Clay's Daily Double

Clay at Capital Awards night in NC Monday

2009-05-21T11:52:00.004-05:00

This past Monday night, Clay presented the award for Outstanding Musical at the second annual Capital Awards for High School Musical Excellence. It was the North Carolina Theatre's version of the Tony Awards, recognizing outstanding high school musical productions and performances in 17 categories.

Here are a few photos from the event:

Photo Credit: Raleigh Downtowner

Clay at Rosie's Broadway Kids

2009-04-29T16:06:00.006-05:00

Clay recently taped a segment to be shown at the Rosie's Broadway Kids event. He mentored children regarding their performances and did a wonderful job as usual. Here are a few more photos from the video at the event.

Clay to Perform With David Foster

2009-04-29T15:35:00.005-05:00

From Mandalay Bay.com

David Foster and Friends

Location: Mandalay Bay Events Center

Date: May 9th, 2009
Price: $134.25, $81.75, $55.50

Back by popular demand, a concert celebration featuring music’s premier songwriter and producer David Foster will take place Saturday, May 9 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The event will pay tribute to the 15-time Grammy winner and will feature Clay Aiken, Philip Bailey from the chart-topping band Earth, Wind & Fire, Brian McKnight, Peter Cincotti and Oprah Winfrey’s protégé, Charice. Foster also will perform some of the hits he has written or produced during his 40-year musical career. The event is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

Tickets are still available. You can also purchase tickets to the after party at

Vegas Uncorked

Clay Spotted In Beverly Hills

2009-04-26T12:19:00.003-05:00

LiesAngeles.com spotted Clay in Beverly Hills yesterday. Check out that sweater! Looking fab, Clay!

Clay Aiken Receives Award From Family Equality Council

2009-04-22T12:56:00.006-05:00

Last night, Clay received the Equality Circle award from the Family Equality council at Tavern on The Green in NYC. You can see his acceptance speech via Youtube.

Here's a wonderful video from mustbeeme

Here are a few photos on the red carpet from before the special awards dinner, A Night At The Tavern from Isdollylovesclay

Date Set For Champions Of Change Gala

2009-04-01T00:01:00.004-05:00

SAVE THE DATE!!! The 2009 Champions of Change gala will be taking place October 17th 2009 in Raleigh, NC!

For ticket information and other information regarding the event please visit:

http://www.bubelaiken.org/Portals/0/skins/bubelaiken_self/documents/copy/TheVoice-March09.pdf

Clay To Appear At Rosie O'Donnell's Bway Kids Event

2009-03-31T23:56:00.003-05:00

On Martha Stewart's TV Show, Rosie announced that Clay would be taking part in her broadway kids event taking place April 27th in NYC.

For more information regarding tickets and the event, you can visit Rosie's Broadway Kids site.

http://www.rosiesbroadwaykids.org/rbkidslatest/2009/03/26/april-27-benefit-concert/

Clay on America's Next Top Model Mention

2009-03-28T13:25:00.005-05:00

You can find this in the April 6th copy of In Touch on newsstands now!

Everyone make sure to set your DVRs for America's Next Top Model on April 8th!

Here's a larger version of the photo of Clay and Paulina Porizkova.

Clay on ANTM UPDATE

2009-03-13T21:05:00.004-05:00

From TV Guide

Recently during an interview with TV Guide, Tyra spilled some Top Model secrets on what we can expect this season.

TVGuide.com: How does this season differ from past seasons?
Tyra Banks: Well, we are back in NYC for Cycle 12, and this season is fiercer than ever — seriously! The girls are actually put up in an apartment on the Upper East Side — which is so Gossip Girl! We have a really strong and unique mix of girls. There's also some very special celeb appearances — Clay Aiken, a close friend of mine, will actually pose as a designer, and Ciara will be making a cameo as well. And the final runway is beyond exciting — let's just say it was the most slippery walk-off yet.

Clay to present at the GLAAD Awards

2009-03-13T21:01:00.003-05:00

From People.com

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation just added two presenters to its 20th-annual Media Awards celebration: Clay Aiken and T.R. Knight.

Aiken will present the Excellence in Media award to Tyra Banks, recognizing her commitment to featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people on both her talk show and America's Next Top Model. Knight will present the Vito Russo Award to Suze Orman, the best-selling author and CNBC financial guru.

GLAAD's awards will be handed out March 28 at New York City's Marriott Marquis.

Clay At NY Airport Featured in Popeater's Hottest Pics

2009-03-13T20:49:00.004-05:00

This week on Popeater, Clay was featured in the "PopScene" celebrity photo section featuring this week's hottest pics. He's shown as 1 of 30.

Clay To Appear On NBC's 30 Rock!!!!

2009-03-13T20:33:00.007-05:00

From NY Daily News

What do Mary J. Blige, Clay Aiken and Elvis Costello have in common? All three are the latest celebs to make cameos on “30 Rock.” According to a spy, the trio was on the show’s set Wednesday, hanging out with Tina Fey and company. “They were psyched to meet Tina,” our insider reports. “But it was Alec Baldwin who had everyone cracking up — that guy is hilarious!”

No date has been announced as to when Clay will appear on the show.

Clay Leaves RCA

2009-02-21T12:02:00.003-06:00

It's finally been confirmed. Clay has left RCA Records. Here's more information from
People.com

The rumors started when his likeness was removed from his record's Web site and now Clay Aiken is setting the record straight: the former American Idol has parted ways with RCA Records, Aiken's rep has confirmed exclusively to PEOPLE.

"We were unable to come to terms in a recent contract negotiation, and decided that it was best to move on," the rep, Cindi Berger, said Friday.

The buzz about Aiken's exit was fueled earlier this week when his picture disappeared online and Billboard, citing unnamed sources, reported Friday that Aiken, 30, had been dropped by the label.

According to Billboard, Aiken’s 2008 album “On My Way Here” sold just 159,000 copies in the U.S., compared to his 2003 debut album, “Measure of a Man,” which sold 2.78 million copies.

Aiken ended a stint in January in the Broadway run of Monty Python’s Spamalot, and told PEOPLE in December that he looked forward to returning to his native North Carolina with his son Parker, born Aug. 8, following the show. "I want to spend time with Parker," Aiken said. "He's still uber-dependent. I'm ready for him to start talking. I'm ready for a little action!"

Aiken also said he was looking forward to some downtime: "We'll take a little bit of time, we're not quitting or anything, we're just going to take it slow for a month or so and recollect once I get back," he said. "I may never have any free time once Parker starts walking and talking!"

Celebrity Educational Activism: Spotlight on Clay Aiken

2009-02-19T23:16:00.000-06:00

From Edupinion.com

These are difficult times for K–12 education, with the economy and state budget cuts jeopardizing what were already severely compromised programs. Although active parent communities can help keep some offerings afloat, few have the financial resources to effect change on a larger scale.

Many celebrities, however, include education in their philanthropic activism. A relatively recent newcomer to this arena is former American Idol singer Clay Aiken, who has been unusually active in furthering educational missions. As he explains on his website, "My music career has allowed me to do the same thing I was doing before—work with kids. It has just given me a bigger stage, so I can enact change on a grander scale."

Before Idol, Aiken was pursuing a degree in special education and tutored a boy with autism. After successfully launching his singing career, Aiken quickly formed the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which "serves to bridge the gap that exists between young people with special needs and the world around them" through inclusion and other programs. The foundation has been awarded grants to "create, test and launch a national model for an innovative K–12 Inclusive Service Learning curriculum which teaches social and life skills to children of all abilities while helping to dispel stereotypes and stigmas about disabilities."

From 2006 to 2008, Aiken served on the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Since 2004, he has also served as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, enabling "all children in the world to obtain a primary education" and helping children who have survived disasters, live in deplorable conditions, and must have education restored quickly. "School provides stability and hope when little else can," Aiken explains on his website. "Just to have someplace safe and meaningful to go can mean so much to children in tragic circumstances."

Through the generosity and activism of celebrities like Clay Aiken, important aspects of and initiatives in education can progress. As our schools continue to struggle with shoestring budgets, assistance from celebrities and others with the wherewithal to effect change and galvanize people into action may increasingly be key to the survival of important educational programs.

Ghosts of American Idol's Past

2009-02-19T08:47:00.004-06:00

Fresh from Tyra's Website!

There's a great little Clay mention on her site. Here's a larger version of the picture and the great caption underneath.

"Call him the "Comeback Kid" — Clay was voted off, but America voted him back onto the show. We loved Clay even before there were "Claymates"!"

If you want to go leave a comment or check out the other Idol photos, check out

Tyra's TV Show Website

TBAF Grant to program in Monterey County, California

2009-02-19T08:27:00.002-06:00

From The Californian.com

Grant broadens after-school fun for disabled kids

Staff report • February 10, 2009
A new grant announced today will give disabled kids in Monterey County a chance to learn and play with their peers in an all-inclusive social setting.
The Bubel/Aiken Foundation awarded $15,000 to the Special Kids Crusade to introduce Let's ALL Play, a recreational after-school program being developed in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County.
The grant will allow children with developmental disabilities to enjoy a social recreational experience in an inclusive setting.

The Bubel/Aiken Foundation has been developing its Let's ALL Play Program since 2004.

Today, the Foundation supports 29 recreational programs across the country.

Through the Let's ALL Play Program, the Foundation supports recreational programs in their efforts to implement inclusion by providing a program model, funding, and training.

Let's ALL Play helps bring an inclusive recreational experience to children with disabilities.

It gives children with developmental disabilities the same experience as those without.

Children with disabilities and their peers who are typically developing come together to participate in recreational activities such as games, arts and crafts, physical fitness, science and technology, and more.

Online: www.specialkidscrusade.org

Broadway Bears Raises Over $150,000 for BC/EFA; Spamalot Bear Is King

2009-02-17T21:39:00.001-06:00

From Playbill News

For the second consecutive year, the Spamalot bear — signed by former "American Idol" finalist and Spamalot star Clay Aiken — raised the most money at the annual Broadway Bears fundraiser, which was held Feb. 15 at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on West 42nd Street.

The Spamalot bear brought in $16,000 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Broadway Bears XII — hosted by Bryan Batt — earned a total of $152,116 for the charitable organization.

Other top money-makers were Alan Strang with Nugget from Equus ($10,000), Glinda from Wicked ($7,000) and Growltiger from Cats ($5,500). Lorna Kelly was the evening's auctioneer.

The yearly event features a host of teddy bears dressed as famous Broadway characters, many autographed by the original stars who wore the original (human-sized) outfits. Among the bears that were auctioned this year included Sir Thomas More from A Man for All Seasons, Be Our Guest Eggbeater from Beauty and the Beast, Gabriella from Boeing-Boeing, Growltiger from Cats, Nugget with Alan Strang from Equus, Mama Rose "Some People" from Gypsy, Mama Rose "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy, Mimi Marquez from Rent, Sir Robin from Spamalot, Wendla from Spring Awakening, Glinda from Wicked and Elizabeth from Young Frankenstein.

Last year's auction, also hosted by Batt, brought in $127,000 for the charitable organization. The Spamalot bear — signed by Clay Aiken and David Hyde Pierce — was the top-selling bear, bringing in $17,000.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grants making organization. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, BC/EFA raises funds for AIDS-related causes and other critical illnesses across the United States. Since its founding in 1988, BC/EFA has raised over $150 million dollars for critically needed services for people with AIDS and other serious illnesses.

For more information about Broadway Bears XII or Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, visit the BC/EFA website at www.broadwaycares.org or call (212) 840-0770, ext. 268.

Broadway Bears Update

2009-02-12T20:53:00.004-06:00

With 1 day and 16 hours left on the Spamalot Sir Robin bear and a total of 36 bids so far, the leading bid at the moment is $7500! As you can see on the site, the auction ends Valentine's day. This bear could make the perfect gift for your special someone or yourself!

You can keep watch on the auction too by visiting this link:

Spamalot Bear Signed By Clay Aiken Auction

Clay Blogged!

2009-02-12T20:01:00.006-06:00

CLAY BLOGGED!!!!!

I know everyone is very excited. For all of you that are OFC members, be sure to hurry on over and check it out.

ALSO REGARDING MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL:

The date for membership renewal has been changed to February 20th.
They are also asking that no one renew a membership until it is posted on the OFC site.

If you're not a member, keep checking back to Clay's Official Fan Club site and sign up!

www.clayonline.com

Jaymes Interview on WRAL FM Duke Radiothon Today

2009-02-12T19:10:00.003-06:00

Today WRAL FM held a radiothon for Duke University Medical Center. Part of the radiothon was to discuss stories about the hospital. Linda Loveland announced that they would play a pretaped interview from Jaymes giving her account of Parker's surgery and her praise for Duke.

Here's a recap from Clayscience21 at the CB:

Jaymes' account:

At 4 weeks, Parker started becoming very, very ill, culminating in vomiting. It became clear to them he wasn't getting nourishment. Doctor told them to go to Durham regional where they spent 8 hours in the emergency room with Parker. Durham suggest Duke Children's since Durham did not have pediatric ward. Jaymes mentioned that Clay was aware of Duke's reputation as a local resident but Jaymes was also aware of Duke even growing up elsewhere since it has a national reputation. The condition was diagnosed as pyloric stenosis, common in children. It's a muscle at the bottom of the baby's stomach that overgrows and obstructs the passage of food to the intestines. Doctors said surgery was urgent and needed to occur within 24 hours. It was terrifying for Jaymes and Clay. The thought of Parker under anesthesia was scary. Parker was in the hospital for 4 days and 4 nights. It was shocking to be in that situation. But doctors and nurses at Duke were calming and comforting. Parker was doing great now and just celebrated his six months birthday. The surgery was an instant fix with a fast recovery and with Parker able to take a bottle right away. He's very happy and healthy now.

Lynda followed up the taped interview with her comments about being in contact with Clay and Jaymes about this and that Parker was the cutest, happiest little kid.

The male DJ suggested that Claymates listening could donate online if they were interested.

You can download the interview by clicking on the link below:

Jaymes Interview On WRAL

Love Is In The Air

2009-02-11T21:51:00.013-06:00

Valentine's Day is almost here. This February 14th, give a gift you and your valentine can both enjoy during your romantic evening together.

Give the gift of Clay!

You can purchase his new album "On My Way Here", as well as his others, at any store that sells compact discs (such as Wal-Mart, FYE, Best Buy) or make a purchase online with Amazon or iTunes.

If you're really feeling sweet, you can give the gift that keeps on giving.

Make a donation to The Bubel Aiken Foundation. Every little bit helps.

To make a donation and give a little bit of your heart this valentine's day. You can do so at the following website.

Click To Give Some Love To TBAF

Happy Valentine's Day To All Of You From C.D.D.!

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS - Broadway Bears XII

2009-02-09T14:11:00.010-06:00

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

Presents
THE BROADWAY BEARS XII
Sunday, February 15th, 2009
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
237 W42nd Street

Broadway Bears is an auction featuring a cuddly chorus line of one-of-a-kind teddy bears, each meticulously outfitted in original, handmade costumes by Broadway’s leading costume designers and representing memorable characters from plays and musicals, past and present.

The skill and imagination devoted to the creation of these coveted collectibles has been recognized worldwide, from The Museum of The City of New York – where 10 bear alumni reside as part of the permanent costume collection – to media acclaim as far away as England and Japan. In addition, noted designers such as Bob Mackie have created original bears for these auctions.

BC/EFA is very grateful to the creative and talented artists who designed, outfitted, costumed, draped, frocked, dressed, shod, hatted, painted, armored, tattooed, stuffed, “lipoed,” wigged, bejeweled and feathered the Broadway Bears – and in doing so created truly one-of-a-kind, museum-quality pieces for auction. BC/EFA is also indebted to The North American Bear Company for generously donating now hundreds of bears – each of which went out a bare bear and came back a star!

SPAMALOT Bear signed by Clay Aiken!

Click Here For More Information: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids

Clay To Appear On "America's Next Top Model"

2009-02-09T14:05:00.004-06:00

Yes it’s true! Clay Aiken will be appearing in the upcoming season of “America’s Next Top Model.” He will participate in an acting challenge with the ladies and serve as a guest judge on the panel. The April 8 episode featuring Clay will air on the CW as part of the series' 12th cycle that kicks off Feb. 25.

Golfing For Inclusion 2009

2009-02-09T12:26:00.009-06:00

The Bubel Aiken Foundation recently had something to celebrate. The 2nd annual Golfing For Inclusion event took place at the Mirasol Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens on January 26th. While the economy is on the decline, TBAF still had an excellent turnout.

