Joyful Noise Tour 2005 Media & Set List

[clayMaine-iac]

'Joyful Noise' tour hits a flat note

Elyssa Andrus DAILY HERALD


After being named runner-up on the Fox reality talent competition "American Idol," releasing two successful albums, and attracting a legion of screaming prepubescent female fans, Clay Aiken has made a truly bizarre career choice: He has cast himself in a high school musical.


At least that's what it felt like watching his "Joyful Noise 2005" tour at the Delta Center's Nu Skin Theatre on Tuesday night.

The first half of the roughly two-hour show featured a script that Aiken wrote himself. It stars the orange-haired crooner as a sort of magical, white-suited angel narrator who can freeze time and is given to bursting into song.

The script itself is so riddled with cliché that one couldn't help but be embarrassed for the actors, for Aiken himself, and for everyone in the audience.

Basically, the plot revolves around a crotchety but tender old widow, Beverly, who is sad at Christmas because her husband is dead and her son doesn't call. Tommy, a neighborhood boy from a broken home, pays a visit hoping for attention and cookies. Both -- this will shock you -- rekindle the Christmas spirit. Peace on earth, goodwill to men, and so on, and so on.

Starring Aiken's former high school music teacher as the widow, the production serves as a framework for Aiken to run through a number of popular Christmas tunes, hymns and songs from his own Christmas album.

The acting and dialogue bear an eerie resemblance to the aforementioned high school musical, complete with over-exaggerated gesturing and pure, sweet schmaltz. (Says Bev to Tommy: "I think Christmas is a holiday for everyone, and it just takes kids like you to show us that.")

There is also, and I'm not making this up, a Christmas pageant scene within the Christmas musical.

What's saddest about the whole hokey production is that Aiken is one of the last people in the world who needs this sort of desperate embellishment.

All he really needs is an orchestra and a microphone.

Aiken's appeal has always been rooted in his stunningly powerful voice, and not the lounge singer-esque persona he sometimes slips into.

Early rumors of the pageantry may have influenced ticket sales, because even with the Delta Center's Nu Skin Theatre configuration, more seats were empty than filled.

Still, there was a moment, at the beginning of the concert's second half, as Aiken sang "O Holy Night," when all of the bad acting and fake snowflakes fell away. And at that point it was easy to remember why people love Clay Aiken.

It's the voice, stupid.

In fact, the entire second half of the production -- when the "musical" calmed itself down and Clay sang several Christmas hymns -- was measurably better than the first half.

"We took a few risks this year," said a very tongue-tied Aiken at the end of the show.

Indeed.

But perhaps I'm being too harsh on the show in general. Clay loves his family. He used to teach special education. He's an ambassador for UNICEF. If he wants to write and star in his own corny musical, well, he's a UNICEF ambassador, for crying out loud. Let's cut him a little slack.

And skip the first half of the concert entirely next time.

SALT LAKE CITY REVIEW

[clayMaine-iac]

Aiken gives fans early yule gift
By Scott Iwasaki
Deseret Morning News
CLAY AIKEN, WILLIAM JOSEPH, Delta Center, Tuesday.

Christmas came early to the Delta Center Tuesday night. And for the small audience of Clay Aiken fans, the holiday became a bit of heaven, too.
      The former American Idol runner-up brought his "Joyful Noise" tour back to Utah. This time, the scenes took place in the Nu Skin Theatre, and the sound was mixed well. Aiken's voice was clear, as were the voices of his three co-singers — Quiana Parlor, Angela Fisher and Jacob Littrell.
      "Joyful Noise" is a Christmas musical that follows the story of a middle-age woman, performed by Aiken's junior high school music teacher, Allison Lawrence. Her Christmas memories are told through musical flashbacks as she reminisces with a 9-year-old neighborhood boy named Tommy, performed by an 11-year-old actor Gregory Ellis.
      Scenes were set up through spoken lines and set changes. And the action was danced and mimed to Aiken's renditions of Christmas carols.
      "Christmastime," "Merry Christmas With Love," "Sleigh Ride," "Jingle Bells," "Christmas Serenade," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Christmas Waltz" and "Celebrate Me Home" were some of the highlights of the first act. However, it was Aiken's duet with Lawrence on "Silver Bells" that was the most touching. Seeing Aiken singing with his former music teacher was a heartwarming experience.
      Fisher also sang a solo during the first act. Even though her headset microphone cut out, she finished "I Miss You Most at Christmas" in strong form after switching to a traditional hand-held microphone.
      The second act took place at the neighborhood church. The singers and congregation gathered for a Christmas program, and through it all, Aiken and his co-singers — who performed as guardian angels — serenaded the audience with "O Holy Night," "The First Noel," "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" and "O Come All Ye Faithful."
      The four voices blended evenly and brought some audience members to tears.
      Littrell had his chance in the spotlight with "O Come O Come Emmanuel," and Parlor took center stage with her version of "My Grown-up Christmas Wish." That song held more meaning when the world's current events were taken into consideration.
      Backed by a quartet, which included opening act William Joseph on piano, Aiken and the singers brought the Christmas spirit to Utah.
      Joseph opened the show with a piano-karaoke. He played his baby grand to pre-recorded music, which included Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" and "Carol of The Bells." It would have been nice, however, to hear Joseph play acoustically, without the pre-recorded orchestration.

DESERETNEWS

[clayMaine-iac]

Making a 'Joyful Noise'
BY VERONICA STICKNEY
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
 

Clay Aiken knows more about Nebraska than he ever thought he would.

He knows the land is flat, the spaces wide open. He knows the people are kind and hard-working - similar to those in his native North Carolina.

He also knows Omaha is a less foreign land to him than Los Angeles or New York. And he's happy to come back.

Aiken returns to the Midlands on Friday for an 8 p.m. show at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs.

It's the 11th stop on his 40-date "Joyful Noise 2005 Tour."

Aiken debuted the Christmas tour last year with a show that included a full orchestra and local children. It was fancy and majestic. Fans dressed up and stayed seated rather than screamed and danced.

Since Christmas music doesn't change much, Aiken knew he had to make the tour's second installment a little different.

He wondered what he could do to get people to want to attend. "So I sat down in my pajamas and wrote a script," he said.

The show, which will include local actors, has a more dramatic feel this year. While the music is still the main component, two characters - one with Christmas spirit, the other without - act out a story in between.

"It's very heartwarming," Aiken said. "I even wrote it, and I still get chills."

The show includes songs from last year's "Merry Christmas With Love" CD as well as other holiday favorites.

As for Aiken's favorite, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" has always been tops. But last year he loved "Mary, Did You Know?" and this year he looks forward to singing "The Christmas Waltz." It's one of the most poignant parts of the show, he said, and it's the song audience members will most likely enjoy.

While in Omaha, Aiken plans to dine with the family of a crew member. Several tour workers are from Omaha, he said.

