Clay News!

Let's see if I can finish this up tonight before I go to bed.

One of the things that was so effective about the "Classic American Songs" medley is that it was a surprise. His banter made us think we were getting Night and Day or other standards, and then he suddenly launched into ILOVEBIGBUTTSANDICANNOTLIE....and caught us all completely off guard. When people know that it's coming, it may be less funny. I don't know. Another reason why it's probably a good thing I went to the very first show. It was fun trying to guess what he was going to do next, and what I thought was interesting was that he actually mimicked the urban street moves required for some of those rap songs really well. I have to say I'm ready to wring some pretentious Clack House necks.

She said:

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I would definitely not want my one and only Clay concert to be the Frisco one (although I would take it if it was all I could get).

I replied:

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You know what? Frisco IS my only concert and it WAS "all I could get." It's the first time I've gotten to see Clay in THREE YEARS.

Some people forget that most folks don't center their lives around Clay Aiken and spend thousands of dollars running all over the country showing up at every single concert he holds in every state. Insensitive BITCH. You would be surprised how many pms I got congratulating me for saying that.

And yes, that comment basically centered around all the tut-tutting that he cut all the sugary sweetness of the ballads with this medley. I loved the medley. Unfortunately, it appears some hater sites - he's got more than Constantine ever dreamed of - are already seizing on this medley and acting like it was the only song he sang the entire time.

What followed next was breathtaking. Remember when I fussed that he sang some of those ballads on the CD in a way that revealed no emotional connection? Well, what came next was the most honest work of Clay Aiken's life. He sat quietly in his chair, turned the Glory Note Machine off, and sang his own song, the one he wrote...

Lover All Alone.

Clay does not seem to understand how good this song is. THAT was raw, emotional honesty on stage. THAT was the showcase of the best kind of musician he could be, revealing what I suspect is probably his real romantic loneliness on that stage, live for the very first time, and it was gentle and sad and lovely and REAL. It's the best work of his life, and Clive Davis tried to squelch it. It's only available on the i-tunes version of the album. I hope he makes it a real track on his next album, because that deserves to be a Clay Aiken classic.

What came next, I took quite personally. Maybe I should not have, but I got the distinct feeling that Clay took a moment at the end of his set to thank those of us who voted for him, who bought Measure of a Man and established him as one of the big success stories of the AI franchise, those of us who voted him his AMA award, who have followed all these concert tours for all these years and made him the success he is.

For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
Ill be forever thankful baby
Youre the one who held me up
Never let me fall
Youre the one who saw me through through it all

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldnt speak
You were my eyes when I couldnt see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldnt reach
You gave me faith coz you believed
Im everything I am
Because you loved me

When he hit the line

For all the wrong that you made right

I felt just a little bit... smug. Because we sure as hell did make a wrong right. We neutralized the little number Simon tried to do on him, and we gave him back the winner's prizes that were stolen from him by 19E.

I'm never really going to forgive them for that.

He donned a cowboy hat for the final number, his concession to the patriotic occasion, and sang "Proud to Be an American" which was the big charity single back four years ago on AI when we were still reacting very strongly to 9/11 and were just about to plunge ourselves into war over it. Josh Gracin got the lead on it then, because he was a Marine.

Clay sings better than he does.

It was just a little hard watching him walk off the stage. Who knows when he will come back to Texas again?

I will be back to say more when I am done crying

Your post made me a mess

Hi Ladies!!

I am so glad to see that you all saw the Lover All Alone vid! I stayed up to 1:00 am just to see it. There was no way I was going to sleep knowing it was so close. It is heartbreaking isn't it? Such a beautiful song, sung just hauntingly. Love him so much!

Abrahammy, such a wonderful post. I'm glad you got lots of PMs. What that bitch doesn't realize is that not only was her comment insensitive to people who "only" had the Frisco concert, but to people like me and Sky who have NO FREAKING concert! I'd have given anything for one concert even if it was inbetween a soccer game and fireworks. In fact, I think that sounds pretty damn fun! I love fireworks so a night of Clay followed by fireworks on our nation's birthday seems like a pretty amazing experience! I hope Clay does come by you again soon my friend!!

