AIKEN NEWS NETWORK FEBRUARY 2

[clayMaine-iac]

Good Morning, everyone!!

There's a new article in the Writer's Corner...From the Dark Ages...to Clay Aiken

WRITER'S CORNER

[clayMaine-iac]

Aiken promotes downtown Raleigh in video
2/1/2005 8:11 AM
By: Associated Press

  (RALEIGH) - Singer and Raleigh native Clay Aiken is helping to boost his hometown's downtown redevelopment.

A new promotional video on downtown Raleigh includes a brief appearance from Aiken, who was a runner-up on TV's "American Idol."

The Downtown Raleigh Alliance started giving away 200 copies of the video to real estate brokers and others with their sights on downtown.

 The eight-minute video spotlights downtown developments, including the new convention center and Marriott hotel and the conversion of Fayetteville Street Mall for traffic.

NEWS14

[clayMaine-iac]

THE NEW LYCOS 50

Search Term..Change..Last Week..Weeks on List
 1  Paris Hilton........NC....#1.....64
Petty Theft
 
 2  NFL...................NC....#2....24
Patriots vs. Eagles
 
 3  Britney Spears..NC..#3..283
Kabbalah Tattoo  
 
 4  Clay Aiken.....NC...#4...87
Scrubs

LYCOS

[clayMaine-iac]

Keep your eye on 2 Orlando singers on tonight's 'Idol'
The City Beautiful and Cleveland share billing on the popular series. Judges say competition is tough.
By Hal Boedeker | Sentinel Television Critic
Posted February 1, 2005
(snip)


Abdul says this competition will be tighter than last season, when eventual victor Fantasia Barrino was an obvious contender.

"This time around, you're going to have a tough time saying goodbye to these kids," Abdul says. "They are that good. . . . And I think because of Fantasia winning, she kind of woke up the ones who would be skeptical about auditioning."

Cowell likes the contest's unpredictability and says he never would have given Clay Aiken a contract at first sight. (Aiken was the runner-up to winner Ruben Studdard in the second edition.)

"I would have been wrong, because the competition has turned him into a star," Cowell says. "I don't want 24 people who all look like what our perception of pop stars is. It should be the American musical dream, this show, where someone who wouldn't have been given a chance, like Clay, gets to do well."

Jackson predicts that a boy will win this year. Warwick hopes for a more balanced competition between the sexes than last year, when Barrino and other women dominated.

[clayMaine-iac]

A chance at fame tonight for local 'Idol' wannabes
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Julie E. Washington
Plain Dealer Reporter
(snip)

It's all part of the search for the next American Idol pop star. The show has launched the singing careers of Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Tamyra Gray and Fantasia Barrino.

CLEVELAND.COM

[clayMaine-iac]

GRATUITOUS MENTION OF THE DAY:

Sweet Chin Music…la la la

Edge hits the deck, Shawn dances around. Ross hypes the show. We got to commercial.

Commercial Break. WWE does an ad for WWE Theme Addict that says how Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Yanni, and Kenny G aren't on the album. It would be a funny commercial, if people were actually buying the album. Unfortunately, they're not. Makes you wonder if they would have sold more had they put one of those people on it.

PWTORCH

[clayMaine-iac]

Simon Says 'Clay... biggest-selling Idol artist ever': the Devil Gets Frostbite
by James Shepherd (2005/02/01)

It has been reported that Simon Cowell said the following: "Clay Aiken has been and probably will be the biggest-selling Idol artist ever - and he didn't fit the mould. He just so happened to be what the public wanted."

For many Clay Aiken fans, this was the moment that "Hell froze over," and thus, the Devil getting frostbite must have been an event in Hell worth noting. Perhaps Mr. Cowell is not aware of the fact that quite a few Clay Aiken fans do not like Simon very much. They sometimes affectionately call him "Slimon," call him a bully and an idiot, and even refuse to watch American Idol any more because they can not stand the sight of him or want to listen to his voice.

Such animosity towards Simon Cowell by Aiken fans is understandable since Mr. Cowell turned against Clay during the AI2 competition with his patented insults and barbs, and even Clay's losing the competition is sometimes assigned to Cowell's manipulation. Ironically, very few Claymates are sad that Clay lost the title since he has been able to break from the 19 Management much earlier than if he had won. Also, his losing did not impair his pop star success, and Clay has become the "biggest-selling Idol artist," and although not necessarily "ever," but most certainly of the American Idol winners and contestants, Clay's sales are well in the lead in the US.

However, preceding Cowell's somewhat extraordinary comment about Clay Aiken above, he also said the following: "The public doesn't always want perfection. There's something else - it's the Barry Manilow syndrome, the Clay Aiken syndrome."

Mr. Cowell is assigning a syndrome to Clay Aiken and putting him in the company of Barry Manilow. It also seems that Simon believes these syndromes to be something less than perfect. Why are these two, Manilow and Aiken imperfect? Is it because the public likes these "syndromes?" Are we viewing the Simon Cowell syndrome, believing that the public is "the great unwashed?"