Fans here might be some of the most loyal. Aiken remembers that it was in Omaha where he received a copy of "The ClayMate Handbook," a fan-written guide for Aiken fans. He uses it at times, he said, to look up terms - "clazy" (crazy for Clay) and "clayversation" (a conversation about Clay) - he doesn't know.

Fan Becky Raymond can't wait to see Aiken again.

"His voice just touches my soul," said the 49-year-old from Lincoln. "He is unbelievable live. He's just the consummate performer. He's not just a singer."

©Omaha.com

[clayMaine-iac]

'Tis the preseason
Should people who throw holiday concerts before Thanksgiving be banished to the Island of Misfit Toys?
Jon Bream, Star Tribune

Performing a Christmas concert before Thanksgiving used to be as taboo as wearing white shoes after Labor Day.

"I'm wearing white shoes, too. So I'm messing two things up," joked Clay Aiken, who brings his Joyful Noise Tour to Northrop Auditorium Monday.

Twin Cities concert promoters think that pre-Thanksgiving yule shows spell t-u-r-k-e-y.

"It's not a good idea," said Minneapolis promoter Sue McLean, who presented Brian Setzer's Christmas show Wednesday at the less-than-full State Theatre. "It's too early. This is the experiment that proves that." She said attendance was down significantly from Setzer's nearly sold-out December 2003 show here.

Fred Krohn, whose State, Orpheum and Pantages theaters will offer more than 20 holiday concerts this season, thinks weather matters, too. "You need a little snow or cold," said Krohn (before last week's cold snap). "People aren't thinking Christmas right now."

Aiken started thinking Christmas months ago when he conceived his presentation -- a short story acted out with a musical soundtrack.

"It went from trying to figure out a text to writing out a script and stringing the songs together," he said. "It kind of snowballed, pardon the pun."

Aiken's ninth-grade choir teacher takes one lead role. An 11-year-old boy from Raleigh, N.C., has the other lead. Aiken, 26, who was a teacher in Raleigh before leaping to fame as the 2003 "American Idol" runner-up, has been serving as the boy's tutor on tour.

"I miss teaching," the singer said. "The problem is, this child is way too smart for me. So I'm having to relearn the distributive property of multiplication -- or whatever it is. Because if I make a mistake, he catches me every time."

Aiken, whose 39-concert tour started Nov. 3, is surprised at how well-attended the early shows have been. Maybe he shouldn't be: His CD, "Merry Christmas With Love," was the bestselling holiday title of 2004.

Last year, his 21-city yule tour began the day after Thanksgiving. Why such an early start this year?

"Great question," he said, giggling. "I guess the agency that books the show and the promoters decided to see how far they could push Christmas. Next year we could be starting it in September. Hopefully, not."

(7:30 p.m. Mon., Northrop Auditorium, 84 Church St. SE., Mpls., www.ticketmaster.com)

STARTRIBUNE *registration required*

[clayMaine-iac]

Clay Aiken's 'joyful noise'
'American Idol' singer heralds the holidays
By Angie Fenton

Clay Aiken won't be home for the holidays -- he'll be in Louisville.

The 26-year-old singer's "Joyful Noise 2005" tour stops in the River City this week on "Black Friday," the biggest shopping day of the year. While Aiken wasn't sure whether he'd take some time to check off a few names on his gift list while he's in town, the "American Idol" standout didn't mind sparing a few moments for an interview with us.
   
Q: Prior to your celebrity status, what did you look forward to most about this time of year?

A: We had family traditions not in the sense of, you know, strange things that nobody else does, but we had family traditions of getting together and spending time with family and friends and whatnot, like most of the country does. But we didn't go out and cut down our own Christmas tree or anything excitin' like that. My aunt always cooked for Thanksgiving, and she was pretty good. Other than that, the thing about Christmas as a child it was like, "Hello: present time."

Q: How have things changed?

A: I think as I've gotten older it's more about reflecting on the past year.

Q: What is the most favorite gift that you've ever given?

A: My father passed away the summer before I was on "American Idol." Right before he died, he had bought a car for my younger brother that he'd wanted for years. When he died, we weren't able to keep it (because of financial difficulties). …So, when I finished ("American Idol") and I was able to, I bought the car back for my brother. That was probably my favorite one.

Q: What about one that you've received?

A: When I was younger, my mom gave me a, like a little -- this isn't my favorite gift, but it's a funny story -- my mom gave me a clip-together model space shuttle or whatever it was. And I remember the next year -- I got that in, say, 1991 or whatever -- and then in '92, I opened up for Christmas a shuttle that was exactly the same and I said, "Mom, you gave me the same thing last year." And she said, "No, I gave you that very one last year." … I had never opened it, and she wrapped it again and gave it back to me.

Q: What is your favorite Christmas song?

A: It's tough because it changes, I guess, every 15 minutes. When I started recording this album, "Mary Did You Know?" was really one of my favorite ones, and last year during (his first holiday tour), "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day" kinda became my favorite, and this year, "Merry Christmas with Love," has such a significance to the show that it might be my favorite now. But who knows, tonight I might change my mind again.

Q: Do you have a least favorite?

A: Sometimes the hokey ones -- like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" -- for me, were great as a kid, but now I think I've outgrown 'em.

Q: Your fans aren't just enamored with you -- they really like you, and they admire your character….

A: Why? (laughs) They don't know me.

Q: They seem to think that they do, and they're not exactly subtle -- and I know this from personal experience -- when defending you to anyone who even appears to criticize you.

A: What did you do? C'mon, fess up. (laughs) … My fans, they get not only protective, but sometimes they get overly defensive, which is a good thing sometimes and not so good sometimes. I kind of have to take it as flattering that somebody is that interested and cares enough to do or say something like that. And they are very active. They're very active.

Q: When did you realize the Claymates were becoming such a powerful force?

A: I don't know when it happened. I guess when all of this kind of started for me it was so new and I was very sequestered and very closed away from the outside world. When I finally did get a chance to be released into the wild, it was a big surprise. Where did these people come from? I guess I always assumed it would go away. They'll be excited about me for a minute, and then they'll change their mind and move on to somebody else. Well, I guess maybe some part of me is still thinking that it's gonna happen, but it hasn't happened yet. It's all an enigma to me.

Q: Do you believe -- as author Terry Piper asserts in her book "The Invisible Revolution: Clay Aiken and the Fans Who Made Him a Star" -- that The Clay Nation is, in part, responsible for your success?

A: I think without a doubt. … Anybody would have to say they are where they are because of their fans. I think to a much greater extent for me because they're just that active.

Q: Have you measured up to your own expectations?