The good news - every single person in Clayland seems to have loved every single thing about the Houston show. The only comment I have seen that isn't glowing is one lady at CH doesn't like his new hair cut. Such joy today in Clayland today.

Clay was on-line at the OFC both after the show and early this morning. He must be beaming over how happy the fans are right now! So happy for him!

It does seem that he had a really great night last night. I am so happy that the Houston crowd really showed such love.

I agree Abrahammy - I always believed he recorded "Because You Love Me" for the fans. I love that he is ending his shows with that song and singing to those of us who have stuck by him through all he has been through.

I also agree that "Lover All Alone" reflects his own longing for a "real love". It breaks my heart that I believe deep down he feels alone. Even with all the great friends, family and fans, I think he is lonely. I do not know why he has not found that special someone yet. I think despite how loved he is he still has so many insecurities when it comes to really giving himself to somebody. You could see in Spot's video just how difficult it is for him emotionally to sing that song. I am so happy that the crowd gave him such an amazing ovation when it was over. I hope fan reaction to the song he wrote gives him lots of encouragement to write more.

You Tube link for "Lover All Alone"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63gzh2DofUw

You ladies may already have this link, but I wanted to bring it just in case any lurkers don't.

For Houston Vids:
http://www.clackunlimited.com/clack/Concert_Clack/Soft_Rock_Hard_Place_Tour_2007/Houston/

This is cute!
http://www.webmetricsguru.com/2007/07/i_happen_to_like_this_song.html

Lots of wonderful photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sunnydays28/

This pic is from his Houston "Lover All Alone" performance. It is so pretty it just has to be here!!


I saw that "Classics" vid made it to ONTD. A site were people are full of hate for pretty much everybody. I didn't read any comments. If anyone is stupid enough to not see that it was done for laughs, well I pity them. Actually I pity most of those people anyway since they spend there lives looking for people to hate on. Not much of a life is it? I am also sure that a certain someone who runs a certain board also had a field day ripping him apart So glad I am not a part of "that" place anymore, and do not have to put myself through that crap ever again!

One question for you Abrahammy, when you saw Clay up so close, is he hair more Aubrun or brown?

In this pic I see a lot of red.


I need to know because I am having one of my dolls customized to look like Clay. SHUT UP!! I just got him a wig that is auburn with blonde highlights - see.



I am going to also get a shorter wig I found that is pretty close to the new haircut but I need to know the right color to get. I am sending the doll out to a customizer to have just the right green eyes put in. I also won the most perfect suit and tie on ebay for my doll. SHUT UP!!



Well, have a beautiful Saturday ladies!! I will of course be back with any new links of info I find today that you all might enjoy!

Off to watch "Lover All Alone" again, and again and again!!

Love~

Here is a You Tube of the "Classics" vid!! Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWHwrHj0OWs

Abrahammy, you sure know how to bring a concert to life! Glad you also put that uppity woman in her place.

The reason Clay has more hater sites than Constantine will ever have is because he has a gabillion more fans than Constantine will ever have and is a gabillion times bigger than Constantine will ever be.

Oh.Good.Lord.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070707_1__Forme25775&breadcrumb=Breaking%20News

One of the ladies attending the Tulsa concert tonight was on the flight and saw everything.

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On the phone with spotlightlover now and one of the organizers of the pre-concert event was on the flight and witnessed the event. She was questioned and had to sign a witness statement and everything.

According to the people who witnessed it, Clay was asleep with one leg crossed over the other (kind of parallel to floor) and his foot was apparently touching the armrest. The woman hit at his foot and told him to get his foot off her arm. Clay slept through that apparently and she got pissed and started swatting at him and smacking him. He woke up to the woman hitting him.

According to the witness, they were all questioned by authorities after the flight touched down and the woman was "led away" by authorities. They think she was arrested but don't know for sure, just that she was in custody.

Clay, you could put your foot on my armrest any day. Or my lap

Onion version: Clay Aiken attacked by little old lady on airplane. So maybe he doesn't have ALL the grandmothers covered?

The boy's not flying in first class? You kidding me? I'm sure there's enough room for his big ol' long legs up there, no?

Wow. An older woman who didn't know Clay? She must have escaped the asylum or been under a rock or something!

FC. I didn't know you hadn't been to a concert!!! You poor thing, there has never been one even remotely close to you?

I cannot believe the lady on the plane........geesh, I hope she was charged or at least held for a while.

Oh no Sky. I have seen Clay 4 times. The IT tour with Kelly, the Solo tour, and the first two Xmas tours.

The JBT did not come to Chicago and this tour is not coming to Chicago. Last year's Xmas show wasn't in Chicago - it was in Waukegan, Il., a few hours from where I live. We had that huge snow storm that morning too. This upcoming Xmas show isn't coming to Chicago either. We are debating catching this upcoming Xmas show in Indiana because it is on a Sat. Problem is we would have to spend the night and drive back on Dec. 23rd. We have the big family Xmas celebration on the 24th, not leaving me a lot of time to prepare for the holiday gathering. But we will see...

Clay told the ladies in tonight's M&G that the woman on the plane was a real witch!!

I don't know GE, from everything Clay has ever said before he always flies first class and he buys first class tix for his dogs So I don't get what happened today. Reports are she wacked him a few times. He made a lot of jokes about it at tonight's show. What I don't get is why the people traveling with him were not seated by him. Maybe now he will always sit with Jerome!!

Ooops, I read the post wrong..........

For those of you who would like to see some Clay Concert vids but can't or don't want to download, there are several on You Tube. Follow the bread crumbs!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3661vjTl7FY

Sniff. Haughty and superior voice: I would definitely not want my one and only Clay concert to be the Youtube one (although I would take it if it was all I could get).

You are now welcome to throw things at me.

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What a wonderful M&G story! Posted by ClayMeltsMe at CB:

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I'm in Love all over again!!!

Oh what a dream come true. I can die a happy woman now. Meeting Clay in person is indescribable. His looks are perfect and sort of like a procelain male doll. I stared and stared and could not find a flaw. His green eyes are mesmorizing and his attention towards one is a killer. He looked me straight in the eyes when he spoke to me. I felt so comfortable with him I was being silly myself. Angelcats description is to the T except I could have sworn he was wearing a purple polo shirt.

When he asked each our name, he prounounced mine perfectly, Lupita. After he sat down he looked around and he spotted my little cute purse. He said "what is that? Let me see it". And he reached for it and asked me where I got it. Of course, I said ebay. He was manhandling it and talked about what was at the bottom of the purse and asked me "have you seen what is at the bottom? I said, no Clay, I only care about the pictures in the front. It was a magazine purse with beautiful pictures of him. He said "Oh I don't want to see that. Look, look at the bottom, I said no look at the pictures. He was flipping it over and said "I don't want to spill your things." "Is this an actual purse?", I said yes, and he said "you actually walk around with this? You let people see you with this purse?" I said yes. He asked what people's response was I said that's how I've clayverted many. He laughed. I asked him if he's heard of that word and he said "Yes, yes I have heard that." He asked each one of us who had come to the show with us and I proudly said two sisters. When it was time to autograph our item I gave him my LTS book. Then I told him that my six year old son, Nicholas says Clay is his archnemesis. My son always tells me "Oh mom, Clay doesn't even know you're alive. Then when he learned I won the meet and greet he cried and said, "Now he's gonna know you're alive." Clay asked each one to spell their name because he did not want to make any mistakes as in the past. But when it came to me he said, " I took Spanish in high school and I know how to spell your name, is it L U P I T A? I paused and said wait Clay wait, I wasn't sure how to spell my name anymore. I was dumbfounded. He laughed and then wrote on my book the following:

Lupita, I know you're alive, and I am happy about it. Clay Aiken

Nicholas, I'm sorry I am your archnemesis, Clay

Simply adorable. When he began the photos he started with the fan at the end. Then he said, "Lupita, come take a picture with me. I said, "Oh Clay, you know my name" and he said, "And I know you're alive."

