AIKEN NEWS NETWORK JANUARY 20

[Pamela]

Welcome to Tuesday.

"Nature gave men two ends - one to sit on and one to think with. Ever since then man's success or failure has been dependent on the one he used most."  -- George R. Kirkpatrick

Whew, that was close.  Good thing I'm not a man!

If you haven't already read the interview from Ability magazine, please do so.  It's informative and inspiring.  

ABILITY MAGAZINE ARTICLE

If you want the magazine and can't find it locally, you can order it here:

Ability Magazine
Back Issue Orders
1001 W. 17th Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

$4.95 + $2.00 for S&H
Specify that you want the Clay Aiken issue.

[Pamela]

WHO CARES WHO WINS?

One could even argue that it barely matters who wins the contest. The first season winner (Kelly Clarkson) and second-place finisher (Justin Guarini) both released major-label début albums, both appeared in the same terrible movie (“From Justin To Kelly”), and both have pretty much departed from the pop-culture radar. The second-season finalists, Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, have each had so much ink spilled about them that it’s easy to forget which one of them actually won. (Hint: Not the one who performed on MTV’s New Year’s Eve show, nor the first one to make it to the cover of “Rolling Stone.”)

MSNBC LINK

[Pamela]

BAD IS GOOD FOR AMERICAN IDOL REALITY

…"It would be nice to have some cuter people." In fact, Cowell used his wild-card selection last season to reinstate Carmen Rasmussen, who definitely qualified as cute. "Well, Britney [Spears] is cute, isn't she," Cowell argued. "Beyoncé is good-looking. Jennifer Lopez is good-looking. Madonna used to be good-looking." Cowell can only go so many sentences without lancing someone.

He conceded, however, that looks don't seem to be a priority with the audience. The portly Ruben Studdard won last season and Clay Aiken, a hayseed until the show gave him a makeover, was the runner-up. "At the end of the day, it's the public who are choosing and they're saying to us, 'It doesn't really matter.' We're the ones who are saying that we'd like some cute ones."

While he didn't come right out and say it, which is uncharacteristic, Cowell gave the impression that he is not a Clay-mate or a member of Clay-nation. Every now and then, he would shoot a barb at Aiken, who has arguably emerged as more of an American Idol than either Studdard or the original winner Kelly Clarkson.

"Clay changed this competition forever," Cowell said. "It's becoming incredibly personality-led now."

Cowell says Aiken became masterful at manipulating the electorate at home with affected humility and aw-shucks demeanor. "He was just ambitious. Kelly Clarkson was ambitious, too. What they both have in common is they are incredibly media savvy."

Not that there's anything wrong with that, Cowell adds. "All of the great artists are ambitious. Why couldn't he just admit it?"

Cowell is uncertain Aiken would have gone as deep into the competition if he, Jackson and Abdul made the final decision. This is why he would never take the vote away from viewers. "If we were choosing, the public wouldn't like the show. And, if you let the public make the choice, weird things happen."

SUN SENTINEL LINK

[Pamela]

Look for Clay in an upcoming issue of Contemporary Christian Music magazine.  In the current issue, there are some letters to the editor requesting an interview with him, and the editor states that he will be featured in a future issue.

Here's what the magazine looks like:

CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC MAG

[Pamela]

Thursday, April 15, 2004
Hallmark's Kaleidoscope

Clay Aiken will join Kansas City children in an art project to kick off the Bubel/ Aiken Foundation’s Call for Art initiative.

This event will pair children with developmental disabilities with their typical peers to create an art project together centered on the theme How Art Defines You.

Concurrent with the session at Kaleidoscope, schools all over the Kansas City area are invited to participate. Selected pieces of art created by the children will be displayed in an educational exhibit in Kansas City. Later, the art will be considered for holiday cards, calendars, murals, and promotional materials for the The Bubel/Aiken Foundation.
The session with Mr. Aiken at Kaleidoscope is closed to the public.

CLAYDOSCOPE

This is outstanding!  We may look forward to future promotional materials for BAF (mugs, tote bags, cards, etc.) to include the art created by the kids at this event!

[LJB]

Clay Aiken, a hayseed until the show gave him a makeover

I've never heard of someone being called a hayseed.  What in the world does that mean?

[Pamela]

Clay Aiken, a hayseed until the show gave him a makeover

I've never heard of someone being called a hayseed.  What in the world does that mean?

hayseed (noun) -
 1. not very intelligent or interested in culture
Synonyms: yokel, rube, hick, yahoo, bumpkin, chawbacon

DEFINE

Very nice, huh.  As a simple girl from the mountains, I find this term very offensive.  Besides, it's also inaccurate.   :roll:

Fact checker please!  :mrgreen:

[Pamela]

MEDIABASE REPORT

STATS: AC
DATE: TUESDAY, 01/20/04
TIME: 5:06 AM PST
SONG: INVISIBLE
Chart_Rank_TW: 12
Chart_Rank_LW: 13
Chart_Spins_TW: 1359
Chart_Spins_LW: 1287
Jump_Move: +72
Jump_Stations_playing: 107

STATS: CHR/POP
DATE: MONDAY, 1/19/04
TIME: 12:57 PM PST
SONG: INVISIBLE
Chart_Rank_TW: 29
Chart_Rank_LW: 20
Chart_Spins_TW: 1848
Chart_Spins_LW: 2907

There appears to be a big drop in spins in CHR/POP...this would be your local station that is also playing Britney, Kelis, etc.  Remember that next Tuesday is when The Way is going for radio adds...we'll come back strong with requests hopefully the song will also be on some countdown charts so we can again make our voices heard!  January 27 - don't forget!

[Pamela]

REMINDER*REMINDER*REMINDER*REMINDER

VOTE FOR INVISIBLE ON TRL!

Invisible was #1 on last weeks Top 10 chart for the WEEK!

Monday - #2
Tuesday - # ??

We must continue to vote with all our heart to keep Invisible high on the chart until it's retirement!

Can we do it?  I think we can!

COUNTDOWN TO RETIREMENT - 6 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!

[Pamela]

ORLANDO AREA RADIO ALERT

If you listen to any Orlando radio stations, know that XL 106.7 ran The Way for its survival of the freshest last night--and Clay won (against Josh Groban). This means he's up again tonight (8 pm), and presumably for three more nights if he wins. I got through last night, but I hope it'll be just like Invisible where I couldn't get through at all.

Anyway, any Orlando area natives, they run this spot at 8 pm and the voting starts immediately after the songs air. XL's line is (407) 919-1067. I'm not sure if they have an 800 number but I wouldn't be surprised.

Vote for The Way!

Thanks to the Clackhouse

[Pamela]

Yesterday I mentioned that Clay was going to be featured in the next issue of Beautiful Girl magazine.  According to someone who contacted them about their distribution, they said the mag could be found at Walmart, Family Christian Bookstores and Books a Million.

[LJB]

Quote:
Clay Aiken, a hayseed until the show gave him a makeover.  

LJB wrote:

I've never heard of someone being called a hayseed. What in the world does that mean?

 

Quote:
hayseed (noun) -
1. not very intelligent or interested in culture
Synonyms: yokel, rube, hick, yahoo, bumpkin, chawbacon  

Very nice, huh. As a simple girl from the mountains, I find this term very offensive. Besides, it's also inaccurate.  

Fact checker please

Thanks for the definition Pamela.  My next question is..... what does a makeover have to do with intelligence or interest in culture?  I'm very confused!  I think the person who wrote the article needs a dictionary in addition to a fact checker.
By the way....chawbacon  :  :?:  :?: