Joyful Noise Tour 2005 Media & Set List

[clayMaine-iac]

THERE'S NO HEART-AIKEN FROM ANGELIC IDOL
By DAN AQUILANTE

December 2, 2005 -- IN a Christmas show, you might expect ex-"Ameri can Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken to play the role of Rudolph — you know, the underdog reindeer who eventually gets to pull Santa's sleigh.
But when Aiken plays the Beacon Theatre for a three-show engagement — tonight through Sunday — don't look for antlers: The boy wears a halo playing a singing angel.

Aiken, completely unhip, old-fashioned and nerdy to a fault, remains a pop culture phenomenon who can deliver a chestnut-roasting vibe. His singing is guileless and, if last year's Christmas album was an indication, he has a genuine love of the holiday classic, religious and secular.

After this Yuletide foray, Aiken heads back into the studio to complete his new album, due out next summer.

Post: Is this show a concert or a theatrical production?

Aiken: It's something in between. I don't have a speaking role. I'm a singing angel who tries to get another character back into the Christmas spirit. It's theatrical, but we all just sing.

Post: In concert, one of your strengths is how you gab with your fans. Are you afraid that without your usual patter they'll be disappointed?



Aiken: I was concerned about that, but since I wrote the script I feel like I get to talk through the characters. The point of the show is to string all this Christmas music together in a story line.

Post: So you're an angel?

Aiken: Yes, God help me.

Post: Is it hard to be an angel?

Aiken: It's hard for people to think you're an angel, that's for sure.

Post: But you have a winged advantage over most other singers.

Aiken: It's funny to me that my fans think I'm this sweet kid. I'm not mean or anything, but everyone thinks I never do anything wrong.

Post: You're not perfect?

Aiken: No.

Post: OK, how have you been bad lately? Arrests? Tattoos? Have you gotten pregnant?

Aiken: Not to my knowledge.

Post: What appeals to you about a show like this?

Aiken: I like the family atmosphere of the band and the consistency of knowing where I'm going to be every day. I'm happy with this kind of life. To me excitement usually means something's going wrong. I'm appreciating no excitement.

Post: Is romance included in the no excitement?

Aiken: I'm not looking and I'm kind of happy with that — no stress, no drama, no pressure.

Post: Come on, you don't want to meet up with someone under the mistletoe this year?

Aiken: For a minute, I thought I'd like to find that special person, but I'm not worried about it right now. I'm sure one of these days I'll start pining, but right now I like the position I'm in.

NYPOST ~ Registration required

[clayMaine-iac]

Aiken promises an adventurous show
Friday, December 2, 2005
By TIMOTHY FINN
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS   

WHO: Clay Aiken.

WHAT: Holiday music.

WHEN: 8 tonight through Sunday.
 
WHERE: Beacon Theater, 2124 Broadway, Manhattan; (212) 496-7070.
HOW MUCH: $55 to $88.50.

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. And 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.

Q. What will people see when they go to this 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 story line that kind of brings the songs together and gives them some extra meaning.

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?

I really don't want to pigeonhole 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?

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?

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. 

BERGEN.COM
JOURNALNEWS

[clayMaine-iac]

CLAY AIKEN spreads the holiday cheer
The “American Idol” fave talks to Fly about the most wonderful time of the year
by Jeff Royer
 
When Fly Magazine tracked down “American Idol” alum Clay Aiken in late November, the spunky singer was one week into his annual Joyful Noise holiday tour.

Maybe it was all the eggnog, or maybe it was the fact that he’d been sitting on his butt all day doing interviews, but Aiken had more energy than a toddler with a sugar rush. He giggled, he bounced, he talked at about a thousand words a minute. In other words, even after selling millions of albums and becoming one of America’s biggest pop stars, it appears that Clay Aiken is still the same lovable goof we first met three years ago. There’s something strangely comforting about that.

Fly took the opportunity to pick the animated Aiken’s brain about his holiday tour, his pet goat, and what it’s like to be the world’s least likely sex symbol.

Fly Magazine: So, by this point in your career, have you gotten used to the lifestyle that comes with being a pop star?

Clay Aiken: Strangely enough, yes. It’s not something I ever thought I would get used to. When I first started doing it, it was like, “Oh wow! An interview! A signing! Yay!” Now an interview or signing is like, “Oh, god …” [laughs]

FM: [laughs] Well, let me ask you the same question you’ve been getting all day then: What can we expect out of the Joyful Noise Tour?

CA: We did the Joyful Noise Tour last year. We did a full-orchestra run with a 30-piece orchestra onstage and sang the songs from the Merry Christmas With Love album.

I didn’t want to do the same thing that every other artist who does a Christmas tour does. During the holiday season you can pretty much pick any day in most cities and go see some artist’s Christmas concert. [laughs] So I was trying to figure out a way to make it different, to maybe string all of these songs together with some type of dialogue, or figure out a way to make the stories connect. It changed from me talking to having someone else do it, to having characters do it, to having specific characters doing it. It became a storyline, really.

FM: Do you feel like you’re able to wrap your head around everything that’s happened to you so far?

CA: Yeah. It took a while. I don’t ever want to get to a point where I can wrap my head around it all. If I ever get to that point, I think it’s time to quit. Every day there is something new and different and there’s something exciting.

There are plenty of times I could stop and say, “Wow, look at what I’m doing now!” I could stop right now and think, “This is completely different,” even though I have done 55 interviews today. [laughs] It’s still something I wasn’t doing in North Carolina two years ago. I have to be thankful for it. It becomes a little more routine and you become accustomed to it, I’m sure like any job. When I was a teacher, the first time I did it was much harder than the third and fourth times. This is kind of the same way.

FM: Another thing that’s changed is that you’ve become this full-on sex symbol for a lot of people!

CA: That part scares me! I haven’t wrapped my head around that. [laughs] That just frightens me. I’m worried about America’s taste! [laughs] That’s probably something I’m not ever going to quite get. It’s flattering, so I won’t complain, but I’m baffled.

FM: In a position like yours, everybody’s so interested in your personal life. Suddenly I’m reading things about you, everything from stories about your childhood petsto speculation on your sexual orientation and everything in between. Does that weird you out?

CA: It’s tough. At the very beginning of the process, it’s quite a shock. You don’t understand why people are asking these things. I had a goat – who cares? And I didn’t tell anybody that. There are times that I look on the internet or read a message board and they’ll know things about me that I didn’t know. [laughs] “I never told anybody that! How did they find out?” So at first it’s a shock. And then later on it’s not as shocking but still upsetting. And then after a while, it’s just like having a gnat in your nose. You just want to kill it. [laughs] It becomes unfortunately a negative part of what you do, and you need to kind of live with it. But if you could get up your nose and kill it, you would do it. [laughs] It’s not so easy sometimes.

FM: You’re almost becoming as known for your humanitarian work as you are for your music. Why is that so important to you?

CA: I kind of came into this not necessarily wanting to or knowing how to be a celebrity or whatnot. I mean, I was a teacher! And I made a promise to myself as I did it. “If I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna try to be something other than self-serving.” I think that every single person who’s in this industry and who’s a celebrity and making money off the public – I make my money directly from the public – has the responsibility to pay them back in some way. I think each person in my position is a role model whether they want to be or not. Somewhere out there are kids who look up to you. And some people take that seriously, and some people don’t. To me, I don’t understand why people don’t take it seriously.

UNICEF does amazing work. I thought I was a worldly person, and then I started working with them and realized I don’t know as much of my world as I need to. And if I don’t know as much about my world as I need to, then many, many, many people don’t. So I’m thrilled to be in a position to be able to talk about it. And so I’m gonna.

FM: Do you think about the kind of things you still want to achieve in your career?

CA: Everything that’s happened so far has been because I’ve kind of been available to opportunities. I don’t like to set plans. It’s kind of a strange thing to hear come out of a teacher’s mouth, but I don’t like to set goals because I think when you set specific goals you end up losing sight of other opportunities. I had the goal of wanting to be a teacher. I wanted to continue being in education for a long time. Had I made that a hard, fast goal, then I would not have had the opportunity to do this now.

We do want to have an album out in the first half of next year, and then we want to make sure we can go out on the road again at some point. But other than that, I kind of just let what happens happen. Let go and let God.

FM: So if somebody wants to put you on another TV show and make you the world’s most famous dancer or something, you can do that next!

CA: [laughs] I said I’d be open to opportunities and I’ll take a look at them, but just because I’m looking doesn’t mean I’ll do ’em!

Clay will spread the holiday cheer at the Tweeter Center, Philly, on December 11.
 

FLYMAGAZINE

[clayMaine-iac]

Aiken making ‘Joyful Noise’ on holiday tour
By Sarah Rodman/ Music
Monday, December 5, 2005
 
Central casting could not come up with a better ambassador of holiday cheer than Clay Aiken.
 
    The jolly “American Idol” runner-up is touring with his second Christmas production, Joyful Noise 2005, which comes to the Orpheum tomorrow.
 
    In addition to singing selections from his 2004 holiday release “Merry Christmas With Love” and carols and hymns, the 27-year-old North Carolinian has penned a script to tie the songs together. Revolving around the theme of Christmas spirit, Aiken’s tale is performed by a group of dancers and actor-singers, including his high school choir teacher, Allison Lawrence.
 
    We caught up with the easygoing singer, who hopes to have a new CD in stores early next year, by phone from a Pittsburgh tour stop.     
 
    Herald: This summer you were voted the Most Loved Reality Star in a TV Guide poll. How does it compare to appearing in People’s “Sexiest Men” issue in 2003?
 
    Aiken: They both make me laugh. They’re very flattering. I don’t think I’ve been voted the “Sexiest Man Alive.” I was in the book but I was on, like, page 74 so I don’t think it counts.     
 
    You take criticism and jokes lobbed at you with good humor. Do the ribbings and negative reviews really not bother you?
 
    Obviously, you sure don’t love ’em if they’re bad. But I’ve always been taught to try and find the positive in every situation. So at least people are talking instead of not saying anything at all. Obviously, if they were saying all good things I’d be much happier, but it’s not going to happen. Those reviewers and those people who want to take potshots and be negative and nasty, they’re wasting their time and wasting it with me. How great!     
 
    We hear you’ve turned into a playwright on this tour.
 
    I turned into a control freak, let’s be honest. I knew I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do a show that brought all of the elements together. I sat down and started writing an outline, and then went to see if I could get someone to help put together a script and thought, ‘If you want something done right, do it yourself.’

You’ve brought your high school choir teacher on tour with you. So are you guys trashing hotel rooms and going to strip joints?
 
    No. But it’s so strange to me. She was the teacher that was very well loved because she was the cool teacher. I still call her Miss Lawrence every once in awhile.”
 
     But you’re her boss now!
 
    I know, isn’t that weird?