They had several great auctions all with wonderful end results. Here are just a few of the items that were up for bid that evening:

SRHP Autographed Stool - $5,500
Original POYB, signed score - $6,600
Dinner with Clay (anywhere, with bidder & 3 others) - $35,000
Clay Voice Message - $2,500

The grand total for the evening was a whopping $100,000, a great success for any night of auctioning. It was reported that about $15,000 will be donated to the Peter Blum YMCA in Boca Raton.

(Pictures by Susan Diane Photography)

If you would like to learn more about The Bubel Aiken Foundation or make a donation, please visit the following website.

www.bubelaiken.org

Clayboard Celebrating Clay's 30th Birthday With "Fundraiser" and "Acts of Kindness"

2008-11-17T20:59:00.011-06:00

Clay will turn 30 on November 30. That is less than 2 weeks, in fact, only 12 days.

One way you can celebrate Clay's 30th birthday is by participating and The Clayboard's annual Clayboard Team for Inclusion TBAF Two Fold Birthday Celebration Project, which includes (1) a fundraiser for The Bubel Aiken Foundation, and (2) encouraging people to reach out to others in various acts of kindness.

A thread is set up at The Clayboard which is dedicated to this celebration.
You can go to the Clayboard Team 4 Inclusion Clay's B-day BAF Fundraiser and read all about it, or just read below about the details. Mamarose at the Clayboard has written up a wonderful explanation of the Birthday Celebration Project:

Before I get into details of this year's Birthday Celebration Project, let me explain how you can become a part of our Clayboard Team for Inclusion TBAF Beta Alpha Chapter!

What is Beta Alpha you ask:

"Beta Alpha is a nationwide community project where groups come together to raise funds and build awareness for full inclusion. Beta Alpha allows you to turn any event, golf tournaments, tennis matches, marathons, auctions, into one that helps support the goal of inclusion. It will also allow people to make individual donations to join the cause."

Anyone wishing to be a member of The Clayboard Team for Inclusion must register individually. Registering is very simple and only takes a minute or two. Go to the Beta Alpha Individual Registration Page. Fill out the form you see there. On the form, you will see a space asking you to fill in the name of your chapter/group. If you wish to become a part of our Clayboard chapter, there you should type in our title, Clayboard Team for Inclusion. It is as simple as that! Of course individuals may register without becoming a member of a chapter, but we really would love to build a great Beta Alpha Chapter here at The Clayboard and we hope you will join us. Registration is open to EVERYONE!!!

***And now on to our Clayboard Team for Inclusion TBAF Two Fold Birthday Celebration Project!!!***

PART ONE of our Birthday Celebration Project will be a fundraiser to benefit The Bubel/Aiken Foundation. To make a contribution to our TBAF fundraiser, please CLICK HERE: TBAF DONATION PAGE and follow the directions given there to make your online donation.

IMPORTANT NOTE, PLEASE READ: IN ORDER TO HAVE YOUR DONATION COUNT AS A CLAYBOARD TEAM FOR INCLUSION DONATION, you must include the name of our chapter when filling out the donation form. In the box marked "Beta Alpha Chapter," just type in Clayboard Team for Inclusion. That way your donation will go into the total being raised by our Chapter for this drive.

Also note that the donation form offers suggestions for donation amounts, but there is also a box included for "Other" in which you can write in the donation amount of YOUR choice. Please remember...NO DONATION IS TOO SMALL!

Although TBAF will keep a tally of the contributions coming in, as we did last year, we will also be manually tabulating our daily totals so we can keep you posted on how the fundraiser is coming along.

So, after you have made your TBAF donation, please follow these steps:

Send a PM Mamarose10 (take the link above to the Clayboard thread and click on Mamarose's name in the first post to send her a PM) and include in your PM the following information:

1. The total amount of your donation (Type carefully & accurately please!).

2. Your screenname, if you wish to be included on a participant list that will be published with birthday greetings to Clay. If you chose, you can also be listed as Anonymous.

Please note: Donation amounts will NOT be published. Every donation, large or small, is important and equally appreciated!

PART TWO of our project will be a little different. We all know that sometimes monetary donations are just not possible, but that should never stop anyone who wishes to take part in Clay's birthday celebration. Those who cannot make a monetary donation to TBAF at this time, are welcome to instead participate in some thoughtful and intentional acts of kindness in Clay's name. It can be anything from helping an elderly neighbor to volunteering at a local soup kitchen or whatever you choose.

The names of ALL participants, both those who make a monetary contribution and those who perform an act of kindness, will be included on a birthday card to be presented to Clay at the end of the month.

To participate in the Thoughtful and Intentional Acts of Kindness Project, please follow these steps:

Send a PM Mamarose10 and include in your PM the following information:

1. A BRIEF synopsis of your act of kindness.

2. Your screenname so we may include you on a participant list that will be published with birthday greetings to Clay. If you wish, you can also be listed as Anonymous.

****Lurkers/non-Clayboard members who would like to participate may feel free to donate and email clayboardadmins@gmail.com to report their donations.

As the days go by, we will try our best to keep you posted with updates on how our fundraising and acts of kindness totals are coming along.

Our fundraiser will officially end at Noon Eastern Time on November 29th. As soon as we are able we will post the total amount raised.
So let's get this party started!!!!!! If you have not done so already, please join us in becoming a member of our Clayboard Team for Inclusion Beta Alpha Chapter, and let's make this a month where we show Clay that we support him, love him and celebrate each and every day the joy he has brought to all of us!

Thanks to Mamarose for this explanation. Please give if you can, and you can help make this a memorable celebration for both Clay and The Bubel Aiken Foundation.

BAF Fundraiser for the Holidays!!

2008-11-04T11:06:00.014-06:00

ILLINOIS VOICES FOR INCLUSION PRESENTS
HOLIDAY CARDS 4 INCLUSION
An approved Bubel/Aiken Foundation Fundraiser
Once again to benefit the Bubel/Aiken Foundation this holiday season we are selling holiday cards. There are 2 different styles of cards available. Each style has 3 different card designs. Each package of cards contains 12 cards; 4 of each design. Both sets; "Holiday Fun" and "Winter Wonderland" were drawn by family members of those in our group.
All cards are 4 1/2 by 6 1/2 and envelopes are included.

Style #1 - Holiday Fun
Inside card - JOY TO THE WORLD

Style #2 - Winter Wonderland
Inside Card - WISHING YOU A HOLIDAY FULL OF
HAPPINESS, PEACE AND UNITY

Each package of 12 cards is $12 plus $3 postage. For orders of 2 packages and over postage will only increase $1 per package.
CARDS WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SEASON.
To place your order please email us at holidaycards4inclusion@yahoo.com

In your email include -
Your name and address
The number of packages you will be ordering and the style being ordered.
We will respond to you with payment information.
We would prefer check or money order, but will be accepting Paypal. All Paypal orders must add an additional $1 per order.

53% of all proceeds from the sale of these cards will go to the Bubel/Aiken Foundation. We hope that you will join us as we celebrate the holidays and continue our goal of Creating Awareness and Supporting Inclusion.

Tidbits 11-04-08

2008-11-04T09:59:00.012-06:00

This was reported at WRAL.com today:

This is a sad day for Team Clay. No comments required.

Judge: Aiken book writer can pursue damages

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina Court of Appeals ruling says the author of a book about Clay Aiken can seek compensation from an incident involving the "American Idol" singer's bodyguard.

In the ruling filed Tuesday, a judge said Jeannie Holleman had provided enough support for her claim for compensation.

At a fundraising event in Hawaii in 2005, Holleman says Aiken's bodyguard grabbed her and pulled her from a chair she was seated in next to Aiken.

Holleman wrote a book, "Out of the Blue ... Clay it Forward - How One Man & His Fans Are Changing The World." Holleman said Aiken's mother and family friends conspired against the book, calling it untrue and disparaging it on fan sites.

Isn't it great that Clay gets such great acceptance amongst some of the big names in the industry. The more connections he makes, the more his name is brought up the better chance he stands for a continued career, thanks Gayle.

Did anyone post Gayle King (Oprah's friend) mentioned on her XM radio show last Friday Clay sit down beside her at David Foster's birthday bash? She asked him to see pictures of Parker and of course he was delighted. She said he was a beaming dad (not sure exact adjective)...but very excited to talk about Parker. She said he had one picture of Parker made with his "Passport"....(how cute).

She said they were sitting at the table with Donald Trump and a lot of big name celebrities but I cannot for the life of me remember who else....

Gayle said she is a Clay Aiken fan and has him on her IPod...!!! Yea Gayle!!!

Rpoppert at the Clayboard says of her montage on YouTube:

I love seeing the smile on Clay's face. The sheer joy of when he is just happy. HE almost glows. This is a montage to highlight recent months, and just how happy Clay has been. I hope you enjoy!

I couldn't resist this since today is the big voting day. MorganRowan posted this at the Clayboard and I just love it and thought all should see it. Even though Clay voted about three weeks ago, it is still something I know he is sad about. Check out the photo and see why:

Spring Awakening

2008-11-04T09:33:00.008-06:00

This is just a sample of all the wonderful photos of Clay along with the kids at Spring Awakening. Clay Aiken Visits "Spring Awakening" on Broadway, 11/03/2008 at The Eugene O'Neill Theatre on Broadway. Wouldn't it be nice if Clay became one of the headmasters in this play from Jan 6th through the 18th when Spring Awakening closes? Well, perhaps some have had enough drama with Broadway already, but after all it is Clay's career. I am just pleased that he visited the kids and had some wonderful photos taken. If you haven't heard of Spring Awakening, it is a play that has been kept from being produced for over 100 years because of its content. It is a story with the usual problems of kids, but has some dire consequences. It sounds like an excellent play and probably worth a look see while you are in NYC getting your last chance to see Clay in Spamalot.

http://www.filmmagic.com/ItemListing.aspx?cgl=341420&evntI=0

Spamalot 11-02-08

2008-11-03T09:24:00.012-06:00

A report for the 11-02-08 matinee from dancermom2 at the ClackHouse:

No matter how many times she sees it, she still laughs -- in 2nd row, so close she feels like she could touch Clay
Not Yet Dead -- the part where he asks about fighting and Lance says there's a lot of that and Clay says ... "Oh" ... then "Good" ... his voice dropped so low ... very funny
Camelot scene -- He looked at the girl in Blue and said "I want you"
Lots of Tongue action, esp. during the horse riding in "Grail" ...
she said can hear his "real" voice, not just the mic'ed voice and it's so neat
LOTL's gauntlet ... guy above Clay caught it right out of his hand, and Clay was "so up.set."
Merle (LOTL) is much better than opening night -- this time she def. held her own in the "Song That Goes Like This" with Galahad
Orchestra almost full (some empty far sides) & mezz full in middle -- can't see balcony

continued:

Good things today...it was good to see Spam again. Merle has grown into her role so that I didn't miss Hannah tonight. In the guard scene he picked up leaves that had fallen on the stage and added them to his spear decorations. We got a wonderfully sung Amen. It was soft...and he did a scale....amen. It was almost like a lullaby amen. Rick and Tom and David are wonderful in the show and I am so glad they were all there today. During the Curtain Bright Side of Life...something was going on with Patsy's hat...and Rick was massaging his head...and then got it straightened out. It was funny! In the Wedding scene...Clay popped his top hat out. I have never noticed him doing that before!

Here is a report from Zippy888 at the Clayboard:

Hi

Waiting at the airport on our way home.

Nov 2 Matinee recap:
- Clay sang "A...men"; he does it quietly as if in Church. He pauses, looks out over his glasses and then sings "Amen."
- In the finale no., Clay played with his top hat and somehow squished it and then popped his top hat with a loud pop!
- Clay's ears stuck out his helmet, with all the ribbons and floral arrangement.
- Clay bent down to pick up a branch with 3 leaves and started to play with it and stuck it in his helmet.

No stage door - Jerome came out to say that Clay was in rehearsals. He would not have come out anyway 'cos of some audience distractions. One of the distractions mentioned was the audience laughing inappropriately and/or knowing what the joke might be and laughing before the joke or funny part might be. Also, Jerome mentioned he didn't want us to lose the energy of the show. IMO, Randy Cohen was the substitute conductor for the evening show so the rehearsals may have happened 'cos of this change.

My observations from the show:
- There were 2 ladies that sat slightly off-centre orchestra on the left hand side in Row C. They were loud and laughing at almost anything during the show. I could see heads turning towards them during the show when they started to laugh 'cos we were sitting in Row D. During "I'm All Alone," when the knights come up and line up to sing with the King, one of the 2 ladies started to laugh for no rhyme or reason. It was a short loud laugh but I could see the eyes of the performers trained on her.
- There was also another lady who sat in front row who was singing and bouncing in her seat to almost every song during the performance.

Zippy888 is home now and has posted at the Clayboard:

My recap from Sunday, Nov 2 evening show:
- It was quiet during the show that evening. Not sure what the etiquette is any more. Did clap lots and gave Clay a standing ovation at the end.
- There were Monty Python fans behind us and they knew all the words to the different scenes in the show. They all laughed heartily at all the funny parts and especially loved Clay during YWSOB and Brave Sir Robin song.
- Clay sang church-like A....men! It was sung quietly again.
- Even when Clay flipped the tunic and did the hula scene, it was deadly quiet.
- Clay braided the ribbons during the guard scene. Lots of laughter there.
- Clay waved at the crowd before the curtains came down.
- No Stage Door.

and a report from linluvsclay at the Clayboard, thanks:

...Quiana was outside the theater (first standing there alone, and then talking to fans and taking pictures once people realized it was her) during the time that Clay would have been doing the stage door thing. So they were not together during that time. Also during that time, Jerome was inside the threater talking to some people. I saw him as I was walking out--stopped to say hi--and man, he's tall!! I know we all know that, but it's not until you are standing right next to him that you realize just how tall he really is!! He's such an incredibly nice guy and is so willing to go above and beyond for the fans and for Clay.

Not much to say about the show--it's been recapped and recapped and recapped over these past few months and weeks so that there is really very little to add. Clay of course was great. It was wonderful to see the entire cast together again. I love the smiles between various cast members--when they are near each other, or when they glance at each other from across the stage. Just a kind of affectionate, "in" kind of smile if you know what I mean. Very nice to see the closeness between them and the trust, respect and just plain enjoyment of being together and performing.

Clay did do some new types of moves and I have no idea what to call them--don't even think they have an official name and probably have never been done by anyone else before!! I think they are just "Clay-isms"! Funky little moves, funky looks, lots of tongue movement (and he most certainly knows because it is so purposeful and he almost smirks as he does it). It's almost as if he's thinking "Ok, I know you want it so here it is. See? Told ya you wanted it". He did some John Travolta Saturday Night Fever disco moves last night and I almost lost it. I honestly never thought I would see Clay Aiken doing that "pose"--you know the one I mean--hand in the air, head turned to the side, etc. He did a few of those kinds of move. Hysterical.

He gets our hopes up with the ribbons...he toys with our emotions....he teases us by looking at them so fondly and then touches them so reverently. He began braiding them. Be still my heart. And then he stopped!! Braiding interruptus. So not fair!!

There are so many scenes in this show that I totally love. Besides every single one that Clay is in, I adore Patsy and the Laker girls. When he comes to center stage and does his thing, I crack up. Love, love it. Love how he moves, how he says the words. So very funny. And his facial expressions when the King sings "I'm all alone". David does not need words to act--he only needs his body and his face. He uses them so expertly--he's truly amazing.

And of course Tom--how I will miss him as Herbert when the show ends. He's another actor who does not need words--he does it all nonverbally. Astounding facial control and expressions.

I saw Bradley walking to the stage door before the show. A very, very attractive man. Gorgeous hair and no matter how many pictures I see of him, it always surprises me to see him without his wigs! Just don't expect to see dark, very curly hair!! But I would recognize that smile anywhere.

Rick--another great actor. Very talented and I hope he finds a great role when this ends. All of them so deserve to keep working--such talent should not be wasted.

Spamalot is the showcase for ensemble acting/performing. No one tries to outshine the other--they all work together to give the best possible performance and show for the audience. Egos are checked at the door and camaraderie is the name of the game. I will miss each and every one of them after Jan 18th. Do try and go one more time if you can. The cast and show is amazing.