I told him I wanted the prom pose. We held hands then he began a prom story about I don't know what. I was just staring at him in cloud nine. We were still holding hands. Then he let go of my hands and said, "just a second Lupita". He finished his story then said "okay now", "Is this good?" referring to the prom pose and I said, No,Clay get closer to me." and he bend down to get his face closer to mine. I told him, Nicholas is going to die. He laughed. The pic taking ended and he said goodbye after chatting more with the fans. When he was at the door, I said loudly,"Clay it was nice meeting you!" and looking straight at me, he said "It was nice meeting you."

Then I cleaned off my drool and put my wobbley knees together and proceeded to walk out. He was simply DIVINE. I hope everyone gets a chance to someday meet him in person and sit with him for thirty minutes as I did.

This is a great Meet and Greet Recap. Lots of info!

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It is from Okclayhoman:
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you want a meet and greet story....I would love to share what was probably the most incredible time with Clay ever!

The hotel van took us over to the venue at approximately 5:39....we were let into the Brady and waited for about 10 minutes when Mary came down and greeted us and needed to check our id....just as she finished checking ours a woman came in and told Mary she was supposed to be a the meet and greet.....well, this woman is a real whack job..we know her as elviscentral over on the OFC....anyway Mary looked at what she said was her invitation and told her that she was not on the list.....the woman left and Mary took us up to the room where we were to meet Clay.....

She told us how the pics were going to be done and gave us a few instructions and left ....about 5 minutes later Jerome came in and gave us another little set of instructions and then went to get Clay..........

OMG! The man was talking even before he entered the room,LOL and he was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white polo shirt with fiftytwothirty productions written on it.....tucked in the front, hanging out in the back...but dear God, he looked gorgeous......stubble and sandals...he started talking about the plane incident and he was so pissed.....he called the woman a witch and said he really had another name in mind for her......I said "bitch" and he giggled and said "thank you" so everytime he said something about her he would look over at me and I would say bitch again.....it was really funny.....and someone after the meet and greet was over told me he would always remember me as his "bitchy ole lady" ....I can live with that....

The conversation moved onto other things and some questions....
He is not a Beatles fan nor an Elvis fan.....
He really wants to do an international tour and hopes that will happen once the new cd is released and shipped over there....he knows he has lots of fans in Southeast Asia....

If he were in a movie he would want Ashley Judd as his co-star though he did say that if you want to win awards you should really have someone like Meryl Streep co-star with you....

They have thought about a PBS special but are going to wait until he has a more complete repertoire of original music...

He told a story about his Mom where she used a cuss word and it was so funny.....Clay said his mom never cussed but Ray had changed Bretts dirty diaper and had thrown it in the back seat of the car.....when Faye found out she yelled at Ray about having put a shitty diaper in the backseat....Clay said it was the first time he thought his Mom was cool!

He asked me if I had a question and I told him no, but I did have something I wanted to say to him....he said "OK" and I told him that he really needed to stop saying he was not a songwriter when he introduced "Lover All Alone".....I told him you are a songwriter and your fans know that.....and he said ok, I will try something else....I was beyond please he did exactly that last night and even eluded to writing more....

We had about 30 minutes with him before it was time to have our pics taken.....I got to put my cheek next to his and felt that beautiful and soft stubble......He thanked us all for being there and again shook our hands .....

He also mentioned in response to a question about RCA that Clive is "set in his ways" and continued by saying that contracts are very complicated which led us to believe he really is going to leave RCA.....not what he said but just a general impression from his comment.....

He said that it was sorta funny but every girl he dated when they broke up the very next guy she dated she married...lol.....not sure what that was about but we did not ask really personal questions....it was an absolutely amazing time with him.....he is beyond gorgeous and his eyes look directly into yours when he talks with you.....God I love him.....He made us all feel like family and I think in his heart and mind we really are.......

That is pretty much the whole meet and greet and how it went down.....but I would give anything if everyone could have this chance to be this upclose ....there is no one like this man......and he is indeed all man.....omg!

