AIKEN NEWS NETWORK February 17 & 18

[Marilyn]

A HILARIOUS BLOG- NOW WE SEE HOW ITS "DONE"

VALENTINES DAY WOE

[Marilyn]

Show: Entertainment Tonight
Episode: (#6639) - 2007/02/22
Network: (SYN) Syndicated
Date: Thursday - February 22, 2007
Time: 7/6c PM
Duration: 0:30

About: Entertainment Tonight: (#6639) - 2007/02/22
The hair. The cake. The details! As the hours count down to the big event, ET is with the Brides magazine bride as she puts the finishing touches on her Magic Kingdom wedding! Also: Elizabeth Taylor is no stranger to tying the knot (she's done it eight times), but these days, the violet-eyed legend is looking forward to another milestone: her 75th birthday. Listen in as "La Liz" discusses everything from her health to her leading men... and meet Clay Aiken, backstage at "The Fox Morning Show."  

VH1.COM

[Marilyn]

Top Music Searches: Britney Spears
February 16, 2007

Britney Spears leads our music searches this week followed by Clay Aiken and Jessica Simpson. The latest in Ms. Spears' life is that she is apparently entering a rehab facility. Its been a dicey couple of months for Britney. I am actually kind of relieved to hear that she may be getting some help. (Of course, as I may have previously mentioned, my most fervent hope is that she gets back together with Justin Timberlake. They seemed so happy back then! He has a good relationship with his mom! He respects women! He'll be good for the kids! BRITNEY, MAKE YOUR MOVE BEFORE SCARLETT JOHANSSON GETS HIM FOR REAL!)

The most popular music searches for the week ending February 10, 2007:

1. Britney Spears
2. Clay Aiken
3. Jessica Simpson
4. Jennifer Lopez
5. Beyonce
6. Shakira
7. Christina Aguilera
8. Mariah Carey
9. Hilary Duff
10. Nelly

LYCOS.COM

DONT FORGET TO KEEP SEARCHING FOR CLAY HERE- HE IS #22 IN OVERALL SEARCHES.

[Marilyn]

N.C. 'Idol' fans must settle for an outsider

 
David Menconi, Staff Writer
It has become a February ritual for many North Carolinians -- the "American Idol" finalists are announced, and we start furiously phoning in support for Clay, Fantasia, Chris or any other Tar Heel singers who make the cut.

PHOTO OF CLAY:
Raleigh's Clay Aiken performs in 2003, the year he finished in second place.
News & Observer File Photo

 

NEWS OBSERVER

[Marilyn]

Entertainment News : Show Tracker: 'American Idol'
Next floor/stop, ‘Idol’-style immortality
Thursday, Feb. 15
In many ancient cultures – I don’t recall exactly which – the greatest curse that can befall a person is to have his or her name wiped out of human memory. For a soul to wander the Universe for all eternity, anonymous and unmourned. That fate awaited 16 contestants on Wednesday’s “American Idol” who gathered at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium to hear their fates.

After whittling down the pool to a mere 40 contestants in the Hollywood round, the show then takes a not-entirely explained pause to reconsider everyone by “reviewing the tapes.” And, presumably, to run background checks to learn who is a wanted drug-runner, who has a secret EMI recording contract and who has abandoned families in every state.

The 40 are then called back to spend an entire day sitting in a waiting room before they are summoned for a lonely elevator ride into a ballroom where they must take the longest walk of their lives across a Mussolini-sized floor to sit before the trinity, lined up with echoes of “Flashdance” to reveal the judgment of Paris.




It certainly is no longer necessary to win “American Idol” to become a star; losers from past top 12’s have gone on to produce bestselling albums (Clay Aiken), receive Oscar nods (Jennifer Hudson) and hold microphones on red carpets (Kellie Pickler). Even those from past top 24’s who failed to make the big show still spark a glimmer of recognition among the devoted.

L.A. TIMES

[Marilyn]

'Idol' honcho on Paula, age limits and more
Posted by Mary Colurso February 16, 2007 06:00
Mary Colurso's Blog & Column Index Print | Email 

EnlargeSimon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul might be highly visible figureheads, but the executive producers of "American Idol" call the shots off-camera.

The more I watch "Idol," the more convinced I become. Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick are the real power players of the Fox reality series.
<snip>
 Do you already have front-runners for this season?

A: I think this is going to be a great season where there isn't a Kellie Pickler, a Carrie Underwood, or a Clay Aiken, that you know is going to really steal everybody's votes. This season, I think we've got a lot of excellent singers. I don't think I'm going to be ashamed of anybody that gets up there and sings this season. But they are going to have to grow.

al.com

[Marilyn]

February 16, 2007
Kenny Chesney addresses gay rumors Sunday on '60 Minutes'
I must live in a hole. Until I saw this announcement from CBS News, I had no idea that tabloid-fueled rumors were rampant about island-life country star Kenny Chesney being gay. He refutes them this Sunday on 60 Minutes in a piece that I believe may have been held since November, when Ed Bradley's untimely death bumped it in favor of a tribute to the newsman.


If - as he tells Cooper straightforwardly, without any defensiveness - he is indeed not gay, well, unfortunately that will hardly convince some people. The speculation will remain, and no amount of truth-talking from Chesney is going to make some people shake the notion that he's somehow covering something up. Look at how some people view Clay Aiken in the wake of charges (from a rather dubious source) about his sexuality. There is bound to be unexpected fallout from this, especially considering Chesney is a country star. Not to put stock in homophobic stereotypes, but there are surely some country fans who will for years to come mockingly equate Chesney with, oh, Brokeback Mountain.

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ISNT THAT WHAT CLAY HAS BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG? PEOPLE BELIEVE WHAT THEY WANT.

