ClayManiacs

'Idol' at Darien Lake

(July 21, 2005) — Clay Aiken of American Idol fame has a show at 8 p.m. July 30 at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, 9993 Allegheny Road (Route 77) in Darien Center, Genesee County. Aiken may have lost to Ruben Studdard in the second season of the show, but his debut album has sold more than those of other former Idol stars. This Jukebox Tour, taking Aiken to 25 cities, will highlight five decades of the rock and roll era. Tickets ($27.50, $37.50 and $45) are available through Ticketmaster, (585) 232-1900 or www.ticketmaster.com

Fair and square

The Indiana State Fair has come a long way, just considering who organizers book as headliners to perform on the grandstand stage.

Throughout its 149-year history, everyone from Andy Williams, The Beatles and Bob Hope to Jerry Van Dyke, Elvis Presley and Sonny and Cher have trekked to Indianapolis to perform at the fair.

This year, it's homespun humorist, author and radio host Garrison Keillor with his "Rhubarb Tour" (tickets $25) on Aug. 17 and Clay Aiken (tickets $30) on Aug. 18, right after the harness-racing tournament. Alan Jackson is Aug. 19 (tickets $44) and Keith Urban and Shelly Fairchild are Aug. 21 (tickets $41). There's also a free concert with Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits on Aug. 12. For more information or tickets, visit www.in.gov/statefair or call (317) 927-7500 or (317) 927-1482.

BUBLE BURSTS KELLY'S BUBBLE: If you were expecting to read that Kelly Clarkson tied Celine Dion's record for having the longest-running No. 1 song by a female artist in the history of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, sorry to disappoint you. But think how Clarkson must feel -- her "Breakaway" (Walt Disney/Hollywood) only needed one more week in pole position to tie Dion's 21-week reign with "A New Day Has Come."

Instead, Michael Buble earns his first No. 1 on this survey, as "Home" (143/Reprise) finally moves up after nine (non-consecutive) weeks at No. 2. "Home" is Buble's fifth AC chart entry and only his second song to reach the top 10. Before "Home," his highest-charting title was a version of "The Christmas Song," No. 6 in December 2003.

Despite the advance of "Home," don't give up on "Breakaway." It's very likely the Clarkson song could return to No. 1 as early as next week, giving the song its 21st week on top and the possibility of breaking Dion's record.

If "Breakaway" doesn't reclaim the lead position, it will still be the third-longest AC No. 1 of all time, behind the 28-week run of "Drift Away" by Uncle Kracker featuring Dobie Gray and the 21-week run of Dion's "A New Day Has Come."

ALONG COMES JASMINE: It seems like only yesterday I was reporting that red-headed John Stevens was the 16th "American Idol" contestant to appear on a Billboard chart. Wait, it was almost yesterday -- or at least, last week. At the time I mentioned that LaToya London was primed to be the 17th charting "Idol," with the release to radio of her first single, "Appreciate" (Peak).

Instead, third season finalist Jasmine Trias beats London to the punch and becomes the 17th "Idol" to chart. The Hawaiian-born singer debuts at No. 11 on the Top Heatseekers tally with her self-titled CD on the Clockwork imprint. "Jasmine Trias" also bows on the Top Independent Albums chart at No. 20.

That revises last week's list of seasonal statistics. The new standings of how many "Idol" finalists have charted from each season of the TV series is as follows:

Season one: Five
Kelly Clarkson
Justin Guarini
Tamyra Gray
R.J. Helton
Jim
Verraros

Season two: Four
Ruben Studdard
Clay Aiken
Kimberley Locke
Josh
Gracin

Season three: Five
Fantasia
Diana DeGarmo
Jasmine Trias
George
Huff
John Stevens

Season four: Two
Carrie Underwood
Bo Bice

A debut for London would push season three out in front, with six charted finalists out of that year's top 12.

The 17th "Idol" singer to chart is non-finalist William Hung from season three, who was so bad that he wasn't even sent to Hollywood by judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.

Aiken Charity Under Critical Eye Despite Efforts
July 21, 2005 12:14 p.m. EST
Christina Ficara - All Headline News Staff Reporter

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - Some critics are claiming former American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken, isn't as charitable has he claims to be.

The Bubel/Aiken foundation to benefit children with disabilities has come under scrutiny after tax documents surfaced raising eyebrows over their choice of spending.