And now a little treat for hanging in there till the end:

Spamalot 11-01-08

2008-11-02T11:09:00.015-06:00

SmittenwithClay at the Clayboard came up with the first report for the matinee:

I got a call from GrandmaJane
stagedoor!! mob of people, came out for the stagedoor!!
nice hair, white hoodie someone took pictures
The whole cast was back lots of enthusiasm, standing O, clapping during the last song

Here comes Zippy888 also at the Clayboard:

My recap from the Saturday matinee, Nov 1, 2008:

- The whole cast is now back together! What a show! Rick Holmes is now back. Yay!
- Launcelot said "Sorry?" instead of "What?" during the door scene.
- Clay swishes up his tabard when he's get excited about the announcement of "musical theatre!" and jumps up and down excitedly.
- YES!! Clay did STAGE DOOR!! He was wearing Roots Canada Sweatshirt and blue track pants (I think.) My mum got a picture with Clay. I took it and he even signed our MOAM CD Cover. What a guy! Clay forgot to give back the CD cover and my mum got distracted and he put it on my mum's head when her back was turned to him. If you don't know my mum, she's really short!! Stage Door was packed with people, about 3-4 rows deep.
- Yes, clayheaven and I have videos and a pic. Please wait for them.
- Clay was laughing so hard during the guard scene when he's on the floor; we can see him 'cos we were sitting in the front row. He was shaking with laughter on the floor. He was watching Launcelot and Herbert and Herbert's father up on the stairs.
- Clay did an interesting dance in the finale no. He did a stomp, lift the leg and do a half-twist, repeat on other leg. Repeat action. Very cute!
- Clay widened his eyes at us when he was singing "KOTRT" - we were dead centre, row A!!! First time ever!
- Got spat on by the King! Watch for it if you ever sit in the front row.
- The Knights of Ni did the Sarah Palin joke and also the lipstick on the pig.
- During the Tim the Enchanter scene, he said "Oh, Tim. What a silly name!" LOL I soiled my armour and I was so scared...." He then took his tabard and rubbed his bottom furiously. LOL

Also from Zippy888 at the Clayboard, here is Clayphan's matinee video:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/zros8i

Ms Marmalade at the ClackHouse gave this report:

butterflyshine at CV wrote:
Hello all! Amee (AJ30) and I just got back to our hotel from the matinee today. All I have to say is that it was amazing! All the original cast members were there...and yes that means that Rick is back!! The show was great today. Clay especially looked like he was having an amazing time up there. It was really great to see Rick though because the Knights who say Ni was just not the same without him. I mean don't get me wrong his fill ins were great but Rick is the best. All of the cast members seemed to be having a great time up there. I think when there is a larger crowd they seem to feed off of the audience more. Tom Deckman is so cute as well. I love the part when he gets so excited when Sir Lancelot comes to rescue him. Too Cute!! Very exciting news, there was a stage door but Clay was out there for no more than 30 seconds (or that's what it seemed like). He seemed very rushed. He was wearing his white Roots Canada shirt (which I really liked since I'm Canadian...lol) I said nice shirt but he didn't hear me. Amee (AJ30) got a picture with him and it's such a great picture of him. That was our first time seeing him so close and all I have to say is that he is DRAW DROPPING HOT in person. I mean I didn't think that he could get much cuter but he succeeded....lol. Well we are off to get food before the next show. So we will be back to recap some more from tonights show.

Nicki503 at the Clayboard reported that SecretlyLovesClay wrote:

From the Saturday matinee.............SO FUNNY!!!!!

I am surprised no one else mentioned this, but maybe they didn't "get" it all..........here is all of it......

During the Not Dead Yet scene, Lancelot is supposed to sing, "My name is Lancelot, I'm big and strong and hot......occassionally I do, some things that I should not." But instead he messed up and sang, "My name is Lancelot, I'm big and strong and hot.........I'm big and strong and hot..........and that's all I've got to say."

It was sooooooooooo funny!!! BUT THEN.............

During the Prince Herbert scene, when Herbert, Lancelot and the father are in the tower, Herbert climbs out the window and says his usual, "Hurry brave Sir Lancelot" and then the father and Lancelot talk about killing the wedding guests and then Herbert is supposed to say, "I am ready Sir Lancelot, just climb on over and ahhhhh" as he is falling, but instead he said, "I am ready Sir Lancelot, that's all I've got to saaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy" as he is falling. OMG, it was sooooooooo funny!!! I could not stop laughing!!! And then I noticed that while Clay was laying "dead," his tummy was going rapidly up and down and realized he was laughing hysterically and could not stop! He laughed throughout the entire rest of the scene!!! All the way up to where he has to get up and sing, "He's going to tell." He was STILL laughing while he was singing that - oh it was so funny!!!

Now on to the 8PM performance:

From Austenfan at the Clayboard, Saturday evening performance....

Those Pre-Marathon fireworks must have travelled over to the Shubert cause Clay and the entire cast were red hot on fire tonight...Yeehah....Jenny Hill replaced Merled Dandredge tonight. Jenny was terrific. Really funny. She did lots of her own original ad libs and with great scatting and lip purses. She actually got spontaneous applause during the Camelot lounge scene. Clay did not catch the armor....I actually prefer Jenny Hill to Merle. Tonight with the full cast back except for Merle and long time cast member Jenny Hill doing such an outstanding Lady Of The Lake - we got that everyone is on the same page, just having a blast kind of feeling. Just magical tonight.

Lots of cheers for the Tower and laughs on every phrase. Timing was perfect. Music except funny lines instead of notes. Incredible rhythm. Great extended double take by Clay on responding to the Kings 'I am looking for men' with I had a feeling. Audience laughed for ages. For Not Dead Fred, Rick (back yay!!!) swung his legs from side to side on the 'Scotch dancing' bit and Clay once again imitated his dance. Clay's chicken entrace got big cheers. Idol Of My Age got great cheers as well. Those piercingly high yodels blew the audience away.

When the Camelot ladies appeared Clay grabbed for the ladies' rear and came quite close to contact...The mace womand did their thing and Clay bent his knees and shook what his mama gave him, up and down and back and forth. Mama was very generous. The Cocktail Waitress gave Clay a kiss on the cheek and he stuck his tongue out...Love me some dancing tongue. Dice Lady wrapped her napkin/scarf behind Clay's neck and slowly moved it back around to Clay's chest. Dance of the Seven Veils part 1...Course with that strapping lad you might need seventeen veils.

When Grail Lady turned to give Clay his lantern he presented her with a lovely red flower. .So sweet...and she smiled demurely. Just awww....as she and the other Grail ladies left waving good bye, he pointed at her and smiled like crazy and she waved right to him...Then the Find Your Grail Sway...Clay leaned back with his legs a bit bent, his back far back and his arms way up in the air, one finger pointing. His head bobbing as he swayed in deep contemplation of his grail...Bend backwards and snap...Bend backwards and snap...

We once again got a start of tongue with slomo horse riding and then the tired/shaking from exhaustion of holding up those lovely thighs (understandable) but can always use more tongue. Little staccatto knee moves as he got lower and lower. Mild funky dance tonight with side to side hip moves more subtle. Much more hip and funky and Broadway would have exploded with coolness and that would have been a shame. So playing it cool tonight.

Can Can Lady kind of scraped and clawed at each of Clay's shoulders...me thinks there's a Can Can dancer whose trying to see some skin too...can't blame a Can Can girl for trying...Clay once again pulling his tabard forward, tighening the fabric grip on the back....trying not to let Can Can lady have anything to grab on to but I think that may have backfired into revealing more back end for her joy and amusement. Tights anyone? Tights on a tight end....

Soiling involved a scrunching of his tabard forward, trying to contain himself methinks (impossible Clay, just impossible - reavealing the nice shapely rear view all the more. Legs open, with one side sunk down. More holding the tabard forward and tight with Clay's arms, giving 'rear view emphasis'. And legs held together, with almost no knee bend as Clay swirled and twisted his derriere and legs in a nice slow dance of soil prevention.

For YWSOB, the new 'cutesy' dance with alternating kicks to the side and back. He lowers his voice to emphasize 'sh*tty' on 'they'll say it's sh*tty and refuse'. We got a Grande Piano Tunic Flip. Wooh...waistband and above once again. The Can Can girl wanted skin and she got it. To quote Christopher Sieber's 'Father' - Heh, heh, heh. YWSOB literally brought the house down....That house went so far down it hit Magma...The core of the Earth was exposed tonight, among other things. Maybe that explains the heat on that stage. NJU men and families were cheering and whooping. There was applause before he even started the Bottle Dance...the stomp was so stompin people erupted right then. Even more applause as Clay crossed his feet and turned and knelt down and that front leg went forward and he pulled the other leg over with pure thigh strength. Everybody went wild. Papa's in Israel could hear Clay shake the world with those high kicks....then kneeling down, hands over heart....glorious applause and then turning on a dime to serious, beseeching and concern for the King's benefit.

The Guards were quite wobbly again. Playing it all very clueless. Nice to see Guard 2 (David Hibbard smile and react more). Every line got a laugh. Clay almost doubled over into a question mark on his kooky laugh when he realized he was supposed to guard the Prince. "I thought you meant HIM (ponting at Guard 2). Cause it would indeed be daft to guard him when he's a guard. Another familiar, buddy slap at the Father until all knowing, but may not so much Guard gets back to serious business. He picked up the spear ribbon and swirled the end around just slightly...a tease... oh that teasing spear...then he picked up two ribbons and stretched them out and then he pulled them right up to and across his eyes as he examined those ribbons with such intensity. Or maybe Guard 1 needs glasses. Those eyes should never be covered up but in service of great comedy, I can handle a momentary lapse of ribbon coverage.

Clay's scrunched up pouty, squinty eyed looks had the audience guffawing so you'd think there was an earthquake. Props to Tom Deckman for some inspiringly funny faces as Herbert. Loved his saying 'I thought he meant me with such amazement after Father says 'Who are you?' and he answered I'm your son. Clay does that too...Clay's expressions are a story unto themselves.

West Side Story dances...oh we go the eye....flirty, come hither eyes. Mouth puckered, almost blowing little breaths on the audience...He got it...He got it.

Clay's deadpan 'Oh brother' look when Tim (Rick Holmes) did his 'B'low me....lies the cave' was absolute classic and went on for quite some laugh time. Brother Maynard was exquisitely, overly proper English Clergy. You could feel his nose pointing up in the air without even looking at him. Now for a completely different sung Amen - so reverent and sweet, like a formal church choir, lilting and beautiful and the Knights sung Amen in answer, not repeating the same melody, but in harmony to Clay. 'Get Your Hand Off My Knee' got a more quiet reaction as the audience was still enjoying 'Amen'.

A man was the peasant tonight. Clay held out his hand to shake but this peasant was too busy basking in 'Peasant' glory. As Clay put out his hand the peasant 'kissed' his Arthur award. Clay did a wonderful 'mifffed' look. To miss a handshake so peasant could kiss a foot...ooh....he di'int. Yes he did.

The white suit was most cooperative in its form fitting, brilliant and happily translucent quality. I just love a good tailor or better yet, a bad one. The finale dance had Clay and Patsy (David Hibbard) and Bedevere (Wally Dunn) doing this funky chicken arm moves while turning and stepping back, alternating each leg going back and round. Then a hip circles, thrusting forward in an area of interest. Round and round you go....Then they all leaped in the air with arms fully up. At Always Look On The Bright Side of Life, Clay turned back towards the dancer in back of him again and did kind of a sideways 'bump' with her. That dancing fool....And a circle round on one foot as they backed up off the stage. Audience on their feet at the end and just glowing. I did hear someone at intermission say 'He was really good (not sure who yet) and then ' He's much taller than I thought...who could she possibly mean? Hmmm....

Nice crowds for stagedoor today and lots of excitement. People still got pics and signatures despite the big crowd.

Tidbits 11-02-08

2008-11-02T08:47:00.003-06:00

Rayosunshine45 at ABB said, "I got this post from returnofaiken at the OFC she said it can travel."

It was a normal Parent's Day weekend here at Hamilton College, where I'm currently a sophomore at, and, as I'm getting ready to go to a dry tech rehearsal for our play opening next week, I decide to grab some breakfast from the dining hall.

I walk inside, (grumpily, mind you, since my mother decided she'd outcast me and not take the 4 hour train trip up to see her only daughter.... ). Now, I had dressed comfortably since I had known that I would be stuck in the theater for eight hours, so I dressed in my black JNT2 shirt and sweats...I'm standing pouring some delicious hot apple cider and when I turn around, there's Glenn Close, right next to me!

I smile and say "Good morning!" and she smiles and compliments my shirt! Need I remind you that it was a Clay Aiken t-shirt? She then went on to say that she [her daughter, Annie] was 'excited' to see Clay in Spamalot, which they had tickets to later this month.

Every Parent's Day I completely forget that Annie, Glenn's daughter, comes to Hamilton. The same thing happened to me last year with
Stanley Tucci
, except, I was the stage manager for one of the shows his step-daughter was assistant stage managing in (and a really good friend of mine), and we had like an hour long conversation about the most oddest things.

Anyway, thought I'd just share that with you! Even A-listers like Glenn Close recognize the talent that is Clay Aiken!

Spamalot 10-31-08

2008-11-01T13:03:00.008-05:00

To start that is a picture of the stage door which we haven't seen much of lately, but let's get an update on the stage door situation. Ms Marmalade posted this at the ClackHouse:

Clayphan at the OFC said she spoke to Jerome and that Clay had not been doing stage door because there was only one barricade. She said that now there were four so perhaps Clay will resume.

This is a report at the Clackhouse from zippy888 and posted by anncanada:

Hi everyone from NYC!!

Oh what a night!! Clay was full of animation tonight. He was watching the first few rows and he could see some of his fans. I'm sure at one time I caught his gaze. Be still my heart! Some things I remembered from tonight:

- Clay held his rubber chicken upside down! Yes, he held it from the skinny legs! That was a riot!
- He sang "Amen!" Such glorious notes!
- He showed us his socks when he came out to do his "I found my grail!" Of course, they were mismatched - his left one was white and bright green (like his suit) and his right one was beige and white. He did a little jig when he showed us his socks.
- He does a different kind of dance in one part of "YWSOB".
- He yelled, "Be careful!" to the girl who swung the mace.
- The waitress slid her hand down his left thigh. OMG!
- The can-can girl raised her skirt all the way up to his face and shook it furiously.
- Lots of tongue action in most of the scenes! I remember in the slo-mo part he puffed his cheeks a lot!
- When God appears, he's bent down on all fours, in a praying position but shivering from fear.
- He pulled at his ribbons while speaking to Prince Herbert's father. He was so on tonight!! Loved those ears that stuck out of his helmet! Truly comical!!
- Lots of NJUs in the crowd - could hear men laughing mostly.
- It wasn't full house - most of the sides of the theatre weren't filled. A friend also told me that the mezzanine too was not filled.
- No Stage Door tonight.
- Met dancerdad - I asked him to say "Hi!" to dancermom2 for me!
- Ruben and friends were in the box in the theatre.

Good morning

I remember more bits:

- Clay did that head grinding dance, you know the one that goes side by side, during Find Your Grail. I don't know the name of that move. He was really into it last night!
- The Knights of Ni didn't do any jokes like Rick Holmes always does. Miss that.

I think there was no SD 'cos Ruben and friends were there as well it was Halloween and most of the performers were coming out of the SD wearing a costume. So they were probably on their way to Halloween parties. ***ETA: To clarify, the barricades were all up last night. There are 2 new ones that are painted blue (for those who know what I'm talking about.)

If you are able to stand, please give a standing O to the cast when they take their bows. It's our way to say thanks for a job well done!

Thanks to Ms Marmalade at the ClackHouse we get a report from BFS:

From BFS:

recap from the train...
theater not full at all due to big parade for Hallowen

I was the first to see Ruben, he was talking to Jerome outside the theater. i saw his beautiful smile and started hop skipping going omg Ruben is here....i am sure it was a sight. i was so excited, i didn't see Frenchy and had to be told she was there. i saw her later in the box and she looked really good. I didn't want to stare, so it is totally possible, that Ruben's wife was there, he had two other's with him.

