Clay News!

Nice write up on Clay here!

http://www.raleighchronicle.com/2007050604.html

music.yahoo.com/read/interview/43530798

An Idol Who Really Gives Back

05/07/2007 7:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Laura Hertzfeld

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Before charming the hearts of American Idol fans in 2003, singer Clay Aiken was a teacher, focusing on special education in his native North Carolina. Today, in addition to performing and recording, Clay acts as an education ambassador for UNICEF, most recently in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Still jetlagged, Clay told Yahoo! Music in his smooth drawl why Idol Gives Back won't solve the poverty problem, what it was like to grow a beard and wear long robes, and why he never sings when visiting schools abroad.

YAHOO! MUSIC: What were your overall impressions of Afghanistan?

CLAY: I think, more than anything, the trip to me was a stereotype-breaker because there are so many times in the U.S. that we see in the news the negative things that happen in Afghanistan. We see the headcoverings and we think Muslim, we hear about suicide bombings and terrorists, and we think "Middle East." Afghanistan's not in the Middle East, it's in South Asia, and it's not a desert. My friends were all, "It must have been so hot there!" But you can see in some of the pictures the snow-capped mountains. There are many parts of Afghanistan that are really quite a lush landscape. I had a lot of misconceptions about the country and about the people there.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Why education?

CLAY: Well you know, I was a teacher, so education is kind of important to me. I focus on education mainly with UNICEF on every trip that I take. A number of schools [in Afghanistan] were destroyed during the Taliban era. The schools that were around only housed male students--girls were not allowed to go to school. So now there are twice the number of students and there's just not enough room to hold these kids. They are sitting outside on the ground all day.

YAHOO! MUSIC: The Idol Gives Back charity event raised more than $70 million. Could you relate to what you saw your fellow idols doing in Africa and other places?

CLAY: I think there's definitely a problem--and I'll point to recent charity events--when people go and they talk about the need in an area or a country and they don't have the information. If you come back and you talk about the need in a country and don't know what's going on in the country, then you're completely remiss. There's always a greater cause [to poverty] than throwing money at the issue, and I think the strongest solution, the strongest weapon we have against poverty and hunger is education. When you take a look at something like Idol Gives Back and you realize that the main piece of information we got is that people are hungry in Africa, but we didn't find out why they are hungry in Africa and we didn't out where in Africa they are hungry, nor did we find out the major causes. Without the education about what's going on in the country, we're doing no service except for perpetuating that same stereotype that Africa, or any other country in the world, is lesser than the U.S., and we're in the role that we have to give to them.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Did you perform for the kids you met in Afghanistan? How did they like your music?

CLAY: [Laughing] I made the mistake in Uganda of performing for some kids who were in a night commuter center, and they were singing a song and they were clapping. It was kind of a joyful, cheerful song. They didn't know me, but they had heard that I was a singer, and so they asked me to sing a song, and I couldn't think of what to sing. And someone whispered to me, "Sing 'Bridge Over Troubled Water.'" And so I got through maybe a line of the song before the kids started laughing at me so hard. They'd never heard any music like that before in their lives. So I've made it a point when I take these trips to never sing.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Maybe someday you'll get a request.

CLAY: Maybe next time I take a trip I'll make it a point to learn a native song.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Do you have a favorite story of any of the people you met in Afghanistan or a moment during your trip that touched you the most?

CLAY: One of the things that stuck with me more than anything else was just the hunger, the thirst for education. I mean, these kids wanted to go to school. My social studies teacher [who accompanied me on the trip]--she was quite jealous. She's been teaching for 30 years and she's never had a class full of students who wanted to be there as much as these kids in Afghanistan wanted to be there.

YAHOO! MUSIC: How has your work with UNICEF influenced your music? What do you take back with you?

CLAY: Every time I come back from these situations, you take a look at what's important to you, and how privileged we are, and it's easy to take that back. But it's important to remember that we have to be a proactive society. It's interesting to me to look at Afghanistan and realize that there are countries all around the world that we haven't looked at because they haven't affected us and yet, one of these days it's possible that one of them could affect us. Had we taken a hard look at the needs of women and children in Afghanistan in 1996, it's possible that we could have prevented September 11, 2001.

YAHOO! MUSIC: How did it feel to be an American in Afghanistan? Were you welcomed in the towns you visited?