A document filed with the Internal Revenue Service revealed a figure that claims less than a third of the more than $1 million raised by the group last year actually went to charitable grants.

The report shows more than $150,000 went for travel expenses, $173,000 for “professional services,” and nearly $150,000 for salaries. One of the reasons for the high expenses was high-profile galas held in places like Los Angeles and Hawaii.

Co-founder, Diane Bubel refutes the accusations, explaining the raw numbers are misleading. Costs of organizing, training, and travel for their camps for the disabled children in Raleigh and in Missouri are not included in the figures.

A local report by WRAL-TV in Raleigh, revealed, despite what the critics suggest based on the IRS document, an independent accountant's breakdown of the numbers totaled the program services at $920,000. Meaning, 85 cents of every dollar raised was donated to grants and other efforts of the foundation.

Aiken has not publically commented on the allegations, however his partner, Diane Bubel was quoted by WRAL-TV stating, “We’re volunteering and doing something good, and all we hear is complaining."

:wave Good Morning, everyone!! :wave

Clay is going to be interviewed by Access Hollywood this weekend and they are asking for questions.  :cheer2  Click below!

Access Hollywood (http://www.accesshollywood.com/station/4407574/detail.html?treets=ah&tml=ah_ent&ts=T&tmi=ah_ent_1_04100407212005)

Also, The Raleigh News & Observer will be featuring a
Full Front-Page Poster of Clay Aiken on Friday, August 5th.  Click below to order.

News&Observer (https://miva.nando.com/circulation/c_aiken.html)

Click here to get information on the time and channel in your area for Access Hollywood:
ACCESS HOLLYWOOD (http://www.accesshollywood.com/wheretowatch/index.html)

Hi Her!!

Looks like my question being answered would be a miracle. Seems it was returned "undeliverable" in my email...I used the link..but it doesn't seem it went through. That's OK...maybe I just asked too late.

Hope you have a happy day.

Lora

A local report by WRAL-TV in Raleigh, revealed, despite what the critics suggest based on the IRS document, an independent accountant's breakdown of the numbers totaled the program services at $920,000. Meaning, 85 cents of every dollar raised was donated to grants and other efforts of the foundation.

Casting: Six of the eight lead actors, including Taye Diggs (TV's Kevin Hill), Jesse L. Martin (TV's Law & Order) and Idina Menzel (Broadway's Wicked) reprise their stage roles. "There was pressure to go the whole pop-star route," says Diggs, who met wife Menzel while doing Rent on Broadway. "Boy bands, Britney Spears, Clay Aiken. The fact that they wanted the original cast put everybody at ease. The chemistry of the ensemble is the main ingredient for fans."Chances: Hard-core fans, or Rentheads as they are called, won't be able to resist, but will audiences be nostalgic for the decade of AIDS and Reaganomics?

THE MEDIA IS REALLY ANNOYING RIGHT NOW. HALF TRUTHS. JADED STORIES. REALLY ANNOYING. I GUESS THAT IS PART OF THE "BUJSINESS."

Unfortunately, the media is ALWAYS like this!  Its not just Clay!

I guess we can at least take comfort in that!

There's an article in the Asbury Park Press Weekend section about Clay, Kelley, Riverfest. (He is on the COVER!!)Someone more talented than me who gets it might want to scan it...

I talked to Diane Bubel yesterday and she said I could share our conversation with you. Before I do I want to say one thing. These are not Clay Aiken’s thoughts - they are Diane's…basically from one friend to another sharing what has been happening.

Probably the most important thing right now for any of us is that Diane and the BAF are fine and Clay is also according to Diane. I said, “So neither of you are folding huh?” There is no doubt about that – the BAF is not going away.

Diane told me that the WRAL reporter called her just as she was walking in the door from dropping Mike off. It was not a pre-set interview - he just called. The reason he called was because he received a letter complaining about how the BAF used their funds. The letter he received prompted the audit which you saw accurately reported - 85% goes to services for the children.

Everything I’m going to write now was said to this reporter. You'll probably be scratching your head in wonder at what the reporter ended up including in his story.

He questioned Diane about the 990 form and that a third was the amount for grants - thinking that was the amount of money that went to services. Diane directed him to the back page of the 990 form where there is a listing of all the services the BAF has and the amount of money used for each. Included in that list are Camp Gonzo, Able to Serve, and many other things. The grants are the moneys given to individuals for their projects.

