession to his newfound stardom is a $15,000 diamond-studded Jacob & Co. watch that was a gift from the Idol producers but that he's embarrassed to wear. “I was going to auction it off for charity, but it was a present, so I wear it. It's really a woman's watch. I liked it because it wasn't as ostentatious. Ruben wears the men's. He'll probably show it to you.”

Standing over 6' tall but weighing only 145 pounds, Aiken appears recessive, unintimidating, a gentle giant who consistently drives women between the ages of 16 and 60 into a frothy lather of lust. In addition to the Rolling Stone cover, there are the requisite Web sites devoted to all things Clay, run by women who call themselves Claymates and shilling everything from Clay coffee mugs to Claytionary (stationary embossed with his face). And then there are the panties.

“I got seven one night,” says Aiken with a giggle. “And last night, I got five thongs and two Depend diapers. One had a note attached that said, 'Clay, we love you too, from your older fans.'”

That women are so moved by his presence that they hurl their undergarments onstage as if he were Elvis mystifies Aiken: “Ruben always jokes with me that I could have any woman out there. He says, 'You need to hook up with somebody before you leave the tour.' But I try and explain that that's not what this is about for me. The reason women like me, I think, is because I don't threaten them. I realize Ruben's right, I probably could”—he pauses, blushes—“you know, but I respect women more than that.”

He wrinkles his brow, then shakes his head. “I am extremely flattered. There are some gorgeous women who are, quote, in love with me. But I think taking advantage of that is wrong.”

Besides, Aiken is a man who takes sex seriously. “I was raised by my mother and grandmothers, and a lot of what I am is because I wanted to be different from my birth father. He was a womanizer. When I had to go visit him, there would be a different woman over every time. I thought that was really tacky.”

When it's suggested that not many young men would forgo voluntary, anonymous sex with beautiful, knickerless girls, Aiken shrugs.

“If anything, women want to take care of me, to mother me. I think that's part of the reason I've sold a lot of records.”

The other part is the fact that Aiken can wring the juice out of any song he sings. The vocal love child of Celine Dion and Freddy Mercury, he belongs to the grand tradition of powerful, house-rattling singers who own the money note. When you listen to Aiken, two things happen: You want to hear more, and you want to sing along. There's also the unfiltered intensity of the sound mixed with the “Aw, shucks” innocent who's creating it. That dissonance is what first captured the judges' attention. “Where is that voice coming from?” they repeatedly queried, staring Aiken down, waiting for the true source to be revealed. Here was a sweet Southern mama's boy who sang like a big bad man. No wonder the panties are flying!

INSIDE THE IDOL BUS
It's four hours before show time, and crowds are already forming at the Hartford Civic Center. Many of the fans hold cardboard signs with Clay's name written in big bubble letters. Other fans wear T-shirts printed with his photo.

Once safely beneath the stadium, Aiken emerges from the van and brushes the remnants of his Burger King fries off his pants. “I prefer Wendy's, but they aren't as popular up here.” He then explains how much he misses sweet tea, fried chicken, and all the other familiar amenities displaced Southerners long for when above the Mason-Dixon Line. “I had never left the state of North Carolina before American Idol,” he reveals. “I knew what I was going to be doing when I was 50—I was going to teach, then get a master's at William & Mary in administration, then be a principal somewhere. Now I don't know what I'm going to do next week.”

Even when Aiken talks, his voice is difficult to contain. The words rush out from his mouth in torrents, pitching and rising, quiet and loud.

“I want to live in Raleigh, but I know I can't. I tried to go to the ATM the one day I was home last year, and people swarmed my car. I was like, People, please, I just want to check my balance. Ironically, the only place I can really breathe is L.A. People there don't care.”

Just then, Studdard pulls up in a white Cadillac Escalade. He emerges in a white sweatsuit, his diamond watch blinging on his arm. He gives a friendly nod to Aiken, then scowls at his publicist for no ostensible reason.

“Don't look at me that way,” she chides, patting his shoulder with a familiarity suggesting this isn't the first time she's had to diffuse his annoyance.

