ClayManiacs

Clay Aiken to perform with GR Symphony Dec. 19
GRAND RAPIDS — "American Idol" star Clay Aiken will join the Grand Rapids Symphony for an all-holiday music program Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in DeVos Performance Hall.

Aiken rose to fame in 2003 propelled by his appearance on the Fox Network's "American Idol" show. RCA offered him a CD deal and his debut single, "This is the Night" immediately claimed the number one spot on the Billboard charts. Recently he sold 392,000 copies and he possesses the record for the most sales of a single in one week. The previous record holder was Elton John for his "Candle In The Wind" performed in honor of the late Princess Diana in 1997.

His first CD "The Measure of a Man" sold 613,000 copies in October of 2003 during the first week of sales and eventually hit number one on the charts. Aiken's second CD, "Merry Christmas with Love," went platinum and was the best-selling album of the 2004 season. A third release, "A Thousand Different Ways" is scheduled to go on-sale Sept. 19. Orders for the album has made the CD number one of in pre-sales on Amazon.com.

"Christmas with Clay Aiken" will include an all-orchestral first half of Christmas favorites, followed by Aiken's performance with the orchestra.

Tickets to are now available to current Symphony subscribers. Tickets are also available by subscribing to the Symphony's three-concert Symphonic Boom Series, which includes "Bugs on Broadway," Oct.13 and The Music of Pink Floyd, April 27. All concerts are in DeVos Performance Hall. "Bugs on Broadway," which has sold out houses nationwide, features the original Warner Bros. Bugs Bunny cartoons projected above the orchestra, while the Symphony plays live accompaniment to "The Rabbit of Seville," "A Corny Concerto," "What's Opera Doc?" and more. "The Music of Pink Floyd," features a full rock band with vocals performing Floyd's timeless hits accompanied by the Symphony.

Subscribers get the best seats and save 10 percent off single ticket prices. Subscriptions range from $84 to $204. To subscribe to the SymphonicBoom Series, call the Symphony office at (616) 454-9451, or visit in person at 300 Ottawa NW, Suite 100, open Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Single ticket sales to the general public for these concerts start on the following dates: Aug. 28 for "Bugs Bunny on Broadway" and Oct. 2 for "Christmas with Clay Aiken" and for "The Music of Pink Floyd."

This concert is made possible with support from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

SEPT. 19

Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways (RCA) The long wait for the Claymates is over.

Making the Most of the "Idol" Experience
by Sarah Hall
Aug 30, 2006, 4:45 PM PT

Sure, winning American Idol is pretty much an aspiring singer's golden ticket to stardom. But even appearing on the show--let alone making the top three--allows a contestant who plays his or her cards right to extend their fame far beyond the requisite 15 minutes.

For example, while only the first place finisher is guaranteed a record contract, top contenders have excellent odds of inking deals of their own as well.

Soon after season five's winner Taylor Hicks signed his record deal in May, runner-up Katharine McPhee landed a deal of her own, followed in short order by fourth place finisher Chris Daughtry and sixth place finisher Kellie Pickler.

Hicks, McPhee and Pickler will even release their debut albums simultaneously on Nov. 14. (Who says the competition ends at the close of the season?)

The season five grads won't be the only ones continuing to battle one another on the charts. With the release of their respective third albums, season two winner Ruben Studdard and runner-up Clay Aiken are ready to go head-to-head once again, with Aiken's A Thousand Different Ways due out Sept. 19 and Studdard's The Return on Sept. 26.

Despite Studdard's Idol victory in 2003 (by the barest of margins), Aiken far outsold him on the charts, moving 613,000 copies of Measure of a Man in its first week and setting a record for alumni of the show.

CLAY AIKEN - WITHOUT YOU **RADIO PROMO CD**

FALL MUSIC PREVIEW

Your guide to the season's hottest releases

RCA Clay Aiken
Title: 'A Thousand Different Ways'
Release Date: Sept. 19

Claymates everywhere can soon give a collective sigh of relief. Aiken finally satisfies his rabid fanbase with a sophomore album that features four original songs and 10 covers of classic love tunes from the past 30 years.

