AIKEN NEWS NETWORK MARCH 17

[clayMaine-iac]

Good Morning, everyone!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

CLAY FEATURED AT PEOPLE.COM
WORLD IDOL
Clay Aiken is a model "idol" as he visits refugees near Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Monday. The singer entertained children who survived December's deadly tsunami and toured the region as a U.S. Fund for UNICEF National Ambassador for Education.

PEOPLE

[clayMaine-iac]

The Broads present IDOL IN INDONESIA

[clayMaine-iac]

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dispatches From the Quagmire
(snip)
Steve Wiecking is a pig, and I'm trying to be the adult I am [Small World, "Shaken, Not Stirred," March 2]. I don't agree with the pope either, but Wiecking is brutal. Has anyone ever taught him the meaning of the word "tact"? Wiecking has none. Oh, and bad idea dissing Clay Aiken like that, trust me; his fans are the most dedicated bunch in the world.
(snip)
Your newspaper (and I used the term newspaper loosely, as it is more of a tabloid) is definitely one of the trashiest ones I've read. In your struggle to stay afloat, you constantly take stabs at decent people who are talented (e.g., Clay Aiken), and you are now trashing the pope [Small World, "Shaken, Not Stirred," March 2]!

SEATTLEWEEKLY

[clayMaine-iac]

Remarks of IRS Commissioner Mark Everson at National Press Club
(snip)
Our telephone service – that is, answering questions from taxpayers – continues to improve. Use of our website, irs.gov, is also up sharply. During the filing season, it is one of the busiest websites in the world. We average more than one million visits a day. Just to give you a frame of reference: One major search engine reported that in a recent week we were surpassed only by Paris Hilton, Clay Aiken, Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, and a poker game. During the past year, we have also rolled out important new on-line services to tax professionals to help them better serve their clients.

ALLAMERICANPATRIOTS

[clayMaine-iac]

Bummer of Love: Sixties Theme Baffles 'Idol' Finalists

The night's weakest three performers -- a competitive race for infamy -- were probably Anthony, Lindsey and Nikko (with Mikalah, Jessica and Constantine also in the mix). However, fans of Ozzie Smith's son may have learned a valuable lesson from his eviction last week and he'll probably skate through. People who have been fooled into thinking that Anthony is the next Clay Aiken (he wishes) may keep him safe as well. That should endanger Lindsey, but what do I know?

ZAP2IT

[clayMaine-iac]

Anthony Federov, “Breaking Up is Hard to Do”

Betsy: Okay, his voice sounded good, but the arrangement and the performance? It was like a giant block of cheese with cheese sauce and parmesan sprinkles… au gratin.

Bruce:I have felt from the start that this young man was being unfairly compared to Clay Aiken but his song choice this week positively dares us to make the comparison. I’d have to say he winds up being Clay “Lite.” He has a third less charisma than the regular Aiken, and less thrilling. He needs to create his own image or he’ll be headed home in a very short while. 5

Brian: (Brian is at a loss for words)

David: Anthony was okay. To steal a line from Simon, I think we could hear the same caliber performance on a cruise ship or hotel (yes, I typed that before Randy said it). It wasn’t bad – it just wasn’t the performance of the American Idol (yes, I typed that before Paula said it). I kind of felt like he should have ended by saying, “Thank you, remember to tip your waiter.” Blah.

Gil: If Anthony wants to put a stop to the comparisons with Clay Aiken, choosing a song by a singer who told Clay, “I give my song to you” is NOT the way to go about it. Granted, Sedaka didn’t say that about this song, but why add more fuel to the fire? Frankly, I don’t know what the judges heard, but I thought it wasn’t as bad as they made it out to be. It wasn’t his best performance to date, but it wasn’t his worst either. I enjoyed his performance tonight. He was at least better than Lindsey, which, admittedly, is not saying much. B

FOXES ON IDOL

[ANGELA]

GOOD MORNING DEANN & EVERYONE ELSE---HAPPY ST PAYY'S DAY TO  ALL OF YOU.   :patty  :patty

THANKS FOR THE NEWS.

HAVE A TERRIFIC DAY & I WILL BE BACK FOR UPDATES.

ENJOY!!

ANGELA

[clayMaine-iac]

Good Morning, Angela!!

Here's some       to go with the news!!