For years now, people like Simon Cowell, the captains of the music industry, have been giving the public those pop "stars" that they view as worthy of consumption - The Spice Girls, Britney Spears and the Simpson sisters: Jessica and Ashlee. All of them having pretty faces, ok voices, and singing mediocre songs; and these captains are still sending  us these so-called pop stars. But when the public is given an opportunity to choose their own through such vehicles as the Idol programs, the public chooses the imperfect?

Apparently, having fantastic singing voices, as opposed to just ok ones, and singing great songs as opposed to mediocre ones, is less than perfection. Maybe if Manilow and Aiken were "prettier," this would bring them closer to perfection? What absolute rot this is, Simon Cowell!

Then we have it reported that Cowell said the following recently: "I would have been wrong, because the competition has turned him [i.e., Clay Aiken] into a star... I don't want 24 people who all look like what our perception of pop stars is. It should be the American musical dream, this show, where someone who wouldn't have been given a chance, like Clay, gets to do well."

This echoes Cowell's sentiment in his book, I Don't Mean to Be Rude But... wherein he said that Clay Aiken was the best thing to have ever happened to American Idol in the sense that someone like Clay who would have never made it in the music industry through the normal channels, got his chance and succeeded. In actual fact, Simon was quite kind to Clay in his book. Simon was very pleased to also find out that with the success that Clay had experienced, Clay still remained the same person that he had known during the AI2 competition. Apparently, Simon has seen success go to the heads of way too many recording artists.

About the only negative thing that Simon Cowell said about Clay in his book was that Clay was extraordinarily ambitious, and to an extent of which most of his fans were not aware. Maybe Simon is right about Clay here, but without strong ambition, it is difficult to succeed in any worthwhile endeavour, and without a doubt, Clay has definitely succeeded as a star. Even Simon has recently said as much, and much to the chagrin of a hot climate-loving Devil. If the Devil should be given his do, then perhaps Simon should be too, and besides, they are just so damned similar.

BEAVERS ON IDOL

[clayMaine-iac]

I am a little early today, so I will leave lots of

           

for all the group to pick up as they stop by!!

Feel free to help yourselves.

Have a great day, everyone!!

[Her]

M.B.  GOOD LUCK TODAY!!!! And thanks for the brew..for you     for a sugar rush!

[Tammy]

GOOD MORNING HER AND DEANNA!

I THOUGHT I WOULD COME DOWNSTAIRS AND CHECK OUT THE NEWS BEFORE I EXERCISED...THANKS AND I'LL BE BACK WHEN I'M DONE....

[Her]

Hi Tammy...have a great day!

[aikenseeker]

Morning News Crew and Mummy!

Gotta post the horoscope and motor this morning.

OY! This getting up early, putting make up on... etc... is HARD!

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

Quickie:
Don't take people at their word. Interrogate them. Dig deeper.

Overview:
Your usual style of conversation is far from bland, but for the next few days, it's going to be even spicier. No one will mind, though -- especially if you deliver every word with that intoxicating humor that's uniquely your own

Daily Extended Forecast:
The good news is this: For the moment, you'll be especially unbridled in the department of conversation -- an astrological 'additive' you really didn't need -- but you'll also be so wildly, unpredictably charming that no one will mind. The bad news? You'll be feeling so absolutely free to say whatever you want, without any guilt, for once, that after this 'gift' from the heavens has passed, you'll miss it. There's only one thing to do: Take advantage of it while it's here.

Daily Flirt:
It's all about art -- make something beautiful happen, even if you haven't created anything since fifth grade. Could this be the beginning of something great?

Daily Couples:
Let your imagination go to town when it comes to a big dream. You don't have to share it with your honey right away -- let it germinate a little longer.

Daily Singles:
Your mood's all over the map, and it's slowing you down. Diagnose the weirdness -- take a look at the big picture of your life and how you're feeling about it all internally. A dream can offer a clue.

Daily Career and Finance:
Before you sign off on a risky venture, make sure you've considered all the possible ramifications. There's no shame in a setback, of course, but you might want to wait for better odds.

Hope ya'll have a great Clay Day!

[Her]

Hey Susan...how was your first day at the new job?

[lorraine]

GOOD MORNING DEANNA AND MY OTHER EARLY MORNING BUDDIES.

THANKS FOR ALL THE NEWS ON OUR HONEY.  LYCO SEARCH STILL IS FAVORABLE TO OUR CLAY.

HOPE TO CHECK BACK FOR MORE UPDATES IN THE DAY.

[Pamela]

Here's some news for you...the Divine Ms D begins her new job today!



Congratulations my friend!!

[Tammy]

CONGRATULATIONS DEANNA!!

LET US KNOW HOW THE NEW JOB TURNS OUT..

[lorraine]

CONGRATULATIONS DEANNA - I THINK THAT WAS THE ONE YOU WERE TELLING ME ABOUT.  THEY ARE SURE LUCKY TO HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL HARD WORKING PERSON.  WILL YOU STILL BE ABLE TO LURK NOW THAT IS THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION.    