BOSTONHERALD

[clayMaine-iac]

b]A very Aiken Christmas
December 5, 2005[/b]

Clay Aiken, guardian angel? The ''American Idol" runner-up has cast himself in a Michael Landon-esque role in his holiday tour, which arrives at the Orpheum tomorrow night. In between crooning ''O Holy Night" and ''Jingle Bells," he helps a widow find some Christmas spirit in the pageant-cum-pop-concert. If Aiken was a true angel, however, he would be helping Justin Guarini. Maybe next year. This year the infamously nice Aiken was happy to phone us from Pittsburgh and chat about the current production.

A: You're getting it right, but you're looking at it in a dark way. I would not see it as dark at all. I think it's a very classic Christmas-type tale. If you think about it, most Christmas shows start with someone who doesn't have the Christmas spirit, and then they gain it by the end of the show. Are you coming to see it?

Q: I'm not sure. I think that's the night I'm mulling cider.

A: I think you should see it, because it's not very dark at all. It starts out gloomily. Hmm. That's interesting. I'm going to have to watch it tonight and see if it looks that way.

Q: You sound like a really nice, polite guy . . .

A: [giggles]

Q: . . . I'm wondering if you've ever been tempted to call Ruben Studdard and say, ''I may have come in second place, but I'm starring in TV specials with Barry Manilow and playing stadiums, and you're playing the grand opening of the Burger King in Anaheim"?

A: Ohhhh. Wait a minute. No, no, no. I'm proud of both of us. There's no way. If I said that, you know what would happen the next week? I'd start singing at grand openings for Burger King. We've each had our own successes in different ways. I think Ruben is thrilled with what he's doing. He's working on his next album. It's interesting -- a lot of times people assume that I've done better. But he's had better radio play than I have by far. It's all a matter of perception.

Q: You were on the cover of a Christian magazine last year talking about being a God-fearing pop star, but I was on your website and found that you're selling Clay Aiken thongs for 10 bucks a pop. Where does that fit into being a good Christian pop star?

A: First of all, do you think that Christians don't wear underwear? Of course they do!

Q: A thong is a bit more skimpy than underwear.

A: We started that because when I was on the ''American Idol" tour we had a lot of people that for some reason wanted to throw underwear at me on stage. So we decided as a joke a few tours back to sell underwear. They sold so well that we had to keep selling them. The religious right is very vocal in their opinions, and no one seems to have a problem with it. I have a very religious family, and they're not concerned about it at all. Because you know what? People who love God wear underwear also.

BOSTON.COM

[clayMaine-iac]

Clay Aiken rings in the holidays with songs, skits

01:00 AM EST on Saturday, December 3, 2005
BY TIMOTHY FINN
Knight Ridder Newspapers

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, which comes to the Providence Performing Arts Center on Friday, 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.

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 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 5- 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 2 or 4 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.

Clay Aiken's Joyful Noise Tour is at the Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset St., Providence, at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $40.50 to $75.50. Call (401) 421-2787 or go to www.ppacri.org.

PROJO.COM

[clayMaine-iac]

Claymates in Clayland
'American Idol' star brings his holiday tour to the Palace tonight  
 

By STEVE BARNES Senior writer
First published: Thursday, December 8, 2005

Clay Aiken, a big-voiced nerd from North Carolina and the most successful loser in "American Idol" history, is on his way to becoming the next Barry Manilow: adored by legions of fervent fan-addicts ("Claymates") who buy his albums by the millions, yet considered a punch line, or ignored altogether, by an even larger contingent of the population.
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After finishing as runner-up to soul crooner Ruben Studdard in the second season of "AI" in 2003, Aiken, now 27, went on to release the smash-selling CD "Measure of a Man" and to tour solo, drawing screams and sighs from audiences comprised mostly of generations of women.

This holiday season, as he did last year, the proudly Christian Aiken is touring with a Christmas show. He, backup singers, dancers and a band provide the theatrical and musical accompaniment, including many songs from Aiken's multiplatium "Merry Christmas, With Love" CD, for a story performed by actors. Aiken wrote the script, which details how a grumpy lady finds her holiday happiness restored by the ebullient festiveness of an 11-year-old boy.

Aiken's "Joyful Noise" tour makes a stop tonight at the Palace Theatre in Albany.

Because the fervency of his fans plays an unusually large part in his career -- and because the Claymates know far more about him that we do -- we asked them what they wondered about him. The interview questions below were e-mailed to the Times Union and read to Aiken. When available, questioners' full names, ages and places of residence are given.

Q: What do you want for Christmas (besides world peace)?

A: At this point I'm pretty happy, and I'm sure I'm a lot tougher to buy for than I used to be. I guarantee if I told somebody something I wanted, fans would go and spend their own money and I'd get 55 of them, so I'm a little hesistant to say anything. I'm pretty content right now. I do want my house I'm building (in North Carolina) to be finished.

Q: If you had to choose one from the following, which would it be?

A. Unlimited peach ice cream

B. Perfect vision without contacts or glasses

C. Flip-flops for every occasion

A: Oh, gosh. If I had one wish, it wouldn't be any of those three; I don't think I care for any one of them. If I had to pick one I guess it would be the flip-flops.

Q:  As a grandmother and mother, my question is: Because you are traveling for the tour, was your mom able to be with you for your Nov. 30 birthday?

A: No, but we'll see each other at Christmas, and we talk often. I'm getting, hopefully, old enough where I can have a birthday without my mom having to be there.

Q: Clay, you talk so much onstage it's clear you're a "born talker." How do you protect your voice from the strain of performing almost nightly shows?

