Clay News!

I don't know that they'll actually expect Clay to play the piano. He'll have to learn how to fake it so it looks like he's really playing though.

Incidentally, David Hyde Pierce does play quite well. In fact, he originally studied music in college with the ambition of being a concert pianist.

Badger, maybe they will give Clay a much easier piece to play or make it more comedic. I hope he actually plays the piano. He has 3 months to practice and Jesse will be on the upcoming tour!

Yeah, I would think that if Clay only had to learn one song that he probably has the time to learn it. I'm sure Jesse is a good teacher. He seems like a total sweetie and is very talented (and cute to boot)

Tonight Clay sings at the Neil Sedaka tribute! I hope it all goes beautifully and that we get some Clack!! I know we will get recaps as there are a ton of Claymates going!

Anyway, this doesn't relate to Clay directly, but we all know that Clay is close to David Foster and that many have hoped Clay would be able to work with David on future recordings. So it is with sadness that I bring this news.

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California wildfire destroyed David Foster's recording studio

Adrian Chamberlain , CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, October 26, 2007
Superstar music producer David Foster is in the market for a new recording studio after his old one was destroyed in the wildfires that have ravaged southern California.

One of the fires burned through 730 hectares of the celebrity-studded city of Malibu on Sunday, where the Victoria-born Foster has a nine-hectare estate.

Firefighters were already putting out a blaze at the gatehouse on the estate when Foster's girlfriend, Yolanda Hadid, noticed the studio was on fire.


Foster and Hadid managed to retrieve a lifetime of music and archives, some on computer hard drives, from the studio, but he is unsure whether his master tapes have been damaged.

"At one point, (we) couldn't see a foot in front of us when we were pulling stuff out of the studio," he wrote in an e-mail to his publicist, Bill Vigars.

The Grammy-winning producer, who escaped injury, was also able to save his collection of gold records.

"(My girlfriend) said, 'Let's get the gold records.' I said, 'I don't give a s--- about the gold records.' But she persisted."

Foster, 57, returned to the studio Tuesday to assess the wreckage. Although still standing, the studio is a writeoff due to smoke and fire damage, including a hole firefighters hacked through the roof.

"I don't know what the future's gonna bring, because smoke damage and electronics don't go well together," Foster said Thursday.

Foster, who in 2005 filed for divorce from third wife Linda Thompson, no longer lives on the estate, which was depicted in the short-lived reality TV series, Princes of Malibu.

He has produced albums for such stars as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion and Michael Buble.

Victoria Times Colonist

If you want to read Clay's part of The AI Chicken Soup for the Soul book!

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I have the Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul, which is to be released November 1. I thought I would provide a few tidbits from it, but I will put it in spoiler tags for those who want to wait to read it.

Clay's story is called You Just Never Know. Here are bits:

My favorite part:

"Since my fans mean everything to me"

His story:

A cute girl goes up to him in Atlanta in 2003 and tells him how much the Invisible video meant to her because of the overweight girl that was in it. The Atlanta girl used to be very heavy, and the video changed her life and now she is petite and beautiful:

"When I saw that girl onstage in the video, and you put your arm around her, I could hardly believe it....because you accepted her, I was able to accept myself."

Clay goes on to talk about The Way video and fighting to have normal people in it. He also said:

"I've always tried to remember that people are looking at what I say and do to find out what's valuable and important to me, and I've always tried to set the right example. But that day I realized that I can't know all the ways my actions may impact someone."

"You don't have to make a music video to make a difference in someone's life. You can be a bagger at a grocery store or a teller at a bank. You just never know when something you say or do is going to impact someone else's life, and maybe even change it forever..."

The book has 19/Fremantlemedia logos on the back.

Included in this book are stories written by Ruben, Kimberley, Nigel Lythgoe, Patrick Lynn, Constantine, Carrie Underwood, Mezghan, Debra Byrd, Michael Orland, Dean Banowetz, Rickey Minor, Miles Suggins, most of this year's cast, and many others. Among the missing: Kelly, Fantasia, and Taylor.

In the back is a list of contributors. Clay is listed first and may have the longest bio. It includes Unicef, BAF, and links to clayonline.com and clayaiken.com. It is very complimentary.

Wow!! Clay did awesome at the Neil Sedaka tribute!! Blew the roof off the place and got an amazing ovation!! Good job Clay!! What a beautiful and powerful and amazing voice that man has!! (and he is smart, sweet, funny and cute to boot!)

From someone at the tribute!

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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:33 pm GMT Post subject:


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Corabeth report:

Gorgeous hair, gorgeous pinstiped suit, gorgeous man.

