2003: PRESS & MEDIA

[Pamela]

Revenge of the geek heartthrob
Clay Aiken has said he won’t sing about sex and drugs, but despite his decision he still had a No. 1 hit on the Top 40 charts -- "This is The Night."
Nerdy Clay Aiken stays true to values, still earns pop success
   
By Carolyn Brown
MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR
   
Oct. 10 —  The anticipation is mounting. Thousands of “Claymates,” as they call themselves, have been organizing and mobilizing for months. From CD release parties, to radio play campaigns, Clay Aiken’s new album “Measure of a Man” is debuting with plenty of “fanfare.” So what type of music does the American Idol runner-up sing anyway? And how will this North Carolina native, who doesn’t drink, smoke or sport tattoos, fit in the current pop scene? As it turns out, there are no simple answers.

“When the stars go by[sic], and the darkness starts to flood your eyes, I will carry you” — Lyrics from Aiken’s original song “I Will Carry You”

It sure doesn’t read like most pop lyrics out there today. Is it possible this is Christian pop masquerading as mainstream pop music? You can’t help but ask this question especially since Aiken hasn’t exactly hidden his devout southern Baptist beliefs. On the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, he wore a “What Would Jesus Do” (WWJD) bracelet and this week’s Time magazine reports his struggles with his record label, RCA, to keep his videos and music “clean.” It’s not everyday such Christian symbols grace Rolling Stone’s cover. Does his Christian sensibility translate into his music? As it turns out, Clay Aiken’s wholesomeness, and the audience it reaches, could just be the genius in his new album.    
               
The album and the artist himself have managed to tap into an audience the music industry has arguably ignored — the middle class, Christian, soccer mom, who wants to be able to listen to pop music with her family and not worry about sex, drugs and explicit lyrics. Clay Aiken himself has said he won’t sing about sex and drugs. And since there isn’t much mainstream pop music out there right now without references to sex and drugs, Aiken is emerging as a new pop phenomenon.      

So he’s got the mini-van driving, Oprah-watching crowd. But, what’s more interesting about Aiken is, that despite his straight-laced image, he has also reeled in a respectable amount of average pop listeners, who normally wouldn’t be caught dead listening to Christian pop music.  With the No. 1 selling single of the year, “This is The Night,” Aiken even managed significant radio play on national top 40 pop/hip hop/rap stations, alongside the likes of Christina Aguilera and Eminem. How did this “smultzy” ballad even make it to Top 40? Probably because of a lot of radio requests, but also, there is a sense that, despite his conservative upbringing, Aiken seems willing to reinvent himself, at least on some level. He did after all, with the help of some highlights and a makeover worthy of “superstar Eye for the Straight Guy”, transform himself from geek to geek heartthrob and bare his chest and belly on the Rolling Stone cover.      

WIDE-RANGING AUDIENCE      
There’s no denying that most of Aiken’s following are women and girls. What’s surprising is the range of age of his fans. From “tweenies”, their moms, and even grandmas, generations are finally finding some music in common. Of course, you can’t forget the men. They might be few and far between, but you’ll find them lurking in record stores, on Internet chat boards, and on Amazon.com, secretly pre-ordering “Measure of a Man.” Many only listen because their wives have brainwashed them, others simply enjoy Aiken’s music. It’s not just about his music for most of these women and men, it’s about Clay, the man, the boy, and everything for which they believe he stands.      

If you ask any of his fans, they just might say “thud.” That’s because many of them are part of a rabid Internet fan base that’s not quiet with its support. They watch and document his every move, analyze, fantasize, obsess, and yes, even write fan fiction. They write scathing letters to radio DJ’s who bash Aiken, and act as his unofficial public relations machine. Visit one of these fan sites and you just might find yourself wrapped up in a world unto itself, where a mere mention of Clay Aiken’s lily white, bared knees could result in a discussion that lasts days.    

So what is it about this goofy, 24-year-old beanpole that inspires such devotion? It’s a combination of girlishly pretty looks, an unusual man/boy vulnerability, an incredible voice, and most significantly, approachability. You see, Clay Aiken is the type of guy that you actually believe you could just go up and talk to. He just happens to be a pop star.  Remember back to high school when the geeky, nerdy guys didn’t get many dates and it was all about the dreamy football players? Something tells me that Clay Aiken wasn’t the star athlete or homecoming king, and didn’t have a big female following. But that was then, this is now.  

In a culture where Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy and Britney Spears reign, this nice Southern boy may have single-handedly brought back the “geek”. That is what sets him apart from most of today’s young male pop stars. His obvious awkwardness somehow translates into a magnetic charm that seems to have broken the mold.           

MSNBC

[Pamela]

Clay Aiken's Painful Secrets

Clay Aiken went from runner-up "Idol" to platinum-selling recording artist, and now his first full-length album "Measure of a Man" drops on Oct. 14. The singer sat down with Access Hollywood's Shaun Robinson and revealed painful secrets from his past.
Shaun Robinson: About the relationship that you never had with your father, you actually called him a 'sperm donor.' Tough words, but it obviously stems from a very tough childhood, right?
Clay Aiken: In a way, the majority of the situation happened early on in life. The difficult part is that I'm usually an open book and I don't mind talking about it, but I've also got my mother to think about. So when I open my book up I open her book up too, and she's a very private person.
Although Clay tries to protect his mother, who he claims was abused by his father, he has no regrets going public.
Shaun: Do you wish you had never talked about your father at all?
Clay: Sometimes I do. I think the first thing that triggered it all was a story that came up in the Star. In that article they made my mom look somewhat bad which was not true. It needed to be addressed just to set the record straight.
Shaun: You've obviously survived a very tough childhood.
Clay: You know, I think I grew from it too.
Clay grew into an overnight sensation, complete with tabloid frenzy and speculation, most notably the rumors of him being gay, which he denies. In fact, Clay told Shaun he's almost ready to have that special lady in his life.
Shaun: Are you dating anybody?
 
Clay: I'm not, my schedule has been so busy and I need somebody to go to the American Music Awards with.
Shaun: Who would be the perfect date to the AMAs?
Clay: Hmmm, Miss Oklahoma. I sang for the Miss America Pageant.
Shaun: You took a liking to Miss Oklahoma?
Clay: Yes, and I'm sure she's sitting at home right now so embarrassed.