A: Yes. Because first of all, my expectations were not to be a celebrity or to be a singer. I didn't not want to, I didn't plan on it. …To the world's? I don't know. When you come out and the very first thing you do is successful, it sets you up for very high expectations. We'll see what happens with any future projects and hope that they do at least half as good, but my goal has been to do what I want to do and stay true to myself. That's what's important to me.

Q: Will you be kissing anyone beneath the mistletoe this season?

A: Oh, don't make me cry! (laughs) Probably not. My dog (Raleigh, a female border terrier) will probably lick my face, that's about it.

COURIER-JOURNAL

[clayMaine-iac]

Concert Review: Aiken is heavenly Christmas angel
BY VERONICA STICKNEY
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

COUNCIL BLUFFS - Clay Aiken's show at the Mid-America Center Friday night wasn't flawless.

Aiken, though, pretty much was.

Dressed in a dapper white suit, the crooner belted out an array of Christmas tunes - from a mixed-up version of "Jingle Bells" to lesser-known songs such as "Mary Did You Know?"

He was in Council Bluffs as part of his Joyful Noise 2005 tour.

It's the second time Aiken, who finished second on "American Idol" in 2003, has done a Christmas tour. This year's show was much better than last year's.

This time, Aiken acts as a Christmas angel of sorts, narrating the story of a boy and an elderly neighbor.

Scenes of the two, played by actors from Aiken's hometown of Raleigh, N.C., move the show along. The songs fit well with the moments the characters were having, and Aiken's voice on Friday never faltered.

Aiken was as much storyteller as he was singer, a role that some fans might have had a hard time accepting. He stayed in the background through much of the first act, singing and guiding the characters. Magically, Aiken could pause action with the wave of a hand or encourage a behavior with a look or gesture.

Throughout the first act, Aiken weaved songs such as "Merry Christmas With Love," "Sleigh Ride" and "The Christmas Waltz" with scenes of the neighbor and her husband years ago and of her teaching the boy to dance.

By the end of the 55-minute first act, the boy has helped the woman find her holiday cheer.

After a 25-minute intermission, Aiken performed a series of songs from a microphone near the back of the stage.

This was problematic for some with seats on the side of the arena. Billowing stage curtains often blocked the view of Aiken and gave wide open shots of backstage activities and props, such as a white box fan set up to blow smoke.

Many fans - more than 2,800 people attended in all - ended up moving to open seats near the back of the arena to get a clearer view of the stage.

Regardless of the view, though, Aiken's voice was beautiful.

His rendition of "O, Holy Night" was chilling, and the high note he reached in "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day" didn't disappoint either.

Overall, Aiken's Christmas show was a well-told, cleverly choreographed, heartwarming story just right for the holidays.

His voice was perfect, as usual, and his presence was, too. If anything, we could have seen more of the personality we've grown to love. He didn't speak to the audience until the end, and then we wanted more. 

©Omaha World Herald (registration required)

[clayMaine-iac]

Menifee girl performs with Idol Clay Aiken
By: CRAIG SHULTZ - Staff Writer

MURRIETA ---- When Clay Aiken took the stage in San Diego earlier this month, 8-year-old Chelsea Doyle of Menifee was standing right behind him.

Chelsea, a third-grader at Calvary Chapel School, was joined by Murrieta's Troy Huffman, 11, and adults Monica Iverson of Temecula and Angela Sanicola of Lake Elsinore as backup singers during Aiken's San Diego Civic Theatre stop of his "Joyful Noise" holiday tour.

Chelsea hopes to someday have a career like Aiken has forged since being the runner-up in the 2003 "American Idol" competition.

 
Aiken is selecting local back-up performers during the stops on his national tour and Nonie Hilgesen, Chelsea's music teacher at Calvary Chapel and private voice coach, got word of the project and signed up her protege.

Chelsea pushed a sled onstage during a winter scene and was also in a church scene as part of the three-hour performance in the 2,967-seat theater.

The performance is not a typical concert. It was set up like a Broadway show and has a Christmas theme.

" I ... decided to write some scripted dialogue that links these songs together to keep me from looking like a fool up there on stage," Aiken told an entertainment reporter before the show. "It's sort of like a pageant. There's no deep character development, but it tells a traditional Christmas story."

Chelsea said Aiken was friendly, chatting and joking with the backup singers. She took home an autograph on Aiken's "Merry Christmas With Love" holiday CD.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, it's him, it's him," Chelsea said of the reaction by the performers when they saw Aiken backstage.

She said she was a bit nervous before the show, but that went away once the curtain rose.

Chelsea, who said she has been singing "since I was born," has a deep voice that belies her blonde hair and blue eyes.

"She's a little girl with soul," Hilgesen said. "She has incredible potential. She has a natural vibrato. She's very teachable musically."

Chelsea has performed in recitals and shows at churches and school and she will have a solo in Calvary Chapel's Christmas production on Dec. 13.

The Cole Canyon Fine Arts Club presented 'A Tribute to Broadway' Wednesday and Thursday. It was a student production with children from the Cole Canyon Fine Arts Club singing and dancing, a performance by principal Karen Michaud, and backdrops painted by parents at the school.

Steve Thornton /Staff photographer

Cole Canyon Elementary School students dance to the music of the 1950s during the school's 'A Tribute to Broadway' Thursday.

Cole Canyon students perform a percussion production called 'Stomp' during 'A Tribute to Broadway.'

NCTIMES

[clayMaine-iac]

Singer promotes a 'more adventurous' holiday show
BY TIMOTHY FINN
Kansas City Star

Like Perry Como and Andy Williams before him, pop vocalist Clay Aiken is using the Christmas season as a reason to perform his favorite holiday music. As he did last year, Aiken is exercising his jollies for "Jingle Bells" and other holiday standards in a nationwide musical revue. This year, however, he's giving the show a twist.

His Joyful Noise Tour isn't just a Christmas carol recital. Instead, he has written a script and hired actors and actresses to star in skits that loosely tie the songs together. Intrigued or confused? He explained the concept in a recent phone interview a few days before the tour began.

Q. What will people see when they go to this show?

A. It's different from last year's show ... Last year we did a typical Christmas tour with a full orchestra and some singers. This year I wanted to do something different and more adventurous. So we decided to forgo the orchestra and hire a group of actors and actresses to follow a storyline that kind of brings the songs together and gives them some extra meaning.

Q. Whose idea was this, and who wrote the script?

A. It was my idea. I started thinking about it after last year's tour. So early this year I sat down and wrote the scripts. Then I hired my high school chorus teacher, Alison Lawrence, to play the lead in the show.

Q. How has it all turned out?

A. Great. We've been rehearsing for two weeks now. Lately we've been doing three or four full run-throughs a day, and it still gives me the chills. Toward the end there are some elements that are very moving.

Q. How does this show fit into any long-term career plans you have? Are you positioning yourself to be something of a pop singer like Andy Williams?

