AIKEN NEWS NETWORK AUGUST 1

[clayMaine-iac]

GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!!!

TODAY ON MTV AT 11:00 EST:



HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO:
ET ON MTV

[clayMaine-iac]

FROM THE RUMOR MILL AT THE CLAYREPORT:

Interesting tidbit posted at the Clackhouse from someone who attended tonight’s concert

    QUOTE:
    I also was talking with a fellow fan while waiting for the concert to start and she had some interesting information.

    She was talking with someone on the crew and they said that 19 didn't want Clay to tour during the summer when the Idol tour was going on. Basically his tour with Kelly is all they wanted for him.......so he left for the Firm.

    Also the band members chose to stay with him rather than returning to the Idol show. I don't know if it is all true but it certainly makes sense as to why Clay would leave 19. Also since Kelly won she is stuck with 19 for 5 years.

Who knew that 2nd place could be so good!

CLAYREPORT

[clayMaine-iac]

Nothin' could be fina than to be Carolina

By Rodger Mullen
Staff columnist

Am I wrong, or is it suddenly cool to be a Carolinian?

This thought crossed my mind as I watched Sen. John Edwards, a Robbins boy, accept the Democratic vice presidential nomination last week.

Actually, to give credit where credit is due, the thought first crossed my wife's mind. She then expressed the thought to me, whereupon it proceeded to cross my mind.

I'm sure the thought would have crossed my mind first, but it was late and I was tired. Cut me some slack here.

There was John-Boy, beaming that beacon of a smile, that smile that has earned him the coveted Sexiest Politician title (Admittedly, not a high-competition category).

Happy in lights

When the camera was able to wrest itself away from Sen. Edwards' golden aura, it often focused on the North Carolina delegation at Boston's FleetCenter.

They held up their banners and waved their flags and generally looked very happy to be there.

They continued looking very happy to be there as Edwards delivered his son-of-a-mill-worker spiel and talked of being the first in his family to graduate from college.

For about half an hour - longer if you count introductory speeches by Edwards' wife and daughter - North Carolina was in the spotlight. North Carolina was cool.

We can probably expect North Carolina to remain cool through Nov. 2, longer if the election goes the way the Democrats hope.

It was just the state's latest recent turn in the national media glare. The two previous ones came courtesy of a reality TV show.

First there was Raleigh's Clay Aiken.

Last year, the big-voiced, straw-haired Opie placed an extremely close second to winner Ruben Studdard in the "American Idol'' sweepstakes. Aiken's first single release actually outsold Studdard's.(snip)

FAYETTEVILLEONLINE

[clayMaine-iac]

Alicia Keys And Others Deep-Fry Themselves In "Butter"
Words: Shefik


No additives. No preservatives. No MSG. The all-natural element known as Al “Butter” McLean tastefully flavors musical palates worldwide as executive producer of the debut release by poetry’s unwavering ally: muMs. Heating up in 2004, muMs is fresh from Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry, Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, and most notably, a sizzling recurring role in HBO’s critically acclaimed prison drama, Oz. Glazing hip-hop with jazz seasonings, muMs’ release, aptly titled Strange Fruit, also carries the distinct taste of being the debut release from Butter’s management and distribution company, Cedar Park Entertainment.

“muMs is the quintessential spoken word artist,” Butter asserts. “His profound talent causes you to salivate, constantly calculating for you to crave another taste.”

Yielding millions of servings without high cholesterol, Butter continues to be an essential ingredient in recipes, ranging from the 12x platinum success of 5-time Grammy Award-winner Alicia Keys (J Records), to gold recording group Voices of Theory (H.O.L.A. Recordings), to some the industry’s most sought-after producers, such as the Track Masters (Mariah Carey, R. Kelly, Jay Z, Will Smith, Foxy Brown, P. Diddy) and Steve Morales (Celine Dion, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Jon Secada, Clay Aiken, Thalia). (snip)

MANHUNT

[lorraine]

Thank you Deanna for the news.  Didn't expect it on a Sunday but it sure gets my day started.  All pretty good.

Lorraine

[houstonclayfan]

A reviewer that actually gets it !

Atlantic City just adores Clay Aiken
By Kevin Clapp (Staff writer for The Press of Atlantic City)

(2 photos are nice candid shots of Clay holding mic)

Claymania gripped Caesars Atlantic City on Friday night, with no man woman or child immune from its chief symptom – shrieking.

Young and old came, they screamed and they cried some more. All for a guy who two years ago was as well know as the neighborhood grocer.

But Clay Aiken, “American Idol’s” favorite son, has touched a nerve. In a brisk, buoyant performance the first of two sold-out performances this weekend, the singer happily obliged the capacity crowd with a steady diet of ballads that have made his career.

Cheered like conquering hero by the more than 1,000 people packed into the Circus Maximus Theater, Aiken proudly embraced his role as latest in a succession of easy listening heartthrobs.