In honor of the day:
          Happy St Patrick's Day        

[Her]

Hi M.B. and Angela!!!!  Hope everyone's wearing their green so they won't get pinched!!!except by maybe a 6'1" redheaded songbird!!!!LOL

Here's another Thanks for the news!

[aikenseeker]

Morning News Crew!

Happy Green Beer day to ya!

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

Quickie:
Get the job done -- fine. But don't let work take over your life. Seek a balance.

Overview:
That closeness you were feeling with a friend could turn to something a lot more personal now, but only if you're willing to talk about it. Could it be actual monogamy? You bet. Wouldn't it be nice to have a steady travel partner?

Daily Extended Forecast:
If you find yourself staring across the office at someone you've known for a long, long time -- and you know it's not the way a friend looks at a friend -- well, things may be changing. After all, haven't you been thinking about this for a while? If the answer is yes, then by all means, explore the possibilities. Just be sure you can still be friends if it doesn't work out.

Daily Flirt:
A whole lot is happening but not a lot of it has anything to do with you. Still, there's a chance you could be trampled in all the madness. When it gets too hot, ditch the kitchen.

Daily Couples:
Your constant need for action could distract you from the task at hand. Focus on finding the top priorities the two of you share.

Daily Singles:
You're in the driver's seat in your love life, but you seem to have temporarily forgotten this rather pertinent fact. Put the pedal to the metal -- if you get pulled over, maybe the cop will be cute.

Daily Career and Finance:
Bide your time and listen to what everyone has to say before deciding to take action. If you can wait until tomorrow or even next week, so much the better.

[lorraine]

GOOD MORNING AND HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY DEANNA, JAYNE, ANGELA, SUZY AND ANYONE JUST ARRIVING.

THANKS FOR THE NEWS ON OUR HONEY.  THEY ARE SO RIGHT ABOUT ANTHONY.  THEY NEED TO STOP THE COMPARISONS AND HE NEEDS TO THINK ABOUT SINGING OTHER SONGS THAT WON'T COMPARE HIM TO CLAY.  NOT A NEIL SEDAKA SONG.  HE NEEDS TO GO.

BE BACK FOR UPDATES.

[Marilyn]

TOP O THE MORNIN' TO YE ALL!!
HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY

LOVED THE LECHEROUS BROADS BIT!!!

HOPE CLAY IS SAFE HOME NOW!

[GWENN]

ACCORDING TO WHAT I JUST READ ON THE CH, CLAY WILL BE PERFORMING TOMORROW AT THE FORCES OF NATURE CONCERT BENEFIT IN MALAYSIA.  WONDER IF HE BROUGHT THE RIGHT CLOTHES AND STUFF FOR THAT.  HOPE THERE IS CLACK.  THEY ALSO SAY THAT THERE IS A RUMOR THAT AT THE GALA FOLLOWING THE CONCERT, PAULA WILL BE THERE.  HOW THE HELL DO THESE LADIES KNOW THIS STUFF?  THEY CLAIM THE CONCERT WILL BE STARTING AT 8 AM EST.

GWENN

[lorraine]

GWENN - VERY INTERESTING.  I MAY APPEAR STUPID BUT WHAT PAULA ARE WE TALKING ABOUT.

[Pamela]

Ex-'Idol' Hires Clay's Lawyer, Releases Album
Thursday, March 17, 2005
By Roger Friedman

"Personal reasons" be damned. The secret is out (and so is the album).

Mario Vasquez, the guy who quit "American Idol" suddenly last week, has been "Clay-ed," or is that "Ai-way-kened?"

He's hired Clay Aiken's high-powered record-industry lawyer. And he may have jeopardized his "amateur" status by being featured on an album that's already been released.

Vasquez, I've learned, has gotten Atlanta entertainment lawyer Jess L. Rosen to represent him. Coincidentally — or not, depending on how you look at it — Rosen is most famous for extricating Aiken from his octopus-tentacled "American Idol" management contract with Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment last year.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Mario is featured on an album that was originally released last May and had a re-release this week, according to Amazon.com. He sings several pop songs as the only guest vocalist on "Worlds of Change," by an Argentine flamenco and R&B guitarist named Cesar.

The whole thing, which sounds like Santana with a younger, more sanctimonious Michael Jackson, can be heard on this Web site. My guess is some enterprising record exec will pick up the whole thing from Los Angeles-based Darque Records and release it under Mario's name.

Someone else will have to decide if that CD violated the "American Idol" rules. The show's Web site states: "In order to be eligible, the contestants are not permitted to have any CURRENT recording or talent-management agreements."