A. I really don't want to pigeon-hole myself as any one thing. I mean, I didn't expect to be a singer; I expected to be a teacher. I didn't plan to be a performer and to do something like this for a career. It happened because I was open to it, we got lucky and we worked hard and we had success. I don't have any five- or 10-year plan because I want to be open to all possibilities. I don't want to pin myself down. It could all end in two or four or 20 years, but if it does I don't want to look back and think I should have done something but I didn't because I was so focused on something else.

Q. You say none of this was planned or expected. How has everything that has happened over the past two years changed you?

A. I've matured and learned what to expect in the Hollywood climate. I knew nothing when I came out here. I've learned how to handle myself. I used to be a horrible businessman, but I've learned a lot about that, too. Mostly I've learned to stand my ground.

Q. Without pinning yourself down, what can you tell your fans about your next studio album?

A. I know for certain there will be one next year. My executive producer is Jaymes Foster-Levy, who was a judge on the "Popstar" show, the precursor to "American Idol." She was the mean one (laughs), but she's been great. We've been taking our time, trying to pick the best songs. The new record won't be too far off from the first one, but on the other hand I'm not going to try to be something I'm not.
 

KANSASCITY

[clayMaine-iac]

Clay Aiken's holiday show comes to Reading
By: Jade Kelly Solovey 11/22/2005
 
Decking the halls, tasting that first sip of egg nog or visiting Old St. Nick may be the typical activities that usher in the holiday season, but Clay Aiken fans add one more item to their list. For them, it's just not Christmas until they hear their favorite crooner delivering the Christmas cheer live.

Now on his second holiday tour, Aiken's "Joyful Noise 2005" will have taken him to 36 cities for 40 shows by its conclusion on Dec. 30, including Reading's Sovereign Center on Nov. 30. The production is once again being met with rave reviews and sold-out theaters along the way.

"Last year, we said 'how can we change it up a bit?'" Aiken said days before embarking on tour. "Let's see if we can string all these songs together."

So while most of the music is drawn from Aiken's  2004 "Merry Christmas with Love," fans can also expect songs he had recorded that did not make the final album, as well as traditional favorites. These songs will be tied together with a series of vignettes, written by the singer.

" I sat down myself one day in my pajamas and wrote a script," Aiken said. "It's about two people - it's their Christmas story.

"One of them is not in the Christmas spirit this year and the other wants to bring her out of that," he said. "[The] background singers and myself, we are the guardian angels of this old woman."

As part of the story, Aiken included some personal stories as well.

"There are a few little tributes to my childhood," Aiken said. "There's a young boy whose grandmother says, 'your diarrhea of the mouth is giving me a headache.'"

Although known for his extensive audience interaction, Aiken will keep the banter to a minimum this tour.

"The only time I talk is at the end. And after not talking for an hour and a half, you might be in trouble," he joked. One element kept from the 2004 tour was casting local talent to be part of the show.

"It gives each show a local flavor," Aiken said. "Last year we used local high school and elementary school choirs. It made every show fresh and different for us."

"We cast my old high school choir teacher to play the [female] lead. We do cast the main roles, the dancers and lead roles, and bring them with us, but in order to fill the stage, you need some smaller roles.

"Christmas is about community and family; about being around people you share a common bond with," he said. "It's better for Reading if some Reading people are in it." Aiken's show also has a Hershey connection. Hershey native Brianne Hinan is  a dancer who is currently traveling with the production.

"She was born and raised in Hershey and is very proud of her Hershey upbringing," Aiken said.

The Reading show will also be special as Aiken celebrates his 27th birthday with his fans.

"It's the first time I've done a show on my birthday," he said. "I am either going to be in a really good mood or cranky because I am working on my birthday."

Aiken is once again encouraging fans to "dress in their Sunday best. We like the Christmas thing to be an event," he said. "There's a certain vibe to the Christmas show."

What will the new year bring for the season two American Idol runner-up?

"I plan to put another album out during the first half of the year. I'd love to do another Christmas show," Aiken said.

"I always say, 'Let go, let God,' and that's what I'll continue to do [and] see what comes up in 2006."

Fans can expect a powerful, moving performance to fill them with Christmas spirit as Clay Aiken brings his "Joyful Noise 2005" tour to Reading's Sovereign Center at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

For ticket information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

ZWIRE

[clayMaine-iac]

Aiken here for Christmas show
By Rick Bird

Clay Aiken brings his holiday show to Music Hall on Saturday.
 
Go ahead. Call Clay Aiken a nerd. He won't mind.

"I'm not trying to be cool, and I don't expect to be any time soon," Aiken says with a laugh that can only be described as, well, nerdy.

The issue came up in a recent interview with the "American Idol" star, because a newspaper headline this month dubbed him a "Pop Nerd."

"I've always wanted to just be myself. So it's not an insult at all," he said about the reference. "It's a label I carry proudly."

Aiken may be the most famous second place finisher of any competition. And his geekiness obviously helped drive his fame.

On "American Idol" he narrowly lost out to Ruben Studdard in 2003, but his boyish grin, lack of pretense and choirboy voice earned the Raleigh, N.C., native millions of teen fans who launched Web sites and gobbled up a few million copies of his debut album becoming part of "Clay Nation." It was the overnight success story for the boy next door.

Aiken, 26, likes to think his self-deprecating demeanor has been the secret to his success.

"I think that's a mistake a lot of people do whether it's performing on 'Idol,' or just life - try to be something they are not, try to fool the world and make people think they are not a nerd or a geek."

For the second year in a row Aiken is out with a Christmas tour that comes to Music Hall Saturday. Called "Joyful Noise," it is more than just a concert. There are actors, dancers and special effects in a loose holiday story.

Aiken wrote the show himself.

"It became a favorite (last year) and we wanted to do it again, but the issue was how do we make it different? How do we keep it from being just a bunch of holiday songs? I wanted to try to string all the songs together with some sort of connective tissue. I thought, let's get someone to write a story line. Then I sat down one day and said, 'Wait a minute. I can do this.'"

Aiken even hired his high school choir teacher to come out and perform in the production.

Aiken and the singers play guardian angels, sort of a Greek chorus, that comment on the story through holiday songs. Aiken says it's a reverent show with part of it set in a church.

But that raises another small problem for the "Idol" star. Girls often do scream through it.

"Of course on a regular tour that's what you kind of want. When they come to this show and scream I kind of get a little bothered by it. This is a theme, where we are in church. It's like, 'Please don't scream in church,'" Aiken said.

"But some nights when they don't scream I get upset, too."

Aiken may be the perfect post 9-11 star. He's non-threatening, a true family act that parents can enjoy and don't mind if their young daughters scream at. Aiken says he's the last person to ask to explain the phenomenon.

"I hope the public is growing tired of negativity and trashiness. I am," he said. I can't say why people like me. It's flattering, but I can't really comment on that question."

