AIKEN NEWS NETWORK NOVEMBER 29

[clayMaine-iac]

Good Morning, everyone!!

Bacon, Aiken help Arthur

NEW YORK – He's taught millions of children how to read, and now Arthur, with the help of a few celebrity friends, is helping to make the holidays happier and healthier for deserving kids.

"The Arthur Celebrity Audiobook," featuring Clay Aiken, Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Kelly Ripa and others, is available in a special holiday offer to benefit several children's charities. For every Audiobook purchased, an additional copy will be donated directly to the USO, Toys for Tots, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital or the Polar Express Reading Challenge.

This offer is available through Dec. 31 at www.storiesforheroes.com/donation for $14.99.

Seventy percent of the net proceeds from the sale of each Audiobook will continue to benefit the three original Stories for Heroes charities: The Bubel/Aiken Foundation, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the National Education Association – Health Information Network.

Individuals or groups can also donate the audiobook directly to the charity of their choice for a discounted price of $10. The book is an enhanced audio CD that features stories, animated pictures, music, games and educational content for children, parents and teachers.

NWHERALD

[Her]

Good morning M.B.!  I KNOW it's gotta be chilly up there 'cause there's a nip in the air down here....have     and a marvelous Monday.

Thanks for the news!

[clayMaine-iac]

Josh Groban wows fans at Sun City
Posted Sun, 28 Nov 2004

International phenomenon Josh Groban, received a standing ovation after he wowed audiences, young and old during his first tour on Saturday night at the Sun City Superbowl.(snip)

Groban's contemporaries in pop music include Clay Aiken and Norah Jones. The classical sensation gave an extravagant performance of his songs in English, Spanish and Italian.

IAFRICA..COM

[clayMaine-iac]

Clay's New Album Breaks Records

By RTVC Editor Ron Lemon
November 28, 2004    
Clay Reschedules Concerts
As we reported earlier...Clay Aiken cancelled the first three stops of his Joyful Noise Tour. Those concerts have now been rescheduled. What was originally reported as "damaged vocal cords" is now being reported as an ear and sinus infection.

The rescheduled concerts have been tacked on to the end of his tour.
November 21: Pasadena, CA is now December 28th
November 22: Phoenix, AZ is now December 29th
November 23: El Cajon, CA is now December 30th

Clay has recovered enough that his Friday concert in in Costa Mesa, California went off as planned.
If you are attending one of this concerts you should be aware that clay has a request. A dress code. The show includes a full orchestra, an elementary school choir and a high school choir. Clay says the performers and crew will be dressed in their Sunday best and he hopes the audience will be too. It would also be a nice idea to take a new toy with you. Clay's broth Brett Parker is United States Marine and is the spokesman for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys For Tots Campaign. Marines will be at every tour stop collecting toys.
So get in the spirit of the concert, dress up and take a new toy to donate. You'll feel good about it.

Clay Aiken CD Shatters Sales Record
Clay's Christmas CD release "Merry Christmas With Love" sold 270,000 units it's first week. Of course it did this with very little radio air play. As Clay continues to get very little respect from the music industry, his fans give him all the respect he needs. The first week sales is the biggest Christmas album sales figure since Sound Scan started keeping records of that kind of thing. Not only is it the number one Christmas album, it debuts at number 4 on the Billboard 200. That's the highest holiday album debut on that chart since Celine Dion, 6 years ago. Good for Clay. It is always nice to see good things happen to good people.

REALITYTVCLAENDAR

[Her]

Good for Clay. It is always nice to see good things happen to good people.

Amen! :clappy

[Her]

Oh Ms. D.....forgot to say Your avie is adorable!!!! 'tis the season!

[clayMaine-iac]

I reported this weekend that MCWL was # 2 on Billboard's Internet Album Sales Chart.  Here's a look at the Top 5 :

1 5 2 Eminem, Encore..Shady/Aftermath..Interscope 1
2 - 1 Clay Aiken, Merry Christmas With Love RCA  4
3 1 3 Shania Twain, Greatest Hits Mercury 5
4 3 2 Toby Keith, Greatest Hits 2 DreamWorks 7
5 6 5 Rod Stewart, Stardust... The Great American Songbook Vol. III 14

BILLBOARD

[clayMaine-iac]

Good Morning, Buddy!!!

New flavor of the day:

To me, singing is the single most joyous thing a person can do. -

Yes, it is very cold up here!!  Brrrrrrr!!!  I need lots of    

Help yourself to a cup!!