In a 90-minute performance, featuring three wardrobe changes and several declarations of love from starry-eyed members of the audience, Aiken was a picture of self-assurance. He tore through much of his debut album while sprinkling popular coves throughout the set to show he’s more than a balladeer.

And his adoring fans lapped it up. On their feet from the opening notes of U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Names,” girls, women and men bounced in the aisles, snapping photos for keepsakes and thrusting open cell phones towards the stage the transmit Aiken’s voice to points unknown.

You don’t have to be a diehard fan to appreciate the passion and verve he brought to the performance. His is a powerful voice, put to good use on a liberal dose of the soaring ballads that are his trademark.

Smartly, Aiken broke up his slower material with an assortment of up-tempo covers from the likes of Mr. Mister (Kyrie) and Orleans (Still the One). They played like a concert version of “I Love the 70’s and 80’s,” but they kept the crowd jumping. Not that he needed to worry about an energy deficit.

Working the stage with a veterans ease, Aiken seemed to appreciate all those who let him perform. He’s perfected stage patter, whether pulling girls on stage from the front rows or joking with the five piece band and three singers supporting him. He even took time to thank the back stage crew.

If this life is a dream for Aiken, he had the chance to play dream-weaver Friday by helping the Make-a-Wish foundation make six-year-old John Martin’s dream a reality.

After introducing the Yeadon, Pa boy prior to the medley of James Taylor classics, Aiken welcomed Martin back on stage later to sing his signature hit, “This is the Night”.

And when both ripped their microphones from the stands in unison the crowd, including Martin’s adoptive mother Katy, went wild.

Arguably the hottest thing to emerge from the “American Idol” universe, Aiken showed Friday he is more than the sum of his experiences on the talent showcase.

To e-mail Kevin Clapp at The Press: KClapp@pressofac.com

[clayMaine-iac]

Colleen!!!

Thank-you!!!

I love the closing line:

Arguably the hottest thing to emerge from the “American Idol” universe, Aiken showed Friday he is more than the sum of his experiences on the talent showcase.

If Clay is now "more" than AI, can he drop this tag from his mentions???

PLEASE, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE!!! :  :  :

[heater]

What great news for a Sunday morning!  Thanks Deanna!!  I'm glad OMC is being given credit for his talent and not just for being on AI!

[clayMaine-iac]

Aiken makes good on 'Idol' chance

By ALAN SCULLEY,

Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

MUSIC PREVIEW

WHO: Clay Aiken

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Monday

WHERE: Cumberland County Civic Center

HOW MUCH: $35 and $45; tickets available at the civic center, Ticketmaster locations, by calling 775-3458 or 775-3331 or online at www.theciviccenter.com.


For a few select performers, "American Idol" has become a dream vehicle through which to enter the music business. But the fact is, success on "American Idol" doesn't guarantee popular contestants a place in mainstream music once they finish their run on the show.

Consider Justin Guarini, who has faded from the public eye since finishing second to Kelly Clarkson in the inaugural 2002 season of the hit show.

Clay Aiken, who finished second to Ruben Studdard in 2003, went into the making of his debut CD, "Measure of a Man," knowing he needed to bring more to the table musically than he showed on "American Idol."

"I think that with 'American Idol,' you perform a lot of classic standards stuff, and a lot of times people come out of there wondering will this person have the ability to compete in a mainstream market?" Aiken said.

"I think that's what we were really trying to show with the album. Yeah, I sang 'Build Me Up Buttercup' and 'Solitaire' and 'Mack the Knife' on that show, but that's not all I can do."

Whether fans see the songs on Aiken's CD as adding a new dimension to the musical personality he established on "Idol" may be open to debate. But there's no arguing with the popularity Aiken continues to enjoy.

"Measure of a Man" debuted last fall with first-week sales of 613,000, the second highest total ever behind Snoop Dogg's "Doggy Style" CD. The record spent two weeks at No. 1, has topped 2 million in sales and its lead single, "Invisible" became an adult contemporary hit.

Meanwhile, touring, first with a spring round of dates with Clarkson, and now as a headliner, has kept Aiken in the spotlight. It's all an amazing series of events for someone like Aiken, who never saw singing as anything other than a hobby.

"I was going to be a teacher," Aiken said. "That's what was my goal in life, to teach and to do that. I had my life planned out until I was 50 years old. I was going to be a teacher and maybe a principal at some point. . . . And so I would have never auditioned had it not been for someone who convinced me to do it."

That someone was a family friend, Diane Bubel, who had heard Aiken sing and convinced the 25-year-old native of Raleigh, N.C., to try out for "Idol."

Aiken failed in his first audition for the Fox network affiliate in Charlotte. But Bubel convinced him to travel to Atlanta, where national auditions were held. He made the show and emerged alongside Studdard as a leading contender to win.

In the season finale, viewers voted Studdard the winner by a margin of less than 1 percent. But Aiken's showing was easily strong enough to earn him his deal with RCA Records.