So, there you go......my concerts are now over and I am already in withdrawal......he just does something to us doesn't he....the magic, the voice, the sexy.......he definitely brough the sexy back into my life......hugs ....

Oh and one more thing which I found really funny.....I told him about the preparty and that we were going to raise lots of money for the BAF...he replied thank you very much but he was going to be doing the same thing when he sued Continental LOL.....pure snark but oh so funny.....

Have I mentioned that I love this man.......always and forever!

Anyone else here who is a fan club member, go read Clay's Blog regarding this airplane incident. Poor guy is really upset at the way the media has completely turned this story around and into a lie.

Facts people = Per Clay and witnesses and the first reports on the internet BEFORE they decided leaving out certain facts to make Clay look bad! HE WAS ASLEEP! The toe of his sandal was touching her armrest NOT ON IT just touching it. She yelled at him but he didn't wake-up at first. The SHE HIT HIM 4 times - knocking his toes right out of his sandal. SHE was taken away by the FBI NOT HIM. First reports quoted that he was asleep and he was the one hit, but I guess they knew they'd get more hits if they made him out to be the bad guy.

Journalism today is bullshit and journalists are assholes. I am not just saying this because Clay is involved. I have read and hurt countless accounts from celebs about the lies told about them. So what about the facts. Only write a story in a way that gets you hits. I really want to read the truth when I pick up the paper or go to on-line sites. I hate that the last few years when I read something I figured I probably just wasted my time reading a fabricated story.

People this has become international news. Yes, international Almost 300 news outlets "reporting" on this. Gee, funny they don't discuss all the good things he does on all those outlets.

At a time of young people dying in a pathetic war, children starving all over the world, shootings in our schools, terrible super germs, and so on, I hear more on the news about Anna Nicole, Paris Hilton and the horrible Diva Clay Aiken

I have never left Clay a comment on his blog. Too shy I guess, but today I am going to. My heart is breaking for the kid

End of rant, at least for the moment!!!

Clay and little kids - so sweet!

UPDATE!! SHE GOT HER MOMENT WITH CLAY

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we left her early yesterday morning for Tulsa.. Emily was up and ready by 7am and at my door knockin..we went to my daughters home on the Grand Lake and spent the day.. she swam took boat rides and swam some more.. time to leave for the concert..and yes she was very excited...she sat in her seat with her little binoculars watching Clay ..after she made me buy her a shirt half way throught the concert she was exhausted and just ready for bed..but she hung in there..she layed her head down for about 5 minutes.. till she heard She thinks my Tractor's Sexy and that all it took.. wide eyed and bushy tailed again...now for the absoulute best part of the entire night.. for me anyway..we were outside the concert hall afterwards.. my daughter Izzy decided to take Emily to the car and watch a movie while we visited..little did we know that Clay was coming out...Clayshope and myself and a many others lined up with anticipation of a hand touch by Clay when suddenly a security guard on the opposite side of the lot let Izzy and Emily through the line to find us...believe me Miss Emily was wide awake now we waited as Clay came out and started at the end of the line..(we were close to the begining by the Van he was to leave in)..he was flying down the line.. suddenly he was there.. he approched us Emily was in front of me.. and to his amazement there stood this little 6 years old.. he STOPPED.. he bent down took Emily's hand in BOTH of his and looked her square in the eye..eye level.. and said "Well Hello There"..after a few seconds he moved on..Emily was estastic.. several ladies came over to Emily and asked her how it felt to be so special to Clay..
We didn't get home till 4am this morning and I have to be at work at 11:30..I am exhausted.. while Miss Emily is still in dreamland in my bed..but it was so so so worth it.

Clay finally speaks out about the "Airplane Incident"!
http://www.etonline.com/celebrities/news/48910/index.html

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The singer talks exclusively to ET about his bumpy ride to Tulsa over the weekend!
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Singer CLAY AIKEN was involved in a minor dispute with a woman on a plane Saturday.