Diane asked him if he was aware that the federal government gave the BAF a $500,000 grant to set up inclusion curriculum for public schools. That State Farm was piggy backing that grant with a huge amount of money (I [clz] can not wait for this amount to come out I just don’t think it’s my place to do that) so that the program can be continual. She pointed out that Disney and McDonalds among others are sponsors of the BAF. That every sponsor they have has checked them out thoroughly, as did the Federal government.

There was talk about other expenses that the BAF incurs and that setting up camps and programs is not the same as running existing ones. Operating budgets are larger – the training, the supplies, and flights to the cities with camps to see how the pilot program was doing, etc. The legal fees were discussed to his satisfaction. Diane filled him in on the galas, the awards and many many other things that he had no clue about.

This part is very important and important for you to know because Diane feels bad that even one person had a wrong impression about what she said. He wanted to know why there were critics. Why people think that Clay is out to gain something for himself. Why they think the BAF isn’t quite on the up and up. Diane told him the story of Clay and Mike and what a turn around Mike had because of Clay. She said that the Clay Aiken the critics complain about is not the man she knows.

At some point during this Diane commented that she didn’t know why people are negative. They (the BAF) are volunteers and are working hard trying to do something and they (critics) just are critical. This is a far cry from saying that all of the fans and supporters are critical. Her quotes were taken out of context.

I don’t think I want to say more except to make a few personal points.

Diane has been nothing but gracious through this whole nasty time. She said that she knew Clay was rehearsing a lot and that there was no reason for him to comment about this. It had been going on for a long time. Clay has dealt with it and this incident is just another part of the situation. The BAF is very strong right now. Camp Gonzo is going wonderfully well. Everyone knows about the increases in grants and the excitement about the money from the Federal government. There is no truth here to be unturned by any investigative reporter. Diane has always said “bring em on” when we’ve talked about the threats to contact this attorney general or that one or the IRS - whatever. Her attitude is that if the BAF is doing something wrong then they will fix it. Her disbelief and chagrin come with the tactics used against them.

The BAF is very grateful for all their corporate sponsors. However, Diane said that they know that there is only one reason that the BAF has succeeded. Both Diane and Clay are fully aware of that reason and are grateful beyond what I can convey. That reason is the supportive fans. The fans who have volunteered, the fans that have supported with their prayers, the fans who have poured money into the Foundation to get it off the ground - they are the reason that each child has been helped. I don’t think from what Diane has said to me that they will lose sight of that - ever.

I want to close with a small true story – a way to gauge just how well Camp Gonzo is doing.

At one of the camps they were playing wiffle ball – all the kids included. A boy who has Cerebral Palsy was at the plate and he struggled to swing the bat. He tried and tried and just couldn’t manage it. So the counselor suggested that they play pretend wiffle ball and that the boy pretend to hit the ball with the bat. The boy did exactly that and as everyone watched him hit the ball, they all in unison, without being told, turned their heads and they watched the ball go over the fence for a home run - then they began cheering for him.

There is more: So all of the kids decided that this pretend wiffle ball was a really neat thing and they all began to play. Soon the boy with cerebral palsy came up to the plate again and this time when he pretend swung they called him out at first. Someone said – “hey that’s not nice!” Someone replied – “You can’t hit home runs all the time.”

Diane said in that moment that little boy was treated like every other kid there – that is what we can all call success!

From Notacanuck of CH:

Clack Alert!

From TVBarn:
Quote:
Global warming and Muslim schism and an exclusive interview with Clay Aiken, this week on "NOW" (9 p.m., PBS).


According to my PBS schedule, it's on tonight at 8pm CST.

Okay, I found the name and number of the publicist for NOW in New York and gave him a quick call (about a "viewer" inquiry *g*). He told me where TVBarn originates, and said the Clay part of this listing IS AN ERROR. He was very nice about it, laughed and said, "That's interesting! I don't think he's even on our short list!" And promised to call the guy at TVBarn and correct the listing. Sorry, folks. I hope this helped. Nice find, though! *g*

The PBS interview mention that was erroneous...that was weird. Trying to boost up some viewership for global warming using Clay as the bait.

Hey, he would probably be very proud of that actually.   :lol

My question was returned too.  I wonder why none of us can
get through.