Teaching went on hold, and singing became the priority as Aiken went to work on "Measure of a Man" with the help of label president and music industry legend Clive Davis.

Aiken said he retained a good deal of control over the material on the CD. "They played me like 15, 16, 20 songs. I said 'I don't like this one. I don't like this one. I do like this one. This is the kind of sound I like. This is what I'm interested in doing.' "

Aiken enjoys the fact that he has been hard to pin down stylistically.

"I think that's part of the reason we've had so much success with our album and what we've been doing, because we don't necessarily fit into one of the prefabricated niches that record companies have put out," Aiken said.[/i]

"What's amazing about the show I was on, and the way that I came around is because I came around by allowing the public to pick from day one," he said.

Alan Sculley is a free-lancer who writes about music.

MAINE TODAY
MAKES A MAINE GIRL PROUD!!!

[clayMaine-iac]

Local picks: These performers strike the right chord

Heather Hillegass and Led Foot

7:30 p.m. Aug. 6 RiverPlace (opening for Clay Aiken)

5 p.m. Aug. 11 Americaplatz

Heather Hillegass, lead singer of Led Foot, won the Star of Bethlehem contest at Musikfest 2003, an American Idol-type competition. Using the studio time she won, Hillegass recorded an impressive CD that shows she is equally adept at belting out jagged, soulful songs like ''Me and Bobby McGee'' or laying down smooth, soothing, Sade-like vocals on songs she co-wrote with Allentown producer Barry Omar. While Led Foot focuses on country music, Hillegass will perform adult contemporary material from her CD when she opens for Clay Aiken. This will be the largest crowd anyone in the band has ever played before.

MCALL

[clayMaine-iac]

New jammin' reasons to celebrate

After a rousing 20th anniversary celebration in 2003, Musikfest returns to Bethlehem with new reasons to celebrate.

There's a new kids' venue (again); new ways to pair music, food and entertainment, and new musical packaging.

There's 'American Idol' sensation Clay Aiken, whose opening night concert at RiverPlace sold out so quickly that heads were spinning at the Musikfest office.

But Musikfest 2004 will mostly be a familiar sight, a whirl of diverse musical entertainment, with 300 performers on 15 stages and a million visitors over 10 days.

MCALL

[ANGELA]

DEANNA THANK YOU!

I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING US THE NEWS  VERY MUCH.

ANGELA

[Pamela]

VCR ALERT!  

If you missed the ET on MTV/VH1 segment, it will reair in the wee hours.

VH1:
Mon Aug. 02 01:30am EDT

Clay was just on at the VERY beginning on ET on MTV, something about the top 10 hottest guys. Clay is at #10. It showed clips of Clay, including him singing at the Disney Teacher Awards. I don't know if it was a poll in a magazine or what. It ran so fast; if you blink you would have missed it. VH1 could show the program next half hour. Be on the lookout for it all weekend long, and watch closely at the introduction and start of the program.

Looking at that screencap in the first post, I noticed something kind of strange.  

Actor/Musician/Singer

?? : ??

[ANGELA]

Pamela,
Thanks for the VCR alert :D

Angela

[quynn]

If you missed the ET on MTV/VH1 segment, it will reair in the wee hours

.

It's also available to download at www.airplaycentral.com.

[lorraine]

I DID CATCH ET ON MTV THIS MORNING AND YES IF YOU BLINKED YOU WOULD HAVE MISSED IT BUT STILL ANY T.V. AS LITTLE AS THAT WAS WE WILL TAKE.  NUMBER 10 SURE ISN'T BAD EITHER.


LORRAINE

[clayfannj]

Thanks Deanna... You are continuously  the first morning's ray of sunshine..

[tiff]

From Clackhouse:

1. Clay's name has been removed from the list of artists that scroll across the bottom of 19's website.

2. His dinner before the Foxwoods show (as reported by an employee of the employee cafeteria) consisted of french fries, mashed potatoes with gravy, a little roasted chicken, and jello. Dr. Atkins would be proud. *g*

[Pamela]

Nothin' could be fina than to be Carolina

By Rodger Mullen
Staff columnist

Am I wrong, or is it suddenly cool to be a Carolinian?

(snippo)

First there was Raleigh's Clay Aiken.

Last year, the big-voiced, straw-haired Opie placed an extremely close second to winner Ruben Studdard in the "American Idol'' sweepstakes. Aiken's first single release actually outsold Studdard's.(snip)

FAYETTEVILLEONLINE

This writer may be on to something.  I married a Carolina boy.  Hit the jackpot too.   :

His dinner before the Foxwoods show (as reported by an employee of the employee cafeteria) consisted of french fries, mashed potatoes with gravy, a little roasted chicken, and jello. Dr. Atkins would be proud. *g*

What?  No veggies?  Clay, eat your vegetables!  :roll:

[Ilovetowrite]

Wow five years my gosh. Alot can happen in five years.