The cheekbones are back!!! No more round face! The "Clay face is back." He looked gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

Solitaire gave them chills and got an amazing ovation. The entire audience stood up.

David Foster played the piano for Clay and as Clay left the stage, David high-fived him.

They did some film tributes and Barry Manilow was on it and plugged his album and mentioned recording Solitaire. When David came out he said, "someone else recorded Solitaire, Barry."

Jaymes was there. So was Mary Brennan.

David said, when you write a great song you can sing it a Thousand Different Ways. He started to introduce Clay and stopped and said, "no need to go through all that -- Clay Aiken."

Cool, FC, very cool.

Yes it is Frazz! I am so happy that he had a great night and people appreciated his beautiful voice!

I saw over at another board that he has strep throat. Get better soon, Clay.

I used to get strep throat all the time when I was a kid.

Well, for having strep throat (which I also used to get a lot as a kid and was sick as a dog with it) he sounded better than ever!! OMG, did you hear it Badger?? I am downloading another MP3 since the first one I had was a little muffled. DID YOU SEE THE PIX OF HIM??? OMG, he looked gorgeous!! Thin even. It must have been the Paxil. The cheekbones are back and he is long, lean with shoulders to die for!! The suit was beautiful!! I will bring pix soon. I am still gathering them. I am so proud of him for getting out there sick and still blowing the roof off like that and looking better than he has in many months. I am also thrilled that he feels well enough to get off Paxil. I hope that means he is in a very happy place in his life.

OMG! Just look at him I mean Holy Crap! He has NEVER looked better!!

Here is a Send Space to download the audio. This is suppose to be a pretty good audio. I haven't listened to it yet though.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/5qwy2i

ETA: OMG, it is a good audio!! You can tell my the tears pouring down my checks! Just gorgeous Clay! I love the pre and post ovations he got too!

OK, you all simply must download this video!! I dl'd the large WMS. The quality is amazing and there are no words for how wonderful Clay was last night. Perfection from the moment he stepped on the stage! I am a fangirlie puddle of goo right now!

http://www.clackunlimited.com/clack/Special_Appearances/071026_Neil_Sedaka_Tribute/bigappleforclay/

Man, those are nice pictures!

FWIW, even though it looks like he's nice and thin now, it still wouldn't hurt him to hire a trainer. Being in a Broadway musical is hard work and getting into some sort of exercise program would help with stamina.

I haven't had a chance to hear the audio yet since my computer doesn't have sound but Ill have access to another computer that does later today so hopefully I will get to hear it.

Oh Badger, I so hope you get to hear him soon - and watch him! If you can't download video on your PC than I hope someone puts it on You Tube or something. Every Clay fan needs to see this. It is a beautiful moment in his career.

Yes, I agree he should still get a trainer (FC wishes she were about 25, gorgeous, sexy and a trainer to Broadway stars in NYC who could help Clay with his push-ups! What!) He will need to be strong in every way since he does have a tendency to get sick in the winter. I sure hope he can stay healthy for his Broadway run both for his sake and for all the Clay fans who have bought tix to see him!

It must have been the Paxil. He seems to have lost quite a bit of weight very quickly.

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GAWD HE IS GOOD!

Yes. He's far and away the best male vocalist AI has ever found, and he can go toe to toe with the very best of the women.

I downloaded the video. GAWD HE IS GOOD!

Well, it looks like I'll have to wait until Wednesday to hear or see anything. This computer I'm on now - which is my stepmom's -- won't let me download anything.

You have my sympathy, Badger. He is amazing in this.

One of the most remarkable things about his voice is how sweet and purthe falsetto is, then how rich the tenor is, and then (and this i think is very unusual for a tenor...not so much a music buff, but Clay makes me have to use terms like this) the low notes have the full rich baritone tone.

Well said Abrahammy and Frazz! All so true! I love that man and his amazing voice!

So sorry Badger that you have to wait until Weds. I would be going nuts reading how awesome his was and not being able to see and hear him for days!! But he is so worth the wait!

BADGER!! It's on You Tube!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQgWlTT-0m8

Yep, I found the Youtube link on another board and watched it this afternoon!

Man, that was great! I love his lower register. I also believe he is the best male vocalist AI has ever found and one of the best vocalists period that the show has found.

Oh, I am so glad you got to watch it today and not wait until Weds.!

I also love his lower register and wish he used it more. That was my one disappointment about MOAM and ATDW. I would love more songs with the lower register. It gives me chills!

That's a phenomenal performance! That song really shows his range and his voice is strong throughout it. The few times I have heard him in person, I have been in awe of the depth and projection of his voice. The videos and even the TV sound systems don't do it justice.

I think he is vocally stronger than ever and I'll bet he'll learn even more from the professional Broadway performers.