So Many Experts

We in the ClayNation have been a little bit sad lately. Clay has been largely out of the spotlight and we haven’t had a tour in (it seems like) forever! Christmas without Clay is just a bit less merry.

We have, however, had a little bit of Clay. The Gala this year raised lots of money for the National Inclusion Project. It was well attended by the fans – happily those with money to spend! We should be celebrating that fact. We should feel proud of Clay and of ourselves for our continued support and success.

Overwhelmingly, though, the response to the Gala this year was not celebratory. It was not proud or happy. What I heard and read over and over again was negative!
“Clay looked tired!”
“Clay should get rid of the spikes.”
“Clay’s voice is shot.”
“The tables weren’t set up well.”
“We couldn’t even see.”
“The lighting sucked.”
And then……………
“OMG, he’s singing Moon River!”
“What if that’s on the next album as he hinted?”
“He’s going to do nothing but covers!”
“I am not going to buy the next album!”
“What he needs to do is……………..”
“What Team Clay needs to do is………..”
“What Decca needs to do is………………”

I am amazed that this fandom seems to be full of experts on the music industry!

Then we had the surprise performance at the David Foster and Friends show in San Jose which brought more expert opinions. My favorite one was, “I am sick to death of UM!” (possibly paraphrased a bit)

Now Clay has blogged and what responses have I seen?
“Orchestra? That means more slow songs.”

We had a Tweet saying that Clay and Ruben will be touring together. And…..?
“OMG! I thought he was trying to escape AI. This will bring it all back.”
“Does he want to be the runner up forever?”

Yada, yada, yada……

My response to all of this is a little bit different. After such a long lack of Clay I was thrilled to see all of the Clack from the Gala. Poor lighting? Better than no lighting! Voice cracks? It was his voice! Loved the DF performance! I will never tire of hearing him sing UM and I thought it completely put to rest any concerns about his voice. The blog? He’s excited! He’s recording! There will be a new album and Clay is happy with it! If he’s happy, I’m happy. Oh yeah – the Tweet? Not really feeling any response yet since the rumor is unconfirmed. I will, though, go to any Clay tour regardless of who else is performing. I happen to like Ruben, but I’d go if Clay decided to tour with Kanye West.

I have read lots of concern about whether or not Clay’s fandom is dwindling. It seems to me the negativity that abounds may be a cause of that. I hope that there are still lots of fans like me – I am an expert on nothing about the music industry. I just know that I love Clay Aiken, I love his voice and I can’t wait to hear him again.

Googling Clay Aiken

Daily. Daily, I google Clay Aiken. Hoping for news. Hoping that Decca speaks to us, his fans. It shall come to pass but, my God, all this waiting is tough going. I know Clay is somewhere out there working whilst we wait. I am so proud of him and cannot wait to participate in the next standing "O" when he returns. And he shall return. Bigger than life and looking better than a body has a right to. After all, he is Clay.

most lovingly,

stargazer

This is EXCITMENT for Clay Aiken!!

 

Clay Aiken Meets David Novik

@deccalabelgroup

A new name for BAF!!

Clay's Blog, 8-5-2009

08/05/09 New Day!

By now you've seen the new National Inclusion Project website and hopefully you are exploring it. One thing that you will come across as you are looking around is something that I am most excited about: the new Bubel/Aiken Founder's Award.

As the website states, it's an award that will be given for outstanding volunteer service to be given annually beginning with the 2009 Champions Gala on October 17, 2009. It was through grassroots volunteer efforts that the National Inclusion Project was started and it is through those efforts that we have been able to make such huge strides for inclusion nationwide.

The award will recognize a person or group who fully embraces the mission of the National Inclusion Project and makes an "above and beyond" effort to raise awareness and support year-round. The staff and Board will be choosing finalists from the nominations that YOU submit, and Diane and I will be selecting the winner personally each year from what I know will be a tremendous amount of qualified and deserving nominees.

You guys have been SOOOOO instrumental in making the organization as successful as it has been this past six years.. and we strongly feel it's important to recognize the folks who we all know have worked so hard. YOU!

