Article: Clay Aiken a Class Act

[Pamela]

American Idol Impresses
Runner-up Clay Aiken a class act, says singer
 
By JEFF HODSON
Metro Vancouver

Clay Aiken’s nice guy act is no act, says a local woman who was chosen to sing backup in the American Idol runner-up’s Christmas themed tour.

Michelle Shepherd, a classically trained singer, was among the artists selected to sing and act in Aiken’s Joyful Noise 2005 Tour Wednesday night at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. And after meeting the 25-year-old performer, she is now a rock-steady Aiken fan.

“It was amazing,” said Shepherd, who has recently halted her six-year teaching career to pursue singing. “(Aiken) rehearsed with us and went out of his way to meet every single one of us and took time to joke around and give us a sense of his vision for the performance.”

By including local singers and dancers in his act, she said, Aiken is aiming to include the community and “spread the feeling of Christmas.”

Shepherd, 31, had heard horror stories from people, who had been backup musicians for other concerts, of being made to wait, with no information or food, in a room for 12 hours before being called on stage. But the former private school teacher, who is heading to Australia in the spring to attend an elite music school, and her fellow singers were treated to a catered meal and worked with Aiken’s personal voice coach prior to the performance.

“He made sure that we were taken care of, and that we knew we were an integral part of the performance.”

After the show, as the musicians jammed in the basement of QE Theatre with the entourage, a shoeless Aiken, clad in purple-striped socks joined in the fun, thanking local singers and posing for photos.

“It’s impossible not to be a Clay Aiken fan,” Shepherd said.

Vancouver Metro News (Acrobat reader required to view)

Great article!