AIKEN NEWS NETWORK AUGUST 10

[clayMaine-iac]

GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!!

FLAVOR OF THE DAY:

His voice...was unearthly and powerful and seductive and full of hopelessness and rage and resentment and infinite love and it was perfect.

KINDA SAYS IT ALL, DON'T YA THINK???

[clayMaine-iac]

FOR ANOTHER WONDERFUL STORY FROM DIANNE AUSTIN, GO HERE:

DIANNE AUSTIN

[clayMaine-iac]

Idol Chartwatch, August 9: The Long and Winding Road
by Gil Sery -- 08/09/2004
With chart entries down pretty much across the board, it was not a good week for reality TV singers. Still, there was some hope. Find out who rose, which artist broke new ground, and who dropped off the charts.(snip)

Clay Aiken

American Idol 2 runner-up Clay Aiken’s “Solitaire/The Way” single was one of a select few singles this week to actually climb a chart, going from #8 to #7 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart. In other news, ticket sales for Aiken’s scheduled performance at the Illinois State Fair on Friday, August 13 aren’t going as well as expected since there are still plenty of Grandstand seats available. Sure, Clay has lead the way in ticket sales with 3,586 tickets sold, according to the State Journal-Register in Springfield, Illinois, but that’s still causing the fair organizers a lot of concern

TO READ ABOUT THE REST OF THE IDOL, GO HERE:
FOXES ON IDOL

[clayMaine-iac]

GRATUITOUS MENTION OF THE DAY COMES FROM A SPORTS ARTICLE :  :

As Clay Aiken might attest to, the worst thing to be is invisible. When a program is really bad, at least you know you're starting from scratch. But when a team isn't a factor whatsoever, that brings on indifference and then there's little to no buzz. It's hard enough to get noticed as a MAC team, and it's even more difficult in a league with 14 teams and some breakout stars like Miami and  Bowling Green .  Ball State  had a nothing 2003 season, and 2004 will be tough, but that should be it before the program starts to shine.

FOX SPORTS

[clayMaine-iac]

Online Concert Ticket Sales Flourishing
   
From the hottest acts on MTV to one-of-a-kind music icons, the summer concert season is in full swing.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says event tickets rake in money to the tune of $30 billion!

But how do you get the hottest tickets in town? Whether you are pining for Prince, crazy for Clay Aiken or mad about Madonna, you are not alone. the concert industry is on fire.

"There is a tremendous amount of demand right now, especially for concert tickets," said Ticketmaster CEO John Pleasants. "The industry is as hot as it has ever been."

Standing in line for hours, possibly overnight, used to be the way to get tickets. That was then. This is now, as the Internet becomes the stairway to music heaven.

"If you look at a situation where maybe 10 years ago, it might take an hour for a concert to sell out because people were standing at outlets or going through the telephone channel," Pleasants said. "Now with the Internet, you are selling in excess of 2000 tickets a minute."

Ticketmaster is among the biggest sellers. Pleasants offers insider tips. First, find out when the tickets are actually going on sale. Some services can email you when your favorite band will be on tour. Second, be ready to go when the tickets go on sale.

"Register in advance so that you don't have to type in all your credit card information in real time while you are trying to buy a ticket," Pleasants said.
 
There may be pre-sale options through fan clubs or special arrangements with credit card companies, like American Express.

And if all this fails, don't give up. Sold out may not mean sold out.

"The artist or the building will have inventory that they release over time," Pleasants said. "So just because something sells out on the first day, that doesn't mean that hundreds of tickets won't be released [in] days subsequent leading up the event, so checking frequently is really important."

And it could mean the difference between sitting in row nine or row 99. But be forewarned, most online ticket agencies will charge you a convenience fee between $6-10.

KXAN.COM

[clayMaine-iac]

'Idol' Moment: Wish comes true for Yeadon boy

LOIS PUGLIONESI , Times Correspondent    08/09/2004
YEADON -- A dream came true for 6-year-old John Martin of Yeadon in ways he never imagined.
Afflicted with severe heart abnormalities since birth, John wasn’t expected to survive past the age of 2. His scars tell the story of multiple surgeries he’s undergone, maintaining all the while an upbeat and undaunted attitude.

John listens to music for entertainment, and is a devoted fan of "American Ido"l runner-up Clay Aiken. Not a day goes by that John doesn’t tune in to an Aiken CD, crooning along with the words to his favorite ballads. He wanted nothing more than to co-star in a video with his idol.

When John’s family told Make A Wish Foundation volunteers about John’s hopes, the wheels of their dream machine started turning. The foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.