Rick and Bradely Dean were out tonight.

first things first he sang the amen

i am loving the exchange with king, it is much more snarky and sarcastic.

during not dead he was verra adamant about "i can't" with some very cute expressions.

and when he did "maybe" there was some verra cute tongue action

and he mimiced the jig that Lance did

when he came out as Sir Robin, he was holding the chicken by his feet

Patsy was clapping during "Idol of Age"

LOL hit Clay when she passed Clay and he tried to get to close

he did the pray and quake

verra flirtatious with his flame holder girl.

peace sign during find your grail

he was trying not to get sick on his horse

saw a wee bit of skin during the tunic flip

no tongue during bottle dance, but Clay was awesome

ears out of helmet during Guard scene he fluffed them in the beginnig and was playing with them right before he was killed

the father and lance flubbed their lines during you killed the brides father, and rather badly

the show was a bit lacking with both Rick and Brad out...Clay was good, but he couldn't make up for the so-so performance of the others.

we had barricades so not sure why it didn't happen.

Few more tidbits from the show...

The peasant was a NJU named Mike...Mike was pretty cute on stage, Clay held out his hand and started to make the face, when Mike turned to him and offered his hand, Clay shook it.. After Mike left the stage, Clay gave him several thumbs up....

and during the wedding scene...Bevedere and Patsy did a Frankenstein dance, Clay just kinda did his own thing...

During Bright Side of Life Clay did Charleston knees and a real cute dance with one of the chorus line dancers, i am not sure how to describe it, but it was really cute.

I thought that the King who has a tendency to be a bit mush mouth was really good tonight

And LOL of the Lake was fabulous...she did drop it like it was hot...during her ad lib portion

Unfortunately Rick's replacement doesn't come close to holding a candle to Rick, so for me, someone who has seen it coughafewtimescough, it did make a difference, to the NJU probably not except for the rather large flub at Swamp Castle the pauses were noticeable...oh well....it was still fun, and it was nice to see the show again after not having seen it for awhile...

Halloweens Past

2008-11-01T12:15:00.018-05:00

Thanks to twelvesomething at the ClackHouse, we have some of Salamander's renditions of Clay's possible Halloween costumes for the past few years. I can just see these on Clay too, wonder what he and Parker were this year?

Let's start with 2005 and work our way up:

Or, is this better?

Let's move on to 2006 a very interesting year:

Or perhaps a little Austen Powers action:

Still no, well let's try his looks for 2007:

A little Elvis trying to be Clay or is it Clay being Elvis?

He has so many looks, I'm thinking a little London action, perhaps a visit to Hannah:

How about on to 2008, thanks to morganette at the ClackHouse:

Thanks again to twelvesomething for bringing these back out of the archives so we could talk a walk down memory lane one more time, and to morganette for giving up Clay for 2008 and look, he is eating my favorite Halloween treat! If anyone has any other renditions they would like to submit for any holiday, just add them to your Clay board of choice and I will be sure to use them, LOL.

Spamalot 10-30-08

2008-10-31T21:28:00.004-05:00

HCorbett10 at the Clayboard brought over siclayfan report from the CV:

Brief Spam recap-- I've been having trouble getting on the internet here at the hotel, but I'll try to post before trying to catch up on the board.

The show and Clay were of course great. Rick was the only one out again this evening. Mostly NJU again, very few fans though there were some screams for him at the end. Sadly he spoke the AMEN again tonight and just as sadly, no SD. There was only one row of people at the SD and I should have known he wouldn't come out since we were right in the middle. I had a good view inside the theater when the stage door opened and I could see Jerome standing a few feet from the door for several minutes, so I really thought there was hope. Then he wasn't there anymore and my friend said she thought she saw an SUV pulling away from the curb. We waited several minutes longer, but we pretty much knew it wasn't happening. I just hope he didn't do the SD because he had somewhere to go and not because of a couple of people standing right in front of him in Row A during his final bows--the usual suspects!!! One of them was jumping, dancing and waving her hands at him. I swear I think he was trying to avoid smiling or looking at them. At least DD didn't have another wasted trip.

The theater was pretty empty compared to my visits during his first round. There were certainly some people in the mezz, but it didn't look like many--less than yesterday. It's such a great show I hate to see it close, but I guess it's the sign of the times.

That's all folks, not a very busy night.

Tidbits 10-31-08

2008-10-31T14:38:00.020-05:00

In a recent interview with ET's Jann Carl, "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken opened up on Jennifer Hudson's recent family tragedy.

"There's no words that you can find to give somebody like that. I don't even know where to begin, I've been upset by this myself," Clay said

Clay also knows that the Hudson family loss has been felt all over the country. "I know the whole country's thoughts and prayers are with her and her entire extend family ... and anyone who was touched by her mother, or her brother, or her nephew."

The new dad also tells Jann that he hopes that individuals responsible are found so that Jennifer and her loved ones can find some closure.

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For those that like polls, this one goes through December and you only get to vote once. Check it out at the top and scroll down on the right side.

http://topratedmtv.com/
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Just a little political banter here from The National Republic:

So what season of "Idol" will this election resemble? Will Barack Obama trounce his opponent John McCain like Fantasia? Or will it be an unlikely nail biter like the Ruben Studdard-Clay Aiken showdown? If it's a close election, there is one insight that our electoral system should borrow from "Idol." However thin the margin, the outcome should never, ever rest in the hand of judges.

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2old4Clay at CV wrote, (posted at the CH by Ms Marmalade:

A side note, my son listens to Howard Stern, and he said that Howard mentioned he was at the Friar's roast, and ended up in the elevator with Clay Aiken and a woman that was the mother of his baby. They said hello and shook hands, Howard said he felt a bit uncomfortable (?), but that he is happy for Clay that he came out of the closet...and wishes him well. Paraphrasing what my son told me, he didn't think his comments were bad about Clay. If anyone else has a different take on this, please correct me.

Continuing, posted by AnnCanada at the CH:

Well, Stern deserves to feel uncomfortable in front of Clay and Jaymes for his past comments about Clay. Clay, as always, is a dignified and magnanimous being in the presence of scum (and accepted Stern's handshake). I would have expected no less of Clay. He is an absolute gentleman and gentle man. I won't ever be forgivin' Stern until he apologizes profusely to Clay for his past ugly behaviour.

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Posted by DesertFlower at the CH:

From the Public Access Forum, posted by RIClayFan.

Quote:
This guy is using Clay's name to sell books.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350116739572

I've reported him to Ebay, but a few more won't hurt. Thanks.

Here's the violation

Using brand, product or celebrity names inappropriately throughout a listing, such as comparing an item to another brand named item’s style or calling out an indirect relationship between the item being sold and a celebrity. See Additional Information for exceptions. (Brand Name Misuse)

Continuing, RVzLady posted at the CH:

Well, the item disappeared, so I guess enough of us reported that made eBay take fast action.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Okay, this is not meant to be political and in no way is meant to represent the feelings of Clay's Daily Double, Clay Aiken, or any of the Clay fans. However it is getting so many hits (359,220) and so many wonderful remarks for Clay I thought I would include it so that you can add your comments, of course, about the beautiful song "Something About Us" that Clay is singing. The video is called "An Obama Love Song" made by Hotshortie and placed on YouTube on June 06, 2008. If someone has a comparable video for Mr. McCain I will be happy to add it here.

Halloween Surprise

2008-10-30T15:36:00.004-05:00

Oh my goodness what a way to start Halloween. Thanks to Yollie950 and his video at YouTube. Love it, you are so talented, but then you have such an excellent subject.

Spamalot 10-29-08 Recaps

2008-10-30T10:08:00.009-05:00

First before you read the recaps, this is the reason there was no stage door last night:

There was a special dinner held at the Bon Appetit Club to honor David Foster. Clay was again amongst the "A" listers, Dr. Phil, Donald Trump, Peter Cincotti along with others. This is one of the photos.

When all hope was lost of getting any reports from Spamalot last night, finally the reports started flowing in. Clayshines at the Clayboard posted:

Actually, NY4Clay was there with her daughter and she just phoned with a report.

She said the show was FABULOUS as usual. Tom was back and got quite a cheer when he appeared as Not Dead Yet Fred. It was mainly an audience of NJUs, a lot of men who were totally enjoying themselves. There was a standing ovation.

Clay was playing a little with the ribbons in the guard scene but did not sing the Amen. Actually he just said the word AMEN.

They were in the second row so her daughter could really see Clay's face and was very impressed with how his facial expressions have developed.

She echoed what Dancerdad had said about SD. They chatted with the king and some of the dancers and Tom but no Clay.

HCorbett10 at the Clayboard reported these recaps from CV: From Njrp4clay

I just got home from Spam. When we went to pickup our tickets we saw a film crew come out of the SD. Don't have a clue why they were there though . Our seats were in the second row with 2 empty seats in front of us. Clay was great. He was dancing around alot. My DH said Clay looked at him and seem to recognize him. (Clay scopes the first few rows). He had tongue action going tonight. Almost every scene the tongue was appearing. During the finale Clay was having a problem with a piece of hair from the wig. I think it was tickling his nose. He finally pulled it out looked at it then blew it away. I was glad to see Tom back and I liked the king. I thought he had a very nice voice.

After the show I was standing next to this guy with a big camera. I asked him if he was dancerdad and he said yes. Jerome came from 44th st and went in the stage door then came out with a computer bag and that was the last we saw of him. He didn't speak to anyone. Shubert guy just stood there then all of a sudden pulled the one barrier away and told us Clay had left already. It was strange that Jerome didn't tell us there would be no SD. However, Jerome was dressed up. Maybe they had some place to go.

ETA: I think he flicked the hair away then watched it for a few second as it floated to the ground. Every one else was singing but him.

From lindylo

There was a short promo on ETalk Canada tonight about David Foster. I think they said that he had a lot going on in NYC this week re his book launch and they would have coverage tomorrow. I wasn't really paying attention until I heard his name so I could have missed something. Maybe Clay was attending something for this tonight and that is why he left quickly and Jerome was dressed up.

From SiClayfan

I don't know if this post will go through--I have really poor internet access here at the hotel. My friend and I were in the 2d row too--great seats. Clay did lots of tongue action, though not much during YCSOB. It was cute how during the curtain call he kept trying to grab the single hair from his wig hanging in his face --he finally got it and pulled it out. He didn't lift his pants to show us his socks, but he put his left foot out during the finale and we could see stripes. I was a little disappointed he just said the AMEN--was looking forward to his singing it--maybe tomorrow night. He didn't seem to have any problem with his dancing, so hope he is all better.

It was definitely a NJU crowd, but everyone seemed to enjoy the show. I'm so glad Tom is back--the last show I saw was without him and he is such an important part of show. I read Rick was back from his trip to Italy so I hoped he'd be back in the show, but not tonight. The king is growing on me, but I still liked Jonathan interpretation better. LOTL has a magnificent voice and she's grown into the role since I saw her opening weekend, but she's still no Hannah!!

Tidbits 10-30-08

2008-10-30T09:59:00.006-05:00

Don't forget to set you clocks back one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night or you will be way early for church on Sunday morning. Yes, it is that time of year for those that are affected by the time changes, enjoy the extra hours sleep it will do you good

According to the Los Angeles Times today in their article about where in the world stars would like to go if they could get away, Clay was among four stars whose photos were used.

Former American Idol finalist Clay Aiken names Afghanistan among his favorite places.

FCA needs some help

2008-10-29T17:24:00.005-05:00

Couch Tomato is requesting help with FCA, check this out:

Hi Everybody,
I started FCA way back in 2003 when my bookmarks were getting out of control and I couldn't keep up with the exploding Clay Nation. I still love FCA as much as ever but honestly I've let it go. Today I make a new committment to it however, the 20 hours a week I used to spend on it are gone (I have 2 jobs and work about 60 hours a week for starters) and I need help.

The reason Ansa redid the site to Joomla is because allows us to give folks access to help us. We've not really taken advantage of that. Now I want to try to utilize that better. So starting tonight I plan to use 1 hour per day to get the site up to speed.

If you have 1 hour a week or 30 minutes a week or 10 minutes a day to help us out it will be appreciated. It's not even about what's there but we even want fresh ideas - well after things gets going and updated.

SO.... I created this forum here to have an active place to just know if we can get any help and to see who is doing what. Again, no pressure. 30 minutes a week is better than 0 hours a week.

I just love my baby (FCA) and would like to make it all shiney again, with your help.

I will create threads as I go through the site page by page to figure out what needs to be done. This thread can be used for any ideas...whether you'd like to implement them or not.
In case you don't know... here it is...
http://www.findingclayaiken.com/

After this gets organized a bit ..we can extend to FCAM
http://www.findingclayaikenmedia.com/

You do not need to be a technology genius to work on FCA. If I can do it, anyone can. And if you can write on a message board you are qualiied.

heeee

Thanks in advance

Tidbits 10-29-08

2008-10-29T16:42:00.012-05:00

Lowrider at the ClackHouse reported that there was a Clay mention on the Tyra show yesterday:

Dazzlingstar at OFC is reporting that Tyra was talking to T.I. (rapper) and she said I was talking to my friend Clay Aiken, and hear that a lot of people can vote, but don't know that they can, and then they showed a picture of him from the AMA's....he is right...check out some of the sites to see if you are registered....use your voice, vote...

I agree that we should all vote, but I also vote that Clay should be back with his girlfriend Tyra and real soon, LOL.

Ms Marmalade from the ClackHouse posted the quote from Hosaa at Clayversity that: (news travels ;-)

A friend e-mailed TBAF to get an update on when the Christmas book "Remember When" would be available for sale. Here's what Aron said:

Quote:

We are working on the final arrangements. It should be up on the website in the next week or two.

Thank you!

Aron Hall
Director Services

Per CNET, Dolly Parton wrote a letter to stop the upcoming Federal Communications Commission vote on opening up "white space" spectrum hope. Parton wrote in her letter.

"I can unequivocally confirm that the importance of clear, consistent wireless microphone broadcasts simply cannot be overstated. This industry relies on wireless technology and is in jeopardy of being irreversibly devastated by the commission's pending decision."

Among those that signed the letter that Dolly wrote was Clay Aiken. The vote is in a week so we shall wait and see what happens with this one. Their opposition includes Bill Gates, LOL, gee that is some big competition.

This is in no way an indication of CDD's taking sides, we are just reporting Clay's participation in this effort.

Our poll for the next Clay Aiken tour has closed and the results are:

Jukebox Tour 146 (42%)

Christmas Tour (music) 24 (6%)

SRHP w/orchestra 26 (7%) (OMWH w/orchestra)

SRHP w/band 112 (32%) (OMWH w/band)

Christmas Tour w/vignettes 2 (0%)

Independent Tour 37 (10%)

Votes: 347

Thank you for your votes, let's see if the word gets to Clay and what he has in mind.

Spamalot 10-28-08

2008-10-29T12:44:00.005-05:00

Photo borrowed from a previous nights stage door.

This is a great review by Crazyglue91152 on the Clayboard, very insightful in more ways than one, please read:

Superstar and love of my life!
Reply Quote MoreRecent Posts Message Friend Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Last night was so exciting for me, clayngel, grandmajoan and other claymates in attendance not only because of Clay's fantastic and funny performance as usual but because of the presence of his new family and friend Kelly Clarkson. Yes, I said new family which includes of course his son Parker, mom Jaymes, Uncle David, Jerome and his wife. During the intermission while I was talking to clayngel who told me that KC and David Foster were there in the audience, Jerome who was then talking to his wife saw me and introduced me to her. She's so nice and sweet. On my way back to my seat, walking on the 2nd aisle, Kelly was right in front of me and she's talking to a guy and telling him that her favorite song was the one sang during the boat scene (Galahad & LOTL). During the finale, I also said hello and spoke for few seconds to David while walking backup on the aisle to his row as we were both standing and clapping and singing and dancing along to the finale song "Always look on the bright side of life". He was all smiles and told me that he really enjoyed the show and that it was hilarious and Clay was fantastic.

There was no SD as it was cold and windy and the fact that Clay was attending to his special guests and family but clayngel and I stood and waited at the closed left entrance door of the theatre where the mdse store is. While clayngel was talking on the phone with someone, my eyes were fixed on the 2 black vans and a black car parked in front of the 44th St. exit door. Then the Shubert Security man came out, then a guy and a gal and Kelly who hugged Jerome before going into the first van and they're gone. Then Jerome opened the side door of the second van and took out a car seat....and I was screaming silently and excitingly told clayngel that omg, omg, Jerome got the car seat out of the van....a car seat.....Parker is here....Parker is here....Parker is here with his Dad.....omg, Then the Shubert security man came out again, followed by Jaymes and David who went into David's car. Then Jerome's wife came out and went inside the second van first, then was given the car seat with Parker all covered up by Jerome and finally, Clay joined in while Jerome walked around the van to his seat beside the driver who moved the van forward right in front of where clayngel and I were standing as he waited for David's car to pass first. I waved shyly and mouthed goodnight to Clay and family and wished them all well and a great evening. Indeed, it was a great and memorable evening! What a night!