A: Oh, my Lord, I don't even pay attention to it; I just kind of do it. My (former high school) choir director, who's on tour with us, says I've always been the very worst when it comes to warming up, protecting the voice and all that mess. I don't think I really do anything.

Q:  When you're singing at a concert, which do you prefer singing: a slow ballad or an upbeat song?
A: Oh, my goodness, it kind of depends. It doesn't necessarily depend what the tempo is, but whether it says something and whether it's got a good melody. When it's live, sometimes ballads are more powerful, but when you're recording something, a faster song can be great.

Q: If you could sing anywhere in the United States, where would it be, and why?:

A: I've done most every state, except I've never been to Louisiana or Mississippi, and I've never been to Montana and I think there's another one -- Wyoming. So I probably would go with those: Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana or Wyoming, for my fans there.

Q:  was chatting online with a couple of friends on The Clayboard, and we all had tickets for a rescheduled show you did in El Cajon, Calif., last Dec. 30, and I said to them on The Clayboard, "Remember, Christmas isn't over 'til the skinny kid sings." Imagine my surprise and delight when you said pretty much the same thing onstage at that show! Ever since then I've been wondering: Did you get that line from me or was it a case of great minds thinking alike?

A: I got it from my manager; he has a penchant for saying that. So I guess I'd say I got it from the manager.

Q:  I had to come all the way to Albany to see you last time and will this time, too. When organizing your tour dates, would it be possible to include a city on the eastern side of Canada? I'm sure that I am not the only Clay fan in my area.

A: I don't schedule my tours. I have to trust the agencies or tour operators. Sometimes we have trouble getting to all the places we'd like to.

Q: When you were on "American Idol," I voted for you every time -- not once but many times during the evening. Now I'm disappointed to see the price of tickets. They are $47 to $127, and some online sites have them as high as $360! What do you say to fans who liked you because you seemed to be a real down-to-earth guy who is now commercialized?

A: That's something that's a concern of mine, too. But I have nothing to do with ticket prices. All I can do is show up. If you buy from a reputable source, tickets are never really higher than the official prices. It sounds like those tickets are being sold illegally. Ticket prices are a concern of mine, and I want to make sure that my shows are affordable for family, but I only have so much control.

Q:  I know you don't like to talk about your personal life, but we Claymates have heard stories about you with girls in college, making out at parties and such. Tell us the truth: You're not as innocent as you want us to believe, are you?

A: Oh, my gosh! (Laughs) We're nice to you and give you time for one last question and you go for the dirt?

STEVE BARNES: Dirt? That's not dirt. You should see the fans' questions I didn't ask!
A:  What was the question again, about making out with girls at parties?
SB: She asked, "We Claymates have heard stories about you with girls in college, making out at parties and such. Tell us the truth: You're not as innocent as you want us to believe, are you?"

A: Some things are best left to the imagination, Claymates.

Times Union

[clayMaine-iac]

For Clay Aiken, Life After `Idol' Has Been Joyful

December 8, 2005
By AMY ELLIS, Courant Staff Writer  Your holiday wishes have come true. Clay Aiken, runner-up to Ruben Studdard in "American Idol 2," is back in town.

Aiken brings his "Joyful Noise 2005" tour to the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford Saturday night.

"Joyful Noise 2005" is the sequel to Aiken's first holiday tour and will feature songs from his "Merry Christmas with Love" CD. The concert includes several songs Clay recorded for the album that didn't appear on the CD as well as new arrangements for some traditional favorites.

We talked to Aiken by phone this week from Boston:

Q: You're doing something a little different this year on tour: a series of vignettes with a running storyline, which you wrote?

A: We actually played Wallingford last year and we had a show that was just music with an orchestra. The second half with the religious songs, we tried to connect them together with some local school children reading passages from the Christmas story. As I watched that part I thought, you know it would be great if we could figure out a way to link together the non-religious songs too, with the story, and try to make them have some purpose, some meaning, some story to them ... I was going to do an outline and hand it off to somebody else and let them write out a script and it turned out that if you want something done right you do it yourself.

Q: So how's it going? Are you happy with the way it's come out?

A: It's a lot of work but we've pulled it off. We had a really great director come in and really made it work really well; we've got some dancers who kind of provide flashbacks for us and really pulled it all together into a very, professionally done, produced show.

Q: I'm sure you've been asked this question a million times, but what's your favorite holiday song to sing?

A: I get it asked all the time, my favorite kind of changes. My favorite Christmas song of all has always been "O Come, O Come, Emanuel" and I didn't get to put that on the Christmas album; this year for the tour we decided to do it. And so I think that's probably my favorite. ... Since I didn't put it on the album I haven't worn it out for myself yet.

Q: Does your family have any special holiday traditions that you do every year?

A: You know, not really as far as strange, creative holiday traditions. We don't really do anything different. We always get together as a family, the whole extended family comes together at my grandparents' house and that's nice because often times it's the only time I get to see some cousins throughout the year. It will be a little different because my brother just got back from Iraq; he's stationed at Camp Lejeune. He'll be home for the holiday but a lot of his friends who are Marines with him probably won't be able to make it home, so he'll bring them home with him. And we'll have some people who are from the tour who aren't able to make it back home or who aren't going home for Christmas ...so we're going to have an extremely extended family for Christmas with us.

Q: You're working on a new album. Are you planning on doing any collaborations with anyone? Any duets?