On Friday, July 30, Make-A- Wish arranged for a limousine to arrive at the Martins’ home and whisk John, adoptive parents Kathy and Bill, and sister Lisa off to an Aiken performance in Atlantic City.

While John caught a glimpse of Aiken at a "Good Morning America" concert in July, he hit the jackpot at Caesars.

The Circus Maximus Theater was filled with about 1,000 cheering fans when Aiken brought John on stage for a brief introduction. John and Aiken took center stage later on for an awesome rendition of "This is the Night," John’s favorite. The duo wore similar outfits, with matching spiked coifs. The full house rocked when John and Aiken simultaneously ripped their mikes from the stands, a move John has practiced at home many times.

"It’s such a thrill to see your child’s dream come true. It does something to you as a parent," Kathy said.

"It was exciting to see John’s face," said Lisa, 18. "I’m so happy for him."

When a videotape of the performance turned out poorly, Aiken arranged for John and family to stay overnight in a luxury suite at Ceasars for another try the following day.

"We had an oceanfront view, room service, anything we wanted. I’ve never stayed anywhere so beautiful ... I don’t know how to thank him," Kathy said.

Aiken provided additional limo service so Bill Martin could report to work Saturday morning and return to Atlantic City for the second taping and another show.

"Clay is a thoughtful, caring person. Kids sense that. I hope he stays the way he is," said Kathy.

Prior to becoming a triple-platinum recording artist, Aiken, 24, was a special-education major at North Carolina University. He co-founded the Bubel/Aiken Foundation to call attention to children with special needs.

One week later, John remains elated. He wears a custom T-shirt displaying an image of himself and Aiken, and couldn’t be more delighted with the letters, photos and Teddy bear he received.

Thanks to a group of supporters, John now has his own personal fan club. Judging from the happy light in John’s sea-green eyes, it was the thrill of a lifetime.

"Make-A-Wish was fantastic. Without them this never would have happened," Kathy said.

ZWIRE

[clayMaine-iac]

LOOKING FOR TOUR REVIEWS BY OUR MEMBERS???

GO HERE:
TOUR REVIEWS

[ACcountryFan]

any numbers on "Solitaire"? i'm still under the assumption that it's sold 305,000 copies {estimate}. i'm thinking of lorraine...

anyway, it moved from #8 to #7 like clayMaine-iac reported via the article and so several more thousand has had to have sold. i'm guessing a good chunk came from Amazon's reports.

[clayMaine-iac]

AC,

There is no news on the numbers!! :  :  :  :

We know his chart placement on the Single Sales Chart for the last few weeks, but I have been unable to find the actual sales count.  These numbers are sometimes weeks coming in.  I do keep looking and you guys will know as soon as I do!!! :  :

[Pamela]

ANNOUNCING 'CLAY'S LEIS' - A BAF FUNDRAISER

Aloha,
 
Clay's hula girls are honored to announce "Clay's Leis," a new officially registered and approved fundraiser to benefit The Bubel/Aiken Foundation and the Autism Society of Hawaii. Please visit clayshulagirls.com to contribute.

CLAY'S LEIS
You may not be one of the lucky fans invited onstage to receive a lei from Clay, but you can still have one of Clay’s leis through your donation to The Bubel/Aiken Foundation and the Autism Society of Hawaii. For your $20 contribution you will receive your choice from a selection of beautiful silk flower Hawaiian leis, a memento of Clay’s first solo tour that will last forever.

Read more in the BAF THREAD!

[Pamela]

In Indianapolis?  The Indianapolis Star has announced there will be an interview with Clay in Friday's edition.

PREVIEW PIC at RHT.com.

[Pamela]

After rough year, organizers hope this state fair runs smoothly
 

This year, with a decidedly downscale concert lineup, is shaping up to be worse. The six concerts, featuring such performers as "American Idol" contest Clay Aiken and country singers Clint Black and Travis Tritt, have sold about 12,000 tickets so far.

One reason for the poor sales might be that the fair's advertising budget has been slashed from $67,000 to $37,000. Kolaz, however, sees it as part of a trend.

"The entertainment industry is down in general, and we're seeing that here," said Kolaz, who splits his time between running the fair and working in the governor's legislative office.

BELLEVILLE IL NEWS

[ACcountryFan]

another reason for low concert sales and low music sales in general is because there's very little music being made that's appealing...aside from Clay, Barry Manilow, and a scant few country singers, i don't even buy music because nothing appeals to me.

But in a market such as Belleville, i'd call those numbers pretty good.

[lorraine]

THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE NEWS ON OUR CLAY.  I DEFINITELY WANT TO ORDER A LEI BUT JUST NOT SURE WHERE YET.

