AIKEN NEWS NETWORK FEBRUARY 1

[clayMaine-iac]

Color Me Surprised: Clay Aiken is Fantastic in Spamalot

If I'm being totally honest, I didn't go into today's matinee performance of Spamalot with the highest of expectations. Since it had been announced that Clay Aiken was joining the Broadway cast in the role of Sir Robin I've been dubious as to how good of a fit the American Idol runner-up and the Monty Python show would be.

Well color me very pleasantly surprised -- Clay was great!

His voice was, of course, fantastic, but it was his comic timing and his dancing that shocked me the most. From the moment he appeared on stage, he was totally, and delightfully, in character, and he maintained that commitment throughout the entire show. He delivered his lines like an old pro, and completely embraced his character's often quirky movement, footwork, and comic bits, even when they required him to make fun of himself.

Best of all -- he appeared to be having the time of his life. The often irreverent humor of the show seemed to fit him like a glove, and he imbued each of his scenes with what appeared to be a genuine sense of joy.

I was a big Clay supporter back in Season 2 of Idol, but his attitude the past several years has turned me off a bit to him. However, seeing him sing, dance, act, and laugh, I remembered the charming, dorky fella' who shocked us all with his pipes back on Idol. I half-expected him to be stiff and awkward -- instead, he was loose and relaxed, creating real chemistry with his co-stars.
Speaking of his co-stars, the cast is more solid and the show tighter than it's been since it first opened. As Sir Lancelot, Rick Holmes was a hoot and a half, and a more accomplished song-and-dance man than Hank Azaria, who created the role. Chris Seiber has returned to the show, and although he appears to have put on about 30lbs, he was funny as ever playing Sir Galahad. Tom Deckman played the roles originated by Christian Borle with a delightfully deadpan gaze plastered across his face, and Hannah Waddingham, imported from the British version of Spamalot, was perfection as the Lady of the Lake.

All in all, Clay and the cast have managed to make Spamalot a must-see once again.

ASSOCIATEDCONTENT

[clayMaine-iac]

Not cool
"Let's not fool ourselves. ... There are people like Justin Timberlake, males who are cool on radio right now, and then there's me. If I heard myself in a dance club? If I went into a dance club - which I never do - and I heard Clay Aiken come on, I'd roll my eyes and get out." - Clay Aiken on his reputation for being a bland artist
www.people.com

PRESSOFATLANTICCITY.COM

*check out the picture at the link*

[clayMaine-iac]

Claymates unite to make Aiken tops in ‘Idol’ fan poll

About halfway through my recent countdown of the Top 20 “American Idol” Contestants of All Time, I created a Remote Access poll that asked readers to vote on the series’ most significant contestant from the first six seasons. The poll was open for two weeks and the Remote Access readers’ choice, by a landslide, was Clay Aiken.

In the process, Aiken’s fan base blasted me for ranking him as low as I did, dumbfounded that contestants Sanjaya Malakar and William Hung held higher spots on my list—fifth and sixth, respectively.

Although Aiken is a far superior performer, I stand behind my rankings because Malakar and Hung transcended their identities and the show to make a bigger impact on pop culture at large. Despite Malakar’s misguided fans, the slogan “Vote Sanjaya” was less about him and more of a mantra to millions who wanted to see the show crumble. And Hung’s audition not only is the standard by which all auditions are measured, I’m convinced more non-”Idol” fans know more about about his antics than anything Aiken has done on the show or since.

Nonetheless, the Claymates have spoken.

Aiken, runner-up on Season 2 and ranked No. 7 on my list, collected 859 reader votes—nearly one-third of the total 2,621 votes cast and well over twice as many as the next most popular contestant.

LOHUDBLOGS

[clayMaine-iac]

Overall, ticket sales sank to $14,451,085 this past week compared to $16,271,060 in the previous reporting period, a difference of $1,819,975. Spamalot took a 19 percent nosedive in spite of the refreshing Clay Aiken on stage

TICKETNEWS.COM

Can I place a vote to make that my Claymaniacs Insider Quote of the Day??? 

[clayMaine-iac]

Sales update:

Anyway, overall album sales bounced back a little from an all-time low last week, improving by 5%.

Clay stayed at 200, and bumped up to a rounded 523,000

USATODAYBLOG

[clayMaine-iac]

Here's a chance to share your opinion:

Nominate your Idol bests and worsts
I'll post the usual weekly random thread in a few minutes, if all goes well with the software, but first I wanted to request your help for a project that's under way around these parts. We're looking for nominations on these three topics:

1. The best all-time performances on Idol (finals only)

2. The worst all-time auditions (obviously, auditions only)

3. The biggest Idol uproars or controversies (any show). This is a wide-open topic -- examples could be anything from disqualifying Frenchie to Ruben beating Clay to Antonella's photo flap to Daughtry not winning the title. Anything you felt was controversial.

No limit to the number of events you can list. You folks know this stuff better than we do. Thanks greatly in advance.

USATODAYBLOG

[clayMaine-iac]

Clay Aiken shows off his silly side in 'Spamalot'

BY MARK KENNEDY | The Associated Press
February 3, 2008

The singer, who burst to fame during the second season of "American Idol," has made his Broadway debut in "Monty Python's Spamalot" - in creator Eric Idle's old role.

Read the rest:
NEWSDAY.COM

*The article is one we have already seen, but it is nice to see that Newsday has picked it up* 

[clayMaine-iac]

GETTING OUR PHIL: Add one more "American Idol" contestant to the list of competitors from the popular TV series who have made it to the Billboard charts. Season six sixth place finalist Phil Stacey enters Hot Country Songs at No. 55 with his debut single, "If You Didn't Love Me" (Lyric Street). Stacey is the third contestant from season six to chart (after Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis), and the 32nd to appear on any Billboard chart. He is the sixth Idol to show up on Hot Country Songs, following Kelly Clarkson, Josh Gracin, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler and Bucky Covington. (snip)

Here is an updated status report on which Idols have charted, season by season:
(snip)

Season two: (four)
Ruben Studdard
Clay Aiken
Kimberley Locke
Josh Gracin

BILLBOARD

[woodstock854]

Color Me Surprised: Clay Aiken is Fantastic in Spamalot

If I'm being totally honest, I didn't go into today's matinee performance of Spamalot with the highest of expectations. Since it had been announced that Clay Aiken was joining the Broadway cast in the role of Sir Robin I've been dubious as to how good of a fit the American Idol runner-up and the Monty Python show would be.

Well color me very pleasantly surprised -- Clay was great!

To be honest, I'm a little sick of hearing people say they are "surprised" by Clay.  I'm glad to hear "Clay was great!!!"  but they should start listening to the ClayNation.  We could have told them that ahead of time.     JMHO