ACCESS HOLLYWOOD LINK

[Cruiser]

You Can Run, But You Can't Hide

I tried not to be a Claymate. I really did. I tried not to get caught up in the stampede that was Clay Aiken obsession, but after watching him on 'Primetime Live' this past Thursday, I understand the adulation.

For those of you scratching your heads, saying, 'But American Idol is over,' or 'Didn’t someone else win?' let me explain something to you. The show might be over, but Claymania lives on. Since the show, there has been a vocal and growing block of people, mostly women, who meet, plan, chat and drool over the object of their mass devotion, Clay Aiken.

They talk about upcoming media appearances, posting links to articles, musical clips and on-air interviews. People who previously used the Internet as an afterthought are now emailing, uploading, downloading, sharing files and building websites, so eager are they to get their hands on anything Clay.

As all this happened, I smirked and made disparaging remarks about grown women not having anything better to do than sit on the Internet for hours on end, obsessing over some skinny 24-year old’s phobias and allergies. I laughed out loud when reading the furious debate over whether or not to throw panties up on stage at the AI concerts and nearly fell off my chair when these same women drooled over the tiny little glimpse of stomach he showed in his Rolling Stone cover. 'Oh my god!' I thought before seeing the picture. 'Clay Aiken, the self-proclaimed banner carrier for geeks and nerds everywhere, naked?' I should have known better.

Although he certainly hasn’t posed naked, last Thursday night he laid bare his personal life for all of us to see. Sure, I read snippets and little tidbits about him not seeing his father and calling him 'sperm donor,' but I almost felt like I was intruding watching him speak to Diane Sawyer about his sister’s suicide, his father’s abuse of his mother and the almost unspeakable hurt he must have felt being rejected by his father at such a young age.

Now, being the cynical person that I am, I had all sorts of preconceived notions about watching this show. When Diane said that people at home were probably saying he was too good to be true because he doesn’t smoke, swear or drink, I wanted so badly to agree with her. In today’s world filled with jaded, cynical young people who have never been young, Clay’s outlook does seem a little unbelievable, but he’s so sincere, I actually started to look at him differently. 'Maybe this whole 'awe shucks' awe-struck attitude isn’t a gimmick,' I thought.

As I watched him during his interview, looking into those astonishing green eyes, I could understand why the Claymates are so drawn to him. He has a way of peering at the camera that makes you think he’s speaking (or singing) to you and you only. That, coupled with his charisma, the same charisma that he possessed even before he was made over, makes for an extremely seductive, heady experience. 'No wonder these women are all in love with him,' I thought. 'No wonder Simon only wanted to listen to him with his eyes closed.' Clay Aiken is a powerful presence, make no mistake about it. Behind that soft-spoken southern drawl and those polite manners is a presence that will not be denied.

I have no doubt that Clay’s album will release to platinum sales tomorrow. I have no doubt that his concerts will sell out in 5 minutes. What I do wonder about is his sophomore album. Will the appeal and magnetism still be there? Since he’ll be older and presumably more experienced, will he still insist on singing “clean” songs?

I will most likely never be a Claymate, but I do feel strangely drawn to this young man. Something about his innocence speaks to me. I’m not interested in knowing what he does or says every waking moment of every day, nor will I rush home to tape his appearances on Nickelodeon, MTV or any other channel. Although I have never once contacted a radio station demanding they play a Clay Aiken song, I will probably buy his CD because despite everything, he has one of the richest, most supple, and amazing voices I’ve heard in a very long time.

LINK

[Melodie]

From the StraitsTimes (ASIA):

Clay's court

It's not his looks, or even his voice, which have earned American Idol first runner-up Clay Aiken devoted fans. Rather it's his dorky charm

By Sherwin Loh

IN JULY this year, Fynn Cheng flew to New York hoping to catch her American Idol, first runner-up Clay Aiken, in concert.

But she had also read online that he would be making an appearance at a bank. Thinking that it might be her only chance to catch him in person, she turned up and waited for over an hour to meet Aiken.

'He was in his limousine and the door was opened, so I popped my head in for an autograph,' says the 25-year-old risk analyst, who managed to catch his show.

'But he didn't have a pen so I could only take a picture with him,' she adds, as she proudly shows it to this reporter at an interview on Tuesday.

But as the car drove off, it stopped suddenly. And Aiken's bodyguard stepped out and gestured to Ms Cheng.

It turned out that Aiken had found a pen, and wanted to sign her CD single of This Is The Night/Bridge Over Troubled Water.

'I told him to make it out to Singapore, and he turned to look at me and asked, 'To the whole country?' '

At this point, the other four Claymates, as Aiken fans around the world call themselves, burst out laughing.

They are in a good mood. Just five minutes ago, all five women - lawyer Katherine Teo, 29; advertising manager and mother of three Charmaine Lim, 44; businesswoman and mother of two Marilez Wijaya, 40; university student Sabrina Foo, 22; and Ms Cheng - received word from a record store that its shipment of Aiken's debut CD, Measure Of A Man, had arrived.

It was released on Tuesday.

THE NUMBER IS SEVEN

FINALLY, five months after the meek-looking 24-year-old had become first runner-up on talentime reality TV show, American Idol, they can stop downloading songs from the Internet and get more helpings of the man (see review below).

Everyone at the interview, held at Ms Marilez's home in Farrer Road, is prepared to buy seven copies.

Why seven?

'Once, Aiken was asked what he wanted his fans to say about his album, and he said jokingly he wanted them to say 'I had seven copies'. We just thank God he did not say 28,' says Ms Teo.

She has actually done even more - she also flew to New York in July to watch Aiken perform but had told her father that she was going away on a business trip.

These five Claymates are certainly not alone in their devotion to the singer, which would explain why Aiken's album is doing relatively well here.

A spokesman for BMG Singapore says fans had called to inquire about the album even before it was released on Tuesday. As of yesterday afternoon, 5,500 copies of the album were sold here.

'We are aware of fans who bought several copies each. Fans also staked out the store on the morning of the release of the album,' she says.

An HMV spokesman says it is selling 'very well', but declines to provide figures.

Sales figures in the United States are currently unavailable.

Local radio stations have also been inundated with requests to put Aiken on air.

'I think he's amazing,' says Perfect 10 DJ Vernon A. 'Our request shows are flooded every night by his fans, even for his cover of Bridge Over Troubled Water, which I don't think is that great.'

Part-time Power 98 FM DJ Sean Teo agrees that there is a sizeable fan base in Singapore for someone who came out of nowhere.