Thanks to Clandy girl for my awesome new avie.  Thanks to Tammy for my Christmas house, too.

Have a great Monday!!

[clayMaine-iac]

Reminder for tomorrow night:

8/7pm Tuesday, November 30th
CHRISTMAS IN ROCKEFELLER CENTER
The annual tree lighting ceremony and celebration returns! Live performances include a duet from Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey, plus holiday songs from Hilary Duff and Clay Aiken! Expect a few dazzling surprises as well. Al Roker and Nancy O'Dell co-host the evening.

 

NBC.COM

[clayMaine-iac]

We will be tracking the sales of MCWL's second week starting today.

I will post the HDD sales updates HEREas they come in.

Here's hoping for another great week!!  

[clayMaine-iac]

Please take a minute and visit our GOOD NEWS CLAY thread for all the updates on MCWL and LTS.

We will be adding all the good news as it comes in!!

[clayMaine-iac]

American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken (news), who got laid up last week due to bum vocal cords, slid into the four spot as Merry Christmas with Love stuffed 270,000 stockings. Aiken, who topped the singles chart earlier this year, set the all-time Idol sales record in 2003 when Measure of a Man sold 613,000 first-week copies. His album will likely get a boost in two weeks when his NBC Christmas special airs.

YAHOO

Here's hoping for that sales boost!!

[ANGELA]

HELLO DEANNA & HER.

THANKS FOR THE NEWS DEANNA---I WILL RETURN LATER FOR MORE UPDATES.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!
ANGELA

[Her]

Good A.M. to you too Ms. Angela....I hear you have the day off---have fun!

[aikenseeker]

Hello Gang!

May I be the first to say that Monday's bite the big one? Especially when it's a Monday after a long weekend?

Here's Clay's horoscope for the day from Yahoo.com.

Quickie:
You can't just dip a toe into your life's work. You need to immerse yourself.

Overview:
You'll be moved to either extend or accept an apology now. Although you've never been famous for holding a grudge, it will be easier for you to forgive than to forget this time -- but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

Daily Extended Forecast:
Don't let yourself get backed into a corner. The worst way to spend your time is doing something that you don't really want to do. You have a habit of saying yes to make the people in your life happy, but this is a good time to start saying no. If you have a lot on your plate right now, you need to step back and take a look at what's truly important. Quit volunteering for things that aren't dear to your heart and above all, stop wasting your time on people who want to question your every step. Make yourself and your own needs a priority and see how much more valuable every minute seems.

Daily Flirt:
Rigidity does not a happy relationship make. Explore your bendy side a bit, open yourself up to different philosophies and stop with all the questions, questions, questions. You'll find yourself much happier.

Daily Couples:
Forget about your schedule and follow your bliss. Grab your lover by the hand and head off on a private adventure that gets you both giggling.

Daily Singles:
Dates will be weird at best tonight, so it might be a good time to hang out with friends and just let your romantic fate take care of itself. If you do go out, don't make too much out of petty disagreements.

Daily Career and Finance:
Your relationship and your career are at odds. But don't worry -- what looks like a major hurdle is only a temporary impasse. Your career won't suffer if you put a little more emphasis on your personal life now.

[lorraine]

GOOD MORNING DEANNA, SUSAN, HER AND ANGELA.  

KEEP THAT GOOD NEWS COMING.  I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HIM TOMORROW NIGHT AT THE ROCKEFELLER CENTER.  I WOULD LOVE TO SKIP THE JESSICA AND NICK THING AND HILLARY BUT ANYTHING FOR MY CLAY.

DEANNA - LOVE YOUR SIGGY AND AVIE.

CHECK BACK LATER.


HUGS
LORRAINE

[Marilyn]

MORNING ALL- I SEE THAT EVEN THE CRITICS ARE NOTING THAT CLAY DOES NOT GET THE RADIO RESPECT THAT HE DESERVES

BUT WE FANS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT HIM

YOU GO, CLAY

[Pamela]

Groban's contemporaries in pop music include Clay Aiken and Norah Jones.

This is high praise, and it makes my toes tingle.

Clay's broth Brett Parker is United States Marine and is the spokesman for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys For Tots Campaign.

Actually, Brett is the Marine and Clay is the spokesman, but I know you all know that!  

Good for Clay. It is always nice to see good things happen to good people.

Tingling again.
Good morning to all!  Hope the sun is shining wherever you are!

[Pamela]

Aiken gets audience into the spirit
 
The pop vocalist seemed tired but didn't let illness affect his powerful pipes in his Christmas-tour opener.