Check out the new www.inclusionproject.org to learn about the nominating process and find the form to nominate yourself or other who you find deserving!

This news of the new website is very exciting for all of us.

(for those of you who were hoping for something different... sorry. Just be excited for this, and I promise we'll get you something else "soon"!)

c

Clay Aiken News Network

Carolina On My Mind

Clay Aiken Journey

All That Is Clay Aiken

Chexxxy's Pearls

Popcycleman

Clay Aiken News

There Was a Man

gerra730

Clay Aiken Lookin' GOOD and Havin' FUN!!!

l

All from Jimmy Kimmel and Leno!! And this isn't even a taste of the many times

Clay Aiken has been on their show !!!

For lots more and information about all Clay Aiken visit

Clay Aiken News Network

also check out these sites for more pictures and video's!

All That is Clay Aiken

Clay The Man

Carolina On My Mind

A Clay Aiken Journey

gerra730

and sooooooo many more!

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Happy fan here. Clay Aiken fan, that is. I luff him.

I've been kind of concerned lately when I log on to the OFC. Seems fans are sparse, fans are sparse and interest is sparse. Soooooo, I've wandered around the ClayNation and have found Clay's fans roosting on their home boards. We tend to do that when news is sparse and Clay is in his resting mode. I hate Clay's resting mode but I guess the guy has to rejuvenate at times. Lord when he recharges those engines of his and re-emerges, it's katy bar the door. He always manages to surprise us and get us excited again. I love when Clay excites me. It won't be long now. I feel the buzz. Clay buzzes, yes he does. Where are you gorgeous guy? I'm seriously in need of a fix.

Well.... Clay Aiken Blogged...

The blog is public, so we will post it here too!

Let freedom ring!
Hi all.
I wanted to drop in and say Happy 4th to everyone. The weather in Raleigh is quite nice today. Hope wherever you are you;re able to enjoy the day and time with friends. In traveling for UNICEF these past four years, I’ve really been given a great opportunity to see first hand how fortunate we are in this country to have some of the rights we have. It makes celebrating the birth of our nation more poignant when I think about those in countries who don’t have some of the basic freedoms that we take for granted. If you see a service man or woman today thank them for the role they play (or have played) in making sure that the dream and vision that our founding fathers had 233 years ago has stayed intact.
Hope your holiday is great. Talk soon. c

and as always please check out all the information at Clay Aiken News Network

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, CLAY AIKEN

please visit Clay Aiken News Network

Clay Aiken Responds

posted on his public side

Clay's Blog

Wow! Such influence! ha ha

05/22/09

Who knew I had so much influence and that my words and opinion mattered so much to so many people!?!?! HA HA HA I'll be the first to admit that my opinion is just that, only my opinion, but for as much as some of the bloggers seem to dislike me and care so little about my thoughts, they sure can waste a lot of their space on what I say! If only many of them took the time to pay attention to important things like the US economy and the welfare of the world's children. But... nah... I could blog about that type of stuff anytime and most wouldn't think twice, but let me say something that they can pick and choose quotes and misinterpret me... and it's showtime! I never assumed my opinion mattered so much! I guess I may have been wrong.

That said, since my previous blog got dissected like a biology lab frog, i suppose I should clarify and even retract some of what I wrote.