Deck the Halls 4 Inclusion

2008-10-28T19:09:00.006-05:00

Triad Voices for Inclusion , a Beta Alpha of The Bubel/Aiken Foundation, is proud to introduce " Deck the Halls 4 Inclusion " a holiday fundraiser in conjunction with Rockdale Wreaths, a Maine company which produces beautiful, handmade, natural wreaths. This year, as you begin to decorate your homes and offices for the holiday season, and prepare to exchange gifts with family and friends, we'd like to invite you to help The Bubel/Aiken Foundation provide an additional gift: the gift of a more inclusive life experience to children with and without disabilities across the nation.

For each individual wreath purchased through "Deck the Halls 4 Inclusion" the Bubel/Aiken Foundation will receive $9. Bulk orders, 8-10 wreaths shipped to any one address, not only saves you $5 per wreath on the purchase price, but also benefit the Foundation even more, bringing $13 per wreath. All prices, both here and on the website already include shipping built into the price. If you are placing a bulk order and have a Beta Alpha affiliation, please let us know and we will make sure the additional $4 per wreath donation is credited to the Beta Alpha of your choice. Please note: if you place a bulk order online with Rockdale please email us the details of your order-name on order and Beta Alpha affiliation-so that we can ensure that you receive Beta Alpha credit. The deadline for ordering wreaths is Monday November 10, 2008 . You can see all of the wreaths, and a few bonus items, at our Rockdale store at the link below or on our website. When ordering directly from Rockdale at the store they have established for us online, please be sure to use the following link to ensure TBAF receives funds:

Price List: Includes tax & shipping charges already. TBAF receives $9 per wreath, $13 per wreath for bulk orders with 8 or more wreaths shipping to any one address.

A. Deluxe $49.25
B. White Wreath $39.95
C. Classic $34.95
D. Country Charms $39.95
E. Blue Wreath $39.95

Bulk Orders (8 to a box):

A. Deluxe $44.25
B. White Wreath $34.95
C. Classic $29.95
D. Country Charms $34.95
E. Blue Wreath $34.95

Check out the Clayboard for ordering instructions so that your Beta Alpha, or a Beta Alpha group gets credit for your purchases. Check out wreaths at Rockdale Wreaths Online

More Sims

2008-10-28T19:01:00.007-05:00

MsMuffins31 has done it again, and made a few more Clay Sims, she is all too clever.

Clay getting ready for one of his favorite snacks:

Yummy! Peach Ice Cream with all the fixings:

Gotta work off those calories, Oops!

It would be so much fun playing a game on your computer with all these great Clay Sims. WTG MsMuffins31

Tidbits 10-28-08

2008-10-28T14:39:00.004-05:00

This is a video that was posted at the Clayboard by smittenwithclay and is one of the best promos I have seen for Spamalot that includes Clay. I can watch it time ad time again and hope you enjoy it as well.

http://link.brightcove.co...43292572?bctid=1868992069

For your viewing pleasure

2008-10-27T12:04:00.007-05:00

Annieq and Kathy were taking a tour of NYC and found one of the buses. I think it is neat because it is different than the one during his first tour of Spamalot. I think we could use a bus 1 and bus 2 pin for our collections, LOL.

Here is another great video placed on YouTube by suereu:

Wrapping for Inclusion

2008-10-27T11:53:00.004-05:00

It is that time again for everyone that can to get involved in Wrapping for Inclusion this year. Their goal is $120,000 which is obtainable if we all get out there and try.

Please check out the information for Wrapping for Inclusion at the Bubel/Aiken Foundation page.

WFI - The Facts

What: A nationwide awareness and fundraiser campaign through The Bubel/Aiken Foundation.

When: The Holiday Season

Why: To help raise awareness and funds for The Bubel/Aiken Foundation, spread holiday cheer, and have fun!

How: If you would like to volunteer, please send your contact info to wrappingforinclusion@bubelaiken.org .

There are usually State Coordinators and Team Leaders in each state, so please check it out. I am sure they need plenty of wrappers, and some states need Coordinaters and cities need team leaders. Step up to the plate, those children are counting on us to help.

Spamalot 10-26-08 PM Show

2008-10-27T11:43:00.008-05:00

There wasn't any stage door, and Clay did not perform at the matinee, but we do have a few recaps of the evening performance to share, but first a photo from another day for your viewing pleasure:

Intermission report from Scarlett

Clay is frisky and showing off that he is fine
Danced a bit at Lance's Scottish army
When they did "Sing and dance" - kicked again, kicked pretty high
At the sart of Camelot scene Clay reached for the top of the fgirl in white's panties, close but no cigar
The girl serving drinks reached under his tabard between his legs
Once again, Clay did a very enthusiastic "Quail" wth both arms in the air and louldy and clearly saying it

When the knights were "riding" looking forthe grail, CLay had lots if tongue, deep knee bends and very funny faces
He had a "look at me, I'm cute" smile afterwards
The can can dancer attacked Clay with her skirt to his cheek, yes, the upper ones
At the taunter's castle, on the burn your "bottoms burners", Clay slowly reached back and pinched his own behind
There are more clay fans today than yesterday and there is more energy on stage and in the audience. Although, the "Idol of the age" did not get drowned out.

From Marilyn from the CV, reported on the Clayboard by HCorbett10:

Today I went into the city to meet some friends that came in from Canada and the Midwest to see Clay. I was not intending to go to the show at all, but one of my friends had an extra ticket and I found myself watching that tower window for the beloved face. Clay was so animated tonight-he seemed to put more into everything. Like when he said "The Quail" he raised his arms up in the air and said it almost reverently. I just love his expressions on "Brave Sir Robin". He was a tad tentative on the dancing in the "Not Dead Yet" scene, but if you hadn't seen the show a few times (heh) you would not have realized it.
I love the way the new king dances before they indoctrinate "Dennis" as a knight. A little more energy than the first king. Clay was so funny doing the slo mo- to me he almost looked like he was trying not to throw up. I have yet to watch to see what any of the other horse riders do!!! Just cannot take my eyes of Clay. He also did that cool hip side to side head roll (I wish I knew what it was called) I really love when he does that.
When it was time for YWSOB I held my breath-but he did the WHOLE thing and was just great- the crossed eyes and the protruding tongue- hilarious.
The Knight of Ni asked how many Sarah Palin's it takes to screw in a light bulb-I think the answer was one-it's the one thing she can do completely (not sure the exact way he said it)

And Brother Maynard SANG the "Amen" LOOOOVED it!!

In the finale, Clay tried to do a little dance with Patsy and Bedevere but threw his hands up in the air and just did his own thing. At curtain call, Patsy got VERY loud cheers, and I think Clay beat the LOL this time. By the way, I think she is getting into the role a little more- her "Find your Grail" was a lot funnier than the last time I saw it. But she has a fantastic voice.
Also at curtain call, Clay lifted the tails of his tux and sort of wiggled his rear at the dancer behind him- hilarious! And he picked up some of the confetti and held it in his hands, and at the last note he blew it from his hand into the orchestra pit. He also lifted both pants legs as he backed up and showed the audience his striped socks!! Unfortunately, I couldn't see because everyone was standing up, but my friend in the first row told me. She also said he was sort of favoring his right foot at the end, and she thought he looked like he was in some pain. It was hard to tell if he had an air cast on during the show, but he certainly didn't at the finale!

When we came out we knew by the rain that Clay would not be doing stage door. I am just glad that my friends got to see him. One of them was leaving at 4 a.m. this morning to go back to Florida, so she was ecstatic that he appeared.

Clay is SUCH a trouper- I hope he rests that poor ankle tonight and didn't overdo it. I give him kudo's for THE SHOW MUST GO ON!! You go, Clay!! Luv Ya!!

ETA: There was a young girl in her late teens, early twenties next to me, and she was laughing at everything Clay did-in fact, she was hysterical when he did Brother Maynard. I also heard some guy behind me going - THATS Clay Aiken, and he was laughing a lot, too!

From ClayPhan:

I don't even think that "absolutely incredible" begins to cover it!!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! It was like he was never injured at all. He did a little dance thing in the "NDY" scene when he says, "So, it's not just dressing up and dancing?" In "KOTRT" the LOTL threw her armor towards him. He missed it and the knight standing above him grabbed it then held it over Clay's head and kept teasing him with it. He poked one of the girl's butt's too. Then, in the same number when the waitress comes out, she went to go grab him....I'm thinking his stomach....but, she almost grabbed something else, and instead grabbed further down his leg. He totally aced "YWSOB"!!!! When the "naughty girl in nasty tights" came back out, he gave her rear a little slap. For the final number, Clay started the dance with Patsy and Bedevere, but then threw his hands up and did his own thing. He was sooooooooooooo animated tonight!!!!!!!!! No sd, but I'm just overly happy that he was even there!!!!

Recaps of Spamalot 10-25-08

2008-10-26T18:20:00.005-05:00

Photo from Oct 21 stage door for your viewing pleasure.

This is a wonderful recap by anntherese54 from the Clayboard:

Saturday, October 25th, Evening Spamalot Performance

It was a crazy day, but I had a wonderful time last night at Spamalot in spite of the rain, the change in plans and the uncertainty of whether or not Clay would perform in the evening.

I enjoyed the show immensely. From the very first note of the music, I'm pretty sure I sat there with a big ****-eating grin on my face for the entire show. Tom, Rick and Wally Dunn (Belvedere) were out. I thought that the replacements did a good job (especially Rick and Wally's). I missed Tom, though. He is so exceptional in the role. His replacement had a great voice and was good, but Tom is just so amazing. However, the fact that there were so many replacements made the show fresh and new for me which I really enjoyed. I have a nephew who is in theater and I know he's had shows where he is the understudy. I know how happy he is when he gets a chance to perform because that's what he loves to do. So, I was able to enjoy and applaud the moments for the other cast members to get their chance to perform on Broadway.

Merle Dandridge was absolutely stunning. Her voice is amazing. Seeing her up close was a treat. She killed on her "Diva's Lament". What a voice!

My heart will always belong to Patsy. David Hibbard continues to play his part to perfection. His "Bright Side" and "I'm All Alone" numbers are my favorites in the show (along with Clay's YWSOB).

Clay was wonderful. I saw no evidence of his injury hindering him in any way. He danced, skipped, jumped, kicked and did all the usual choreography. I did not see any evidence of an air cast or brace. In fact, at the curtain call, as he backed up behind the curtain, he lifted both his pant legs and revealed his mismatched striped socks. No brace or cast was noted.

Here's where my recollections get really random:

-At the end, when the confetti streams down, Clay caught some of the yellow and white confetti pieces. Then, when he bowed, he opened his hand and blew the confetti pieces into the audience. It was cute!

-Also, during the curtain call, at one point, he stood on one leg and had his other leg bent and elevated and he turned and twisted on the one leg. I don't know which leg it was, and if it was his good leg or injured leg. But, he was moving very loosely and freely.

-When he came out to do the "I, too, have found my grail!" part at the end, he did a little Charleston dance where his knees came together and then spread apart with his hands crossing over his knees back and forth. Also very cute!

-He was glowing. He seemed happy and relaxed. If he was in pain, the guy's a damn good actor because none of it was observable on stage.

-When the LOTL came out dressed in her armor during the Camelot scene, as she walked out, she whacked Clay in his lower abdomen with her arm. LOL. It was really funny.

-The face Clay makes during the bottle dance is hysterical. No tongue going from side to side, but his eyes were crosseyed and just had this comical look on them the whole time. Very funny!

-The peasant was a young guy who was a lot of fun (seat C101). He got lots of cheers from the audience. Clay tried to shake his hand, but the guy did not even notice and did not shake it, so of course, Clay stood there looking crestfallen.

-Clay sang the most beautiful "Amen" during his Brother Maynard scene. I hope he keeps that part in that scene because it's another opportunity for him to showcase his gorgeous voice.

-The guard scene. It was the first time I saw Clay with his ears sticking outside his helmet and he looked hysterical. He reminded me of a young Red Skelton, who was a master of making people laugh just through his facial expressions and body language and his ability to be just plain silly. While standing guard after the king goes back into the castle, Clay began playing with the ribbons on his spear. He didn't do that when I last saw the show in September. It was great. He was totally distracted by the ribbons (feeling them, smelling them, looking at them intently) when Lancelot came out and killed him.

-Run Away scene. When the king and the knights were running in place for the "Run Away" song, one of the French can-can girls came up to him and rubbed her skirt in his face...a lot! lol. It was very funny.

-In the slow-mo horse riding scene, Clay made faces like he was going to barf. Again, very different facial expressions than he did the last time I saw the show, and it was fun to see all the little changes in his character portrayal.

-It was raining after the show, and Jerome came out pretty quickly to say that Clay was not coming out.

I stopped in a small cafe yesterday and bought some lemon tea to get out of the rain for a bit. The quote on my teabag reminded me of Clay, Spamalot, and my day's adventure:

"On with the dance, let joy be unconfined..." (-Mark Twain)

Clay's Back again, 8PM show 10-25-08

2008-10-25T23:09:00.002-05:00

Clay was there tonight and from all reports he was dancing and jumping with the best of them. He even pulled up his slacks to show his striped socks and no aircast. No stage door though, so little to report on that end of things. Hopefully things will surface in a few hours. Anyway, it was good to see he was back, and oh he was playing with the ribbons and smelling the flowers, that is a good sign for many.

Sim Clay

2008-10-25T14:06:00.007-05:00

Get a load of Sim Clay, I found this at the Clayboard and it was created/found by MissMuffins31. How creative and cool:

Tidbits 10-25-08

2008-10-25T12:12:00.019-05:00

Just a clarification on the poll, if you would like an OMWH tour, that would be a SRHP w/band type tour. You can change your vote if you would like. Thanks for your comments.

Let's start out with a new montage from luluasst on YouTube, then we can continue with the tidbits:

Reported at the ClackHouse:

Re: Matt Lauer Roast

Night Owl wrote:
FYI ... Billy Bush mentioned on Access Hollywood Thursday that he would be covering the roast. No idea if Clay will get coverage, of course, but a possibility along with ET.

Quote:
Clay's in the VIP room at the Roast. A quick shot of him talking to some guy from Dateline (didn't catch the guy's name -- I don't watch that show), with Billy Bush saying "and here's Clay Aiken ... ".

This is the Access Hollywood show. This is the first story.

Quote:
On the TODAY show they just said they will have highlites of the Roast on Monday.
Maybe we'll get to see Clay.

Quote:
On the Today Show, they mentioned it several times and said that Al Roker would be Toastmaster and that they would air highlights on Monday's show.

It appears Clay will not be appearing in the Wicked performance per the ClackHouse and the following link:

It appears that Clay's name is not on the final list of performers. His name has also been edited out of the Fox article where the information originally came from.

Notacanuck wrote:

Final casting for the Wicked benefit on Monday -- Clay's name is NOT listed.
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/122691.html

Let me close today's tidbits with a wonderful video made by lampmstar called "For Your Hurting Heart" and was found on YouTube:

In Preapration for Spamalot

2008-10-24T20:36:00.004-05:00

I thought since we will not have any Spamalot recaps from tonight's show I would post a video by Yollie950 which is posted on YouTube and goes back to when Clay was just starting in Spamalot, it will take us back to the beginning so when he does get back to the stage we will be all set to go again.

10-24-08 Spamalot

2008-10-24T20:30:00.003-05:00

Clay did not appear in Spamalot tonight. We wish him well and hope that his ankle heals quickly. We miss you Clay but stay home and keep the ankle up.

Matt Lauer's Friars Roast

2008-10-24T20:25:00.002-05:00

If you want to see a brief mention and also a brief look at Clay Aiken sitting in the back row of the VIP room, check it out at Clack Unlimited. And while you are there, why not make a one time contribution to keep Clack Unlimited afloat?

http://clackunlimited.com/clack/TV_Appearances/Access_Hollywood/081024_Friars_Roast/

Spamalot Reports for 10-23-08

2008-10-24T17:41:00.010-05:00

Report from HCorbett10:

From Jess:

REPORT FROM THE FRONT LINES!!!!