But while he also likes Aiken's music, he cannot understand his attraction.

'I won't be swooning over him. He looks like he needs to be on Extreme Makeover,' says Teo, referring to the makeover reality show.

But to his adoring fans, it is not about the looks or the voice. In fact, they are also fans of Idol winner Ruben Studdard.

'We like Clay more not only for his music, but also for his charm,' says Ms Lim.

JUST PLAIN CLAY-ZY?

THE five Claymates tell Life! they first met online and decided to form a fan club after realising there was sufficient interest in Singapore.

With some web design help from American Claymate Rachel Ayres, they created the Measure Of A Fan website (www.clayaiken club.com.sg), which currently has a membership of over 40 people.

Working with BMG, the club printed 20,000 inserts which have being placed in every CD on sale here, directing potential Claymates to the website.

But in case anyone thinks that these five women are plain Clay-zy over Aiken, they are also the first to admit that their idol is 'geeky' and even 'looks dorky'.

'But that's why we love him,' says Ms Foo.

They point to his voice and jovial nature - he once considered joining The Amazing Race over American Idol.

He has also drawn sympathy votes for being called the 'mistake' of the family by his father.

Then, there is his caring side. He set up the Bubel/Aiken Foundation after his Idol win, which helps individuals with autism and other disabilities.

Taking a cue from him, the fan club, besides donating to the foundation, has also decided to raise money for the Autism Association (Singapore).

Incidentally, Ms Marilez, who has an autistic 12-year-old son, is a member of the AAS.

So there is much to do for the Claymates here, even if webmaster Ayres is not in Singapore.

But she is not forgotten - she 'lives' in the form of a rabbit soft toy, which Ms Foo carries around everywhere, even to a launch party the club held on Wednesday night at Hard Rock Cafe.

'She wants to say hi to everyone,' Ms Foo says to the more than 20 members who showed up. And as they wave to the rabbit, Ms Foo makes 'Ayres' wave back to the fans in Singapore.

Measure Of A Man is out in the stores.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/life/story/0,4386,214923,00.html

[Pamela]

Interview: Clay Aiken -- an Incredible Journey
Fri Oct 17,10:59 PM ET

By Fred Bronson

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - On Oct. 14, 2002, Raleigh, N.C., native
Clay Aiken traveled the 150 miles to Charlotte to audition for the
Fox-TV series "American Idol." One year later to the day, his debut
album, "Measure of a Man," was released by RCA.

It's been an incredible journey for Aiken, who will turn 25 Nov. 30.
Much of it has been in public view.

Aiken failed the Charlotte audition but tried again in Nashville. (Note - Actually it was Atlanta!) Judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson did not know what to make of him. He did not look like a pop star, but he could sing.

He was sent to Hollywood, where he made the top 32. Week after week,
Aiken was safe from elimination, ultimately going up against fellow
Southerner Ruben Studdard in the grand finale. (Note - Actually Clay made the finals through America's vote as the wild card choice!)

When the results were announced, Studdard was named the winner and
Aiken the runner-up, but both were awarded recording contracts.
Aiken's first RCA single, "This Is the Night"/"Bridge Over Troubled
Water," sold 393,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-
selling single since Elton John (news)'s "Candle in the Wind 1997."


Aiken has been nominated for two American Music Awards, including
the Fan's Choice Award; has appeared on the covers of Rolling Stone
and Entertainment Weekly; and has made numerous appearances on the
TV-talk circuit.


"American Idol" music arranger Michael Orland says of Aiken, "He is
so secure in who he is, and that is so endearing. Most performers
strive their whole lives to be that natural."


Q: How did you begin the process of recording your debut album?


A: I went into the initial meeting about the songs that were going
to be on the album very hesitant. Clive Davis is a huge person in
the industry. Stephen Ferrara, the A&R person, and the people from
19 I was still getting used to. I was very quiet as I went in, and I
just listened and nodded and smiled and let everybody else do the
talking.


I told Clive I was scared about this meeting, because I had heard so
many people tell me, "If you get 50% of what you want on your first
album, you'll be doing well. If you're happy with half of it, you're
lucky." So I thought, "He's going to play a bunch of stuff that I'm
not happy with, that I'm not going to think is appropriate for me."
And I was just really nervous about it.


He played nine to 10 songs, and all of them I thought were really
good. None of them really put me out of my comfort zone. They were
all things that I thought were radio-friendly, and I was really
happy. So the very first conversation I had in the business was a
big surprise to me, because I was not really prepared for being as
happy as I was.


Q: On "American Idol," you proved that you could sing live. But
recording in a studio is a different process. In what ways did you
have to adjust?


A: I think the biggest difference between live performance and
recording is that the microphones you use when you're recording are
so much more sensitive. It's really a wake-up call: "Oh my goodness,
I'm not that good!" It picks up everything you do.


Ruben and I have talked a number of times about how impressed we
were with people like Stevie Wonder (news), the Temptations, the
Supremes and the big groups back in the '60s who went in and sang
their songs one time through. Now we've got this mic and I can
record my thing and then a week later, the band can come in and
finish their stuff, and if I'm singing a duet, I can sing my part
and then Kim Locke can come in and do her part the next day.


Back then, you had to have the band in the room. You had to have the
entire group in the room, and everybody had to get it right in one
take, and that's how they did their stuff. I don't think that I
could do that.


Q: Are you surprised at the depth of devotion your fans have
demonstrated?


A: The fans find things out before I do. I'm lucky to have so many
enthusiastic and passionate fans out there. They're so helpful to
me. Clearly I'm here today because of them literally for voting for
me but really for supporting me the entire way and bringing the
Krispy Kreme donuts to wherever I come. I think I should be the
Krispy Kreme spokesperson. I'm ready!





Q: Information on you seems to get out quickly. How much of that is
because of the Internet?

A: I was at home for a day or two really quickly in June, and a
friend of mine, Amanda, picked me up at the airport. We went by my
old high school, to see some of the teachers I hadn't seen since
high school, and went by my middle school also. Within an hour, not
only was it on the Internet that Amanda and I were driving around I-
540 in Raleigh in her black Jetta, but there were pictures of us at
the school. They were posted on the Internet.

That's how fast things get around. I mean, everywhere, which is
great, which is what everyone wants to hear -- that everywhere you
go, there's somebody who's excited about you. But it's very
interesting how fast they can get this information on air.

Q: Is there a good side and a bad side to that kind of recognition?