[caromiller]

Here is the whole article that the "syndrome" comment came from.

Simon Cowell Center Stage With 'Idol'
By JILL LAWLESS, AP
 
AP
 
With 'American Idol' and Britain's 'Pop Idol' deals, TV judge Simon Cowell has reportedly seen his net worth skyrocket to $85 million.

LONDON (AP) - After more than two decades working his way up - behind the scenes - in the music industry, Simon Cowell sits center stage.

Cowell's withering putdowns of the overconfident and undertalented - first on Britain's "Pop Idol," then on "American Idol," which began its fourth season Jan. 18 - have made him a celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic.

They have also made him very rich. He's worth a reported $85 million, thanks partly to a deal that lets him sign "Pop Idol" winners to his own record label. ("Idol" creator Simon Fuller handles their management and merchandising).

Cowell's success is built on a highly telegenic personality, plus a bluntness that has attracted and appalled millions of viewers and seen him nicknamed "Mr. Nasty" by the press.

"You sang like a ventriloquist's dummy," he told one hapless musical hopeful. To another: "My advice would be if you want to pursue a career in the music business, don't."

Cowell, 45, says he's simply being honest.

"My job is to try and say what I think the audience are thinking at home," Cowell told The Associated Press. "What I've said from day one on `American Idol' is, it doesn't matter how many people turn up, only two are going to be any good. So why give everybody else false hope, because it's such a tough business."

Cowell should know. He has fought his share of battles in a career that - as Cowell's biography on the "American Idol" Web site puts it - "shaped what we consider to be modern pop music today."

Born in Brighton on England's south coast, Cowell dropped out of school at 16 and got his first music industry job in the mailroom at EMI. Later he worked as an executive with the BMG label, signing the briefly famous Curiosity Killed the Cat as well as the boy bands Westlife and Five _ acts that are little-known in the United States but scored multiple No. 1 singles in Britain and Europe.

Cowell showed a knack for working the kitschy, cartoony end of the pop spectrum, overseeing hit singles for a pair of TV actors called Robson and Jerome and for the Teletubbies.

He says that populist touch has served him well.
   
"Part of the reason the music business has had problems are the so-called experts not giving the public what they want," Cowell said. "The public doesn't always want perfection. There's something else - it's the Barry Manilow syndrome, the Clay Aiken syndrome."

Cowell has little patience with critics who say "Idol" winners are disposable creations manipulated by svengalis like himself and Fuller. He says the success of Aiken, the geeky 2003 runner-up, from "American Idol," exemplifies the show's unpredictable appeal.

"Clay Aiken has been and probably will be the biggest-selling `Idol' artist ever - and he didn't fit the mold. He just so happened to be what the public wanted."
There have been misses as well as hits in Cowell's career.

He famously failed to sign the Spice Girls, and didn't spot the potential in Take That, Britain's biggest boy band of the 1990s.

Cowell did not immediately see the allure of talent-show TV, either, turning down the chance to appear on "Popstars," a British forerunner to "Pop Idol," because, as he told an audience at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in August, "I did not think we should be showing the manufacturing process of a group on TV."

He has since changed his mind, but still insists: "I wasn't particularly interested in being on television. I never really went into this - unlike a lot of people who judge these shows - to be a personality per se."

A personality, however, is what he has become.

In Britain, Cowell is fodder for the tabloids, who note his penchant for high-waisted trousers and exhort him to marry long-term - and reportedly long-suffering - girlfriend Terri Seymour.

The Internet is home to a clutch of Cowell fan sites, as well as one that allows you to punch him. He has received one of pop culture's highest accolades - appearing as himself on an episode of "The Simpsons."

Cowell signed a three-year deal with "American Idol" in 2003 and has set up his own TV production company. His latest venture is "X Factor," a star-search show in Britain on which he acts as fellow judge and sparring partner to Sharon Osbourne. (Cowell is being sued by Fuller, who considers the show an "Idol" copycat).

Cowell says he's reluctant to plan far into the future.

"What I've always done in my job is to be reactive," he said. "When I saw `Popstars,' it was quite obvious there was a better show to be made, which was 'Pop Idol.' I was thinking of it then as to what was right for my record label, because all the artists were going to be signed to my label. It was a marketing decision."

He hopes his celebrity will help drive future TV projects, but says: "I don't think I'll be on the shows. I'd rather be in the background."

As for "American Idol," he says: "Some people say yes, of course it's got a finite life and all good things have to come to an end. There's another argument that says maybe this is the musical Super Bowl. Maybe it could run for 20 years."

[lorraine]

SUSAN - I MUST CONGRATULATE YOU ON YOUR 10,000 MILESTONE.  I THINK A WEEKEND WITH CLAY WOULD BE IN ORDER.  HOLY SMOKES 10,000.                                                                          

[Marilyn]

DEANNA- GOOD LUCK ON YOUR NEW JOB- I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!