CLAY'S LEAVING THE SHOW AND HE'S HAVING AN UNDERSTUDY FOR ACT 2.

HE CAN'T CONTINUE

From Rosebud42:

I was just talking to NYMom4clay on the phone during the intermission. She's there tonight, and she said that during the first half Clay seemed fine. Then, as I was talking to her they made the announcement that he didn't feel well enough to continue and that someone else would take his place for the 2nd half.

Poor darlin'.

From amoreDio:

Someone said they thought they saw Jaymes there in the 7th row center. If it was Jaymes....that seat remained empty after the intermission was over.

********************************************

Per Annieq9 at the Clayboard:

Clayfan1000 and I were there tonight too and I agree with the post above and with you Zakus. We also stayed until the end to support the cast. We were in the fifth row and some people actually filled a couple of seats in the front rows A101 and A102 and B101 during the second act that were not filled during act I. It was strange those seats weren't filled during the first act because the orchestra and mezzanine were full. Someone must have been sick or something.??

The front row was not empty during the second act.

We gave all of the cast some love and support. That young man had a tough job filling in for Clay with so many of us there to see Clay. He was ok and did a fine job but he was no Clay, poor guy.

We saw no fights,, no exodus of people and no E! entertainment.

The peasant of the day was in row C101. It was a man who was really excited about being the peasant. People were congratulating him on doing a great job and he loved it!

*******************************************

Tainted Candy Please Read, Halloween

2008-10-24T16:46:00.014-05:00

Please read and handle accordingly, using your best judgement.

This was reported on Yahoo.com, so please read the following and for cautions sake destroy, not just throw away, destroy any of these products or return them to the store where purchased for a refund.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081001/ap_on_bi_ge/candy_melamine

White Rabbit Candy, The White Rabbit Creamy Candy is sold in 8 or 16 oz packages. Their other flavors of White Rabbit Candy, include Assorted (Chocolate,
Coconut, and Coffee), Red Bean, Coffee, Corn, Lychee, Mango and Strawberry are sold in 7 oz. packages. All packaging has a logo of a white rabbit on the front with the words "White Rabbit".

Also Snopes.com is reporting A problem with foil wrapped Pirate's Chocolate Gold Coins. Check that out at http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/coins.asp.

This is a warning being posted because Halloween is just around the corner and these products, for precautions sake, should not be given out as treats or consumed until the all clear is given by the FDA.

Strangely enough in my research I found a site that may be of interest to everyone. They seem to keep a list and report all recalls. Check out this site from the Town of Durham, CT.

Them there ties

2008-10-23T22:32:00.004-05:00

I just could not resist this video from Luluasst and on YouTube, hang in there for the switch. Very good video, thanks.

Some people are so creative, it makes me wish I was. Thanks for all those that make these videos for our enjoyment.

Matt Lauer's Roast

2008-10-23T16:09:00.003-05:00

Don't forget about the Friar's Roast of Matt Lauer that Clay will be attending on October 24th. Check out the information below.

The burning question is, will Matt Lauer still be speaking to them in the morning?

Lauer, 50, is slated to be the victim - that is, "honoree" - when the Friars Club gathers at the New York Hilton Oct. 24 and rakes the Today host over the coals, humorously, at its annual celebrity roast - an event noteworthy for wildly uncensored remarks at the expense of the guest of honor.

Among those scheduled to appear at the by-invitation-only, not-for-broadcast event include Lauer's predecessor Bryant Gumbel, his former sidekick Katie Couric and the current one, Meredith Vieira - as well as his across-the-channel rival, Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer.

Some may think Couric should know better. The year Donald Trump was roasted, she sat quietly on the dais only to be the target of a particularly raunchy remark by comic Susie Essman - for which Trump felt compelled to apologize.

Trump now is on the bill to help roast Lauer.

Also promised by the entertainers' fraternity to deliver no-bars-held remarks at its event: Clay Aiken, Joy Behar, Bob Saget, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vanessa Williams, Aretha Franklin, Eric McCormack, Tony Shaloub, Jerry Stiller, Mario Lopez and others.

I hope Clay has some real snarky remarks for Matt, you go Clay.

The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken!

2008-10-23T13:49:00.004-05:00

This was found at MyFoxNY.com about another benefit:

Last Edited: Thursday, 23 Oct 2008, 8:23 AM EDT

MYFOXNY.COM -- Here is more content related to Thursday's Good Day New York. Check out how you can see Ashanti on Broadway while supporting a charity. Also learn more about the flu vaccine. And find a place to pick your own pumpkin.

ASHANTI/"WICKED" BENEFIT

Grammy winning singer, songwriter and actress Ashanti is involved with a benefit performance of "Wicked." It's called "The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken."

Spamalot's Clay Aiken, Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Ashanti, The View's Joy Behar, comedian Mario Cantone, Ugly Betty's Mark Indelicato, Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney, and Cheers George Wendt will be among the cast of THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD NOT TAKEN, a one-night-only benefit performance celebrating the 5th Anniversary of the Broadway smash WICKED.

THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD NOT TAKEN, directed by Matt Lenz, will take place on Monday, October 27 at 7:30pm at the Gershwin Theatre (222 West 51 Street). The evening's proceeds will be donated to Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project.

Prime Benefit tickets are $1,000 (includes Premium Seats, post show VIP party and special WICKED gift bag); Premium Benefit Tickets are $500 (Prime Orchestra Seats and special WICKED gift bag), and Super Orchestra Tickets $350 (Orchestra Seats and special WICKED gift bag). Tickets for the performance only are also available from $250 - $100. Tickets are available through:

>>WICKED ONLINE

Yeah!!!

2008-10-23T13:38:00.003-05:00

Per Annieq9 at tbe Clayboard:

GOOD NEWS!!! We just called the theater and Clay will be appearing tonight!!!

This is such good news, evidently no major sprain or bruise.

Update on Clay's injury

2008-10-23T06:58:00.000-05:00

A report from Clayngel:

I was in the front row and Clay was kicking butt tonight! He had so much energy and seemed like he was having a lot of fun. The guard scene with Herbert was hysterical and Clay was making all of these funny faces and being totally crazy. When he fell it seemed a little different than usual but not in a bad way. Two of the McVargas' were next to me and Jess and I both noticed that he was moving around a lot when he was supposed to be "dead." Then when he got up to go offstage he was wincing and seemed to be limping. We were all set for him to come on for the coconut dance, but he didn't enter with the other knights. Jess and I just looked at each other and we knew it wasn't good. Clay walked on separately after the dance part but was limping pretty badly. He didn't skip as Brother Maynard either. Jess and I were like in tears we were so worried because he just looked like he was in pain and he wasn't putting any pressure on his foot. He smiled and danced as best as he could and seemed like he was doing as much as he could to get through the rest of the show.

We were pretty sure that there wasn't going to be a stage door and at first there weren't even any barricades set up. They were put up a little later, but still didn't think he would come out. After a few minutes Jerome came outside and when a fan asked him if Clay was ok he said no. That certainly didn't make me feel any better! He went on to say that even though he wasn't a doctor it appeared that Clay sprained his ankle so he wouldn't be doing the SD and he said he hoped he'd be able to tomorrow.
Jess, Kristen and I saw Clay leaving the theater and he was walking on his own but definitely limping. He appeared to be in some pain, but it didn't look as serious as it did on stage, so hopefully it's a minor sprain or he may have just twisted it. I'm still really worried about him, but hoping for the best. I'm supposed to go to the show tomorrow, but I have a feeling he might be out for the next few days. Keep sending postive thoughts his way! Love you Clay!!

Waiting for news

2008-10-22T22:55:00.002-05:00

Sorry this is quick, but it came in at the last moment. HCorbett10 has gotten a report from Jax5230 and has posted at the Clayboard:

From Jax:

Hi guys. I'm sorry this isn't in red but i'm on my phone and i thought i should pass on the news as quickly as i can. Clay's hurt. Jess Kristen and Laura were all at the show tonight and he had trouble getting up after falling. No one knows the extent of the fall but but Clay was definitely in pain. he dim't do the coconut dance and he didn't skip during brother maynard. It's not really looking good right now! No one has any idea what's going on as far as his being or not being in the show. Keep your fingers crossed.

Jerome came out for the stage door and said Clay would not be coming out due to medical reasons, but when questiond as to the problem, he said he wasn't a doctor. Prayers needed ladies and gents. He was up and walking so we do not know the extent of the injury.

This should take you back

2008-10-22T17:15:00.006-05:00

Oh my goodness, this will take you back just over four years to a night in Raleigh, October 18th 2004. This was the Solo Not A Tour 2004 with Clay singing Kyrie. Thanks to CA4Me for uploading it to YouTube. Enjoy!

It is so funny because the man says he can't dance, but in this video it looks like Jacob is the one out of sync, LOL. JMHO! The man can dance!

Just two photos to help jog your memories:

Stage door 10-21-08

2008-10-22T15:55:00.015-05:00

Back to business as usual for Clay and his Spamalot buddies. It was a slow night, but there were some charming stories.

Photos taken by Bluenosebythesea, absolutely gorgeous.

Bluenosebythesea at the Clayboard went and reported:

was one of the lucky ones tonight who saw Spamalot and Clay was fabulous!!! My husband and son loved it too. It looked like a great crowd, especially since it was Tuesday night and very cold out. I was worried that I wouldn't like the lady of the lake, but she was great and she has an amazing voice. Clay can really dance and he is so funny. Of course I was at the stage door. (I was the one who messed up the pictures so you got to take another one---sounds like I did good and the second one turned out perfect.) Anyway I don't post much so I didn't know how to post in red so if anyone wants to change it, feel free. Also my husband took some stage door pictures that I would be happy to post if someone can explain how to do it very clearly. We tried a few minutes ago and I lost my whole post so I need help, but I am will to share if I can figure out how to do it. The stage door went so fast that I really didn't notice what he was wearing, but I did notice he had on striped socks with sandles----got to love that man.

Clayfan1000 had a glorious night this is her report:

I just got back to my room! I was the best peasant tonight. I use a cane and wanted to come up on stage but they didn't want me to fall!

I was in row C seat 101. I am still shaking! I didn't expect to be peasant because I thought it would be Row A tonight. When the explosion knocked down the wall and I saw C101, I was like... OMG! I am going to be the peasant. Patsy came down and asked
me if I could get up on stage. I said I thought I could with my cane, but the King didn't want me to fall, so they came down to me. It was so exciting to have the King and Patsy and all the other Knights singing to me and cheering for me. I didn't get a picture with Clay but loved the picture I got of the King and Patsy Anyway, I rushed out to the SD to get the picture of Clay and me that I had gotten from Friday night signed by Clay. OMG! when Clay came out he started signing autographs and got to my friend, Annieg9. I will never forget this. Clay asked Annie where I was. He called me by name Annie pointed me out and Clay started coming right over to me. Annie had to yell out that she wanted a pic too! He signed my picture that I got from Friday and then asked me who was taking my picture. I told him noone, because I had already gotten a pic with him. He then asked a nice woman standing there to take our picture. All I could think to say was thank you very much,Clay. He hugged me and put his arm around my waist and I touched Clay again on his waist. Once the pic was taken, he grabbed my camera to make sure it turned out. It wasn't great, so he posed again and we snuggled again and got another picture. I am now like mush.

I messed up the picture I took of Annie and Clay because I was spaced out from Clay calling out my name and looking for me I will write more once I can put my thoughts together more clearly.
Continuing:
I love the pic of the King, Patsy and me, which I hope to get Patsy to sign. Patsy helped me up out of my chair and the King came down to me. Patsy asked me if I could make it up on stage and I felt so special. I was disappointed that Clay was not in the picture, but it all worked out.... I loved everyone singing to me and I will cherish the Best Peasant Award!

A report from Annie9:

Tonight was fabulous! Clay was so fabulous in every one of his roles as always.
Everyone in the cast was wonderful. The one that took Rick's place as Lancelot, Knight of Ni and the French Taunter was expecially great. He put his own twist on it but he did a wonderful job.
We saw Merle (Lady Of The Lake) at the stagedoor too and she signed our playbills for us. I took a pic of her with Kathy that she will post in awhile.

Clay is so thoughtful and wonderful. He saw me sitting with Kathy and he knew she was disappointed that he wasn't in her peasant picture so the first thing he did when he saw me was ask me where she was.
He really is amazing man. He doesn't like to disappoint his fans.
There were many, many NJUs in the audience tonight and they showed appreciation for the whole cast. Clay got the most applause at curtain call so he gave a wink to Merle. He won the competition tonight.
The man sitting behind us really enjoyed the show and showed it by his laughing and applause.
Not too many people at the SD tonight. The temp outside was 46 degrees and the wind was wicked. We froze but it was very much worth it.

Tidbits 10-22-08

2008-10-22T11:28:00.011-05:00

This report from YahooSports.com is showing those that have sung the National Anthem in the last 38 years, but of course we only need to go back five years to see the best of them all.

Performer, Site and Season

Boston Pops conducted by John Williams — Boston '07
Bob Seger — Detroit '06
Josh Groban — Chicago A.L. '05
Steven Tyler — Boston '04
Clay Aiken — New York A.L. '03

Does this tell you the splash this young man made five years ago? What a true honor.

There was a report from Psalm42 on the Clayboard that there was a mention on ET about OMC.

I was just watching an ET preview of 17again, about a man who gets younger and goes back to high school to do his life over. His friend, subbing as his father and dressed kinda dorky, is sitting next to him when the younger man comments on his clothes, saying, who do you think you are? Clay Aiken?

Amazing how many places Clay's name pops up.

Flipe4u at the Clayboard came across the top names for boys for 2009:

I came across a list of popular baby name choices....Guess who was listed as #1!!!!!

American Idol Names Boys

Clay
Ruben
Bo
Taylor
Constantine
Sanjaya
Blake

We Have Winner's Report

2008-10-21T20:07:00.006-05:00

Yeah, Zippy888 has an exciting story about her luck with the raffle tickets for the Champions for Change Gala 2008. Here it is as reported on the Clayboard. Congrats Zippy, you so deserve this after all the wonderful Clack you have provided us with over the years.

Hello everyone! Here's my recap from the Gala event. Yes, I'm still on . I purchased 3 raffle tickets at $20 each and decided to put all 3 tickets in the drum for the autographed hockey jersey. When the time came for the hockey jersey to be raffled off, Clay called out for his mum to come up on stage to draw the ticket. While Clay was spinning the drum, a ticket "spat" out accidentally. He picked it up and dropped it back into the drum and proceeded to rotate the drum a couple more times. Then, Faye drew the raffle ticket.

I held my breath. Then, I heard my ticket number drawn. I had memorized the 3 ticket nos. before and then passed the tickets to my mum to look after as clayheaven (my sis) and I were busy taking clack. Of course, when the winning ticket was announced, I gasped and looked at my sister with wide eyes. I was sure I had won and when my mum stuck up her hand to give me the winning ticket, we were jumping around in our little area at the back of the room.

I proceeded to go up to the stage area and it took a while as I had to meander amongs the tables, chairs and people. I still had my camera around my neck. Finally, got to the front row of tables and Clay announced that he didn't have the prize on stage. So, I stopped and was thinking if I should return back to my seat. Then, our eyes locked 'cos he said, "Oh, it's you!" Then, he told me and motioned me to come on up.

I was in an Aiken fog. I didn't go up on stage but stood beside the stage instead and handed him my ticket for verification. I don't know why I stuck out my hand but it was an instinctive action on my part. He then said something like "Good idea! Let's verify the ticket, Mom!" Faye verified it and it was all good!! Yay! He then handed me the ticket back and then........he bent down while still on stage to give me a HUG!! OMG!!

I was surprised when he gave me a hug and I hugged back. He then patted me on my shoulder blades and I did the same. It was so good to be in his arms. He smells really clean and is really lean. I can feel his bones. I was in an Aiken fog. Gosh, I love Clay Aiken! I collected my beautiful hockey jersey in a shadow box and managed to transport it home with me on the plane.

Champions for Change Gala 2008 Menu

2008-10-21T20:00:00.003-05:00

ClayMelia2 loaded her menu onto the Clayboard, so I thought I would share it with those who did not make it to the Gala, just another interesting item.

People.com Clay's New Spamalot Bio Winner

2008-10-21T18:13:00.006-05:00

Of course we already knew this thanks to Clay and the OFC, but it has been officially announced in People.com today that ClayBella a.k.a. Jo-Anne Lopez was the winner of the Spamalot Playbill biography contest. WTG ClayBella!