Aiken released his multi-platinum selling "Measure of a Man" months after the "Idol" competition and has been almost constantly touring ever since. He also cranked out a best-selling autobiography, hosted his own Christmas TV special last year and raises money for his Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which benefits children with disabilities.

He says he's taking his time working on a new CD, carefully selecting the right songs. He acknowledges the first album came out pretty fast.

"That's the nature of the beast. There is a lot of push to get it done quickly, to get product out after the show," he said. "But I don't think it was done poorly. Had we spent more time on it maybe we could have found (material) we were happier with."

Aiken doesn't buy the argument some make that the "Idol" pop stars are rushed onto the scene, winners of a contrived event who haven't paid their "dues" in the music business.

"I felt prepared to record," he said. "I would venture to say that those of us who have been through the beast, been through that machine, have paid plenty of dues. Different dues. It was quite a boot camp really."

Aiken says he's learned what his strength is and that is as a vocal stylist, not a songwriter.

"Again, it's go with what you got and don't try to be something that your not. There is a lot of motivation these days to try and be a songwriter because it may look good or you make a lot more money that way. To be honest there are a lot of artists out there today who have their name written on the song. And the truth is they've maybe written two or three words of it. I'm not going to say I wrote a song if I didn't."

Clay Aiken brings his "Joyful Noise 2005" tour to Music Hall at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets, $69.75, $62.75, $49.75, $29.75. Ticket-master.

CINCYPOST

[clayMaine-iac]

Christmas Clay's Way
By Tracy Rasmussen
Reading Eagle Correspondent

Clay Aiken puts together a holiday showcase called “Joyful Noise” that is based on his own writing and features performers from his hometown. The end product is everything he'd wished for and more.

As if singing, dancing and idol status weren't enough, Clay Aiken has added writing to his resume.
“I did a Christmas show last year and it was so much fun,” Aiken said. “I thought I'd love to continue to do it, but I wanted to do something different.”

That something different is his new “Joyful Noise” tour, which comes to the Sovereign Center in Reading on Wednesday (which happens to be Aiken's 27th birthday).

Aiken said he tried to come up with an idea that could join all the different songs he sings together, when he hit on the idea of having an older woman talk about her Christmases past with a young neighbor.

“Then I just sat in my pajamas and wrote it,” he said. “I thought, Golly, I can do this. I'm not Arthur Miller, but this story works.”

The story revolves around a little boy who is annoying his parents and they send him outside to get him out of their hair. He goes next door and meets one of his neighbors a woman who has recently lost her husband.

“She starts talking to him and telling him stories,” she said. “And there are dancers who sort of show the back story.”

Aiken sings in between and throughout the stories, pulling the show together.

“I'm sort of the guardian angel,” he said.

And staying in line with the guardian angel theme, he hired his choir teacher from high school, Alison Lawrence, to play the part of the elderly woman. And since his teaching certificate is up to date he hired Gregory Ellis, a child from his hometown, to play the child in the show.

“I figured I could teach him on the road,” Aiken said.

Still, he admitted to being a bit nervous about having so much input into the show.

“But it ended up being so much bigger and better than I thought,” he said. “You usually have a vision in your head about what something is supposed to be and then you hope for the best, but this is everything I hoped it would be.”

Although the subject matter is poignant, Aiken promises a Christmas ending.

“Everyone dies,” he deadpanned. “No, really, it's a Christmas show, of course it has a happy ending.”

Aiken said that for him this show portrays one of his own wishes.

“Sometimes I wish that life had a soundtrack,” he said. “That's what this show is.”

The show includes many of Aiken's songs from his Christmas album, “Merry Christmas With Love.”

If Aiken's life did, indeed, have a soundtrack, it would likely be solid gold.

He's perhaps America's best known runner-up, as he came in second to Rueben Studdard in the second season of “American Idol.”

Aiken used that notoriety to promote his first CD, “Measure of a Man,” which has sold more than 600,000 copies, and he's found himself playing to sold out venues and basking in the adoration of the “Claymates” who follow him from venue to venue.

He said he's particularly looking forward to the Reading show.

“This is the first time I've ever done a show on my birthday,” he said, laughing. “So I'll expect lots of presents.”

Aiken has used his own gifts to help others, too. His teaching degree allowed him to work in special education, including a part-time job as an aide to a child with autism. That child's mom, Diane Bubel, convinced Aiken to audition for “American Idol.” Together they now have a charity that supports children with autism.

Education is still important to him, and he keeps current with the field while traveling the country.

And he said he never imagined that his life could be as good as it is.

“Right now I'm at a friend's house in Vancouver,” he said. “She lives on a cliff overlooking the bay and all I can see is water and these majestic mountains. I'm never going to expect things like this to happen.”

He said that prior to “American Idol” he hadn't gone far from his Raleigh, N.C., home.

“Myrtle Beach is about as far as I had traveled,” he said. “But now I've been to places like Indonesia and Uganda (as a UNICEF Ambassador).”

He will be home for Christmas, though.

“We'll be in Raleigh with the tour around Christmas,” he said. “So I'll be home.”

©Reading Eagle

[clayMaine-iac]

Aiken goes Dickens
By Jim Ruth
Sunday News
Published: Nov 26, 2005 11:33 PM EST
 
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - He could have rested on the laurels — and the holly — of his 2004 Christmas tour, but Clay Aiken wanted something more for his Joyful Noise 2005 concert.

So he created his own minimusical context for songs from his double-platinum “Merry Christmas, With Love” CD, adding a few new tunes and some new arrangements for other traditional holiday songs.

“I just wanted to string all the songs together with a story, a theme,” Aiken explained from Council Bluffs, Iowa, a stop on the tour bringing him to Reading’s Sovereign Center at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30.

“It turned out taking a lot more shape than I expected,” said the “American Idol” runner-up whose post-“AI” career has taken him by surprise, too.

“Everything about this career surprises me. I fell into it. I didn’t plan any of it. I didn’t know what to expect at all,” said Aiken, who was caretaker for a 13-year-old autistic boy when he auditioned for “Idol.”

“I was gonna be a teacher,” he said.

Comes in handy

Aiken’s teaching credentials are not lying fallow. He is tutoring an 11-year-old boy from his hometown of Raleigh, N.C., who plays a role in the Joyful Noise 2005 tour. He’s the kid who gets stuck in the house of an old woman who has lost the Christmas spirit.

In true Dickens/Capra form, as the two characters interact, she starts to reflect on Christmases past and rediscovers her own spirit.

“It’s a typical, classic Christmas story,” Aiken said. “Myself and my three singers are kind of the soundtrack for their story. We play guardian angels.” The concert also features dancers but not the full orchestra that accompanied Aiken on his hit holiday tour last year. He is now touring with a leaner pop-rock combo.