A: We started before the tour, we stopped before the tour and we get back in the studio some time around January. ... I'd love to sing with somebody else. I'd love to put a duet on the album. We've just got to find the right person to do it with.

Q: Any artists come to mind?

A: Well there's definitely people who I think are talented and I would love to sing with. ... I think there are people like Faith Hill and Martina McBride who are extremely talented.

Q: Well you didn't win "American Idol" but you've had a lot of success since the show. What do you think your greatest accomplishment has been so far?

A: It's hard to say. I could say a few things like, you know, `We had an album,' `We had a Christmas tour' and so on and so forth. Honestly for me, I think probably the biggest accomplishment has been being able to go and do things working with the [Bubel/Aiken] foundation that I've set up.

Hartford Courant

[clayMaine-iac]

He'll make a joyful noise
By BEN DUTKA
For the Norwich Bulletin

It took all of 30 seconds for Clay Aiken to win over the judges at the start of the second season of "American Idol," and the eventual runner-up moved on to win over the American public.

For the holidays, Aiken's bringing his voice and spreading popularity to Connecticut.

Aiken will perform Saturday at the Chevrolet Theater in Wallingford as part of his Joyful Noise Tour 2005. Doors open at 6 p.m., show time is 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $38, $48 and $58.

Joyful Noise 2004 was successful enough to spawn the 2005 sequel, which includes 40 concerts throughout the United States and Canada between November and December.

Born Clayton Holmes Grissom in 1978, the young singer adopted his mother's maiden name and graduated in 2003 from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a degree in special education.

Aiken became an "Idol" contestant while at UNC, a move that was a springboard to stardom. Because he didn't physically embody the "Idol" image, the judges very nearly discounted Aiken before the first note, but everything changed after he launched into a rendition of Heatwave's "Always and Forever."

His post-"Idol" career began with the single "Bridge Over Troubled Water"/"This is the Night," which became the fastest-selling single since Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" in 1997, and the best-selling single of 2003.

April 2004 saw Aiken embark on his first tour, the Independent Tour with the original "Idol," Kelly Clarkson.

The Joyful Noise Tour later that year featured a 30-piece orchestra, and Aiken found himself supported by ensembles such as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to his singing career, Aiken has also founded the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which supports the integration of children with disabilities into the normal-life environment of their nondisabled peers.

From numerous TV appearances to smash hits to lending his time and money to charities around the country, Aiken is one of the busiest artists in music.

NORWICH BULLETIN

[clayMaine-iac]

‘Idol’ Aiken gives local performers a night in the spotlight
By Jesse D. Smolin, Record-Journal staff

SOUTHINGTON — Members of the town’s community theater will perform on a slightly bigger stage than the one they are used to tonight, when they sing with Clay Aiken at the 5,000-seat Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford.

Twelve theater members will sing backup for the 2003 runner-up on Fox’s wildly popular TV series “American Idol” when he brings his holiday concert, “Joyful Noise,” to Wallingford.

Wearing winter and formal outfits, the group will sing three songs from Aiken’s Christmas album, “Merry Christmas With Love”: “Christmas Time,” by Mike Smith, “Celebrate Me Home,” by Kenny Loggins, and Celine Dion’s “Don’t Save It All for Christmas Day.”

The 40-show tour is the sequel to Aiken’s sold-out 2004 holiday tour.

The theater group, which ranges from 7-year-olds to adults, was selected by Aiken days before today’s concert and will perform for the first time with his cast at 2 p.m., hours before the 7:30 p.m. concert, said Corrin Campbell, the vice president of the community theater.

After community theater President Chad Valk was contacted by Aiken, he sent a mass e-mail out to see if anyone from the group’s past productions was interested.

“Talk about a quick learn,” Campbell said. “We meet with the cast and crew of the show and block the songs right before we sing them. It was kind of a short-notice thing.”

This is not unusual for Aiken, who often invites members of local theater groups to participate in a series of vignettes with a running story line, written by Aiken. The vignettes feature two main characters and supporting roles are cast in each city with local actors, according to Aiken’s Web site.

Cyndi Bird, a member of the theater group, thought Campbell was asking her to attend the concert with her, not perform in it, when she asked her on Thursday.

“It is very exciting to perform in a place the size of the Oakdale (the former name of the Chevrolet Theatre) and with someone of Clay’s talent,” she said. “It will be surreal to go on stage with him.”

Although members of the group admitted to being struck by working with someone they had watched for weeks on TV, they planned to represent their organization.

“Hopefully we will show how professional our organization is. Everyone is thrilled to be on a large stage, but I am more excited that we will get exposure by working with someone as talented as he is,” Campbell said.

jsmolin@record-journal.com

©Record-Journal(CT)

[clayMaine-iac]

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)

[clayMaine-iac]

Cincinnati Music Hall is filled with the sights and sounds of "Christmastime"  by Clay Aiken during his stop in Cincinnati,Ohio Nov. 26th on The Joyful Noise 2005 Tour   
 staff writer: Teresa Nichols     
 
 I know about the concept of "Claymates,"---fans of singer Clay Aiken. If being a fan of Clay means you are a Claymate then you must include me. The very first concert I ever went to was a Clay show at The N.C. State Fair last year in Raleigh,N.C. I practically wore out his "Measure of a Man," CD and his "Merry Christmas with Love," CD is presently playing in my house.
Yes, I'm a geek--Shut Up

Aiken inspires feverish, almost rabid devotion among legions of young, middle-aged and senior women and men(that follow their women). Let's face it, Claymates are not to be messed with.