By BEN WENER
The Orange County Register

There was an air of stately lethargy to pop vocal sensation Clay Aiken's Christmas show Friday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center - but it's hard to know if that was intentional or not.

Certainly some reverence was deliberate. Why else implore attending Claymaniacs (whose squeals and cries of "Will you marry me?" he routinely ignored) to keep their signs at home and dress up for the occasion?

Aiken, the self-described "skinny, redheaded, geeky" little guy from Raleigh, N.C. - who has parlayed his second-place finish on the sophomore season of "American Idol" into a staggeringly successful career - has never hidden his religious beliefs, often indicating that they spurred him to charitable efforts and his first vocation as a teacher for the mentally disabled.

So, it's no surprise that, like his new "Merry Christmas With Love" disc - the fast est-selling Christmas album of all time, its first-week haul of 270,000 besting the record held by Garth Brooks - Aiken's 90-minute performance would be evenly split between somber sacred songs ("O Holy Night," "Silent Night") and jollier chestnuts ("Sleigh Ride," "Winter Wonderland").

Indeed, the show itself was presented in halves, the first devoted to warm renditions of near-secular 20th century standards, the second - furthered along by children reading New Testament excerpts about Jesus' birth - coming across like something you'd see at the Crystal Cathedral.

Both parts had their pluses and minuses, which I'll get to. What was most glaringly evident, however, is that this Aiken kid appears wiped out.

We knew he wouldn't be bounding with energy. Only a week ago it was announced that the start of Aiken's Joyful Noise Tour, due to begin Nov. 21 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, had to be pushed back to this Center engagement because the 25-year-old had suffered vocal-cord damage resulting from ear and sinus infections. (The Civic date has been rescheduled for Dec. 28.)

Friday night, he remained under doctor's orders not to speak, a command he broke very briefly - once merely to explain that he shouldn't break said rule. Naturally, the lanky boy next door seemed tired, moving slowly, resting on a stool, busting out some endearingly awkward dance moves only toward the finale.

But I wonder if that's attributable strictly to sickness. After all, Aiken's professional attack has been relentless since spring 2003, when soul man Ruben Studdard edged him out for the "Idol" crown.

In less than a year and a half, Aiken has issued his triple-platinum debut, "Measure of a Man"; topped the charts with his platinum CD-single "The Way/Solitaire" and embarked on three tours, including an arena jaunt with "Idol" alumnus Kelly Clark son. He's also landed on the covers of Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly; made innumerable talk-show appearances; and published a brief memoir, "Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life." Now comes this blockbuster seasonal album and 21-city theater tour, to be capped by the Dec. 8 airing of "A Clay Aiken Christmas" on NBC, featuring duets with Barry Manilow and Megan Mullally.

Plus, he hopes to have his next proper album in stores sometime next year. That's enough to wear out workaholic veterans, let alone a newcomer.

Granted, his ailment and crazed schedule didn't seem to greatly affect his powerful pipes. Looking not unlike a young Andy Williams in slacks and a purple sweater, he acquitted himself nicely on "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "The Christmas Song," the occasional phlegm-y rasp adding a welcome bit of grit to his otherwise Michael Crawford-esque approach to the material.

Later, re-emerging in a long coat and tie for the stronger second half, he ably nailed those dramatic "glory notes" that make female fans weak in the knees, tackling a string of them that ran through "The First Noel," the atmospheric "Mary, Did You Know?" and, most potent of all, the year- round spirit of "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day." If he was in any kind of pain, he didn't show it.

Still, I can't help but think that he didn't really intend to come off like a near-comatose Perry Como. Liveliness on the level of Harry Connick Jr. might not have fit, either, especially given the setting - jazz ensemble plus full orchestra plus an elementary-school choir from Sherman Oaks and a teen team from Costa Mesa High School.

That arrangement hardly lends itself to boppin' holiday fun. But as his final leg-lifting poses suggested, perhaps he would have brought a more vibrant spark to the proceedings if he could have. Maybe his lack of energy was merely a matter of his fading illness rearing its viral tail.

Or maybe he just needs a good long rest. Surely he's earned it.

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

[Moonshot]

Why else implore attending Claymaniacs (whose squeals and cries of "Will you marry me?" he routinely ignored) to keep their signs at home and dress up for the occasion?

Hey we got mentioned!...then we got slammed. But that's ok, can't blame poor Mr. Wener, I know it's easy to confuse fans since there are so many of us. Perhaps if he visited once in a while he'd realize it wasn't Claymaniacs doing the inappropriate yelling and screaming during the show...hopefully.