A: There's definitely a bigger good side. The bad side is that
sometimes I feel I have to be perfect all the time, and I'm not ...
That's been somewhat complicated for me, because I want to make sure
that I'm being genuine and being friendly to everybody, because it's
not like me to be rude and ignore somebody. If I'm eating dinner,
and you come up and say hello, that's fine.

I was in Charlotte doing something the other day, and the waitress
was taking our order and the hostess came up and said, "You just had
to come in at lunchtime, didn't you?" hit me with the menu and
said, "Sign this." I was like, "Well, right now?" I think it was her
way of being funny, but it caught me off-guard a little bit.

Q: How excited are you about the release of your first album?

A: It's hard to step back from all of this and look at it as an
outsider looking in. I think I'd be more excited if I did, but you
know, I look at things like the Rolling Stone cover, and that's a
picture of me. It's got words written around it. It's hard for me to
step out of that and realize that it may be bigger than that.

Q: Five months have passed since the season finale of "American
Idol." Are you finding that people are able to talk about Clay Aiken
without mentioning the show in the same sentence?

A: I can never discount the fact that if it weren't for "American
Idol," this wouldn't be happening. I signed up for it, I asked for
it, and it gave it to me. It's not so much the "American Idol" thing
that bothers me, but it's the "American Idol" runner-up thing.
Please don't remind me!

I'd love to be able to establish myself on my own and not always be
the contestant. I'm not known as a recording artist with an album,
because I don't have one yet. So hopefully and as we the new year,
it will change.

LINK

[Pamela]

UNCC student is finalist for 'Idol'
Raleigh singer one of 32 selected from 50,000; S.C. vocalist eliminated

01-31-03  A UNC Charlotte student has made it to the finals of "American Idol."

Clayton Aiken of Raleigh, majoring in special education at UNCC, made the final cut this week with a rendition of Heatwave's "Always and Forever."

He is one of 32 finalists selected from the 50,000 who auditioned for the Fox network talent hunt.

Aiken, 24, has been singing since he was about 18 months old and performed in the N.C. Theatre while in high school. He is a fan of Jon Secada, Shania Twain and Faith Hill.

Another Carolinas contestant fell just short of making the cut this week. Quiana Parler of Charleston, who came in No. 1 in auditions held at Fox's Charlotte affiliate WCCB (Channel 18) in November, was among the last to be cut before the final 32 were announced Wednesday.

Quiana says she has no regrets. Even judge Simon Cowell, master of the acidic put-down, was nice to her, she said. "He wasn't as mean as what we see on television."

She also got to talk to judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson after performing Whitney Houston's rendition of "I Will Always Love You."

"I didn't get any negative criticism from them," said Parler, 23. "When I first met Simon before L.A., he said I had a pretty face and voice, but he wanted me to lose weight before the show started. He was really nice about it.

"But Randy Jackson didn't think I needed to lose weight," she said of the portly music producer.

Parler, who hails from Harleyville, S.C., has been singing for four years in a Charleston-based Latin jazz band called Brazil.

Charlotte.com (registration required)

[Pamela]

Why Clay Aiken Should NOT win ‘American Idol’

03-14-03:  Has Peggy gone mad? She says she loves Clay, but she doesn’t want him to win American Idol! Why not? Well, frankly, she says he’s just too good.

First and foremost, let me state unequivocally that I am madly in love with Clay Aiken. I love him in that superficial way that twelve-year-old girls love Justin Timberlake. I am smitten. I cry every time he appears on stage. His skinny body climbs into my dreams at night (I can almost feel his knobby elbows) and I wake up flushed and giggly. I really, really like this guy. Not only do I feel he is the best singer in the group of twelve, but his personality absolutely shines through with such brilliance it's blinding.

So then, why do I not want him to win the competition? Because Clay is too good for the lifestyle of the pop star. Let me repeat what he said this week in his introductory tape prior to his coming on stage: "I want to make a difference, if I can do that by singing and touch someone that's good. If I can do that by teaching someone, that’s better." (Emphasis added.)

At that moment if I had any doubt about who Clay was, it vanished. Most of the people on that stage – or even those who just wished to be on that stage – would have reversed the order of those dreams, but Clay is not most people. He showed up for an audition being his complete self, her wore those glasses (which I absolutely loved on him), he did not have his hair Seacrested, he was not dressed to impress (see photo above). He was something completely refreshing, a real, genuine guy.

When Clay is onstage he pulls it off with a confidence that comes only from knowing losing is not the end of the world. You don't like him? No sweat off his back. He really wanted the chance to compete and he was given that chance. If he doesn't go all the way he will be disappointed, but not heartbroken. You can see it in his eyes. American Idol is important to Clay but he has his priorities in order. It is not the most important thing in the world.

Those of you who read my regular columns are aware that I have two children with autism. Clay, in his real life, works with autistic children and has for nearly a decade. The burnout rate for working with these kids is enormously high and for Clay to keep coming back and then embracing it to the point where he is making it his life-long career choice as a special ed major is, to me, something deserving of a Nobel prize. There are very few nurturing males in the world of special ed, and they are desperately needed considering that autism affects boys 75% more than girls. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it has also risen 900% in the last decade. Therein lies the reason why I will not be entirely disappointed if Clay does not win the competition. Let the stock-boys and the hairdressers become superstars. The real world that contains kids who need funny, kind, patient educators needs Clay.

Of course, even as I say this I am trying to invest in a power dialer or a phone bank to make sure Clay gets a billion votes. I know, deep down I know, the train has already left. The bell cannot be unrung. Clay Aiken has already slipped away into that superficial world of silk shirts, frosted hair, tinted contacts, limo drivers, Coke commercials, national tours, etc. It will be years before the world's newest Elton John can go back to anonymity. I hope Clay does not become so jaded and spoiled that by the time he is ready to do something else in his life besides sing, he does not forget that he is really good at being a real person. Perhaps if he does win American Idol – or do very well – his story may inspire others to follow him not as a singer, but as a teacher. Unfortunately, those that live in the world of "special needs" will still need him and others like him. Autism is a lifelong condition.

Foxes On Idol

[Pamela]

'American Idol' Continues on Feat of Clay

HOLLYWOOD 03-05-03 (Zap2it.com) - - File the over-hyped Wild Card round of "American Idol" under the heading of "Good Ideas That Didn't Quite Pan Out."

