gfx*HomeForumHelpCalendarLoginRegistergfx
gfxgfx
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 28, 2024, 01:42:08 AM

Login with username, password and session length
Hot Links!

     

 

 

Content
   Forum
   Gallery
   Calendar
   Biography
   Chat
   Frappr
   MySpace
   Arcade
   PayPal Support
Recent Posts
[July 31, 2014, 09:19:55 PM]

[August 05, 2010, 09:35:10 PM]

[March 22, 2010, 10:02:16 AM]

[March 21, 2010, 04:36:44 PM]

by Pepe
[March 21, 2010, 04:29:29 PM]

[March 21, 2010, 04:20:43 PM]

Users Online
Users: 0
Guests: 356
Total: 356
 
gfx gfx
The forums here are now LOCKED.  You will still be able read ALL posts,  just not reply or start new threads.  Please start moving your discussions to our new forums located at http://www.claymaniacs.com/clayforums

gfxgfx
      « previous next »
Pages: [1] Go Down Print
Author Topic: Dianne Austin: Clay Aiken Is Playin It Cool  (Read 3317 times)
Pamela
Assistant Webmaster
Enthusiastic
*
Posts: 17,529



WWW
« on: January 14, 2005, 09:46:52 PM »

Clay Aiken Is Playin’ It Cool—But Is It Really All Just An Act?

By Dianne Austin

At this point in time, if you were to ask Clay Aiken whether or not he now thinks of himself as “cool”, what do you think he would say? Here’s what I think:  “Lord, no.  I’m just the same nerd I always was—the same guy from Raleigh, North Carolina!

Sorry, Clay.  That just ain’t gonna fly with me now. I’ve been watching you for a while, and I’ve noticed a slight change. It’s actually a BIG change, but I say “slight” here, because if one wasn’t paying close attention, it might not even be noticed.  Take it from someone who observes people as a pastime.  Take it from someone who has studied and had experience with behaviors and the psychosocial elements of individuals.  You, my dear man, have done some changing. And the biggest difference I see (albeit, maybe not the only one) is that YOU think you are cool.  And because you think it, everyone else is thoroughly convinced at this point too.

I will explain myself by giving an example.  I recently downloaded a short video of Clay performing “Don’t Save it All For Christmas Day” during his Christmas show in Chicago.  Very nice clip, I must say—the growl on “oh baby that’s a fact” is particularly memorable.  When the audience reacts to that part of the song with a hoot, yell and audibly female squeal, there is a look that comes across Mr. Aiken’s face that is incriminating evidence for my case in point. It reflects a total feeling of knowledge, security, confidence, savvy, flare and style, which can only translate to “I am cool”, perhaps even “I am the definition of cool”, without ever having to utter the words.  We all know he will never say those words . . . but he doesn’t have to.  

In the beginning, however, he was acting.  How do I know?  Because when I’d see him onstage and then in an interview, it was like watching two different people.  What he was doing on the stage was an act; the man talking in the interview was the real thing.  In some of the early interviews, I saw a bit of timidity and insecurity—the obscure, uneasy stance of the once-intensely-geeky guy trying to look comfortable in front of the camera.  I remember seeing him this way on one TRL program and one of Ryan Seacrest’s “On Air” shows.  He usually comes across as confident and verbally adept, as well as down to earth, unaffected and natural.  However, in those two cases, and perhaps one or two more here and there, I saw his uneasiness.
 
When he does interviews now there is no awkwardness.  And when he is talking in front of the camera, being filmed for his Christmas Special or for UNICEF PSA’s, or whether he’s talking to Jay, Jimmy or Larry, his persona is basically the same as it always has been: he’s still down to earth and a regular guy with a big heart.  But there’s also a relaxed, devil-may-care, I-have-something-special kind of trait that has emerged, like what we see when he’s performing for us on the stage.  My point is that he has now assimilated “cool” into his own personality.  And that’s good, especially when we’re considering the future of his career.

Would he deny it?  Yes, because he thinks it’s bad.  Clay thinks that if “cool” seeps into his own image of himself, he will not be the same caring, sensitive, down to earth, regular human being he once was.  He also thinks that if it enters into his fans’ image of him, they will not think he is still a good guy. How wrong is that?  One can be cool and still be caring, loving, real and true.  Take it from me--I have always thought of myself as cool (even though I am approaching an age where my children would disagree). Yet my life is not devoted to fashion, networking and plastic surgery. “Cool” does not mean “shallow”.  

True, in today’s world, cool can mean you’re a real ass, with people like Colin Farrell, Paris Hilton and Kid Rock in the limelight.  But for me, it translates to better qualities that other people exhibit, such as being sure, calm, centered, interesting and aware.  Cool people can be outgoing and people-oriented, but they can also be somewhat introverted and cerebral. What I’m getting at is that the real definition of cool may not be what emanates from the typical pop culture icon today.  It isn’t just people like Usher, Brad Pitt and Missy Elliott. It can also be individuals like Michael Moore, Ellen Degeneres, Sophia Coppola, and Norah Jones. Cool means you’ve got a certain something, and you kinda know it (even if it’s just a little bit).

It’s also Kelly Clarkson.  Wow is it ever!  Which brings me to another consideration about Clay’s cool.

Please listen to me young man.  You are coming up on the production of your sophomore album, and this could be the single most important career move for you yet.  MOAM was the virgin CD—the breakout.  You could be forgiven anything then.  Now it’s a different ballgame.  EVERYONE’S waiting to see what you choose to give.  It’s not just your die-hard fans you’re trying to impress here—it’s the world.  On this one, you’ve got to really sell yourself, and baby, it all boils down to choosing the right songs! I know it, your fans know it and your management knows it, but the final say rests with you.