That accompaniment best serves the two new pop compositions on “Merry Christmas With Love,” the title tune and Celine Dion’s “Don’t Save It All for Christmas Day.” That, too, is where Aiken shines brightest. To his credit, he doesn’t let awareness of his young fan base influence his arrangements of revered carols. “Mary, Did You Know” and “O, Holy Night” are reverently rendered.

Starting at the top

Every day is Christmas for this bachelor popster, whose premiere CD and its initial single, “Invisible,” both entered Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at No. 1.

“Merry Christmas, With Love” kept up the momentum, becoming one of the fastest-selling holiday albums ever. Aiken even became a best-selling author with “Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life.” It went to No. 2 on The New York Times list.

Not bad for a guy who placed second on “American Idol,” losing to Ruben Studdard in 2003. “I was fortunate enough to be on a season that had the highest ratings, a season where several people became quite successful (including Studdard and Kim Locke, with whom he platonically shared a house for a while in Los Angeles). True to his boy-next-door image, Aiken, 27, recently moved back to his hometown of Raleigh, where he is now master of his own house for the first time in his life.

“I owe a lot to ‘American Idol,’” he said, “but it will be nice some day not to be introduced as an ‘American Idol’ runner-up.”

Tickets to the Clay Aiken concert in Reading are $47.50 and $65. Call (215) 336-2000. Bids for two sets of two front row tickets each also are being accepted online at clayaiken.com. Proceeds benefit the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which Aiken co-founded to provide mainstream activities for young people with developmental disabilities. Winninng bidders also get a personally autographed photo and a meet and greet with Aiken at the venue.

LANCASTERONLINE

[clayMaine-iac]

Playing with Clay
By Josie Roberts
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, November 28, 2005

Clay Aiken, the unlikely heartthrob who snagged fame as an "American Idol" runner-up, brings his Holiday Tour to Heinz Hall tomorrow.
Seriously.

Although his most famous song was about being "Invisible," this is one reality star who just won't go away. So the Trib p.m. tracked down the southern-bred, spiky haired crooner to see what all the hype was about. And he's just as darned politically correct, overly polite and cliche eschewing as his public persona suggests.

Q:Let's get right to the point. I see that there are Clay Aiken thongs for sale on your Web site. Has anyone ever asked you to autograph one while wearing it?


A: When I started touring, people were constantly throwing thongs and underwear onto the stage. So it was kind of a joke when we decided to sell underwear, but then they sold way too well to stop selling them.

Q: Do you think that will happen at Heinz Hall? I'm guessing no. What do you know about the Steel City?

A: Pittsburgh's one of the few cities where we've had a day off each time I've toured there. I'm not a big sightseer, though, but I usually remember what the inside of the auditorium looks like.

Q: What song won't you be singing at your Christmas concert?

A: Well, we don't do "Frosty the Snowman" or "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" or anything like that. It's an orchestral-type show, and we try to make it a little more theatrical.

Q: You tend to attract teenage girls and middle-aged women as fans. Did you know they call themselves Claymates?

A:At first I did not love it that much, I thought it was kind of risque. But if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Now, we're accepting of the name. I'm just amazed they're supportive and still around. Everything that happens is always bigger and better than the last time and it's always surprised me.

Q: Have you ever made a Claymate faint?

A: I hope not!

Q: "American Idol" made you famous. What other reality show would you want to be on?

A: I think I'm reality-ed out. I don't know what reality is anymore.

Q: What the weirdest thing you've read about yourself?

A: Honestly, it's the stuff on the fan message boards, where they think they know what's going on and have all these theories about what I'm doing. They'll say, "He's not working on his new album yet because he's doing a country record in Mongolia."

Q: That might not be too far off the mark, though. I hear you do some work in third-world countries as the UNICEF ambassador for education. How'd you land that?

A: UNICEF does a lot of work with HIV/AIDS awareness and clean water campaigns. They didn't have anybody for education so they gave me a call and asked me to be their education ambassador because of my background as a teacher. It's probably been the biggest and best thing that's happened to me so far. I grew up in a small city in North Carolina and never really went anywhere my whole life. To see the way other people live on the West Coast was strange for me, so to see how people live in Uganda and how they're living in conditions far worse than anything we have here was eye opening.

Q:Do they wear Clay thongs over there? Kidding. So jumping from Uganda to Hollywood, who would you want to be seen with on the red carpet?

A: You know, I hate red carpets to be honest. I cannot stand people taking my pictures. To some extent, I understand celebrities who date other celebrities because they're on the same page. For me, I want to find someone from my hometown, someone down-to-earth and not jaded by the Hollywood scene. I plan on moving back to Raleigh as soon as I get a chance.

Pittsburgh Claymates can still get tickets to see him live in concert tomorrow. Tickets to "Clay Aiken: A Joyful Noise 2005 with the Pittsburgh Symphony" are $45.50 to $125.00. Purchase tickets at the Heinz Hall box office, call 412-392-4900 or visit www.pittsburghsymphony.com.

PITTSBURGHLIVE

[clayMaine-iac]

A SERIES OF VIGNETTES WAS INTERWOVEN WITH THE MUSIC.
 
By LINDA M. LINONIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — If you measure this man by applause, Clay Aiken certainly stands tall.

Enthusiastic clapping welcomed the singer and his revamped "Joyful Noise 2005" tour Sunday to the stage of the Chevrolet Centre. He welcomed the crowd to Youngstown and said, "The spirit of the season is in the air."

The audience was a mix — from youngsters to an older crowd — and not all seats were filled.

Aiken, outfitted in a white suit started out strong, with a backdrop of holiday shoppers, to the song, "Christmastime is Here."

The show featured a Christmas theme. New this year to the tour is a dash of theatrics.

Telling a story

The series of vignettes, interwoven with the music, showcases Aiken's former high school choir teacher, Alison Lawrence of Raleigh, N.C. The audience first sees her coming home on Christmas Eve to an empty house devoid of holiday cheer. But she's remembering Christmases past and Aiken sings, "Merry Christmas with Love."

The vignettes continue as the audience sees the woman alone at Christmas — almost. A young neighbor, 91/2-year-old Thomas, comes to visit. The youngster goes on and on about the holiday and admits he has "diarrhea of the mouth."

That might be so, but he gets the woman to recall fond memories of how she met her husband at a Christmas dance and how they seemingly danced on air. But her husband died some seven years ago, and she is alone. Her married son has moved away, and he and his wife, Angela, just had a baby boy, Scott.

Aiken offers classic Christmas songs such as "Jingle Bells," "Silver Bells" and "The Christmas Song." His pleasant and uplifting voice adds a new dimension to old favorites.

During the brief dramas, we learn Thomas was in a talent show and came in second. "I should have won," he declares. Thomas says that his mother told him, "Look what happened to Clay Aiken." Of course, this exchange prompted laughter from the audience as it was a reflection of Aiken's own second place finish to Ruben Studdard on "American Idol" in 2003.