For weeks, Simon Cowell kept threatening tepid singers with the promise that the Wild Card would top all of the other rounds. The "Idol" producers did everything they could to fulfill Simon's prophesy, announcing that four members of the Wild Card Round would advance to the final, twice the number from the other rounds. This followed the surprise that the judges were bringing back people from earlier rounds who might have slipped through the cracks. The stage was set for excitement.

Then the actual show aired. It became clear that the American voters were pretty spot-on in the early rounds. With only one exception, the also-rans from previous shows were equally so-so on Tuesday night (March 4). It was also obvious that the people who didn't even make the semi-finals had been eliminated for a reason. Having never performed on live TV before, the inexperienced candidates seemed nervous and out of place. Regardless of what the judges may have said, nobody slipped through the cracks.

The aforementioned exception is Clay Aiken, who has gone from geeky Woodstock look-alike to smoothed polished performer before our eyes. Aiken's rendition of Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" was Tuesday's obvious standout.

The Wednesday night (March 5) show begins with the daunting challenge of dragging the decision out over a whole painful hour. The opening inane banter between Ryan Seacrest and the judges focuses on Simon's whiney mood from the night before, with Simon railing against the show's producers for no discernible reason.

Just as Ryan's about to read America's Choice for the Finals, he pretends he can't read the card without his glasses. Then he passes the card to the judges and they pretend that they can't read it either. This pathetic improv takes the show into commercial.

When they return, everybody is still being dorky about the unreadable card and they "decide" briefly to skip over the People's Choice.

After much hemming and hawing about identifying Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey and Lena Horne before anybody else, Randy gives his vote to Kimberly Caldwell. Kimberly is giddy and the men on stage have much too much fun hugging her, while she tries to hold her hip-huggers up. The attempt by Ryan and Kimberly to engage with Randy in hip-hop argot is perhaps the most embarrassing moment of television this year. Congrats.

For the second straight night, Kimberly launches into a version of "I Feel The Earth Move" that's more Martika than Carole King. Won't somebody please help this beauty choose better songs in the Finals?

Upon returning, Ryan's promises that FOX has 17 employees at work trying to decrypt the name of the first Finalist. This sounds like the answer to a very bad joke, "How many FOX executives does it take to read Clay Aiken's name?"

The pseudo-off-the-cuff conversation gradually devolves into such nothingness that it acquires a level of idiot existentialism. Throw in Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory and "American Idol" could be retitled "My Dinner With Andre, Randy, Paula and Simon."

Paula finally gets around to announcing her choice. It's Trenyce, who may well have the best voice in this group. She also may have the scariest performance and fashion style ever.

After yet another break, Ryan returns to nattering about the unreadable card. Did somebody actually think this would be an amusing running joke? It isn't.

Simon admits that he's taking a risk on his choice and says he saw something watching the show again on Tuesday night (after a few drinks). Simon's choice is Carmen Rasmusen, a country-singing 17-year-old Utah Mormon. Carmen's selection stuns the other judges and seems to have been necessary to buttress the already-rejected "People Slipped Through The Cracks" hypothesis. Carmen is, predictably, also agog.

Still milking the unreadable card joke for all it?s worth, Ryan gets a new card saying that the old card isn't ready yet. Who thought this stuff up?

That leaves six people sitting on stage just waiting for Clay to get selected. The tension is non-existent.

Poor Ryan starts the final segment by announcing "American Idol's" upcoming junior talent show. Even he seems chagrinned. The winner of the popular vote is, go figure, Clay Aiken. Paula rushes to hug him. Simon and Randy both man-hug him.

The last advice from the judges for the 12 assembled finalists?

"Consistency is the key," says Randy.
"You've gotta eat, you've gotta sleep and you've gotta just have fun," chirps Paula.
"Be afraid," glowers Simon.

Oh yes. Be afraid.

Zap2It

 

[Pamela]

Shut up, Simon! Charlotte thinks he's cute
Mighty voice, makeover and growing fan base took Aiken to top 12

03-11-03: Support is building for a jug-eared, power-voiced singer from UNC Charlotte who takes the stage tonight on Fox TV in a bid to become the "American Idol."

Fans are setting up Web sites and filling online message boards to gush about Clay Aiken, a 24-year-old student seeking a special education degree from UNCC. On campus, his professors are preparing to hang banners to rally votes for Aiken's run on the show.

Last week, in front of 20 million viewers, Aiken nabbed a spot among the show's 12 finalists -- from 70,000 who auditioned nationwide.

The show, which aims to name the nation's top amateur singer, allows viewers to vote on toll-free phone lines after watching contestants sing. Finalists are named in a second broadcast each week.

Aiken has seen his fan base surge since his debut audition last fall as a gawky, bespectacled redhead with a voice rich enough to do credible renditions of soulful Luther Vandross R&B tunes.

Show judge Simon Cowell, famous for his acid-tongued critiques, told Aiken that he may have sounded like an American idol, but he didn't look like one. So Aiken underwent a makeover, donning contact lenses, tinting his hair and upgrading his wardrobe for later rounds of the show. (He won a "best makeover" salute in a recent issue of Us Weekly magazine.)

The magazine Entertainment Weekly's Web site called Aiken "endearingly dorky," with one fan posting that "He'll change the little girls' view of cute -- the geeky look will come in."

Fans created a new site, www.claytonaiken.com}, posting audio and video clips.

Back at UNCC, his professors had no idea that their student had a singing ambition. Now they're solidly behind him, ready to cheer his performances each week -- and stuff the ballot box with phoned-in votes.

"We've been so excited for him -- he's such a nice young man, so genuine," said Wendy Wood, Aiken's faculty adviser.

Aiken, who hails from Raleigh, has completed all requirements for his bachelor's degree except a semester of student teaching, working with pupils with mental disabilities. He was supposed to do that this spring, but decided to delay the semester when he made the initial "Idol" cut in December.

Wood said professors have been brainstorming ways Aiken can complete the requirement -- even if fame or a record contract prevents him from returning to UNCC to do it.

What about the merits of a show that encourages students to put off their education to pursue music stardom? "I don't have any fault with young people following a dream," replied Wood.

Aiken's activities have included heading UNCC's student chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children and working with a 13-year-old autistic boy, said professor Nancy Cooke.

Aiken is sequestered with the show's other finalists and can't comment until his run on the show ends, Fox publicists say.

After tonight's broadcast at 8 p.m. on Time Warner Cable Channel 11, viewers can vote; Wednesday, the lowest vote-getter will be booted. The two-night process continues each week until the field is winnowed to a victor who receives a record contract.