Aiken pulls me aside. He wants to show me the tour bus, something I was told was off-limits to reporters. Aiken disagrees and confronts a tour manager.

“Ned, you're a lying sack of crap. Don't lie to the lady in front of me.”

“I guess I forgot,” Ned says sheepishly.

“You didn't forget for squat. Now we're going to have to have a fight. That burns me up.”

Aiken turns to me and says through his teeth, “You know what? You are so going on that bus.”

Aiken is nothing if not chivalrous. Considerate. Polite. He's the guy who asks you questions and actually listens to the answers—and even asks follow-up questions hours later, thereby proving that he finds you worth his attention. And he notices things. Like that the empty Burger King bag is rattling at your feet on the floor of the van, so he picks it up. Or that the air conditioner is too cold, and turns it down. It's this empathy and inherent graciousness evident in every press appearance and performance that leads many men to speculate that Aiken is gay (he has denied it) and even more women to say, Who cares?

“I don't think people know what to do with me,” Aiken says. “I'm interesting because they don't know what to do with me.”

The American Idol bus is less bus than nightclub. There are black leather lounge chairs, plasma TVs, marble floors, a neon-trimmed alcohol-free minibar, and beds with privacy curtains. As we open the back lounge door, Kimberley Locke (who came in third) lifts her head from the couch.

“Cla-ay,” she whines, “I'm having a crisis. I need you. I need you now.”

Aiken apologizes, then steps inside the lounge, says, “What is it, honey?” and shuts the door. Outside the bus, the other Idol girls walk around in skinny jeans and mascara, alternately complaining and striking poses like they're on MTV. In time Aiken emerges, apologizes again, then sits down with the crew for a dinner of peanut butter and jelly and a glass of, yes, milk. He playfully scolds a staff member for swearing. Idol Kimberly Caldwell (the sixth Idol to get the hook) joins the table wearing a handwritten T-shirt that says QUIT STARING, I'M HER.

While she picks apart a cinnamon bun, Aiken tries to articulate his ambition.

“Am I going to turn into a diva or try to make sure I do something valuable with my influence?” Caldwell chews and looks off into the distance. “That's why I'm starting a foundation for individuals with disabilities. [His charity, named the Bubel-Aiken Foundation, is named for the woman who encouraged him to try out for the show.] I would be more than happy to do this for three years and have enough clout to make a difference. I don't need to win a Grammy. Still, there are some people who would say I've turned into a diva already.” Caldwell laughs.

Aiken proceeds to give an example of the last time he went to KFC. “It was half an hour before closing, and they said they were out of chicken. It's KFC—how can you be out of chicken? So I'm starving and probably crankier than I should have been, and I said, 'You don't have any chicken in the building anywhere?' And she said, 'We have some wings that are kind of warm.' I said, 'I don't want wings, I want chicken.' And she maintains that she doesn't have any, so I say, 'You can't tell me that every morning you go out and kill some chickens and make it fresh. You know you've got chicken back there, so why don't you go back into the kitchen and cook it up?'”

Now the whole table is laughing.

“The point is, I would have said the same things before American Idol, but I wouldn't have been considered a diva. I just would have been considered myself.”

“Where did you learn to sing, Clay?” Caldwell asks, flipping her shoulder-length extensions behind her neck.

“At church, like everybody else.”

“I learned at a bar,” scoffs Caldwell, pushing back her chair and heading to makeup. Aiken looks around, lowers his voice, then whispers, “I'll bet she did.”

"I'M NOT AS INNOCENT AS I SEEM”

The Hartford show is sold out. Sixteen thousand people have come to watch the nine touring Idols sing and dance. The set resembles a beauty pageant, with dual staircases descending in a heart shape to center stage. There are three giant screens that simulcast the show. The tour is sponsored by Pop-Tarts.

Backstage, Aiken gets his hair ironed. He's wearing a dark suit and pointy Kenneth Cole shoes. Next to him, all the Idol girls pile on the makeup and hairspray. Aiken rolls his eyes.

“You know, Ruben and I did the radio show Zootopia at Giant Stadium, and 60,000 people showed up. I just laughed, because I don't get it. And people will chase the bus! And sometimes I laugh because, you know, we probably aren't gonna stop, honey.”