Uplifting message

Thomas invites the woman to his own yuletide pageant to be held at the church on Christmas Day. Thomas and the woman agree it's important to spend the holiday with people you care about, whether you're related or not.

Just then, there's a knock at the door, and the woman's son and family arrive. "Celebrate Me Home" accompanies the joyful reunion.

The second half of the show continued with the Christmas pageant at the church. Thomas read various scriptures while Aiken and his backup singers, from a choice spot in the church rafters, offered various religious holiday songs including "Holy Night," "First Noel" and "Come Let Us Adore Him." Aiken closed the show as he began, from the behind the curtain, offering thoughts on the meaning of the holiday and sharing in God's love.

Aiken was well-received in Youngstown, as one car plate proclaimed, "I'd rather be at a Clay Aiken concert." Inside the center, a crowd gathered to buy CDs.

Tasha Sexton and friend Gina Collins of Mansfield traveled about two hours to see Aiken. Sexton said she's seen the singer about six times and enjoys his uplifting presentation.

Aiken's sixth tour

Aiken's Web site notes that the pop singer will play some 40 shows in 36 cities. On Tuesday, he'll be at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh and conclude the tour with shows Dec. 29-30 in Clearwater, Fla.

Not a bad gig for the 27-year-old man, who is on his sixth tour. The runner-up on "American Idol" in 2003 came out strong with the single, "This is the Night/Bridge Over Troubled Water," which won the Billboard Music Award for best selling single of 2003. In early 2004, he released his debut solo CD, "Measure of a Man," which earned double-platinum status.

Aiken also has been across the country on his "Joyful Noise" tours 2004 and this year. Last December, he released the CD, "Merry Christmas with Love," which was the best-selling new holiday album of 2004. He's also been working in the studio on his next album.

Aiken also is involved in the world community as a UNICEF Ambassador.

Before Aiken took the stage, William Joseph, a Warner Brothers recording artist, played a few selections from his first CD, "Within." The piano soloist won over the audience with his personable manner and talent.

But the time gap between Joseph leaving the stage and Aiken entering was a tad bit long as evidenced by clapping from the audience to jump-start the show.

WINDYCITY

[clayMaine-iac]

Posted by YouStopRightNow at the CH:

Posted by NYCClayFan at WMS:  This is from a local free newspaper that I get in the AM on my way to work. It's call amNew York. I was excited since they never have anything about Clay...and it's great publicity since this is a free newspaper and a lot of New Yorkers read it every morning.

Crooning Machine

Holiday tunes may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if anyone can claim to do it well, it's Clay Aiken.

Aiken's "Merry Christmas With Love" tied with Celine Dion for Billboard's biggest holiday album debut in 2004, not to mention it was also the best-selling holiday album.

Aiken spoke with amNewYork about his "Joyful Noise '05" Tour, which hits the Beacon Theatre Dec. 2-4

Q: It’s actually you’re birthday tomorrow, right?

CA: Is it? [Laughs] I think so. I know it’s this week some time. I literally don’t know what day it is.

Q: You’ve been singing holiday songs for a while now. Do you ever get jingle belled out?

CA: For some reason I don’t really get tired of the Christmas music that much. It’s more exciting to me, it’s got more meaning

Q: Any less favorite holiday songs?

CA: “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and Frosty the Snowman” songs for me are not as meaningful, so we don’t do those on the show.

Q: Your music is a lot more G-rated than other pop music.

CA: Especially at Christmas, I’d hope so!

Q: What do you think of music that carries all the sexual innuendo and profanity?

CA: You have to respect someone’s right to record whatever they want to record. I personally don’t believe it’s appropriate and I personally don’t think it’s necessary to express your feelings in a negative way. My biggest concern what it comes to things like that is there’s so many artists who are role models for kids, who have kids listening to what it is they’re saying and are looking up to them. What examples are they trying to set? For me, I just want to make a conscious effort to make sure that I’m setting only the kinds of examples that I would want for kids I care about.

Q: You’ve said you’re a singer, not a songwriter.

CA: I definitely think so. I’m more of a Christmas tree than a songwriter.

Q: Did you ever have to come to terms with being exclusively a singer, not a writer?

CA: Oh God no. I’m happy with the gifts that I was given. You don’t have to come to terms with not being a diet coke, because I’m not one. It’s not something I have the gift to do, so I don’t worry about it.

Q: What’s the strangest thing a fan has sent you?

CA: They get stranger and stranger. A few years ago I got a turkey baster from a fan. I don’t’ really know what that meant, and if I do understand, I really don’t want to know.

[clayMaine-iac]

Heart Aiken
 Overnight success takes a long time.
Loretta Jackson | Editor   

Clay Aiken, once a diamond in the rough, ain't so jagged anymore. This diamond was honed in a prime-time fire pit fueled by critics' barbs and acid-tongued Hollywood gossips. He's a man who's been forged into a well-polished performer and now, he's golden. And he's traversing the land on a lengthy road trip, a musical journey that will take him to 36 cities including Camden, NJ.

The "Joyful Noise 2005 Tour" starring Clay Aiken stops on Sunday, Dec. 11, in South Jersey at the Tweeter Center on the Waterfront. The Tweeter is one of the foremost attractions on the Camden waterfront, which also is home to Adventure Aquarium, Wiggins Park, The Camden Children's Garden, Campbell's Field and the Battleship New Jersey Museum.

Aiken's newest tour - the latest of six - is comprised of 40 shows, features a conductor and a 30-piece orchestra. It has a Christmas theme with lots of sparkle added by local choirs from various middle schools and high schools. The tour was launched in Canada and has been well received or sold-out in some places. Big crowds are expected at the Tweeter, too, where nearly 8,000 guests can be accommodated indoors during the winter season and 25,000 guests seated amphitheater-style, outdoors during the summer.

Clay Aiken well may draw the max when he comes to the Tweeter. Gone is the gawky semi-nerd with the flyaway hair who staked claim to fame and fortune by enduring the rigors of the American Idol television show. Ruben Studdard slid by Aiken in the final cut, triggering howls of protest from Aiken's fans. Controversy roiled and many criticized the show's voting system, whose apparatus seemed unable to handle the overwhelming number of attempted calls.

Today, Clay Aiken's evolution into a solid performer and somewhat of a dreamboat seems completed. He's made the most of some makeovers that sharpened his fashion sense and added a touch of finesse. He has been at the forefront of charitable causes and is the year's UNICEF Ambassador. Aiken graduated college with a bachelor's degree in special education, an interest fostered while directing YMCA camps in his teens. Later, he was a teacher of kids with autism.