Last year's winner, Kelly Clarkson, went on to release a No. 1 single, "Before Your Love," and snared a starring role in an upcoming movie.

Even being a finalist could prove momentous for Aiken. One of last year's finalists, Tamyra Gray, has been guest-starring on the Fox show "Boston Public."

Meanwhile, his fame is bringing hope to legions of mild-mannered, big-eared, thin-limbed young men around the country.

"I love the way he looks -- I'm much fonder of students who aren't the status quo hunk or beauty queen," said Wood. "I think people who have a different look are more interesting."

Charlotte.com (registration required)

[Pamela]

New Kid on the Block
What's next for the country's most famous runner-up
Erik Hedegaard

Clay Aiken, who came in second to Ruben "the Velvet Teddy Bear'' Studdard in the most recent American Idol contest on Fox, has been keeping a few things to himself. During the months he tenored his way up the competition's ranks -- he missed winning by a mere 134,400 votes out of 24 million, a margin of one half of one percent -- he didn't reveal much more than that he was a good-natured, Baptist-churchgoing twenty-four-year-old with a goofy grin, mudflap ears, penguin-size feet and a pure crooner's voice that at one point, while working through his rendition of "Solitaire," brought guest judge Neil Sedaka almost to tears. Aiken was viewed as a kind of genial innocent, largely untouched by the vagaries of life, with a scant biography that nonetheless went far in enlarging his voting bloc. "Refreshingly normal,'' Newsweek called him. He loved kids, loved working with kids as a veteran YMCA camp counselor in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, especially kids with autism, and was a senior at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, majoring in special ed. He gave every indication of having been raised among saints.

But the show is over now, and he's walked away with a recording contract of his own, from RCA Records. So certain things he may have felt it wise to hold close before, he no longer does. He's scared of water, detests house cats, vastly prefers instant grits to real and bites his toenails: All this he can freely admit to, in that cheerful silky-twangy Southern accent of his. And then one day, he seems to surprise even himself -- "I can't believe I'm talking about this!'' -- by saying a few words about his father, one Vernon Grissom, whose last name he had until four years ago, when he legally replaced it with Aiken, his mother's maiden name.

He says these things at an outdoor restaurant in Los Angeles, on Sunset Boulevard, where he'd just ordered a bowl of spaghetti Bolognese. He was sitting with his retinue (two publicists and a bodyguard who he half-suspects even tastes his food, for poison) and trying not to notice all the other patrons gazing in his direction. "I'm really not that special,'' he said. "Really, I'm not. I was on a big TV show, but it was just a TV show. I've even had waiters give me their head shot. Like, why? What can I do?'' He seemed honestly perplexed by his new celebrity status and not happy with some of it. When one of his publicists began gawking at another celebrity -- "I think he was on Magnum, P.I.,'' she said -- Aiken glowered and said, "You know what? Please don't stare at people. You should go sit with those people over there. They like to stare at people, too.'' After that, he chatted pleasantly about his morning pedicure and manicure; about how before American Idol the show he really wanted to be on was Amazing Race; about meeting Britney Spears; about how somebody offered his mom, Faye Parker, $16,000 for his 1999 Honda Accord with 88,000 miles on it, if only he'd autograph the dashboard.


"My mom said, 'Is it OK?' I said, 'Hello! I owe $5,000 on it. Of course it's OK.' '' Then he was asked to tell the story of the first ten years of his life.

"Are you kidding me?'' he said, laughing loudly. But a few moments later, he was off and telling what he had never publicly told before. "My mom and Vernon got separated when I was one. We kind of lived on the run -- actually, not on the run so much as we moved back and forth to stay away from him. He was an alcoholic and violent and whatnot. We moved so he wouldn't know where I was.'' He went on to request that Vernon Grissom not be referred to as his father. His father, he said, was Ray Parker, his mother's second husband, who died last July: "He is the only dad I ever had.'' He said that he himself most often refers to Vernon Grissom either by his first name or simply as "my sperm donor.''

A waiter arrived with his spaghetti. Aiken said grace, silently, and when he lifted his eyes, he asked to talk about Vernon later. Right now, he would just like to enjoy his food.

(Excerpted from RS 926, July 10, 2003)

©Rolling Stone

[ILClaymate]

Rolling Stone - Complete Article
RS 926 - 7/10/03
New Kid on the Block
What's next for the country's most famous runner-up
Erik Hedegaard

Clay Aiken, who came in second to Ruben "The Velvet Teddy Bear" Studdard in the most recent American Idol contest on Fox, has been keeping a few things to himself. During the months he tenored his way up to the competition's ranks - he missed winning by a mere 134,400 votes out of 24 million, a margin of one half of one percent - he didn't reveal much more than that he was a good-natured, Baptist-churchgoing twenty-four-year-old with a goofy grin, mud flap ears, penguin-size feet and a pure crooner's voice that at one point, while working through his rendition of "Solitaire", brought guest judge Neil Sedaka almost to tears. Aiken was viewed as a kind of genial innocent, largely untouched by the vagaries of life, with a scant biography that nonetheless went far in enlarging his voting bloc. "Refreshingly normal," Newsweek called him. He loved kids, loved working with kids as a veteran YMCA camp counselor in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, especially kids with autism, and was a senior at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, majoring in special ed, He gave every indication of having been raised among saints.
    But the show is over now, and he's walked away with a recording contract of his own, from RCA Records. So certain things he may have felt it wise to hold close before, he no longer does. He's scared of water, detests house cats, vastly prefers instant grits to real and bites his toenails: All this he can freely admit to, in that cheerful silky-twangy Southern accent of his. And then one day, he seems to surprise even himself - "I can't believe I'm talking about this!" - by saying a few words about his father, one Vernon Grissom, whose last name he had until four years ago, when he legally replaced it with Aiken, his mother's maiden name.
   He says these things as an outdoor restaurant in Los Angeles, on Sunset Boulevard, where he'd just ordered a bowl of spaghetti Bolognese. He was sitting with his retinue (two publicists and a bodyguard who he half-suspects even tastes his food, for poison) and trying not to notice all the other patrons gazing in his direction. "I'm really not that special," he said "Really, I'm not. I was on a big TV show, but it was just a TV show. I've even had waiters give me their headshot. Like, why? What can I do?" He seemed honestly perplexed by his new celebrity status and not happy with some of it. When one of his publicists began gawking at another celebrity - "I think he was on Magnum P.I," she said - Aiken glowered and said, "You know what? Please don't stare at people. You should go sit with those people over there. They like to stare at people, too." After that, he chatted pleasantly about his morning pedicure and manicure; about how before American Idol the show he really wanted to be on was Amazing Race; about meeting Britney Spears; about how somebody offered his mom, Faye Parker, $16,000 for his 1999 Honda Accord with 88,000 miles on it, if only he'd autograph the dashboard.
"My mom said 'Is it OK?' I said, 'Hello! I owe $5,000 on it. Of course it's OK.'"
   Then he was asked to tell the story of the first ten years of his life.
   "Are you kidding me?" he said laughing loudly. But a few moments later, he was off and telling what he had never publicly told before. "My mom and Vernon got separated when I was one. We kind of lived on the run - actually, not on the run so much as we moved back and forth to stay away from him. He was an alcoholic and violent and whatnot. We moved so he wouldn't know where I was." He went on to request that Vernon Grissom not be referred to as his father. His father, he said, was Ray Parker, his mother's second husband, who died last July: "He is the only dad I ever had." He said that he himself most often refers to Vernon Grissom either by his first name or simply as "my sperm donor".
   A waiter arrived with his spaghetti. Aiken said grace, silently, and when he lifted his eyes, he asked to talk about Vernon later. Right now, he would just like to enjoy his food.