The crowd was dressed in their Sunday best, and just before the show started, we all listened to Clay's request to "NOT FLASH." People -this is a reasonable request from a man that gives so much. I had my photo taken before the show and saw spots for what seemed like forever. I honored his request as did most of his true fans.

Dressed in an extremely smart white suit, Clay warmed the crowd and our hearts with a show full of beautiful holiday music and  vignettes. Clay was clearly here to spread a very special message: " Not only is "Joyful Noise" dedicated to God for all the blessings that he has given me, but it's dedicated to each of you for being those blessings. I make this "Joyful Noise" for you."
This comes from the heart of a very special person. Clay, thank you so much for all the joy you bring us. This show was nothing short of spectacular. It was also written and produced by Clay himself. He continues to surprise and amaze us. We will eagerly await to see what he does next, while collecting more clack.

A night of amazing holiday music opened with Warner recording artist: William Joseph. His first piece was "Carol of the Bells." He is an incredible pianist. He has a fresh, dynamic sound that kept me on the edge of my seat. We were next treated to " Within," from his CD released in 2004 which is titled "Within."  It is clear, precise and flows from a classical unique  eloquent sound to a full new age excitement. He also included, "Grace," "Homeward Bound," which is Clay's favorite off the album and  "Ausperius," which is off of his upcoming album. William is an  extraordinary young piano virtuoso. I see nothing but bright stars in his future.

I think of snow, cold, fireplaces, giving gifts, making people feel good, family, and love thanks to Clay and The Joyful Noise 2 Show. Clay was in fine form. He looks and sounds great, has a friendly, self-depreciating stage presence and knows how to work a crowd into a frenzy. Although, with this crowd he probably could have done that by just standing there, which he did for small parts of the vignettes.

He opened with "Christmastime," which was truly uplifting, receiving that special Clay Aiken treatment. He looked very handsome dressed in his white suit, he had no problem heating things up. Additionally keeping the crowd of fans warm were such joyful holiday tunes -"Merry Christmas With Love," "Sleigh Ride," "Jingle Bells," and "Season for Romance." He was joined on stage by many superb performers to give us a feel of watching a holiday Christmas special, and special it was.

Throughout the first half of the show, we were treated to vignettes (which included the brillent talent of: Alison Lawrence -Clay's High School Choir Teacher which you can read about on page 101 of Aiken's book, Learning to Sing: Hearing the music in your life and Gregory Ravary Ellis who is a sixth grader at Magellan Charter School in Raleigh, N.C.).It was very magical to watch Clay start and stop these fine performers with the wave of his hand. I feel I was actually drawn into the play and became eager to see what was going to happen next. My favorite scene had to be the lines Gregory spoke involving coming in 2nd. Now, who do we know that should have come in first, but came in second?

Other holiday songs included, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," "Christmas Waltz," "Silver Bells," "The Christmas Song," and a duet with Angela Fisher -"I Miss U Most at Christmas Time. This song brought me to tears, reminding me of how much I miss my Dad, who died 4 years ago, especially at Christmastime.

The 1st half of the show closed with Clay, Quiana, and Angela singing "Celebrate Me Home." They interacted with the vignette, putting everyone in the Christmas mood. This was followed by about a 20 minute intermission.

The 2nd half contained traditional carols to create a glowing atmosphere of vocal warmth and buoyancy.I am so disappointed to admit that I reviewed the rest of the show via a tape. It was necessary I leave early to complete packing for a business trip to Raleigh. Like Clay, I want to move back home, and it required I leave very early Sunday morning.

It opened with "O Holy Night," a beautiful Christmas classic, followed by "The First Noel." The set gave us the feel of being in church for a very special Christmas program. Gregory reads to us, followed by the angelic voice of Clay who was accompanied by Angela and Quiana. Flawless and  beautifully executed, it was simply incredible. His voice seemed to flow, reaching those notes that sent chills down my spine. Clay, did I hear you say "Wooo," at the end of this number?

"Hark The Hearld Angels Sing," and "O Come All Ye Faithful" followed. We listened to a reading from Gregory and then the spotlight hit Clay and he preceeded to grab our hearts and execute a flawless rendition of "O Come O Come Emmanuel, " that could only be pulled off by Clay. You could almost see a bright light shining down from heaven on him.

Gregory briefly read again and Clay went into "Mary Did You Know," as the light continued to shine down on Clay who again was accompanied by the extraordinary talents of Quiana and Angela. Beautiful, Beautiful job.

Quiana, a true talent in her own right, treated the fans to, "My Grown Up Christmas Wish." Again, chills were sent down my spine. She gives a dramatic, gospel-inspired vocal performance that made this old classic sound fresh.

The crowd was very pleased and well-behaved, much calmer than the crowds on his solo tours. This is what Clay wanted, and his fans will do whatever it takes to fulfill Clay's wishes.

Clay reserved a special time to include introductions and a little banter. He thanked everyone for being part of his family and preceded to introduce the members of the band. He reminded everyone that they could pick up a copy of William Joseph's new CD "Within," in the lobby. He also informed us that the character of Beverly played by Alison Lawrence became the character from "Merry Christmas With Love." A huge part of the cast for this show in Cincinnati are part of The Cincinnati Music Theater and he encouraged us to support them. Our challenge from Clay for 2006 is to tell people how much we care. Excellent challenge as it seems today, most people get caught up in their lives and forget to tell one another they care. I will start---"Clay, I care (The list of people I do care about is too long to mention, but I will be letting them know).