Now, in an exclusive statement to ET, the singer tells his side of the story, saying, "While sleeping on a plane over the weekend, my foot evidently found a home on the arm rest of the passenger seated directly in front of me. I didn't realize I was causing the woman any distress until she woke me up with a quick hit to the chest.

"Unfortunately, being that this happened on a plane, the FBI was called in to investigate and eventually we were all sent on our way. I'd like to thank everyone for their concern; I am fine and have taken steps to prevent any foot wandering in the future."

Clay cleverly implies that there are far greater sources of distress in the world. "Now that I have your attention," he continues, "if you'd like to learn more about how you can help the world's children, please visit www.unicefusa.org."

The 2003 "American Idol" runner-up was on a Continental Airlines flight heading to Tulsa when he and a female passenger got into a minor disagreement that led to her shoving the 28-year-old pop star.

FBI Special Agent GARY JOHNSON reportedly told the Tulsa World newspaper that the argument was between a male and female passenger, but did not give their names, saying only that the man was a former "American Idol" contestant.

Johnson added that the dispute was over the male passenger's foot resting on the woman's armrest.

The situation, however, did not disrupt the flight, and while both parties were questioned by the FBI, no charges were filed.

This statement is just sooo freaking perfect!!

There are some awesome photos of Clay's Frisco concert at this site! Man he looks so ding dang cute in the daylight!!

http://kareneh.smugmug.com/gallery/3108249#172428402

Hee. Now imagine those in person. Hee. Ding dang cute.

OK I'll shut up now. Isn't it a shame that I had to settle for Frisco because it was all I could get?

I would rather have been in Frisco so I could see him in the daylight!! Every time I have seen Clay he has been standing in spotlights. I would give anything to have seen him up-close in the daylight!! You are one lucky lady!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What great pictures!!!!!!!!! What a cutie!!!

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Posted by eleid at Clayversity:

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Hey everybody!!!

Clay called into our local Las Vegas AC station this afternoon to discuss the skating show and footgate. I was at work when it happened and one of our local LV fans heard it. We were waiting for her detailed description of the interview. Here's what she heard:

I don't know who was interviewing, a man & woman and they were very nice to him. They talked about what happened on the plane and he said it was not his whole foot that wandered onto the foot rest just his toe basically. Then they spoke of how the story got so blown up in the media and was he surprised and of course he was. They were joking with him and asked what size is his foot and said 12 (I think he said in open shoes, I guess flip flops). They asked if he had always wanted to be in the biz and he said no that it was never anything he thought about.They asked if there are times that he wishes he didn't pursue this career because of the media and he said honestly there have been days he's felt that. He said, that it's not all glamourous as people perceive it e.i limos, parties etc. and that's when he said he was at home in Raleigh sitting on his kitchen counter in pajama's, which they laughed about. He then talked about the skating show and that the general tix go on sale today. He said that it should be very beautiful and doing beautiful X-mas songs as the skaters perform. Admires the skaters for their artistic and athletic ability.
That's about all I remember off the top of my head. I was so shocked that he was on. Hopefully,maybe their website will put it up in a couple days.

www.ksne.com/main.html

KSNE Las Vegas

An off-off-Broadway Clay

by MATT EHLERS

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NEW YORK - For years, there have been those who think Clay Aiken could kill 'em on Broadway.

He has that kind of voice, they say, and he carries an appreciation for the wink and nod joke, the kind that's crucial to winning over the kitschy-cool audiences that dig on the Broadway musical. This is a man, it can be noted, whose summer tour includes a bit in which he raps -- backed by an orchestra -- several lines from "Baby Got Back," a 15-year-old valentine to the female rump.

Aiken, the Raleigh native and "American Idol" runner-up, has yet to appear in a Broadway musical. But his fame is such that his physical presence is not needed to produce a play about him.

At least one of the off-off-Broadway variety.

And so we have "Idol: The Musical," a $125,000 dice-roll from a producer who makes his living in the Syracuse theater community. He has assembled a young cast, brought them down to the Big City for a chunk of the summer and put them up at the YMCA. The project is simultaneously DIY and semi-big time: The producer climbed a ladder to hang lights, swiped his credit card past its limit and hired a pushy New York publicist to engineer the chatter.