CLAY: One of the main things to remember is that people in Afghanistan did not like the Taliban, either. I was worried going in, imagining what I was going to be involved with and what I was going to find myself running into. But, it was quite different. The people were nothing but hospitable, they were completely welcoming and so wonderful. We really just had nothing but a warm welcome everywhere. I thought [Kabul] was going to be a lot more antiquated. It's a bustling metropolis. There was wireless internet in our hotel, glass elevators, it was right inside a shopping mall like we'd see in the U.S. It's not some sort of deprived and destitute city like I expected to see.

YAHOO! MUSIC: I saw in pictures of you that you'd changed your looks a bit to fit in there.

CLAY: I wanted to be culturally respectful to the country and the people there. It's kind of part of their culture to be bearded and to be dressed appropriately. But that again is kind of part of the stereotype about Afghanistan, but there's quite a bit of what I guess we'd call "Western" attire in the country.

YAHOO! MUSIC: How can young people get involved?

CLAY: Learn about the things! You have to be educated about what's going on in your world. You have to know the problems. Poverty and hunger are only the effects of larger problems.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Why is it important for celebrities to be the face of UNICEF?

CLAY: I haven't necessarily heard too much negative, but I think the main problem is the media's attention. We are a society that only pays attention to in the media. We put too much emphasis on celebrities. And even though I am one and I don't mind the attention every once in a while, it's sad that you have to have a celebrity to bring attention to these causes.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Do you still watch American Idol, and do you have an opinion on who's going to win this season?

CLAY: No comment.

Thanks for posting that, Firecracker. I think he was right on target about the way Idol handled their charity telethon. They showed us suffering and poverty and asked us to give money, but they did not tell us what they planned to do with the money.

I also thought it was weird to make a telethon for the poor part of... a results show.

Idol turns out great entertainers, but I think Clay Aiken may end up being more than that - a great man.

Quote :

YAHOO! MUSIC: Do you still watch American Idol, and do you have an opinion on who's going to win this season?

CLAY: No comment.

I think he is already a great man!! Did you see him on Kimmel last night? Came in on a horse! Interviewed on a horse! WORKING ON NEW CD!!!!!!!

You can download here. Right click and safe!

http://www.clackunlimited.com/clack/TV_Appearances/Kimmel/070511_UNICEF/large_wmv/

Well, fiddle, I can't get it to work. Hey, hey, Clay working on a new CD!! Hey, I'm there. My enthusiasm for other Idols may come and go, but Clay's got me for life. Period. He is one of the greatest male voices I've ever heard on that show and his post - Idol public life has been exemplary. The private stuff - unclear and not my concern.

Abrahammy, just click on the link above which takes you to the page for downloading the Climmel Clack. Click on the type of file you want - Mpg, large or small windows media. Then right click and save the actual file. Does that help?

Yes, Clay is looking for one producer to do the whole CD instead of what happened with the last CD - many producers! I think he is looking for someone who "gets him" and what he wants to do musically. Best male voice around - that is for sure! He has me for life too Always and forever!

Thanks, FC!

Abrahammy, here is the link (left click) to the page that has the small (still huge) windows media files. It is in 3 parts. Right click each part.
http://www.clackunlimited.com/clack/TV_Appearances/Kimmel/070511_UNICEF/small_wmv/

This is so sweet!

LemonAID Sales Go To Special Kids

RALEIGH - A North Raleigh boy is challenging children across the country to raise money through lemonade stands for the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, a North Raleigh group that helps children with special needs.

Jonathan Bunzey, 12, will have a lemonade stand at Taylor's Fine Wine & Grocery at 10005 Six Forks Road in North Raleigh from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

As part of the LemonAID Stand Off, Jonathan is challenging kids to have their own lemonade stand between Saturday and June 9 to raise money for the foundation, which singer Clay Aiken of "American Idol" fame co-founded.

For more information, go to www.bubelaiken.org. Click on "What's New" for details. Prizes will be awarded to the two stands that raise the most money.

www.newsobserver.com/news...74912.html

Jonathan was the youth honoree at the BAF Champions for Change Gala in Raleigh on March 31. You go, Jonathan!

YAY Rickey.org! I was finally able to see Clay on his High Horse. Good god, that man is funny. Yay for the new album, Yay for a life devoted genuinely to altruistic pursuits, and somebody explain to me how the hell I'm going to convince my family to spend their fourth of July in Frisco so I can see his concert.

Sniffle. I wish Firecracker was a Texan. I'd go to the concert with you!

So glad you finally saw Clay on his high horse! Yeah, he really is something!

I wish we could go to a concert together too YOU HAVE TO GO SEE HIM!!!! And report back to me because he is not coming anywhere near me You need to be my eyes and ears!! Besides, I would love to hear what you think of his concert. Have you ever seen him in concert? I can't remember if you went to the Clay/Kelly tour. Or the AI2 tour.