The show closed with my favorite Clay Christmas song, "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day."  Incredible performance, it seems he can hold a note for an eternity and it stays with you, long after the show ends.
Angela and Quiana begin the very last song, "Good News," and you see Clay come out from behind the curtain dressed in his very sharp black suit (long coat tails looked very dashing). The crowd just loved it.
If you have not seen this show, I suggest you hurry to get your ticket.
This show is Good News.
Merry Christmas Everyone!

MUSICNEWSMAGAZINE

[clayMaine-iac]

‘Idol’ Aiken gives local performers a night in the spotlight
By Jesse D. Smolin, Record-Journal staff
SOUTHINGTON — Members of the town’s community theater will perform on a slightly bigger stage than the one they are used to tonight, when they sing with Clay Aiken at the 5,000-seat Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford.

Twelve theater members will sing backup for the 2003 runner-up on Fox’s wildly popular TV series “American Idol” when he brings his holiday concert, “Joyful Noise,” to Wallingford.

Wearing winter and formal outfits, the group will sing three songs from Aiken’s Christmas album, “Merry Christmas With Love”: “Christmas Time,” by Mike Smith, “Celebrate Me Home,” by Kenny Loggins, and Celine Dion’s “Don’t Save It All for Christmas Day.”

The 40-show tour is the sequel to Aiken’s sold-out 2004 holiday tour.

The theater group, which ranges from 7-year-olds to adults, was selected by Aiken days before today’s concert and will perform for the first time with his cast at 2 p.m., hours before the 7:30 p.m. concert, said Corrin Campbell, the vice president of the community theater.

After community theater President Chad Valk was contacted by Aiken, he sent a mass e-mail out to see if anyone from the group’s past productions was interested.

“Talk about a quick learn,” Campbell said. “We meet with the cast and crew of the show and block the songs right before we sing them. It was kind of a short-notice thing.”

This is not unusual for Aiken, who often invites members of local theater groups to participate in a series of vignettes with a running story line, written by Aiken. The vignettes feature two main characters and supporting roles are cast in each city with local actors, according to Aiken’s Web site.

Cyndi Bird, a member of the theater group, thought Campbell was asking her to attend the concert with her, not perform in it, when she asked her on Thursday.

“It is very exciting to perform in a place the size of the Oakdale (the former name of the Chevrolet Theatre) and with someone of Clay’s talent,” she said. “It will be surreal to go on stage with him.”

Although members of the group admitted to being struck by working with someone they had watched for weeks on TV, they planned to represent their organization.

“Hopefully we will show how professional our organization is. Everyone is thrilled to be on a large stage, but I am more excited that we will get exposure by working with someone as talented as he is,” Campbell said.

RECORD-JOURNAL

[clayMaine-iac]

It's easy to get into a Southern drawl-fest with Clay Aiken
Rebecca Ross
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

I hesitate to write this column because the mere mention of a certain singer's name is enough to flood my inbox with e-mail -- and as I'm sure to get some detail wrong, like his fabric softener preference or the way he takes his latte, not all of that e-mail will be, shall we say ... of a positive nature.

Aw, heck. I'm all about living dangerously, so here goes.

I interviewed Clay Aiken last weekend.

Let me say this: He seemed like a very nice young man.

I got the chance to talk to Aiken for a few minutes by crackly cell phone about his Joyful Noise tour, which is making a stop Sunday at the Pensacola Civic Center.

I had about 10 interesting questions to ask Aiken. But when it came time for the interview, I was told I would have a whopping 10 minutes to talk to him.

OK, so I had ... five questions to ask him. Five searching, thought-provoking questions sure to evoke equally thoughtful responses.

Instead, Clay (we're on a first name basis now) and I spent the first three or so of our precious minutes discussing our Southern accents.

There's some old joke about getting two Irishmen together and hearing their accents get thicker as the evening goes along. Well, the same can be true for two chatty Southerners. It was as if Aiken's charming drawl triggered my genetic Alabama accent.

"Where are you from, Rebecca?" Aiken asked. "I know you're in the Panhandle, but WHERE are you FROM, girl?"

And out of my mouth, one of my cousins said, "Ah'm from raht here!"

Well, we twanged away in a mutual drawl-fest until his publicist broke in to remind me that time was a'wasting.

So, here are some of the Clay'pinions Aiken shared:

On his tour: "This Christmas tour is a lot more work. This year, I opted to change it from an orchestral show with just me singing, to theatrical vignettes with actors. At first, I sat down and wrote an outline from song to song for the vignettes and was going to have someone else finish it, but I'm too cheap and too much of a control freak, so I wrote it all. And it turned out pretty good!"

On singing live: "I don't get tired of singing Christmas songs on the tour because they are different than any other songs. When I sing a song about someone being scorned in love, a certain percentage of the audience can connect. But everyone knows what the Christmas season is about and can get into the spirit. There are certain songs I sing that people always want to clap along to, but what the audience doesn't realize is that there's a delay in the sound, so, I hear their clapping a beat behind the actual music! That used to really throw me off."

On charity: "Giving to charity is a great gift alternative. I wish that my fans, instead of spending money to bring me a little gift at a show, would take that $10 or $15 and donate it to charity instead. That would be wonderful."

So, there you have it.

The nice young man with the easy laugh and infectious accent is performing 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $39 and $49 at all Ticketmaster outlets.

PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNAL

[clayMaine-iac]

Aiken for the holidays

By Brian Truitt
Examiner Staff Writer
During the past year and a half, Clay Aiken has turned Christmas into an ongoing holiday season that keeps on giving. Good thing the Southern "American Idol" runner-up likes the season so much.