<snip>

"American Idol" markets its popsters in a tidy and efficient manner, and Aiken has taken advantage of the lift as well as any near-winner. If he's not on tour, he's appearing on a talk show, traveling the world for UNICEF or blogging for his fans.

In the fizzy-pop world of celebrity infatuation, in which we really, really care about Paris' dog one day, then drool over Angelina the next, Aiken, 28, has managed to wiggle himself into what seems to be a permanent place in our consciousness. That spot is pretty rigidly defined, multiple notches down the cool totem from Justin Timberlake, and maybe one up from the rest of the leftovers in 'N Sync, Timberlake's old boy band.

Aiken's fan base is a solid, albeit graying one. Moms and grandmoms keep him in business, while simultaneously dulling his chance at hip appeal.

But even if you're too cool for Clay Aiken, and you think you don't know anything about him, you do. And I'll prove it.

He appeared on "American Idol."

His fans are crazy.

Because you know this, and because he knows you do, Todd Ellis of Syracuse, N.Y., sunk all that money into his first New York City production.

<snip>

First, he thought about pop culture. Then he moved to "American Idol." And finally to Clay Aiken.

"I was standing in the theater and I saw the vision," he says over a glass of wine after the first New York preview performance on July 5. "Literally, it just popped into the head."

Other "American Idol" contestants might have fit the concept, but Ellis picked Aiken as his subject because of his backstory.

"It's the rise from obscurity," Ellis says. "He's the true underdog story."

<snip>

If you have read anything in the past month or so about this musical, it is likely that you assumed it poked fun at someone, either Aiken or his fans.

But when Tursi, 51, says Aiken was chosen as the musical's subject because "he's a good role model for today's youth," it seems genuine.

Then the kids back him up. Joella Burt, 17, plays Emily, the most passionate Aiken fan of the bunch. The musical doesn't make fun of anyone, she says. A fan of Aiken's since he first appeared on television, Joella appreciates his dedication to charity work.

"He's an amazing person. He really is."

Aiken has a reverential fan base, says Boland, the writer, and in a way, there's reverence in producing a musical about it. "If you have a musical written about you, and so many people are investing their time and money in it, I guess it says that your fame has exploded beyond a normal level," he says.

An Aiken spokeswoman said he wouldn't have a comment on the production.

<snip>

Ellis and Co. realize that "Idol" won't live or die based on Aiken's fan base. With more than a week's worth of shows complete, and six more weeks to go, they need mainstream audiences to grab on to it.

There is one visitor they'd love to have. And he has a concert in Syracuse on Wednesday.

From Clayversity:

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I had a wonderful conversation with this gal while I was in TX recently. She had no idea I was a fan, well, not to extent that I was on message boards or anything. She knew I liked his music and that was about it.

Somehow we got to talking about celebrities. She told me that she drove K elly C. to a tanning apt. I forget what followed next, but she did say she wasn't really all that keen on celebrities. I said something about how not everyone is as they appear on TV and told her my story about working with Raffi, a children's entertainer who wasn't very child friendly. She looked at me then with such a serious expression that it sort of scared me. She said,' Let me tell you something. That Clay Aiken is one very, very...very (by this time I was afraid of what she was going to say)...nice young man.

She then went on to say how she had to stand and watch him a lot and she could not say enough about how wonderful he really was and how nicely he treated everyone around him and his co-workers. She watched him unguarded, just how he acts with the crew and band and personal friends, with no fans around. She gushed. She used words like 'down to earth' and 'sincere' and 'kind,' then she said, "I think he's very spiritual"

My favorite part was when she said, "You know he has fans who give him little gifts and stuff? I watched him open them and you could tell he was really touched by them, you know?"

Before I left TX she sort of knew I was more than just a casual fan, but we didn't talk about Clay anymore, other than when we were on the way to the airport as I was leaving, I told her what had happened on the flight to Tulsa. She just shook her head.
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