In leaving the show, Vasquez was obviously convinced of the value of bowing out now rather than continuing through the needless process of competition. Aiken would be his role model.

After losing "American Idol" to Ruben Studdard, Aiken realized that he was stuck with a management contract that kept him with Fuller, the show's owner, for years to come at a very high commission.

Rosen got him out of it and moved him over to Jeff Kwatinetz's behemoth agency, The Firm.

The result is that there is now nary a mention of the lovable, Barry Manilow-like Aiken on the "American Idol" Web site, except for unflattering pictures of him in his pre-makeover nerd days. Ouch!

So I guess it's fairly clear that Mario's "personal reasons" were specifically about the money he could make if he bolted the show before being indebted to them legally and financially for a couple of years.

Rosen, who did not return calls, prides himself on negotiating contracts for artists, according to his Web site.

As for Mario, he's also now using Susan Blond for public-relations help. She's the famous PR lady who once made Michael Jackson's "Thriller" a hit.

Next will come rumors that Mario's been signed for management by Tommy Mottola and for recording by Sean Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment at Warner Bros.

No one confirms or denies this, but either way, Rosen will be racking up the billable hours keeping Vasquez out of court once Fuller realizes what's happened.

FOX NEWS

*chuckle*

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone!  

Love

Pammy O'Spamela

[Pamela]

There is an excellent chance that Clay will be a last minute addition to the concert being held in Kuala Lumpur Friday night to benefit the tsunami victims.

I posted this yesterday in the UNICEF thread, but I guess no one saw it.
*sniff*  I'm going to have to learn to assert myself more.  Ah, maybe someday.  

Other celebs are in the Banda Aceh region.  

YEOH JOINS BLACK EYED PEAS  
 
American hip-hop stars BLACK EYED PEAS will be joined by Malaysian-born actress MICHELLE YEOH during a visit to the tsunami-stricken Indonesian province of Banda Aceh today (15MAR05).

The CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON star will represent the FORCE OF NATURE FOUNDATION on the trip organised prior to a fund raising concert in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Friday (18MAR05).

Black Eyed Peas will feature alongside LAURYN HILL, BOYZ II MEN, BACKSTREET BOYS and WYCLEF JOHN as they raise money to rebuild communities destroyed by last year's (04) Indian Ocean tsunami in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.

15/03/2005 09:13

CONTACT MUSIC

The CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON star (Michelle Yeoh) will represent the FORCE OF NATURE FOUNDATION on the trip organised prior to a fund raising concert in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Friday (18MAR05).

A fund raising concert this Friday in Kuala Lumpur.  Wow, wouldn't it be awesome if Clay was there?!?!

STAR ONLINE MALAYSIA

***Please note that things can always change, but again, the chances are EXCELLENT that Clay will perform at this benefit concert!***

[outthereforclay]

Pamela O'Spamela said:

sniff* I'm going to have to learn to assert myself more. Ah, maybe someday

Thank goodness you've finally realized this yourself before I had to talk with you about it!
outthere O'wayoutthere

[Franny]

Top O' the Morning everyone... This is an Irish saying that I wanted to share with y'all-

There are good ships, and there are wood ships, the ships that sail the sea.

But the best ships are friendships, and may they always be.

Wear your green and drink Irish beer, but for goodness sakes watch out for hangovers. They're everywhere.

Thanks for the news... Have a great day.

Not Irish but Irish for the day, if they'll let me...

[lovinclay]

VERY INTERESTING NEWS TODAY!


McMicki

[cjrmax]

So I guess it's fairly clear that Mario's "personal reasons" were specifically about the money he could make if he bolted the show before being indebted to them legally and financially for a couple of years.

Well, Mario sure thinks a lot of himself!  If he is so capable of being a hit without AI, then why did he enter to begin with?  Publicity? Exposure?  No, he didn't need AI!  Not at all!  I have a feeling we will be seeing a few lawsuits before this is all over, especially if being featured on the album violates his eligibility.  I keep thinking, if Clay had quit right after the top 12 was announced, would he be anywhere in the industry today?  I doubt it.  His following had yet to reach a fever pitch.  He would have been yesterday's news in a matter of weeks.  This is where I suspect Mario will end up.  It seems to me he used AI to get the publicity he needed but couldn't get on his own but had no intention of sticking it out.  I don't think that speaks well of him.