I am sure that some were upset by my choice of words describing my opinion of a performance I heard from Adam Lambert. I hope no one actually believed that blood truly poured forth from my ears when I heard him. I obviously meant it as a colorful statement to imply that I did not enjoy what I heard. Any performer hopes that their music will appeal to all people, but no singer realistically expects it to. God knows, I am SURE there are PLENTY of people who can't stand to hear me sing either. I wouldn't dream of assuming that, and I am sure that far worse things have been said about my performances than I would even venture to type here. To me, that's fine. I don't expect unanimous, nor even majority support for my music. But, my guess is Adam doesn't either. I would not venture to make judgements on the personality or demeanor of anyone I don't know, so none of what I said in my previous blog was directed as a "slam" on Adam as a person. At the same time, I wouldn't dream of slamming him as an entertainer. He does what he does, because he enjoys it, and he obviously has many fans who enjoy it as well. If what i said in my previous blog regarding my impression of a single performance from Adam upset or offended any of his fans, I expect that the mature ones will realize that it was simply a poorly worded metaphor describing my personal tastes. The only person I would really dream of apologizing to is Adam. And the irony is, if he's smart he couldn't give a crap what I think of his Ring of Fire performance. As an entertainer, Adam knows that one person's opinion of one performance really matters a little less than zero, in the grand scheme of things. He could not have gotten on Idol (nor made it as far as he did) without an immense amount of talent. He surely doesn't need my approval to know he has a gift. At the same time, he realizes that amazing talent doesn't always equal universal appeal. (I could NEVER have the amount of skill and talent that ballet dancers have! that's talent! But, I don't particularly enjoy it!) I am sure that I will have plenty of opportunities in the coming years to hear Adam sing. I imagine he'll be around for years to come. But in the meantime, I definitely don't want to stoop to the level of so many negative freaks on the internet... so, I do apologize to Adam for my colorful (and negative) choice of words. I hope he can forgive me. I imagine he doesn't give a damn! :-) God knows he shouldn't. :-)

---

Now, for those of you who are able to comment on this.... lets take bets as to which bits and pieces of this blog will end up mass distributed. Be creative.... they don't seem to care about punctuation or whether or not they use all of the words in a sentence... so, have fun.... ;-)

For more interesting facts about Clay Aiken try Clay Aiken News Network

David Foster and Friends

for more information and other great information on Clay Aiken visit http://www.claynewsnetwork.com/

Smart or Lucky?

 Clay Aiken

It seems that my blogs always mention how lucky we are to be fans of Clay Aiken. I may have also mentioned how smart we are to have chosen this man to follow.  Nothing’s changed!

This weekend, while apparently in LA with Jaymes and Parker, Clay chose to go to the fan club message board in order to answer questions.  He set up the rules (teacher that he is) and as long as the rules were respected he made himself available to the fans and opened up to the fans.  What a guy!

There are cynics around that think he did this just to up the memberships at the fan club. They say that he has no career news to share and he wanted to keep us “on the hook”. Frankly, that’s not what I think, but if it was true I can only think of that as good business.

As long as I have been a fan (since Day 1), I have fantasized about what it would be like to just hang out with Clay. I have wondered what an evening on the couch, in the family room would be like.  I now think I know a little bit more of what that would be like.  Clay has shared his thoughts – some serious, some silly – and let us feel kind of like we are hanging out on the couch with him. He has treated us as friends and I, for one, feel honored and lucky! (and smart!)

by QBbabe 

For more information please visit   Clay News Network
And to donate, please go to  Bubel Aiken Foundation

Clay Aiken Recieves the Equality Circle Award

Clay Aiken Recieves the Equality Circle Award

For video and pictures, check this out!!!

Dancing Like The Stars

2009

April 26, 2009, at 1pm
N.C. State Fairgrounds

Read all about it here 

Clay Aiken News Network

and here

DancingLikeTheStars2009

Clay Aiken and Dr. Phil

An excellent blog on bullying... http://www.claynewsnetwork.com/ , please check it out!!!






Clay Aiken was bullied as a child, and it continues today.

Everyone has people that don't like you, but some people take it to the next level. I was teased for having red hair, freckles, and wore glasses, and I had skinny legs. I chose to love myself for being different. I still to this day love all of these things about myself. I went on to become a hair stylist, I rode horses and for about 25 years owned, showed, bred, and groomed Old English Sheepdogs, with one of them being in the top 10 of the country for three years in a row, and all the rest retired as Champions.



So instead of retreating into myself, I expressed myself in other ways. As did Clay Aiken, and he is still doing more for this world than any of the bullies ever will.

America's Top Model 2 Hour Preview with Clay Aiken

 Can not Wait!!

