AIKEN NEWS NETWORK JANUARY 15

[Pamela]

Hello everybody - Happy Thursday!  

Today's words of wisdom are about change...

"At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done - then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago."    -Frances Hodgson Burnett

Here now, the news:

TOUR SCHEDULE ANNOUNCEMENT

"American Idol" favorites Clay Aiken and Kelly Clarkson will open a 30-date arena tour on Feb. 24 in Charlotte, NC. The tour's official announcement is expected to surface on Monday (1/19), when the third season of "American Idol" debuts.

LIVE DAILY LINK

[Pamela]

CLAY IN JAN TWIST MAGAZINE

Is Everybody Having Sex?

And no, your boyfriend probably won’t think you’re insane if you say you’re waiting--that figure includes guys and girls.  Clay Aiken is one of many guys who isn’t rushing into bed: “I think it’s much more special to wait for the person who you’re married to,” he says.

 
Thanks to Matthew at http://veritaserum.com for the link!

CLAY IN TWIST MAG

[Pamela]

CLAY NAMED REALITY BREAKOUT STAR

Some reality shows, such as American Idol and Last Comic Standing, are meant to find new stars. Others simply produce new stars as a byproduct. But no matter how it happens, this category recognizes those people who became or are becoming breakout stars because of their appearance on reality shows. The nominees are:

Clay Aiken, American Idol 2
Rupert Boneham, Survivor: Pearl Islands
Buddy Jewell, Nashville Star
Harlemm Lee, Fame
Dave Mordal, Last Comic Standing
Ruben Studdard, American Idol 2

And the winner is… Clay Aiken from American Idol 2!
David Bloomberg once again presents the award:

David: Yes, Clay came in second place in the overall voting on American Idol 2, but he was a very solid first in the RealityNewsOnline votes for the breakout star. It’s hard to argue against it. He sold more singles in 2003 than anybody else – not any other reality show person, anybody period. He had a smash Number 1 album. He has been on numerous shows, sung at sporting events, etc. Ruben won the show and is catching up in terms of albums sold and publicity and the like, but 2003 was definitely the year of Clay Aiken as a breakout reality star.

REALITY NEWS ONLINE

[Pamela]

BILLBOARD CHARTS ARE UP

Measure Of A Man  (13 weeks on chart)
This week #32
Last week #22

HOT ALBUM CHART (based on sales)

Invisible  (10 weeks on chart)
This week #48
Last week #37 (peak position)

HOT SINGLES CHART (based on airplay/sales only if released commercially)

This drop in position for Invisible is normal.  The Way will be going for adds in about one and half weeks, so we need to gear up into request mode again very soon.

Note:  Ruben's Sorry 2004 is #35 on the singles chart, was #48 last week, after 4 weeks on the chart.  Soulful is #8 on the Album Chart (sales) this week, was #10 last week, after 5 weeks on the chart.

[Pamela]

SOME OVERLOOKED AWARDS FOR 2003

* Best Second Place Finish

Clay Aiken

And he didn't even need our Miss North Carolina like scandal and topless photos to take over the crown. He did it his way.

NEWS OBSERVER LINK

Note: That's a NC in-joke.  Our Miss NC last year was dethroned due to some topless photos that got posted on the Net.  Oops!

[Pamela]

REMINDER

Clay will be a guest on Ryan's new show today.  The show is syndicated, so check the website for availability in your area.

RYAN ON AIR

[Pamela]

REMINDER*REMINDER*REMINDER*REMINDER

VOTE FOR INVISIBLE ON TRL!

Invisible was #1 on Friday!  Invisible was #1 on Monday! Invisible was #1 on Tuesday!  Invisible was #2 on Wednesday.  Still good!

Britney's new video for Toxxic debuted yesterday.  (Eeew.) Her fans are formidable and organized, so we must continue to vote with all our heart to keep Invisible high on the chart until it's retirement!

8 more days

Remember there is a new sticky thread in the GOT CLAY forum for all TRL discussion now!

ThanX!

You can vote on the Net or by phone (AI flashback!)
It's more effective to call in your votes if at all possible, because 1 phone call=50 online votes. Your phoned in votes count for the next day's show, and no calls are accepted on the weekends.  

You can only call in thirty minutes prior to the show.  TRL starts at 5pm EST, so that means you can call from 4:30pm-5pm EST, and then adjust for your time zone.

You can vote online all day, but you can only call in 3 times a day per phone line.  

The phone number is 1-800-DIAL-MTV (1-800-342-5688)
Call 30 minutes prior to the show starting!

To vote online, go to TRL VOTE.
Vote online all day!

Go to ABSOLUTE TRL for daily recaps!

[cjrmax]

Measure Of A Man (13 weeks on chart)
This week #32
Last week #22

HOT ALBUM CHART (based on sales)

It will be interesting to see if the sales spike at all after Clay is on Ryan Seacrist, Leno and"Ed"!

[breezy]

You know a show is bad when even Clay can't give it some life!  The format is haphazard and boring.