From the makeup mirror, Idol Julia DeMato announces that she and Aiken have been dating for six months. Uproarious laughter all around. Aiken says, “You wish.”

“I do wish,” she coos, kissing him on the cheek. Aiken smiles, wipes away the lipstick. “I think I'm probably not as innocent as I seem.”

Has he ever done anything he regrets?

“When I was 15, before I got my license, my dad bought me a car, and it was sitting in the yard, so I took it out. I drove it all around the city. I got caught and they sold the car.”

Rebel.

“Okay. How about I'm starting to regret this interview?”

The show has started, and it's Aiken's turn to sing. Kimberley Locke is onstage building him up, but you can't hear her because of all the “Woo!”ing. A look at the audience reveals that it is not a bunch of preteens, but couples and groups of women in their twenties and thirties who are squealing and raising their arms in anticipation. “We love you, Clay!”

Lifted on a platform from beneath the stage, Aiken emerges like a mirage from a cloud of smoke, microphone in hand.

“When the world wasn't upside-down/ I could take all the time I had/ But I'm not gonna wait when a moment can vanish so fast/ Lift me up!”

By the time Aiken hits the second chorus, the screaming makes him all but inaudible. He gamely keeps singing, but a smile slips through. It's clear he can't believe what's happening.

Locke gasps. “This crowd is crazy.”

Aiken finishes his number, then does his bit to introduce “Ruben Studdard, your American Idol!” The crowd yells again, but the enthusiasm is different, more appreciation than hysteria. Studdard is a terrific singer, but Aiken is the star.

Backstage, calm and happy, Aiken holds Locke's jacket while she mikes up. He adjusts her pants, tugging at them a little. “This is my real life now,” he says, dancing a little.
“I'm not going to change who I am. But I am concerned about how I handle myself. Will I be able to stay open and friendly?” His smile drops and he looks, for a moment, genuinely sad. Then he smiles again. “You come back in five years. If I've become someone else, you can look me up and slap me in the face.”

Back in the van, before the show and the fans and the shrieking, Aiken was stuck in traffic. He did not complain. He just told stories. About how he was approached about the leads in Rent and Urinetown. About how he can't dance. About how Justin Guarini's smoothness kind of gives him the willies.

And then he told a story about London, where he recorded his album.

“It was sunny the whole time I was there. But I was recording all day and everything closes at six, so I sat in the hotel room all night. I was only recognized once, when some South Africans who were still watching the show back home stopped me on the street. They said, 'Who wins?' I said, 'Do you really want to know?' And they said, 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' So I said, 'Me!' and then took off running down the street.”

Aiken laughs for a full minute, then exhales. “For one brief moment, I hadn't lost yet.”


ELLE
 
 
Title: Re: 2003: PRESS & MEDIA
Post by: Marilyn on September 11, 2010, 12:57:55 AM
Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
 HERALD SUN ARTICLE 'PIECES OF GOLD' - 3/97
« Reply #48 on: September 20, 2003, 12:36:48 PM »   

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....Leesville senior Clayton Grissom couldn't quite shake pre-stage jitters. 
"I'm about to puke from nervousness,'' he said. 
   A strings group from Leesville Road High performed "The
Typewriter.'' A chorus group from Leesville Road Elementary school
sung "Side by Side.'' Daniels Middle School's chorus was on hand to
get loose with "Footloose.'' Good Vibrations, Leesville Road Middle
School's show choir presented "Sea of Cowboy Boots.''
   When the performers hit the stage all the worries melted away. 
   Grissom brought the crowd to its feet with his rendition of "This
is the Moment,'' from the soon to be released on Broadway production
of "Jekkyl and Hyde.''
   It was the only standing ovation of the night as the crowd embraced
his powerful voice. Clayton couldn't take all the credit as he
graciously recognized [his accompanist] Mark.
   The Leesville quartet was sensational as well.
   "After it's over you want to go back out and do it again,'' Cates
said.

This story originally appeared in the March 13, 1997 edition of The Herald-Sun Raleigh Extra.

ARTICLE HERE