Clay seems to be the kind of guy who inspires others to go for the gold. He's got the try-try-again attitude it takes to keep focused on success in the face of long odds. He knew he had a voice. He knew he could sing. And so did others, as soon as they heard him. Today's successes were won with hard work.

How many of us aspire to a dream as big as his? How many of us do the prep work? Take singing lessons? Take dance lessons? Go for a makeover or adopt a new hairstyle? The first steps can be small ones; we might volunteer to participate in activities that put us in front of a crowd or on stage. We can join organizations that teach skills such as public speaking, acting, dance or whatever strikes our fancy.

If you're one who isn't afraid of the hard work it takes to succeed in the performance arts, there are things you can do to further that dream: go to see live performances at every opportunity. Get involved. Catch the Clay Aiken "Joyful Noise" tour and study how his movements and demeanor encompass all in the hall. Notice the way that he makes eye contact with the audience. Be mindful of how he seems to be vocalizing to those in the most distant seats, as well as to those in the first row. Stage presence, familiarity with the music and words, clothing and accessories - they all do a lot to smooth the edges of any diamond in the rough. Are you, too, a diamond in the rough?

Tickets and more information about Clay Aiken and the "Joyful Noise 2005 Tour" can be had online at the website for the Tweeter Center at The Waterfront: www.tweetercenter.com. Clay Aiken's official website: www.clayaiken.com. Take PATCO's River LINE to the Tweeter; see www.drpa.org.

CONNECTIONSWEEKLY

[clayMaine-iac]

Concert Review: Clay Aiken is a sideshow in his own concert
Thursday, December 01, 2005

By John Young

The 2004 Clay Aiken Christmas show suffered a bit for a lack of visual interest, as if the singer wasn't quite sure what to do with all the space afforded him on stage. Not so the "Joyful Noise" production Aiken brought to Heinz Hall Tuesday night.

"Joyful Noise," based loosely on the lyrics to the title song from Aiken's album "Merry Christmas With Love," featured actors and dancers performing between and during songs. The story line consisted of grumpy widow Miss Beverly (played by Aiken's high school choir teacher Alison Lawrence) being renewed in Christmas cheer by her guileless 9-year-old neighbor Tommy (Gregory Ellis). One vignette was a flashback of Miss Beverly meeting her husband at a party while Aiken crooned "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Then during "The Christmas Waltz," the elderly Miss Beverly danced with the image of her young husband. The show's first act ended with Miss Beverly's son unexpectedly arriving for Christmas to the strains of "Celebrate Me Home."

While the theatrical elements gave the audience something to watch, they also obscured Aiken. Though at times he walked about in his white suit and made sweeping hand motions to freeze and unfreeze the action of the play, he more often stood in the background or off to the side. A troublesome wireless microphone system and mediocre musical mix left his vocals sounding indistinct and cloudy, too.

The show's second act featured Aiken singing as part of a recital being given at Tommy's church. Less staged than the first act, the "church" basically provided a backdrop for Aiken to belt out much of the same traditional fare that anchored last year's show. Aiken used a different microphone and sounded more robust on carols such as "O Holy Night," "The First Noel" and a melodically re-imagined "O Come, O Come Emmanuel."

The message of the show was a simple one, explicitly delivered just in case anyone missed it. Miss Beverly explained that Christmas is a holiday for everyone, but sometimes it takes kids to remind us of that. That idea resonated with many in attendance, their tears flowing during the climactic scene of Miss Beverly placing a cherished gift from her husband in Tommy's backpack.

It might be unseasonable to point out the drama's amateurish elements or the show's slow pace and use of two too-lengthy intermissions. It might be less than spirited to note that Aiken seemed to perhaps be nursing a cold as he sang many songs without much gusto. It might be cheerless to state that even when the show featured a good joke, the Tommy character complaining of coming in second at a talent show he deserved to win, it stumbled by feeling the need to explain the "American Idol" reference for fans who clearly already got it.

But if "Joyful Noise" got many in attendance in the holiday spirit, then a hearty ho, ho, ho to them. Those with less tolerance for sentimentality and kitsch could be excused for calling Aiken's bloated show a humbug.

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

[Clays_Girl_2010]

Hey everyone, I'm new here!!! I love Clay Aiken!!!!!! (of course I do your thinking) I just recently went to the Joyful Noise concert (on Tuesday) It was sooooooooooo much fun!!!! I went with my mom.  I bought this shirt:
http://cliquemerch.sparkart.com/clayonline/viewmerch.php?merch_id=520

I'm a CLAY junkie and am so in-differenced right now. (I get this way after everyone of his concerts) Well I guess that's all I have to say! He's so cute and sweet and wonderful and (sighs), why can't I meet him...

[clayMaine-iac]

Welcome Clays-Girl!!

I hope you enjoy your posting and reading here at Claymaniacs!!

If you have any questions, just PM me or any of the other moderators!!

Welcome again!!

[Pamela]

Theatrics detract from Aiken's schtick
01:00 AM EST on Saturday, December 10, 2005
BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Well, you have to give Clay Aiken credit for trying, I guess. For his second Christmas tour in two years, which stopped at the Providence Performing Arts Center last night, he made some changes, going with a more theatrical stage show that included actors, sketches and sets (including a contingent from the Community Players of Pawtucket).

Unfortunately, the hokey theatrics (written by Aiken) didn't enhance the show; they got in the way.

Aiken's voice is still in fine form -- in fact, it seems to have mellowed some over the past few years. Perhaps he feels he has less to prove, usually a good thing for any artist, or perhaps he's broken out of the American Idol check-me-out template of performance.

But one of the other keys to his appeal is his onstage demeanor -- his self-effacing sense of humor and all-around good-natured schtick. None of that was on display last night, as Aiken flitted among the actors, never interacting but stopping time with a magical wave of his hand, complete with synchronized chimes.

Musically, the first half of the show relied on Christmas chestnuts such as "Sleigh Ride" and "Jingle Bells," along with some songs from Aiken's Christmas album, last year's Merry Christmas With Love, and a couple of originals to advance the plot.

Oh yeah, the plot: An adorably pesky kid badgers the neighborhood "mean old hag" (who, truth be told, isn't really so mean) into remembering what Christmas is all about.

The second set, in which the kid narrates a church Christmas musical, is the template for Aiken to cut loose on more frankly religious material, such as "O Holy Night" and "Mary, Did You Know?"

So that's about it. That's OK -- thinner theatrical blueprints have been great -- as long as they're delivered with some good-natured humor. Aiken's got it in spades but this show left him looking arch and otherworldly, when the rest of the year, it's his very worldliness that helps him get over.

Pianist William Joseph, who also played in Aiken's band, opened the show with piano instrumentals from his own debut album, Within, and an offbeat cover of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir." He's got chops to spare, but his compositions were only sporadically interesting and his forced use of backing tapes instead of a live band was unfortunate.

 

©Providence (RI) Journal (registration required)