Celebrate Me Home!

When Clay performed in “The Work”, I was lucky enough to be there more than once. Each time I teared up when he began to sing “Celebrate Me Home”. I’m not sure why. It’s a pretty song, but was never one of my holiday classics. I think it was the word home that got to me. Here’s one line of that song – “It’s time I found myself totally surrounded in your circles.” I don’t remember that line in particular, but it certainly seems meaningful now.

Saturday night, for the first time that I know of, Clay was able to publicly be surrounded in the circle of gay and lesbian acceptance. I think that this is huge! We, as fans, know some of Clay’s struggle for acceptance. I am positive that we don’t know all of it, nor should we. I suspect that acceptance in Clay’s inner circle of close friends and associates may have come sooner, but public acceptance? Yeah, that took a little longer.

Think of the fear that Clay must have experienced. Fear of letting people down, fear of losing friends and fans, fear of the letting go of dreams and plans he may have once had. We know he’s a pretty tough cookie. We know what he has been able to rise above. We know of the adjustments he’s been able to make in order to survive in a world of bullies and critics and the insane music industry. We’re so proud of him and many of us have learned from him when facing our own situations.

Bullies and critics and the “industry” are small time, though, when compared to acceptance of who one truly is. In the past year I think we have seen a happier, more open and more content Clay. We have seen that his self acceptance has allowed him to live without fear. We have seen him be able to be more trusting since he no longer is hiding a “secret”. We have seen his fans embrace him and his new self identity. Some folks weren’t able to do that, but most of us are right here where we have always been.

Saturday night at the GLAAD awards, we heard Clay say “our” community. He said it proudly and without fear of consequence.

It was a celebration of home.


by QBbabe

Clay Aiken to Judge ANTM

So how does one become a judge on America's Next Top Model?

See for your self the qualifications of listening, learning and delivering!

April 8th, 2009

montage by Suerue!

thank-you!

Clay to present award to Tyra at the GLAAD media Award

03/17/09

Clay Aiken will present the Excellence in Media Award to Tyra Banks at the 20th Annual

GLAAD Media Awards on March 28, 2009 at the Marriott Marquis. The GLAAD Media Awards

recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian,

gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their lives. For

information on how to purchase tickets, please visit www.glaad.org/mediaawards

Twilight and Clay Aiken

Robert Pattinson

Clay Aiken

Hello?

Am I the last person in the Universe to read Twilight, the first in a series of, perhaps, really strange vampire stories?

Bella is the heroine of the story and Edward is the hero. I'll assume you know the rest. But! Is there no one out there who relates Edward to Clay Aiken? Bella could not look Edward in the face because he was so beautiful. When he spoke, his voice was so ethereal that she could hardly think or take it all in.

Have you met and talked with Clay Aiken? I have had the pleasure and unfortunately, he didn't bite me on the neck. ;) Clay is so gorgeous that even though I looked into his face, I cannot remember doing so. His eyes are mesmerizing. Do you remember looking into his eyes or do you just know that they are a beautiful emerald green. Can you remember what he said? Is his voice so mellifluous that the words just wash over you without meaning. Did you think you had died and gone to Heaven? Would you offer up the softness of your neck for his kiss (bite)?

Clay Aiken fans, affectionately call this state of mind the Aiken Fog.

Bite me, Clay. I wanna join your zombie horde. :)

Twilight is due out on DVD; March 21, 2009.... can not wait

stargazer

Stay in Your Own Lane

That's something that the judges on AI say alot!

"Be who you are." "Showcase your strengths." "Don't try to be someone you're not."

I guess that works for a lot of the contestants - maybe even most of the contestants. Kelly's talent would be wasted singing lullabyes. Carrie would be ridiculous doing rap. I can't see David Cook doing country.

Maybe, though, just maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the judges are wrong to say that to the contestants. At least they were wrong once. Way back in Season 2 they wanted Clay to stay in his lane. They loved the ballads he did, but didn't give any thought to the fact that maybe he could do more.