Just tell your family it will be great fun and a different way to spend the 4th! I think this is the first concert and there are all sorts of activities going on there that day. It really will be fun for the whole family!!

Per Clays' Official Fan Club:

"Be sure to watch the Dancing with the Stars finale tomorrow night! You just might catch a glimpse of Clay!"

YAY

This is a wonderful read!

Clay And Bono!!

http://timneufeld.blogs.com/occasio/2007/05/

I always love when I read that someone just discovered Clay and are blown away by him.

Quote :

From the blogosphere:

I'd been puzzled by who sang the revival of Without You (a.k.a. I Can't Live (If living is without you)) in the radio. Hearing it lately, I was always set aback by the vocal fluency of the male singer. Until I got a copy of it in my laptop, then was the only time I discovered that the man behind the voice was Clay Aiken.

Clay Aiken? I did not know him. So, the ever dependable Google helped me check him out. Then I found out he was a runner-up in the hit ahow American Idol Season 2 (Just a runner-up for that voice is a diminution for such skill).

His voice is so great. It's so high yet so chesty. He is definitely one of crushes now. I don't care if he looks gay (and even if he is, it's zilch). His voice captivates so much that I'm compelled to like his whole persona. Not to mention his altruism for being a UNICEF ambassador of goodwill, he is such an admiration.

Oh my goodness, I just found this link at The Clack House. It is Ken Jenkins (the actor who plays the older doc on Scrubs) talking about meeting and working with Clay on that one episode of Scrubs. Ken had never seen or heard of Clay before he met him to do Scrubs. His comments are so touching and sweet I had tears in my eyes by the time he was done talking. "Clay Aiken - what a great kid!" I couldn't agree more Ken!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9mbphvIQBc&NR=1

Clay was in Vancouver last night. There was this big event for Arnold the Governator and David Foster asked Clay to be the musical guest for the event. David Foster has been asking Clay to be the musical guest for a few events in Canada. I hope this means they will be teaming up at some point for recording. Clay was seated in the front row with David Foster and Jaymes Foster. This event had many bigwigs in attendance. Clay sure gets to rub a lot of important elbows! BTW, it appears that the spikey hair returned to Clay's head I really loved the long silky look myself

Clay Blogged today on his official site. He gave the final total of the money raised for the Bubel/Aiken foundation at the last Gala - $333,238.45. He thanked the fans for their generosity and love for the kids. He says he is so excited!

Clay performed at another big event in Canada last night and will tonight also! Both with David Foster connections. David Foster wrote a new song for one of the big upcoming events in Canada and hinted that it will be sung by " a superstar"! Crossing my fingers it will be Clay

Hi fc! I think the Clay/DF connection is positive in so many ways and that Clay is learning and will continue to learn a lot from DF. They are both passionate about music, their charities and humanitarian interests and are strong individuals. The kind of songs DF writes fits Clay's voice and style and I hope Clay's next album includes a specially written song.

It looks like Clay is trying to imitate DF's casual hair style. I think it works better on DF!!

Hey - does that mean you saw the new pix in the Canandian paper? I will bring them over in a few mins. Yeah, not loving the hair lately. I LOVE the gala hair/beard the best. I hate to be so shallow though Clay and DF together would be heaven in my book!

Here we go! Clay and David Foster in the Calgary paper. I love the way David looks like a proud papa. David shows so much more respect for Clay than Clive the devil ever has. DF speaks so highly of Clay. I LOVE that they have become such close friends. I am also glad that Canadian papers are finally show Clay some love.



Janice, I have a feeling this haircut is in preparation for the hot summer tour.

A review of Idol - The Musical. Which appears to be a lot about Clay and Claymates

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Young crowd reveres 'Idol'
Saturday, June 02, 2007By Chuck Klaus Contributing writer
Imagine, if you will, a combination of elements from "Bye, Bye Birdie," "A Chorus Line," "Fame," "The Breakfast Club" and "High School Musical" - with a higher quotient of sexual humor.

Further imagine such elements mixing in a story on the social effects of Clay Aiken and you pretty much have a fix on "Idol: The Musical."

The work, with music and lyrics by Jon Balcourt and book and lyrics by Bill Boland, from a concept by producer Todd Ellis, had a first performance Friday before a highly reactive and appreciative crowd.

"Idol" is about an improbable group of high school seniors, evidently bound together by their worshipful devotion to "American Idol" second season second-placer Clay Aiken.