What He Says: "These are songs I heard growing up. I loved them then, and I still love them today."

You Already Love: 'Without You'

Other Highlights:
'Here You Come Again' -- This song proved to be a No. 3 smash for Dolly Parton in 1978. Time will tell is Clay's version fares as well.

'I Want to Know What Love Is' -- Suzie McNeill guests on this dramatic cover of Foreigner's '80s hit.

For sale on EBAY (http://cgi.ebay.com/CLAY-AIKEN-WITHOUT-YOU-RADIO-PROMO-CD_W0QQitemZ280023518055QQihZ018QQcategoryZ307QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting)

For sale on EBAY (http://cgi.ebay.com/CLAY-AIKEN-WITHOUT-YOU-RADIO-PROMO-CD_W0QQitemZ280023518055QQihZ018QQcategoryZ307QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting)

The season five grads won't be the only ones continuing to battle one another on the charts. With the release of their respective third albums, season two winner Ruben Studdard and runner-up Clay Aiken are ready to go head-to-head once again, with Aiken's A Thousand Different Ways due out Sept. 19 and Studdard's The Return on Sept. 26.

Despite Studdard's Idol victory in 2003 (by the barest of margins), Aiken far outsold him on the charts, moving 613,000 copies of Measure of a Man in its first week and setting a record for alumni of the show.

When Carrie Underwood was voted "American Idol," topping Bo Bice in a highly contested competition, she couldn't have imagined the impact on her career. Sure, previous winner Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Clay Aiken proved that the contest can turn a wannabe into a somebody. But Underwood was surprised by all that came her way.

If he isn't drawing the numbers or generating the frenzy of a Justin Timberlake or Clay Aiken, Stern clearly is developing a following.

For sale on EBAY (http://cgi.ebay.com/CLAY-AIKEN-WITHOUT-YOU-RADIO-PROMO-CD_W0QQitemZ280023518055QQihZ018QQcategoryZ307QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting)

The revolving door at No. 1 keeps on spinning as Danity Kane, the latest TV-created band, opens in the top slot this week.
Group is the third different chart-topper in three weeks, and the trend is likely to continue as September and the fourth quarter see an overload of superstar releases. As in the movie biz, it's one week and out.

Albums from artists such as Justin Timberlake, Clay Aiken, Bob Dylan, Janet Jackson and Rod Stewart could experience the "one and done" effect as they roll out in the final few months of the year.

Last year saw 12 different albums take the No. 1 slot during the 13 weeks between Sept. 1 and Dec. 1. Ten years ago, that span -- covering 14 weeks of numbers -- saw 10 albums in the top slot. In 1999, the last solid year of music sales, nine albums were No. 1 during the 13-week span.

Clearly, fewer and fewer albums are gaining traction in the upper reaches of the music sales chart. The seven rookies in this week's top 10 will face strong competition off the bat, making their runs in the single digits short-lived.

That scenario could easily play out through the end of the year as the industry attempts to pull even with last year's sales total of 618.9 million units. That would require the music biz to generate 45% of its sales in the final third of the year, as sales are currently at 344.61 million units.

Most years, about 35% of the year's sales are tallied between Oct. 1 and New Year's Eve. September is a month reserved for status albums that get in under the wire to qualify for the upcoming Grammy Awards (cutoff is Sept. 30).

This September, however, is following a pattern established in 2005: A bevy of star albums were released ahead of the fourth quarter with the hopes of developing legs just prior to the year's most crowded release schedule. In truth, few did.

This week's top 10 is packed with genre hits (hard rockers Lamb of God, Mexican rockers Mana and R&B dance thrush Kelis) and novelty (Paris Hilton, Danity Kane) that will succumb quickly to the fall onslaught.