Remember when you told us in Learning to Sing about how you wanted your first CD to be titled “Measure of a Man”?  You told us that Clive Davis said that it wasn’t going to happen, but you stuck to your guns?  Well, this may turn into one of those times when you might have to grab those things out of their holster and hold on tight.

Here’s where Kelly comes in.  Take some notes, Clay--listen to “Breakaway” a few more times.


My problem is that I judge things too soon.  I think Kelly has the best female pop voice today, but I thought she might have sold out on what she decided to do with this album. I had heard snippets of a couple of her new songs, and it sounded like that “bubble-gum for hip hop today” sound I hear on the top 40 stations. I couldn’t believe it.  But then I listened again, and I got it completely.  Kelly took some risks with this one.  She didn’t stick with her original style—she got a little “edgy” for Kelly, which means she tried new ways to go with her voice. And there’s only a couple of misses, in my opinion—the rest are right on the money.  She changes it up—even adjusts her voice to sound less full-throated and sophisticated, which comes across younger and more raw on a couple of tracks, and she makes it work on just about every choice.

My major criticism of Kelly’s album has to do with the lyrics of many of the songs.  Ironically, she did not follow through with her title theme--the idea that the young woman from the small town and uncomplicated life wants to break out, travel somewhere exciting and begin her adult life.  If she had gone with this theme, it would have been a positive message for the youth of today.  Instead, the songs are filled with angst, disempowerment of women and self-criticism (I’m using a gentle description here.  One song is entitled ‘I Hate Myself for Losing You’).

But I should remember, I’m not twenty anymore, and to tell you the truth, I thought today about what it feels like to be twenty while I listened to her CD, and I can honestly say, I was then able to relate.  Especially when my seventeen-year-old daughter said, “Please don’t talk”, because she loves the lyrics for these new songs.  The trouble here is, I’m a mom, and I have to worry about what the role model is saying in the song to my kid.  

Kelly, I adore “Because of You”—you sing it with such passion and pain. It makes me believe you suffered at some time in your life because of an older guy who did not treat you very well.  This is a fabulous song.  Do I want my daughter to hear what it has to say?  No.  Am I being overprotective? Maybe, but I feel that there is way too much angst and female self- deprecation here--something too many young women exhibit when they’ve been spurned by first boyfriends.

Yet, those feelings are somehow put on hold when you listen to “Where is Your Heart”. Now, this is a song.  The words here are not prime examples of smiles and flowers; yet everyone can relate to them because they seem to scratch at your soul. You can be fifteen or fifty, with a first love or an ongoing one, which has lost its passion—it doesn’t matter which, because the words are cross generational.  This is the true test for great song lyrics. Kelly sings this song with fervor, and although it is not the blues, the way it comes across makes one think of that genre of music.

I really like the title song, but my favorite on this album is “Walk Away”, probably because of my love for pure and simple rock and roll.  The first time I heard it was while I was driving alone in my car and when it came on, I couldn’t sit still.  Since then every time I hear it and I’m driving, I must dance in my seat. I’m sure other people on the road think I’m a lunatic; I can’t help it.  

No, Kelly doesn’t sell out on this LP, although she digresses from her usual style.  After all, it’s called Breakaway, and it’s just what she is doing here.  I like that she takes risks and explores with her voice and her style.  That’s called “edgy”.  She made some good choices.

Now, Clay Aiken has choices to make.  His fans are screaming for “edgy” and he resists.  He thinks they want him to be too sexy, nasty, a bad boy-- something he’s not.  He wants to showcase his “organic” voice, be true to himself, stay away from angst, and keep with positive, family-oriented material.  

I think that he can still hold on to those elements and his integrity and yet “Breakaway” just a little. Edgy does not have to mean abrasive or bizarre.  For Clay it can mean trying other genres of music: rock, blues, jazz.  He could sing about a subject he’s never broached before. Whatever he decides, I know he can pull it off, because he is an unbelievably talented vocalist who is ambitious about what he wants to accomplish. If he takes this advice and just one of the songs comes across, it could even mean, dare I say it (shhh) airplay!

So, CA, don’t choose the safe, familiar path. There’s plenty of time to record those standard tunes and beautiful ballads. And I’m sure there will be lots of future dates for putting together all of the “Greatest Hits” albums you’ll have.  Now is the time to choose the songs that will be hits, so go ahead and do a little of your own kind of edgy.

Keep your head, use your heart, and never, ever let anyone make you lose that special kind of “cool”.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Editor:  Michelle Arce
E-mail Dianne deedaustin@yahoo.com


Copyright 2005 by Dianne Austin.  Printed with the permission of the writer.
Logged
kendall
Guest
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2005, 11:03:34 AM »

Hi Pamela - Thanks for posting Dianne's article. She started off in a way that made me feel a little defensive for Clay. I'm a mama lion when it comes to my boy. But the more I read, the more I saw her point, and ended up totally agreeing with her. I hope Clay reads it and realizes that a "positive" album can still have some good ole angst in it. Nobody sings drama like OMC.  Drama  From the first moment I heard "I Survived You," I was rendered helpless!!
Clayfully, Dee   Baby Dust
Logged
gfx
Pages: [1] Go Up Print 
gfx
Jump to:  
gfx
Powered by SMF 1.1.5 | SMF © 2006-2008, Simple Machines LLC Page created in 0.063 seconds with 29 queries.
Helios / TinyPortal v0.9.8 © Bloc
gfx
Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!