To wit: Aiken began recording "Merry Christmas with Love," the best-selling holiday album of last year, in May 2004. Five months later, the North Carolina native was recording a Christmas TV special and rehearsing for his holiday tour, which lasted through the end of the year. In January 2005, Aiken hatched the idea for his current seasonal tour, rounding up actors, singers and dancers over the next few months and waiting until October to start rehearsals.

"This was a late start to Christmas really, if you think about it, for me," Aiken says. "But it's the thing that I look forward to all year. I get really excited about the Christmas tour. It's my favorite part of the year.

"How many people say they love Christmas so much they wish they could have it all year? And I actually did it."

Last year's traditional orchestra tour inspired this year's new-fangled one. The first half of the 2004 shows featured secular Christmas music while during the second act, he would sing the sacred songs ("The First Noel," "O Holy Night," etc.) with each followed by a reading from the Christmas story by a local child from the area.

Aiken liked that aspect so much, being able to bring all of the songs together, he wondered if he could do the same with the secular tunes. He sat down, outlined some text to go in-between the songs, and a simple storyline turned into a full-on scripted play with touring actors and dancers, with the company using community theater groups where they play.

"It's turned into quite the big theatrical production, which works really well to try and convey that whole Christmas spirit to you," Aiken says.

He and the other two singers don't have speaking roles but they play guardian angels for the main character, a woman who's lost the Christmas spirit. To help her get it back, Aiken and company provide her with opportunities to allow her to flash back to past moments a la "A Christmas Carol," pausing action as well as moving it along.

"We really are the soundtrack to the show," says Aiken, who's finishing work on his second CD next month for a spring release. "As she talks about remembering something, we'll push her offstage and bring the flashback up and sing to it and whatnot."

He's been thinking a lot about doling out the yuletide cheer, but he's also smart when planning it. The tour stops in his hometown of Raleigh, N.C, on Dec. 22, where he'll have four days off to spend with his family.

Aiken has never missed a Christmas with his loved ones, and the first holiday he's ever not been with them was this past Thanksgiving, when Aiken couldn't change the tour itinerary in time.

"I've gotten used to not being home very much, whether it be a holiday or not," he says, laughing. "You get used to that. But at the same time, you have a really great group of people on the road - some of them have been with us for two years - and we kinda have become family with them.

"We know each other so well and we've become a family and that's how we spent Thanksgiving this year: We were in Louisville, Kentucky, we had a Thanksgiving dinner catered at the hotel and we all stayed together and ate together. It was almost as good as your family. In some ways just as, because there's less bickering."

Washington Examiner

[clayMaine-iac]

Aiken's 'Joyful Noise' is strange 
By MICHAEL ECK, Special to the Times Union
First published: Friday, December 9, 2005  

ALBANY -- Weird.
When someone asks if you've heard how the Clay Aiken performance at the Palace Theatre was on Thursday night, just say weird.

Aiken's "Joyful Noise" tour is more than just a concert, it's a traveling show replete with stage band, dancers, and, um, actors.

Aiken, you see, has written a play that accompanies the songs. Unless it's the other way around.

Let's say he's not Shakespeare.

Aiken's story concerns an old woman, Mrs. Ledford, who's doing her best to be a distaff Scrooge. Her plan is foiled by the arrival of Tommy, a neighborhood lad with -- anyone? -- a heart of gold.

Aikens spins sugar, not a tale. Each scene gets sweeter and sweeter until the stage is an icky mess.

Amid all this holly, mistletoe and magi Aiken sings the expected classics -- "Sleigh Ride," "The Christmas Song," "Silver Bells, "Oh, Holy Night."

His writing does grab a genuine laugh when it's revealed that Tommy, like Aiken, came in second at a school talent show (Aiken's career hangs on coming in second in "American Idol"). But Aiken, the writer can't leave well enough alone. He milks it through four more punchlines until the idea deflates itself.

For up to $127 a ticket the man should stick to singing.

What about the singing?

Well, let's just say he's not Frank Sinatra either.

Still, Aiken can carry a tune, and the familiar melodies sounded pleasant enough.

The sound, however, was questionable at best. For much of the first act Aiken's voice, amplified through a headset microphone, sounded muffled, with the high end blunted and the bottom end watery.

To make matters worse, Aiken looked blunted and watery, too.

Given the lush production values of the stage set it would seem that Aiken and company could afford a real spotlight. Instead he was almost lost in shadow. Occasionally he would stick his face into the bright pool of light surrounding a scene, almost as if to prove he was actually in the building.

Aiken was more audible in the second act -- set in a church for a Christmas eve service -- but he was no more personable.

It almost seems unfair for Aiken to simply play a role (a white clad narrator? preacher? cipher?) onstage, when his fame is built on being the boy next door, a friendly approachable guy.

He might take a hint from Martina McBride, whose Christmas shows are also different from a standard concert but are so all-embracing that she literally invites the audience onstage.

New piano phenom William Joseph opened the show with 20 minutes of dinner music.

Michael Eck is a freelance writer from Albany and a frequent contributor to the Times Union.

MUSIC REVIEW

CLAY AIKEN with William Joseph

When: 8 p.m. Thursday

Where: The Palace Theatre, 19 Clinton Ave., Albany

Length: William Joseph, 20 minutes; Clay Aiken, 2 hours, 20 minutes. One intermission.

The crowd: More than 2,100 "Clayheads" sat rapt for Aiken's show.

TIMESUNION