Clay Aiken Announces Winning Writer of His Official Bio
By Stephen M. Silverman

Originally posted Tuesday October 21, 2008 10:45 AM EDT

His latest accomplishment is the announcement of the winner of the "Write Clay's Playbill Biography Contest," which provided members of the singer's fan club the opportunity to pen his official bio for program of the Tony-winning musical.

And the winner is: Jo-Anne Lopez of Carlsbad, Calif. Her publication-worthy prose (which takes into consideration the musical spoof's humorous reference to Finland):

CLAY AIKEN was born southwest of Finland, in Raleigh, N.C., a little more than 29 years ago. Although his younger years were spent belting out tunes from atop piles of Sears carpet samples, his mature teenage years saw him cast in musical theater roles such as Singer #2 in his high school production of The Music Man, which was met with enough success not to get him cast in his final high school production. His ego thus bolstered, he had more than enough incentive to audition for American Idol Season 2, the outcome of which (in the prophetic #2 spot) has made him arguably the most beloved and successful contestant ever to have irritated Simon Cowell. A bestselling book, UNICEF Ambassadorship and multiple platinum recordings later, six or seven sold-out nationwide tours notwithstanding, and after a first very successful run in Spamalot early this year, Clay is currently finding his second grail, on Broadway, right here at the Shubert [Theatre]. For his next project, he plans to teach a modern Torah class.

For her efforts, Lopez will receive two tickets to the show, a backstage tour hosted by Aiken and an autographed copy of the Playbill, says a show rep.

Photo Recap of Champions for Change Gala 2008

2008-10-21T14:41:00.013-05:00

This is just a compilation of some of the hundreds of photos taken by all the Clack gatherers at the Gala 10-18-08. In these collages I have used photos by Toni7Babe, ClayIzzaQT, and SmartyPantsSuz. Thank you both for your clack, all of which was collected on the pages of the Clayboard.

Montages of Champions for Change Gala 10-18-08

2008-10-21T10:22:00.009-05:00

When we can't go to a Clay event like so many others do, we sit back and wait patiently for the clack to appear. We have been filled with wonderful glowing reports about how the Bubel/Aiken Foundation is doing, to what a fantastic time many of those had at the event. It was as if we were almost there ourselves. I thought I would put a few montages here of the event for everyone to enjoy as well.

This montage is of the concert portion and very touching. I found this at YouTube and is done by Yollie950, great job Yollie:

This is a montage by LovesClaysVoice again on YouTube. I love the sections with Clay trying to get into his clothes from the past, and the not letting go, LOL. Enjoy!

Here is another one by Yollie950, he/she has been very busy it seems. This one portrays the joy of being a winning bidder in the auction. Of course the winner was "Spooky", a very well deserved win for sure. Clay brought her up on stage, and as she clutched the JBT leather jacket she had won in one of the previous bids, he sang "Someone Else's Star". Of course, the blue shirt he managed to get on in the video is the very same shirt he wore when he sang this same song on American Idol 2. Spooky, you are one special lady and I know that Clay loves you for who you are, and for how you contribute to the foundation. This is another YouTube montage.

2009 Golfing for Inclusion

2008-10-20T14:49:00.007-05:00

Check out the complete all of the info on how you can help and how you can attend at the BAF.

January 26, 2009

Mirasol Country Club
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

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

Register by December 12 for special raffle

More on Champions for Change Gala

2008-10-20T13:11:00.009-05:00

HCorbett10 brought over to the Clayboard this fact finding post:

From Claym8 From the CV:

Didn't Clay say something about being up all night? OH! I just remembered. A hotel manager-type guy stopped by our group in the lobby this afternoon and told us that Clay spent the whole day in a suite in the hotel and ordered grilled cheese for a snack. Ben Cohen also told someone in the bar that he and Clay were on the same flight and it left NY at 6:30 a.m. He had a very very long day!

I've also seen a lot of people mention that Clay sang the end of Right Here Waiting quietly. I'm not sure if anyone also said that the last few words were sung with no microphone. It was very touching. I too think he teared up at the end.

That mirror picture is to die for. I've never seen so many copies of a picture of a picture. I've got a couple of them in my camera too.

I was very lucky tonight. The front desk called me a few minutes ago and asked if my rental was a blue Volvo. I had left my lights on!! Tomorrow morning could have been very bad! To me the Volvo lights and wipers are very confusing to deal with.

I had other stuff to say but can't remember it all.

thanks again to everyone for sharing my excitement!

Got it! It was totally wonderful to hear Clay talk about his "family." and when he introduced Faye to draw for the raffle he introduced her as Mom and then revised it to Grandma. Awwwww!

and

From ncclt4clay:

I am really late posting because I got back just a while ago and don't have a lap top. I know that a lot of what I could say has already been said so I won't even try to recap. Just some of my observances - this was one of my very favorite Clay times ever. Somehow it just seemed magical. I met and got to know some people that I loved instantly. Clay. Well, Clay was just the best that I have ever seen him. Not better perhaps, but certainly right there with the best. He was Clay. The Clay that we haven't seen for a while. ETIDN absolutely brought down the house. So just gaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh. OMH - wow. But RHW - I can not even begin to express the depth of emotion. The introduction made me teary enough. He conveyed every nuance through every phase and breath. I wouldn't have given up this performance for anything in the world. All I can say is that when he dropped the mic and sang the last bit of that song - it will stay with me for the rest of my life. To those that I was with, those that I knew, and those whom I met and bonded with - all of you will be in my memory with this wonderful, magical, unforgettable experience. And Clay? Oh yeah - he is going to be here with us for a very long time. And I love him.

and

this recap was beautiful from Mickey7129 at CDB, I got it from janwhatever at CH..

I did read Brightstar's recap which was brought over. Her recap IMO is right on in all aspects--the emotions (love being the predominant emotion of the night, I think), Clay's cognizance of the message boards (fugly...too funny!), the still and forever indescribable beauty of his voice, the intimacy of the message conveyed and received in his rendering of "Right Here Waiting". I too will be wrapping my mind, heart and soul around the depth and beauty of last night for many weeks to come. Not to mention the sheer fun and joy. Yep, he done did it to us again! (Please don't ever stop, Clay, 'k ?! )

Just a couple of (disjointed) thoughts I wanted to share.

About midway through "Right Here Waiting for You", I thought I was the only one with tears streaming down my face and sniffling, but then I realized I was hearing sniffling and sobbing all around me. In case you're wondering, the little ripple of laughter at the very end of "Right Here Waiting" was slightly embarrassed laughter at ourselves as the sobbing was just as audible as Clay's tender voice as he sang the last phrase of "Right Here Waiting" without the mike. (And the beauty, purity and texture of his unamplied voice...truly every bit as beautiful and transcendent as the finest instrument ever made).

For me, it felt like we had gone back to our roots. Clay even looked so much like he did back in 2003/2004 when he first mezmerized us and cast us underneath his spell. I saw so many of those early gestures and nuances and passion. It reminded me of why I first fell in love with him. (Yep, I said, "in love"...deal with it!). It was so eerie but so right. Whatever the degree of wondering each of us may have gone through about "is Clay still Clay", I say the answer is a blessedly, resounding YES! Even for those who didn't have that doubt or concern, what a treasure it was to be reminded and be able to relive that magic again. Last night was like the perfect mixture of Clay of the past AND present...old look, new songs. Totally cool, freaky and somehow right.

Personally, I've given up the battle of trying to find the words which accurately describe the emotions Clay, both the man and the voice, evokes from the very depths of your soul. In total seriousness, I don't think the words exist in the dictionary. Maybe because he makes me feel so much. Maybe because when your heart is that full to overflowing, no words could ever be adequate enough. The closest I can come, broken down into the simplest terms, is: He's back. We're back. We're home again.

How lucky are we?

I am sorry someone sent this to our group as a third party so I do not know where this was originally posted, but it is touching and I thought there are those that would like to read it, enjoy.

Originally Posted by loriham

I'm finally able to sit down and write my recap of this amazing
weekend, so here goes!

Saturday morning Michelle and I went to the Volunteer Roundtable and
screening of "Including Samuel." I'm sure you've heard how moving
this film was, and how well it got across the message that those with
disabilities are just like the rest of us with our hopes, dreams, and
desires. It made me think. More.

Saturday night we got all gussied up (thanks to Michelle I wasn't so
underdressed!) and went to the gala.......

The food was good, the auction items grand, the setting nice.

Then the auction began.....and you've d/l the Clack by now, so I
don't need to tell you it was by turn funny, astonishing, naughty,
and touching.

When Clay put on that blue shirt from AI and came back out on the
stage, I felt a strange sense of something.......a deja vu, a ghost
of the past.....whatever you want to call it, something came over me
ever so slightly.

When Diana went up after winning the shirt and Clay sang to her, it
came over me again. It was like seeing him five years ago. Not for
the first time exactly, but seeing him anew somehow.

The auction went on and I watched. I saw the shirt, the spiked hair,
the smile when an item went for so much more than he thought it
would.

The auction ended.

And he sang.

It was a bit rough at first, as he was tired. A couple of raspy
moments and one "bent" note. Then he kicked it into gear and got over
that hump and began to enjoy the performing.

"When I See You Smile" was good and I enjoyed it.
"Everything I Don't Need" was....................what can you say???
He was hot, sexy, dripping with the attitude of the song, growly, and
the "well,well" had me melting off my seat!
"On My Way Here" was beautiful.
"Where I Draw the Line" and THOSE notes were goosebump inducing.
Then "Right Here Waiting" did me in. I watched him sing only to us. I
watched as he communicated over time and space in the way only he
can. I knew then: I had come home.

Tears came to my eyes as I realized that it didn't matter whether or
not I agree with all he says and does. It didn't matter whether he's
right or wrong. It didn't matter that he's in no way related to me or
that I may never really know him. All that matters is that I love him
and that voice that's so much a part of him, and that I believe he's
in my life for a reason.

It was like being back in time. It was like the world tilted back on
its axis again and I knew I was supposed to be there. I had "my" Clay
back again.

He sang to us.

Tidbits 10-20-08

2008-10-20T03:34:00.012-05:00

Roanoke Rapids Daily HeraldThe decision to choose a manager for the Roanoke Rapids Theatre is a difficult one since there are numerous offers on the table, including the following:

• A request from Jaymes Foster, a friend of Clay Aiken, to manage the theater.

Could this end up being Clay's North Carolina Branson? Would it include the Spooky Museum? Can't think of a better place.

This is a note from claniac24 on the Clayboard about the possible museum:

An update on Spooky: She won not only the JBT jacket but also both shirts that were up for auction. Also, the gorgeous mosaic of Clay's face that was in the silent auction. Those were the four items she determined in advance that she wanted to go home with, and she was lucky enough to be able to get all four. Also, she has purchased a fantastic 7500 square foot home in Raleigh which is likely to be the location of her Clay Museum when she ultimately gets it up and running. She already has numerous items to fill the museum with. I can't wait for it to open!

Infos Jeune in France has reported that American Idol alumni have surpassed the 200 mark for #1 hits on the Billboard Singles Charts.

American Idol has certainly come full circle with its success on The Billboard charts. Kelly Clarkson had AI's first #1 on the charts with her finale song, "A Moment Like This". "Measure of a Man," Clay Aiken (Nov. 1, 2003) "Soulful," Ruben Studdard (Dec. 27, 2003) "A Thousand Different Ways," Clay Aiken (Oct. 7, 2006) "Taylor Hicks," Taylor Hicks (Dec. 30, 2006) "Katharine McPhee," Katharine McPhee (Feb. 17, 2007) "My December," Kelly Clarkson (July 14, 2007) among others were singled out. A little good news.

Champions for Change Gala 2008 Concert

2008-10-19T11:21:00.012-05:00

Oh goodness, not sure how much of the Concert portion we will get, but let's start off with a little "What I Don't Need" which was found on YouTube taped by lonelynomore44. Yeah, that is a great place to start, enjoy!

Now for "Where I Draw The Line", also taped by lonelynomore44 and found on YouTube, goodness we need a tour, goofs and all, LOL:

Okay, now OMWH is a little rough, perhaps it is a difficult song for him to sing, so give it a minute for Clay to get his voice going, LOL. This video is by tugger12345 and can be found at YouTube.

A very sweet recap from clayniac24 at the Clayboard:

The Gala was beyond expectations. It was a thrilling evening from beginning to end! I haven't had a chance to read all the reports so far, so I'll just report a few items of interest (that may already have been reported). When Rich Donavan, a wonderful honoree tonight (he suffers from cerebral palsy and works tirelessly with corporations to get jobs for the handicapped), took the stage, he received a thunderous standing ovation. In response he thanked us for the "round of applause", and added, "I think you have competition, Clay". The audience loved it.

The CVS Caremark honoree said, "I'm the only one in a black tie----everyone keeps handing me their glasses. When Clay's stool went up for auction, the auctioneer asked Clay if he could sit on it. Clay fired back, "Fine, but it may decrease the value."

Tammy, a darling young gal who was my roommate on the BAF 7 day cruise last year, won the TV set in the raffle. She went up on stage and said she'd donate it back for a kiss from Clay. Clay kissed her cheek and said, "keep the TV". So sweet.

Clay's singing was overwhelmingly phenomenal. Gorgeous! And he was so adorable all night. Every face in the room was smiling throughout his time on the stage, until the last song, Right Here Waiting. Then quite a few gals wound up crying. It was such a touching version of the song. He told us that Jaymes suggested he add it. I felt strongly that he was talking to the fans who have left.....that he was right here waiting for them to return. If they could have been there tonight, they couldn't have resisted returning.

Another sweet report from hippoga from the Clayboard:

Quick recap-an incredible night!

I was in a gold table of 10 fans and we were group #12 for a picture. Jerry Aiken called our group number and we went out into the hallway where Jerome told us to leave our purses and bags on a chair. We chatted with him for a bit until the group ahead of us finished. We entered the room where pictures were being taken and the professional photographer "arranged" us as we came in. Clay was chatted with James and Kristi as we were positioned and then he came over and shook everyone's hand and told us how glad he was we were there and that he recognized some of us. Funny thing, he thought my friend Alice said her name was "malice" and he ran with that! LOL!He was so handsome! Dark hair with highlights and a dark suit with a very subtle plaid design. He stood in the middle of our group and Diane Buble stood at the end (next to me!). The picture was taken and we (reluctantly!) made way for the next group.

We were table 24 in the ballroom. About two rows back and just to the left of the microphone. I could see Clay very well...a very good seat! Linda Loveland was very warm and articulate as mistress of ceremonies. Clay's speech was absolutely from his heart and he's so amazed at what his "experiment" with Diane Buble 5 years ago has accomplished. He noted that his speech was no doubt being broadcast to the fans on the message boards, too! The three recipients of the Champions of Change awards were amazing-parents of a child with a disability, an individual with a disability who is a financial whiz and a company working on inclusion projects. They all received well-deserved standing ovations.

The auction was a hoot!! Clay did everything he could to raise the bid! He tried on the leather jacket and even got it zipped up! He made the Sir Robin bear dance! He wore the blue "Someone else's star" shirt and seranaded the winner bidder. That rendition was so amazing...such a pure, powerful voice. He put an extra autograph on the stool and made a face at buying his "stool"! SO MUCH FUN!

AND then he sang! He killed time while the musicians got ready by finding out which fan had come the farthest. I can't spell the country! LOL! Sounded like the place where the dementors keep prisoners in Harry Potter! LOL! Then he sang YWSOB to us! IN accent! And we all sang the "jews" part and he assured us that he would never say such a thing. Then "When I see you smile"...I hope he could see the smiles on our faces and "Where I draw the line"...hearing OMWH songs in person! Clay is always so much better in person than his albums. "Everything I DOn't need" just about did us in...growling and emoting...I'm still not sure if it's "Well now" or Well, well!" BUT who the heck cares!? OMWH was so poiqnant with recent events and the crowd clapped a bit for "Faith has conquered fear" and he had us sing that to him at the end. Thank you Jaymes for suggesting the final song, a practically accoustic version of "Right Here Waiting for You"....a song from Clay to us and from us to him. There were a lot of "misty" eyes in the audience especially when he lowered the mic and sang just to us.

Incredible. I'm so glad I came. I am so proud to be a Clay fan and to be able to support him and his foundation.