The characters are the stuff of kid movie stereotyping: The bookworm Cicaida (Courtney Ellis), theatrical Kodi (Roy George), punker Cass (Nikita Richards) and tomboy grease monkey Alex (Jennie Riverso). Other personas on display are a jock turned dancer, J.D.; a Garth Brooks wannabe, Duncan; a nerdish, introspective pianist, Connor; and a girl with an impossible crush on Aiken, Emily. (Joe Walker, Del Caraway, Balcourt and Joella Burt.) Just for a bit of dramatic spice, add a prima donna type with her own schemes for advancement, Adrienne (Babs Rubinstein).

The numbers are never less than serviceable, and several are quite appealing. "Discipline," about the need to practice the entertainment craft, is an early standout, while "Quakin' for Aiken" also lingers in memory, possibly due to the lyric, "We're quakin' for Aiken, and shakin' our bacon."

There are some quibbles, if one looks for them: the arbitrary manner in which the Aiken idolaters assemble, sexual humor that makes the piece slightly difficult for younger viewers - or at least for the parents of younger viewers - the use of drunkenness as a comic bit and a somewhat preachy finale.

Whatever its limitations, "Idol: The Musical," kept a young audience entertained, laughing and sufficiently diverted to (generally) refrain from text-messaging for nearly two hours. That's quite an achievement for any enterprise in mid-2007.

Clay's foundation found another way to help people! I found this info at The Clack House via Claversity via CM (got that?!)

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As everyone probably has heard, I live about 80 miles from Greensburg, KS, a town which is pretty much a pile of destruction right now due to an F-5 tornado leveling the town. Our club, KC Clay Fans, got an e-mail from Aron at the BAF asking if there was any way they could help us help our neighbors...the BAF sent us over 100 shirts and blankets ...The seniors graduated about 3 weeks ago and each graduating senior received a BAF blanket. Two car loads of shirts and blankets have been distributed to families there by PuddinsJoy from CH

For those who are not part of The Fan Club, Clay blogged a nice long blog!

He thanked his fans for helping to save his fave show "Jericho" (he did ask us to help with that, but I doubt we had that much to do with it) and he called us "His Angels"!! LOVE that! BF can call me his angel anytime he wants!

He talked about just spending time in Paris (the last several days) and being free to walk the streets unnoticed. He LOVED Paris and said the whole city looks like a museum. He talked to some "big, famous, American actress" at his hotel. Wonder who?????

He is excited about the upcoming tour and promised new songs as well as songs from ATDW and MOAM. Angela and Quiana will be with him again. Angela was supposed to be touring with Kelly this summer instead of Clay. I guess she picked the cuter one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They will start rehearsals in about a week. Yay for those who get to see him. I will just be huddled in the corner, weeping because my BF is not coming to see me

He talked about the upcoming CD. He and Jaymes are close to signing on the EP for the whole CD. He says he is getting a lot of support from RCA and Clive (whatever that really means?) He says he will be allowed to grow on the new CD. Let's hope so! No covers Mr. Clive OK!? Pretty please? Well, maybe "To Love Somebody" because I always wanted to hear Clay sing that whole song.

Anyway, he sounds really happy and excited! It may have been his longest blog ever. I guess that is because they had to shut down the Fan Club message board due to "fans" fighting with each other I hope they never reopen the message board if it means more blogging from Mr. Cutie Pie!!

They had to shut down the fan forum because of the fans fighting with each other? Oh, hell, just shoot me now. It seems like this happens in every fandom I enter - Sanjaya's got some fan wars brewing, too.

CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG????!!!!!

Official Abrahammy Sees Clay Again After Three Years countdown... 26 days...

YAY! 26 days until you see Clay! You are so lucky! AND you get to see the first show. PLEASE come here ASAP and tell me everything!!

I do not go to the Fan Club message board because I have heard from the get-go about all the fighting. You know, those who think they can say anything they feel about Clay vs. those that don't think you should ever say one negative thing Anyway, from what I have read at other Clay fanboards the Mods at the OFC let a few tabloid story links be posted and discussed and I guess things got really ugly and disrespectful and TPTB (be it Clay who does read there or someone else) said enough and shut it down. They don't know if it will be reopened. Clay said in his blog he will blog more to give us something to read. Fine with me! I'd rather hear from him than fighting fans any day!

Firecracker, my friend, I bring you Clay tidings.

Entertainment Weekly poll - #3 American Idol performance of all time - Bridge Over Troubled Water. (Explain again why he did not "win"? )

http://www.raleighchronicle.com/2007060715.html