AC - THANK YOU FOR THINKING OF ME AGAIN.  I LIVE MY THOSE CHARTS AND I KNOW DEANNA WILL GIVE US TOTALS AS SOON AS SHE GETS THEM, RIGHT DEANNA?

LORRAINE

[Pamela]

Clay Aiken gets Pepsi crowd screaming

By DAVE SINGER For The Daily Gazette
Monday, August 9th

ALBANY — For someone working toward a teaching degree two years ago, Clay Aiken stood on the Pepsi Arena stage Sunday night undaunted — in fact, perfectly comfortable — while thousands of hysterical girls screamed his name and waved countless homemade posters that declared their love for him.

Amid all the clamor, Aiken sounded good, worked hard and seemed to be enjoying life on stage. He sang mostly from his only release, "The Measure of a Man," but he mixed it up with several cover songs. Highlights included "Shine," perhaps the strongest song of the first set, "I Will Carry You," "Measure of a Man," "Run to Me," where he stood at the end of the extended stage surrounded by the audience, belting it out full throttle, "Perfect Day" and "I Survived You," maybe the best moment of the night.

His cover songs — mostly polite nods to the older adults in the audience —included a James Taylor medley and the ’70s Orleans hit "Still the One." These all failed to ignite the crowd.

For an American Idol runnerup, Aiken is doing OK, even better than any of the winners, and record and concert sales point to much more Aiken in the future, including an upcoming Christmas album.

Aiken doesn’t dance on stage and when he’s not singing, he hardly knows what to do with himself. These kinds of things, along with plenty of warm, extended banter between songs, make it hard not to like him. The audience — more than 7,000 — included largely mother-daughters, father-daughters, grandmother-granddaughters, and hordes of teenage boys and girls in groups.

For those unfamiliar with "boy-band " audience screams, it sounds like a deafening highpitched airplane in your living room. Aiken triggered these screams every time he started a song, spoke, held a long note, climbed the steps to reach another level of the three-tiered set, and ended a song.

The band — three back-up singers, two keyboardists, a drummer, bassist and guitarist — served primarily as support and stuck strictly to the script.

Aiken has all the required credits to teach special education in North Carolina. But he still needs to student-teach one semester. At this rate it won’t be happening any time soon. For the moment he seems to be making plenty of people happy.

Upcoming 19-year-old French hotshot Cherie (here comes another one-named star) opened the show with an unremarkable set that felt more like a commercial than a concert. Cherie can sing and Cherie can move. But her voice was always revved to full volume, and her three-person band — no bass player but lots of electronics — never cleared any space for her to come through with clarity. But she’s young and has the goods; we may be hearing from her again.
No link available.  Transcribed at the Clackhouse.  From SCHENECTADY GAZETTE (subscription only).

[shaikeninseattle]

Thanks for the morning "paper"!  I have my cup of tea and the ANN first thing every day! Just wanted to thank you for all the hard work, research and time you spend bringing it to us!  8)  :D  :

[Her]

Thanks for the news...up to 7 WOOHOOO!!!!!

Have a terrific Tuesday one and all!

[lorraine]

I THINK I WILL HAVE TO GO OUT AND BUY A FEW MORE CDS THIS WEEK.  IF EVERYONE BOUGHT AT LEAST ONE FROM THIS SITE I BET THAT WOULD HELP TOO.  WE JUST HAVE TO KEEP HIS SALES GOING AND GOING AND GOING.

I AM SO EXCITED.  I JUST ORDERED A LEI.  CHECK IT OUT.  ALL IT COST WAS A $20.00 DONATION.

LORRAINE

[ILClaymate]

Lorraine, I was at Walmart yesterday and they were all soldout of the single.  I had bought the last 2 they had last week and I was hoping to get atleast one more this week but they didn't have any more out.  Hopefully they will reorder some more soon!

Thanks for the news Ros-De-anna and Pamela!  :D

[Pamela]

MILD MANNERED SCHOOL TEACHER STARTS RIOT!
News at 11!

Clay Aiken, the mild-mannered schoolteacher who placed second during the second season of the "American Idol" TV series, is scheduled to perform Monday.

The pop singer has reached No. 1 on Billboard magazine's charts for albums ("Measure of a Man") and singles ("This is the Night").

Indiana State Fair marketing director Cindy Hoye said last year's audience turnout of 7,200 for first-season "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson influenced the booking of Aiken.

"Claymania" has yet to subside, she said.

"I don't think there's any other show I can recall where we have so many people coming from outside of Indiana: Ohio, Minnesota, grandparents from Illinois," Hoye said. "It's a riot."

INDY STAR