Dylan's "Modern Times," released Tuesday, already is primed to take over the top slot next week with a sales tally probably under 150,000 units. Dylan certainly will be dethroned when Audioslave and Beyonce duke it out for No. 1 a week later.

Their reign likely will end at seven days with the Sept. 12 release of John Mayer's "Continuum."

The first superstar mano-a-mano battle arrives Sept. 19 when Timberlake's "FutureSex/Lovesounds" and Aiken's "A Thousand Different Ways" arrive. Aiken's disc is the first of several from "American Idol" finalists populating the September-November release slate.

Sept. 26 will see the arrival of the latest from Jackson and Tony Bennett; latter release is being heavily hyped in conjunction with crooner's 80th birthday.

October opens with new discs from two of the bestselling rock groups of the last several years, Evanescence and the Killers. A week later, Stewart enters the picture with his return to rock 'n' roll.

Vince Gill and Ruben Studdard are the anticipated heavyweights on Oct. 11; John Legend's sophomore effort goes out Oct. 24.

Barry Manilow, who opened at No. 1 with his songs of the 1950s, returns Oct. 31 with his renditions of '60s tunes. His same-day competition will be Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell III."

Keith Urban and Sugarland lead a country parade on Nov. 7. And greatest-hits sets from Faith Hill, Sara Evans and Trisha Yearwood are penciled in for the month, too.

Nov. 14 is still the three-way battleground of last season's "American Idol"-ists Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee and KelliePickler.

Not included in the mix are the usual rock and pop greatest-hits collections that populate the holiday season; none have been announced yet.

Last year, for the first time in recent memory, albums were released during the perceived dead weeks around Christmas. Strong sales for efforts from Mary J. Blige and Jamie Foxx certainly have altered that thinking, and while nothing has been announced for Dec. 19 or 26, it's likely there will be prominent new discs in stores on those dates.

The current sales week was won by the band created on MTV's "Making of the Band 3." Danity Kane's self-titled debut on Diddy's label Bad Boy sold 234,000 copies, the best week for a "Making of" band, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Outkast's soundtrack to "Idlewild" (LaFace) opened at No. 2 on sales of 196,000. Mana came in at No. 4, posting the highest debut for a Spanish-language album by a band, as "Amar es Combatir" (Warner Latina) scanned 87,000 copies.

Lamb of God's "Sacrament" (Epic) sold 63,000 to debut at No. 8. "The Ultimate Luther Vandross" (J), which includes his hits for several labels plus unreleased tracks, opened at No. 9 on sales of 59,000. "Kelis Was Here" (Jive) was one slot lower on 1,000 fewer sales

This music chart was on the side. There is also a flash animation of different album covers. I didn't see ATDW in that.

Bolding is mine. *mano y mano* made me swoon. I'll take our mano anyday.

Wait a sec, I thought Timberlake's was due the week before?

It is. That article is rife with release date errors and omissions, though it is very nice to see Clay's album listed as an expected #1 (especially in the 2nd paragraph, which seems to single out the superstar names).

The errors and omissions...it will be a big surprise if Ludacris' Release Therapy doesn't outsell Janet Jackson's 20 Y.O. on 26 September, and Alan Jackson has a major studio release that day, as well. I'm assuming typo on the Vince Gill and Ruben release dates, since 11 October is a Wednesday -- the author probably meant 17 October, but missed Jojo, Johnta Austin and Dierks Bentley (Jojo and Bentley could definitely contend for the top spot, while Gill's album is a 4-disc set which may be priced out of the #1 mix). While it would be a huge shock if it contended for the top spot, Kellie Pickler's album was been moved up to 31 October, The Game is currently scheduled to release his album 7 November, so he'll probably duke it out with Keith Urban for the #1 spot that week, and the Dufflet is currently scheduled to release a new album on 21 November. Also, Taylor Hicks doesn't seem to think his album will be ready by 14 November (it wouldn't surprise me if they grabbed a 12 or 19 December release date for him).