   The thing about Clay Aiken is that he is genuinely a nice, open and warm person. In Raleigh, in the sunny areas surrounding the leafy middle-class neighborhood where he grew up, this is well-known and stated nearly ad nauseam by everyone who has ever come into contact with him. The encomiums flow freely from Mr. Murphy, his high school principal; from Mrs. Fitzpatrick, his high school attendance officer; from any number of other teachers; and from all of his childhood friends, both male and female, of which he has many. Clayton Aiken - everyone in Raleigh calls him Clayton - is and always has been enthusiastic, outgoing, funny, unique in spirit and dress (the only one in his school to wear yellow high-top sneakers), rarely a disciplinary problem, not a smoker, not a drinker, not a partier, "sweet and thoughtful, a great catch for somebody," charismatic and "so nice you could never be mean to him." They do hold it against him that he likes to wear plaid shorts. And maybe all that Mrs. Fitzpatrick can say about his attendance record is that it was "good". And maybe when somebody uses the word "retarded" in a sentence, such as "That's so retarded," he does tend to come on a little strong with the lectures. In general, though, as Principal Murphy likes to point out, "He was absolutely a gift. A gift."
   Gaping eaters aside, nothing much seems to bother him, either, his overall philosophy being "There's nothing so wrong that it can't be easily fixed or easily ignored. I just let things roll off."
   Some people, for example, seem to think that because he is slender, has long, fluttering eyelashes, and currently doesn't have a girlfriend, he must be gay. Indeed, after Aiken somewhat awkwardly tossed the first pitch at a Durham Bulls minor-league baseball game, dreadful comic Jimmy Kimel felt called upon to tell his talk show's audience, "But that's OK, folks, because Clay's a catcher, not a pitcher." Even so, this kind of stuff seems to amuse Aiken more than it upsets him.
   "One thing I’ve found of people in the public eye," Aiken says, "either you're a womanizer or you've got to be gay. Since I'm neither one of those, people are completely concerned about me. They're like, 'What are you then?' I'm sure it has to do with being raised by women. I wouldn't want somebody gawking at my mom and grabbing her butt and catcalling at her, trying to hook up with her at a bar. I'm not saying I'm not going to look. Hello! But you know what I mean?"
   He's also a good sport and fun to spar with. "So, what's your position on pre marital sex?"
   "My own personal position is that it's much more special to wait for the person who you're married to."
   "Are you a virgin?"
   "Well, this morning…while getting my manicure and pedicure, I watched a biography of Britney Spears on TV. In it, she said that she regrets every saying anything about it. So, I hate to repeat myself, but: I think it's much more special to wait for the person who you're married to."
   "Masturbation?"
   "Are you kidding me? I hope that's a question and not a proposition! Anyway, I don't think it makes you go blind."
   "And you know that from personal experience?"
   "You stop right now!"
   "Breakfast cereal?"
   "Cinnamon Toast Crunch!" he says positively, with much relief his voice.

   Actually, Aiken's own opinion of himself is slightly different from that of his hometown friends and fans. "It's true, he says that he was "bubbly" and that his face was the one most often seen singing songs at school events, his voice the one that rang through his school's loudspeaker system, reading the morning announcements. But among his peers, he says, he was generally the quieter one. "In my circle, I wasn't Ferris Bueller, I was Ferris Bueller's friend," he says. "I've never minded being the sidekick, which is why coming in second place on American Idol is totally a non-issue for me. My feeling is I got lucky. I love Ruben to death. He’s happy for me, and I'm happy for him. But there's not as many expectations for me. If my first album flops, all I have to say is, 'What'd you expect? I didn't win.'"
   He began singing when he was sixteen months old, mostly country tunes he heard in his mother's car as they drove around. Willie's "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" was an early favorite, as was "Islands in the Stream," by Kenny and Dolly. Both his mother, Faye, and his father, Ray, worked for Sears - she as an in-house interior designer, he in home improvements. "The people there loved him," his mother recalls. "They'd put him up on the counters and say, 'I'll give you a dollar to sing.' Sometimes they'd even pay him five dollars. Of Course, sometimes he’d pretend to be shy and say, 'I can't sing. I'm tired.' But then he'd back up to me and say, 'Mom, wind me up." So we'd pretend to wind him up like a little toy box, and off he'd go, singing again."
   At home, his parents didn't believe in sparing the rod, so if he did anything wrong, he might have his mouth washed out with soap or told to go cut down a switch for a spanking, and it had better be a sturdy switch, too. He didn't get in all that much trouble, though, nor did he lack for direction. He had his singing, which he did for the Raleigh Boyschoir and at Leesville Road Baptist Church, the church he started attending at the age of seven. But he also learned early on that he enjoyed working with children, especially autistic children, a difficult task for most people but not for him.
   "Because autism is a puzzle, to me it's fun," he says. "I've been hit, I've been spit on, I've had kids pee on me, but it's only because they can't communicate any other way, and you have to understand that."
   Aiken thought he might eventually like to become an elementary or middle school principal, or better still, since they make more money, a high school principal. But while attending UNC Charlotte, he was also working with a twelve-year-old autistic child named Michael Bubel, and one day Bubel's mother, Diane, finally convinced Aiken that Amazing Race wasn't the show he should set his sights on. He should go to Atlanta, line up with the other 6,500 hopefuls trying out for American Idol there and see if he couldn't make it on to that show. At every step along the way, and especially after getting voted off the program before the wild-card cliffhanger, his main feeling was, "There's no chance at all."
   He's allergic to tree nuts, mushrooms, shellfish, chocolate, coffee and mint, the last three causing him "gastric spasms like I'm giving birth out of my chest." He's a big fan of reading on the toilet ("I probably do more reading there than anywhere else; it's just that I'm comfortable, and why get up?"). He's only ever thought the f word, never said it out loud to anyone, near as he can remember. He prefers his Fuji apples slathered with peanut butter. At one time, he could not drive himself over a bridge if a stream ran beneath it, so terrified is he of water. And don't get him started on cats.
   "I think cats are Satan," he says, almost seriously. "There's nothing worse to me than a house cat. When I was about sixteen, I had a kitten and ran over it. Seeing that cat die, I actually think that its spirit has haunted me. I wasn't afraid of cats before. But now they scare me to death."
   So, he's got a fair panoply of quirks. But what's also interesting about Aiken is his ability to change what needs to be changed without a lot of fanfare. Throughout American Idol, he was in a state of constant evolution. In the beginning Simon Cowell praised his voice but said he didn't look like a pop star. Subsequently, Aiken ditched his Coke-bottle glasses for contact lenses, got himself some spanky new clothes and highlighted his reddish-auburn hair two-tone blond. He also began applying a flatiron to his hair, a half-hour-long process that resulted in a hip, spiky ok. At first, a stylist did the flat ironing. Now, he can do most of it himself, all except for what he can't see behind his back.