[Marilyn]

Clay Aiken's School To Hold Carnival


From The Raleigh Chronicle Staff And Wire Reports
Friday, February 16, 2007


RALEIGH -  The elementary school that Clay Aiken attended in Raleigh will be holding a winter carnival next weekend.  As part of the event, the school will be auctioning off some items donated by the American Idol singing star who grew up in Raleigh.

RALEIGH CHRONICLE

[Marilyn]

VERY INTERESTING STORY, READ MORE!!

The New, New Music Industry
Written by
Guest Columnist
- Posted Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 6:00 PM PT By Raghav “Rags” Gupta1

The music business has been transforming before our eyes. Many players in the industry are struggling to survive amidst the tectonic shifts as the industry transforms itself for the digital age. And yet there has never been more demand for consuming music, and the ability to satifsy that demand, as there is today. The events of the past few weeks point to an acceleration of change that promises to make 2007 a landmark year in the music industry.

GIGAOM

[Marilyn]

GO TO JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE AND WATCH TWO VIDEOS FROM THE VALENTINES SPECIAL
CLICK "NEXT" TO THE RIGHT OF THE VIDEO'S SHOWN. (#9 AND #11)


JIMMY KIMMEL

ETA: PLEASE NOTE THE # OF THE VIDEOS HAS CHANGED SINCE MORE GUESTS- YOU HAVE TO CLICK ON "NEXT" TO FIND THEM

[Marilyn]

NOT CLAY RELATED:

By Jeannette Walls
MSNBC
Updated: 2:14 p.m. ET Feb 14, 2007
Who’s the biggest diva on “American Idol”?

If an award were given to the person  who throws the most hissy fits, temper tantrums, and exhibits the most out-of-control behavior, looks like the prize would go to contestant Taylor Hicks.

MSNBC

[Marilyn]

RETURN OF THE PRINCE OF THIEVES!
By CorieluvzClay

After the AI5 Finale I wrote an essay entitled “ America ’s Own… Prince of Thieves”…in one section I wrote…” Once upon a time he was my Pied Piper, he is now my Robin Hood, The Prince of Thieves…for within those two + minutes Clay managed to steal the stage, the show and the hearts of not only the audience on hand, but of millions of people around the world…two hundred million viewers world wide saw for the first time possibly, what we fans have seen and known from day one. But Clay wasn’t finished with his thieving, for he stole whatever pieces of our hearts remained after the first ravaging three years ago and every assault upon our hearts since that time. Clay leaves his fans in a most delicious state of emotional disarray and chaos!! AND make no mistake we happily, adoringly keep coming back for

BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL ESSAY ON CLAYS VALENTINE APPEARANCE AND MORE- A MUST READ!!

BLOGSPOT

[Marilyn]

Access Hollywood - Clay was featured on AccessHollywood.com' daily poll yesterday in a question about our "favorite Idol non-winner". The poll ended earlier today and Clay won with a landslide 60%

[Marilyn]

HERE IS A REAL CUTE PROMO FOR THE M&J SHOW OF CLAY!!

M&J PROMO

[Marilyn]

MANY RADIO STATIONS HAVE A Thousand Days ON THEIR MAIN PAGE TO PLAY THE VIDEO- PLEASE GIVE YOUR LOCAL STATIONS SOME HITS- IF THERE ARENT ANY BY YOU- PICK ANY ONE YOU WANT TO!!

Ms Marmalade of the CH very nicely summarized some of a radio station streaming links for us. :)

WLIT Chicago

WLYT Charlotte

Y92 Sacramento

WASH FM

WKSB Williamsport

106.7 Lite FM NYc

Walk FM NY

Magic 107.7 Orlando

WNIC Detroit

WSRS Worcester

WRVF 101.5 The River

KKCW Portland

WSRS Worcester

WRVF 101.5 The River streams

[Marilyn]

Mo Wants To Know... American Idol Surprise

American Idol's executive producer Nigel Lythgoe says that within the next two weeks AI viewers will see "the biggest thing to happen to 'Idol' in five years."  He did say that it would not involve Michael Jackson appearing on the show, as initially rumored. 

So what is the surprise?

THE FEED BLOG

THIS IS A JOKE, AND CLAY IS ONE OF THE CHOICES, BUT ITS FUNNY.

[Marilyn]

Here's a montage made by one of Clay's Korean fans that involves the movie The Notebook, with background music by Clay singing Lover All Alone

LOVER ALL ALONE- THE NOTEBOOK

[Marilyn]

Vote for your favorite artists below, handpicked by our staff from the hottest sellers and those mentioned on Billboard's Top 100. Then check out the show the next Thursday to see if your choice gets played.

CLAY CAME IN FIRST LAST WEEK, HIS NAME IS NOW THREE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST- BUT LOOK AT HIS PERCENTAGES!


0.1%Patty Griffin
85%Clay Aiken
6.1%Fall Out Boy (NEXT CLOSEST)

CHANNEL ONE

[HavinaClayAffair]

Thanks for getting us started this morning Marilyn!! Great news!!


For those horoscope fans:

here is Sagittarius from MSN Astology for today

Sagittarius
 
New enterprises, perhaps involving writing, speaking or publishing, which you've worked for a long time towards perfecting might pay off today, dear Sagittarius. Success definitely appears to be in the wind, and those in authority may be more than impressed with what you've been trying to achieve. Grab the gold ring now and take advantage of this opportunity, as it might be a long time before another one comes around. Onward and upward! 

http://astrocenter.astrology.msn.com//msn/DeptHoroscope.aspx?When=0&Af=-1000&VS

sounds good to me, as I am a Sag too!

Lora

[clayMaine-iac]

Marilyn, great job as usual. 

Lora, I'm a Sag, too.