Aiken More Than A Singer, He's A ShowmanBy LESLIE GRAY STREETER
Sunday, August 19, 2007
WEST PALM BEACH — Clay Aiken, whether or not you are a fan of his, is pretty much considered a good singer by most people who have ears.
You also may be aware that he has a gigantic following of fans, mostly female, who might best be described as enthusiastic. But until you have seen Clay Aiken, who has described himself as Opie-like, shake his slack-clad hips and belt out Naughty By Nature's extracurricular cheating classic OPP ... well, you just don't know anything about Clay Aiken.
Admittedly most of the crowd at the Kravis Center on Saturday already knew more about him, as many of them are Claymates, the American Idol runner-up's devoted fan base and staunch defenders against criticism of his aforementioned Opieness. But even the uninitiated would have to be blind not to see that Aiken - who has an amazing range and was vocally flawless - is that rare celebrity who is both a singer and a performer, equally, even though, as he pointed out, "I am not cool."
But here are three things that Clay Aiken is:
• Clay Aiken is a funny guy. Whether leading the crowd through a medley of television theme songs, including Diff'rent Strokes and Growing Pains, or mocking his uncoolness with OPP or SexyBack (yeah, you read that right), the boy's got a comedian's timing and deft touch with a zinger.
• Clay Aiken is really talented. He is not just a whiz at the questionably sappy original songs like Into These Arms. Aiken breathed new life into I Wanna Know What Love Is, a song that hasn't been fresh since 1984, and made the theme to Perfect Strangers, which was never really all that fresh, revelatory.
• Clay Aiken is kinda sorta sexy. I'll let you chew on that.
This is not to say that the show, which featured a Michael Jackson cover and a symphony of Claymate-wielded glowsticks during Because You Loved Me, did not have its cheesy moments. Our man was sometimes basically doing the backstroke in a fondue ocean breathing through a cheese straw.
But because Aiken revels in that, he transcends even the goofy moments into genuine entertainment, like with his cover of Bad English's When I See You Smile. He is so uncool that he sort of is. And that's a talent.
Article Link ---------> HEREAwwww, sounds like he gave a great performance..