Thank goodness for post AI! We now know that Clay can sing anything! We've seen him do rap, we've seen him do disco, we've seen him do country and bluegrass and Broadway! Sure, we're fans and we've said we would pay to hear him sing the phonebook. The truth is, though, that anyone with an appreciative ear can discover that Clay can sing anything.

What we, as fans, always hope for is a larger audience who can learn what we know. My own hope is that, as Clay moves forward in his career, he will not be contolled any longer by a label who wants him to stay in his lane. Whether he signs with 143, a different label or self produces I just want him to be able to sing all kinds of music so that more people will learn what we know.

Just sing, Clay! Sing whatever feels right for you. You don't have a lane anymore.

Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word...

Sorry?

Sorry should be the word that Von utters for his rendition of Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word by Elton John which was brilliantly sung by none other than Clay Aiken on his cd, ATDW. Seems that Von failed to check it out before attempting to sing it on AI the other night.

Not only did Sir Elton sing it beautifully (he's one of my all time favorites) but Clay's version is simply beautiful.

I have no idea why Simon thought Von reminded him of Clay. Who knows why Simon thinks anything and for that matter who really cares. Perhaps because Von appeared to be a young innocent as Clay appeared to be back in 2003. Clay may have appeared to be young and innocent but we have found out over the years that young and innocent Clay had nerves of steel and tremendous strength of will. Shall I mention voice? No one compares. Have a listen to Clay Aiken and his beautiful voice singing Sorry....



by stargazer

An American Idol wild card. Is being compared to Clay Aiken bad? Take a listen

Thank-You to Claymazing for this AMAZING Montage!!!

These Open Arms by Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken Wild Card Night

In honor of American Idol Wildcard... reliving a great night

Ashes by Clay AIken

Clay Aiken.... A NEW DAY

I love this picture....

Isn't That Crazy?

Many years ago I attended a wedding. It was a Catholic ceremony with a full mass and was very formal and "by the book". My impression of the Catholic church was one of mystery, ritual, formality and little, if any, personality. Imagine my surprise when the priest said, "So Jim and Marilyn are getting married. Isn't that crazy?" What priest says that? What officiant pooh poohs the idea of marriage?

He then went on to say that none of us knows what will happen tomorrow, or next month or next year or certainly not in 5, 10, 25 or 50 years! He said it was crazy for this couple to make the commitment they were making when they had no idea what the future would bring. Then he said, "How beautiful! How beautiful that, despite not knowing, they are sure that they will face it together."

Well here we are in the latest drought. We've been here before, but that doesn't make it any easier. This time we have to feel a little less important to Clay. He has a son now. He has a relationship with Jaymes that is far more involved than when we thought of her as simply his executive producer. From what we know, Clay has a romantic relationship as well. These are RL for him. These are people who affect him daily in ways that fans never will.

We also know now that Clay has parted ways with RCA. Most of us believe that's a good thing. We also know that OMWH did not sell well when compared with his previous albums or whe compared to some other artists. That alone could be a whole separate blog!

In spite of these things, we believe that we will see him again. We believe that "the best is yet to come" ~tmJaymes. We believe that his career is still in its early stages and that all he is capable of doing will happen. We believe that he will tour for us. We believe that he will keep making albums and that they will be successful. We believe that he will be in movies and on TV and back on Broadway again sometime. We believe that TBAF will continue to grow and help children on a huge scale. We believe that the children of the world will continue to benefit from Clay's UNICEF ambassadorship. We believe that he loves us.

Isn't that crazy? How beautiful!

Clay Aiken Leaves Record Label

This is a GREAT DAY!!!

I'm just so ding dang HAPPY!!!

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20260594,00.html

2009 Golfing for Inclusion

2009 Golfing for Inclusion

Monday, January 26

Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Click here for event details.

Join hosts Clay Aiken and
PGA Professional Wayne Player
to benefit The Bubel/Aiken Foundation

Clay Aiken In Spamalot

Last Night is January 4th, 2009

It's been soooo much FUN!!!!