   The last six months have been quite some whirlwind of course, and many wondrous things have happened to Aiken, a fellow whose first flight on an airplane for American Idol was only his second flight ever. He has that bodyguard. He got to go to the X2 premiere. He's turned into what he calls "a shoe whore," his collection of new shoes now totaling sixteen pairs. He's received a fan letter from a woman who says she and her husband enjoy having sex to their video collection of his performances. He went on Good Morning America and made Diane Sawyer go all wobbly in the knees. No lady-killer before, he now even believes he has a reasonable chance at getting some dates. In the past, his relationships have been brief; the longest, while at college, lasting six months. Has anyone ever broken his heart? "No," he says, because he's never been in love. Has he ever broken anyone else's heart? "I don't think so," he says one afternoon in West Hollywood, pointing at himself. "I mean, come on, hello! The way I see it, I'm not that big a prize."
   He is outside at the fabulous Sunset Marquis Hotel, sitting a safe distance away from the shimmering pool and loading extra sugar into his fruit drink. A few tables over, some stringy rocker types notice and yell, "Hey, American Idol!" Aiken shots back a greeting of his own, then, after a bit, he finds himself once more opening up about Vernon Grissom, his sperm donor, who in tabloid newspaper recently wished his son the best, with various blind sources suggesting that he was crushed by the divorce and that Faye Parker poisoned his son against him.
   Aiken speaks calmly about it, but at considerable length. "It's just the most ridiculous stuff I ever heard in my life. My mother was beaten by this man. And he never tried to be a father to me, ever. I saw him when I was growing up only because the court made me see him. But my mother - and this speaks against her brainwashing me against him - she would actually tell me, 'You need to call him and go see him.' And now he wishes me the best and he's badmouthing my mom? I'm not interested in that. But, really, I don't concern myself with him, because I don't care, and because I don't want to give him the time of day."
   According to Faye, the marriage fell apart one week shy of her son's first birthday. "I remember crying," she says, "because Clayton wasn't at his home to have his birthday party, and I had made his birthday cake, and it was back in the freezer and it was just like, 'I don't have my baby's birthday cake.'
   "You know," she goes on, "his dad was a musician, so music was something they had in common. After their visits, I would say to Clayton, 'Well, did your dad get out the guitar and play guitar with you or anything?' And he would say, 'No, Dad never did. He was always sick.' And, well, I think as he got older, he understood what that sick was. They say that blood is thicker than water. But sometimes it is not."
   Faye says she forgave Vernon for his behavior a long time ago, but it is clear that her son, in his own way, is still dealing with it. "If I have anything good to say about him," Aiken says, "it's that I think I learned to be who I am by being everything he wasn't. Part of the reason I don't smoke is that he did. He drank, and I don't. He's a racist, and I'm not. I don't want anything to do with any of that."
   He sits there for a moment, and then changes the subject, to talk again about the experience of being on American Idol.
   "You know what's funny? I'm the first person on the show who made fun of my ears. I knew that everybody must be thinking, 'That kids looks weird, but what is it about him?" And then I thought, 'Let me give them something to fixate on, because than they won't start picking me apart.' So on one show I made fun of my ears, and you know what? It worked. They fell for it."
   Chuckling, he says, "Oh, I'm so sly. But where I learned to think like that, I just don't know."

   Tomorrow, he goes into a Santa Monica studio to work on songs for his upcoming full-length CD. Afterward, he will fly on a private RCA jet to Chicago for an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show that will also feature his pal Ruben Studdard and first-season American Idol runner-up Justin Guarini, all of it timed to the official release of tunes by each of them. In Amazon.com pre-orders, Aiken's first single, "This is the Night," had outsold Studdard’s by a four-to-one margin. But Aiken firmly believes that the only  reason Oprah has invited him on the program is either because his management company did a lot of begging or, he says, laughing, because the show needs "a token white boy." Nonetheless, he's thrilled to go. His mom will be there. Diane Bubel will be there. Fans will holdup placards saying HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME, CLAY, and CLAY BRIDGES MY TROUBLED WATERS. In the meantime, out on the patio at the Sunset Marquis Hotel, some pest is asking him what he sees when he looks in the mirror.
   "What an interesting question," he says brightly. "Today I see a blue shirt and jeans, and hair that's only done in the front because I can't do the back by myself. I have gotten a little more vain recently. I look in the mirror and say, 'I am who I am, God made me and, yeah, I could have done my hair a little bit better.' But I'm getting good at that flatiron thing. I just need to figure out how to do the back, and I'm set. What do I see when I look in the mirror? I see me."

^{thanks to writer365 for completed article}