This is a jumbled mess of a report...I hope you can see that I'm still grinning from ear to ear....with a little bit of misty eyes, too.

Can't wait to get home ....the wonders of Clack await!

HCorbett10 posted this on the Clayboard, a wonderful review:

From Brightstar from CV:

Well, I'm home and I'm spent. What a remarkable, memorable evening! I don't have time for a big recap, so I'll just post a few thoughts. It was definitely a night of love. Love from us to Clay, love from him to us, and reminders of the need for and benefits of inclusion-and that everyone has the capacity to love. A very moving night from start to finish.

And for those few who feared Clay would somehow change or be changed or seem different somehow-he is exactly the same. The same funny, snarky, beautiful, compassionate, bossy, loving, take-charge, talented guy. I thought I would die laughing when he said he knew that many on the message boards hated his shirt. And that "we" called it ugly-no, a word that rhymes with ugly. Cracked.me.up. His references to cell phones and message boards and videos that would be up in 30 minutes were hilarious and showed that he is quite tuned in to his fans on the boards.

It felt so good to hear him sing again. Singing "his" songs live. His voice, after all these years, still blows me away. Despite the few times he sounded as if he was about to lose his voice, he was vocally so strong-- powerful, beautiful, and moving. Sexily moving in ETIDN and poignantly moving in "Right Here Waiting". One in a million may be really underestimating it. No voice, no performer grabs me and moves me as he does.

And what a perfectly perfect choice of songs to end the night. Right Here Waiting. It was very softly and intimately sung, so personal, so beautiful. It seemed as if he were singing to each of us individually-his heart wide open, singing to many whose hearts were also wide open, but also to those who may have closed themselves off to him just lately. He was not only telling us how much he loved and appreciated us, but also seemed to be sending the reassurance that he would be there waiting for those who had "left" if they ever wanted to come back. I honestly don't know of another man so generous and so loving. What an honor to be there! What a joy to be his fan.

And so I go to bed now, to relive and remember. So many gifts, so much to treasure-it will take weeks to wrap my mind around it all.

Safe travels to all as you go home.

BAF Challenge for Change Gala Auction

2008-10-19T11:02:00.035-05:00

Can you say "Where have you been all of my life?" This is just one of the photos which was converted to a mirror and went into the Gala Auction from ATDW photos. I have never seen this one, have you?

How does this one work for you? It is another one I do not remember seeing but I sure do appreciate them bringing it out of the moth balls for us to enjoy.

I do not know yet how much the ATDW photos went for or how much they made on the raffle tickets or the silent Auction.

I do know that the lady that won the 32" TV told Clay she would trade it for a kiss. Kiss received and I think she got the TV as well.

He really does look like he just doesn't want to part with his "Clay Bust" present from Jimmy Kimmel, his #1 fan.

There was a real bidding war for this one, but because Clay wouldn't go with it, sorry Karen, Spooky got it for $55,000. You are lucky I wasn't there, LOL.

Joe the Auctioneer asked if he could sit on the stool, and Clay said "Sure, if you want to but it might decrease the value." One the stool was won, he autographed it again for the person.

He thought we felt the shirt was one of the ugly ones, my goodness was he wrong, I would have bid much more for that one, honest, well if I had the money.

It is incredible that Clay still fits into the shirt he wore on American Idol 2 the night he sang "Someone Else's Star". I am so happy for Spooky winning another piece of Clay's clothing. He even sang to her and you can find that video at Clack Unlimited, it is so moving.

The beautiful thing about this one is that Karen from Oklahoma bought this bear for $17,000 at the Broadway Cares auction and turned around and gave it back to Clay at Spamalot so he could resell it for the Gala. Well, Karen bought it back for $31,000. Very touching Karen, you are one in a million for sure!!

Some other notes about the Auction:

The Voice Mail to be left on your machine by Clay went for $3,700

The box seats which included you and nine of your friends along with Clay and his guests to see the Celine Dion concert in January. It went for $26,000. You guys are going to have a ball.

The 2 tickets to Spamalot along with dinner with Clay went for $36,000. I think this included the NYC package.

Stage Door 10-17-08

2008-10-18T13:43:00.003-05:00

From Clayskater posted on the Clayboard:

I just got back from Spamalot. It was wonderful. The placed was packed. Tom was still out but the young man who plays the nun was his stand-in. He was yesterday too. He really does a good job. I thought that the entire cast was pumped up. Everyone seemed to put a bit more into their parts.

It seems that Merle and Clay are having a contest as to which one gets the most applause. They signal each other on the stage. Actually, Merle seems to be winning.

I am glad to say that there was no camera crew there and the stagedoor was very relaxed. Clay took lots of pictures.

Tidbits 10-17-08 of BAF GALA beginning

2008-10-18T13:40:00.007-05:00

The excitement for the BAF Gala is already beginning, people are there and in place. I have added some quotes below from some of the attendees. I hope there is lots-o-clack so that CDD will be full to the brim tomorrow. Good luck BAF in raising much needed funds for the children.

From hippoga at the Clayboard, our first to send her excitement from Raleigh.

Hello from the Marriott in downtown Raleigh! Lots of fans already here-the lobby is full of hugging ladies and there is exitement and anticipation in the air! I don't have the entire schedule but I know that Aron Hall is leading a workshop tomorrow morning on getting involved with the inclusion programs. Registration for the platinum, gold and silver sponsors is at 5 pm and the meet and greet and group photos with Clay for those sponsors is at 5:30 pm. Dinner is at 7 pm and the program begins at 8 pm.

EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I am so excited! Hope to post a recap late Saturday night!

From flyingstarship, also on the Clayboard.

We are here in Raleigh at the Marriott which is magnificent! Now we know what it feels like to be a superstar--there are many Clay fans here- the lobby is bustling. I am here with grandmajoan, sue4allyoudo, jlnpreciousclay. We are thrilled to be here. We have taken about 100 pictures of our room with granite counters, flat screen tvs, 10 ft mirrors, etc.

I am the techno -freak who is crazy about the IHome on the bedside for my IPod--wall to wall Clay!

We will be reporting in regularly.

Barb

Are we excited yet???

Reported by claysweettea also on the Clayboard:

This will be my first gala, and Im so happy to finally be attending.

We will arrive at Marriott City Center ahead of gala time to look around and enjoy.
I believe we are only about 7 miles away.

A gal at Marriott City Center just called me back.
She was only able to find out that the Gala starts at 4p and ends at 12a.

She said the auction items are in the Congressional Ballroom.
Im not sure if she meant we can view items any time or not.
That is my main question. Can we view auction items before the dinner at 7p.

Elspeth reporting in for NYMom on the Clayboard:

I talked to NYmom who is lucky enough to be at the gala. She said the roundtable this morning was great and the screening of the film Including Samuel very inspirational but heartbreaking at the same time. More updates as I get them!

HCorbet10 found a list of just the members from Clayversity that are attending the Gala, it is listed on the Clayboard:

The lucky CVer's representing today are:

2old4Clay, achin4aikennnc, AnAmeraikenInTX, angelty, Ashleygram, Bonilee, brensmemaw, bowledover, Brightstar, butterflyshine, cablegirl, cam552000,
CAP121, carol5230, cathy4clay2, champion124, chloecamille2, cincy, claygalsal,
Clayscience21, ClaysFayevorite, ClayIzzaQT, claym8, Claymatron, CLAYPERFECT,
ClaysRainbow, CravingClay, curiousgladys, cotton, Educlaytor, farouche,
fromClaygary, glory note, GWENN, hannanicole, happyclayday, HippoGA, iadoreclay,
irishbookgal, jasr9203, Katy4Clay, kcudawg, KSChristian4Clay, kwhite1022,
Lakelady, lindspe, Lindylo, lulu0013, Marilyn, mercedes, mindyj, msidolfan,
Nancela, newmie, ncgran4clay, ncgurrl, ncsredclayrocks, ncwannabe, PermaSwooned,
PinkArmchair, PoisonIvy, regaledbyclay, RhonnaR, rsging, shadow2639, Shamrock,
Shycon, siclayfan, SmartyPantsSuz, sparkle, terter4aiken, tini400, Thankful4Clay,
toni7babe, TxClayFan1940, windstar2, WinkAtMe, xxx4clay.

It is great seeing so many people, just from the one board that are going to the GALA and continuing to support the needs of the Bubel/Aiken Foundation and all those hopeful children wanting to attend a camp, or to be tutored by a teacher trained by BAF. This is a wonderful cause, for the children.

I will leave the rest of the reports for tomorrows CDD, so stay tuned!

Wrapping for Inclusion 2008

2008-10-18T12:53:00.005-05:00

Yes, it is that time of year, and the best time of year to get out there and get those stores locked in to your group as far as times that are best for donations.
I hope that we can help the BAF reach their goal this year, let's make an extra special effort. Check our the BAF to coordinate your efforts. They also need State Coordinators, Team leaders, and wrappers.

Please remember this is to help the children so they can be included in everyday activities.

Start Your Engines!

It's that time of year again!

We're very excited to start up the 2008 Wrapping for Inclusion Campaign. Last year, we moved past the $100,000 mark in fundraising with this fun and exciting event and this year we are looking to go even further. We are excited about an even slimmer manual and we have moved many forms online. (Check out the WFI Tool Kit below.) Thank you in advance for joining with us and helping us to achieve our $120,000 goal!

Attention Pennsylvania Fans and Beyond

2008-10-18T12:41:00.005-05:00

This was posted on the Clayboard by Claysvoice and I thought I might help it reach those that may have not seen it. It involves radio play for the holidays for those in the Pennsylvania area. Get busy ladies!!

ATTN: PENNSYLVANIA FANS!

I've just heard from a friend that WROZ 101 The Rose in Lancaster has started a listener survey for their upcoming holiday programming. Two Clay songs are up for rating .... MARY, DID YOU KNOW ... & SILVER BELLS w/Kim Locke. The are also many versions by other artists on there of songs Clay has recorded. JMO, but it would probably be wise not to give those other artist versions too high of a rating - there's a chance if that version doesn't pass the audience test, they might give Clay's a try.

If you're not yet on their listener survey (& why the holy sweater vest not when OMWH was on there all summer?! ), here's the link to sign up:

http://www.roseradio.com

This really has more impact to the Program/Music Director than even daily requests do.

UNICEF with a twist

2008-10-18T12:32:00.004-05:00

I looked at this story in Yahoo News because I have an interest in the late Lady Diana's children, Princes William and Harry. Well, in reading the article I found a tie to UNICEF which I thought was of interest and somewhat Clay related. Enjoy!

PORT EDWARD, South Africa – British princes William and Harry set off Saturday on a grueling 1,000-mile motorcycle rally in South Africa to raise money for charity.

The pair joked that they had a wager on which royal tumbles from their bike the most during the eight-day off-road adventure.

"It's going to be very challenging and we're expecting to fall off many a time," said Harry, 24, before more than 80 riders set off from the holiday resort of Port Edward on South Africa's southeast coast.

A crowd cheered the riders as they hit the winding dust road bound for the southern coastal city of Port Elizabeth.

William, 26, who next year will begin training to be an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot, said he and his brother had decided to take part in the rally "because it's a mixture of adventure and charity."

Funds raised through the princes' participation in the Enduro Africa 08 event will be divided among UNICEF, the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and Sentebale, a charity established by Prince Harry to help disadvantaged children in Lesotho.

Spamalot Closing

2008-10-17T22:08:00.002-05:00

Playbill announced today:

Monty Python's Spamalot, the 2005 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, will end its reign at Broadway's Shubert Theatre Jan. 18, 2009. When it closes, the musical will have played a total of 35 previews and 1,582 regular performances.

I will be sorry to see it go as will I am sure a lot of Clay fans will.

August Rhapsody

2008-10-17T17:22:00.004-05:00

There is a new video on YouTube, created by aspiegirl that is worth a look at. It has a 5 star rating and is being touted as very artistic and creative. Enjoy!

10-16-08 Stage Door

2008-10-17T15:43:00.031-05:00

First let me say before you read on that it was a very different night at the stage door and I have posted many reports, some with a difference of opinion. This is good because unless we were there we have no idea how it may have looked, so I am offering opposing views. Before the show started, the E! True Hollywood crew had been there and Jerome told them they could be there but they could not take video, so they left. However, when they saw Clay come out for the stage door session, they came back and that is when Jerome whisked Clay away. Thanks to dancerdad and returnofaiken for their wonderful photos tonight.

Thanks to HCorbett10 for being the go between and posting the information from Jax5230 on the Clayboard

From Clayngel:
lots of energy again tonight, good audience
Clay wasn't wearing his boots for the Not Dead Yet scene
During kotrt, clay almost got hit with the armor cause he was talking to rick. luckily, I think bedevere caught it before it actually did.

Another report from HCorbett10 on the Clayboard

From DM From the CV:
There was a paparazzi crew there...two still photographers...high powered flash that flashed like machine guns. They were okay DH said. Although the flash was annoying. His doesn't fire that fast.
The problem was there was a video camera crew there. DH said it was a pretty big crew...4 people. A reporter, video guy and sound guy and one extra person. The security guard (not mister I never smile) had told them no video and they left and went down the street. But when Clay came out and went about half way around and the crew came back. Jerome saw them and hustled Clay inside.
Plaid vest with a blue shirt underneath.

Just in case you want one of those vests for someone in your family:

Clayshines at the Clayboard reports:

Morganette posted at the CH a link for Clay's vest...here

A report from Clayskater on the Clayboard

Just got back to hotel. How said that the crew from E True Hollywood story had to ruin the night. They were there before the show and trying to interview people. I actually told them to go away that no Clay fans wanted to have anything to do with them.

After the show at the stagedoor, they were told they could not film in the alley. They were run off and then when Clay finally after a long time, CLay came out, he stayed about long enough for 10 people. Jerome nearly picked him up and got him in the door. The crew played innocent and said well it was for CLay and thet just didn't understand. Afterall, Clay was just a normal guy. I told them that noone trusted them and that as long as they hurt people on purpose, they will get no support. The cameras were not running and there were people who were very upset.

By the way, the play was fabulous. Everyone was really on and the audience was the best I have been in for a long time. Tom was out, but the person who plays the nun did his part. He did very well. House was pretty full. It was a great night except for the silly TV crew. The look on Clay's face was so sad to see. He was really surprised and a bit frightened!!

HCorbett10 forwarding a report from Jax5230 on the Clayboard

From Jax:

Apparently there were fans there who were feeding the fire a bit. People kept saying they didn't want to be interviewed, but a few fans jumped at the opportunity. No idea if it's anyone here, anyone on any message board, or someone casual. There were definitely people wanting to be interviewed, though. Pretty annoying!

Reported by ReturnofAiken at the Clayboard

One more thing, from front row, I could totally see that Clay had mismatched striped socks on again. Oh, and the orchestra was PACKED! And for seeing it for the first time, I thought it was PHENOMENAL!

Carried over to the Clayboard by HCorbett10 is

From roseBud42:

I was there tonight, and I don't think he looked frightened either. Jerome knew the E camera crew was there, so obviously Clay knew it too. I think he made a point of coming out to sign a few autographs, but was planning from the start to go quickly back in as soon as the E crew started getting closer. I was standing over towards the side Clay came to when he first came out, and he made a point of saying that he would not have time to do pics tonight. (Although, he said he felt bad about it, and did do a pic with one person that I saw.) However, I got the distinct impression that he knew he was going to have to hurry in order to avoid the cameras. I bet he and Jerome agreed that Jerome would keep an eye out for the cameras as Clay signed a few autographs - and then they would get back inside the door before they could give the camera crew any satisfaction. It seemed more a matter of hurrying, rather than being afraid of anything. JMO, of course.

I had a great time tonight, because I was lucky enough to be sitting in the peasant seat. It was a blast! When I purchased my ticket a couple of months ago, I had no idea that there was a possibility that A101 would be the peasant seat. What an awesome surprise - and since yesterday was my birthday, it was just about the best present I could have wished for. Getting my picture taken with Clay and his castmates, the cute little trophy and most of all - having the guy we all adore kneeling right in front of me as they sang - what a fun experience! All I can say is - WOW. That man really does have THE most beautiful eyes.

Per KrisnClay at the Clayboard

I guess WENN photography was there also. I was just at CV and there was a link for them there. About 6 pictures. They show the whole vest and how Jerome got Clay inside.

You can check out the WENN website by clicking here.

Getty was there and well and you can see their photos here.

Per DorforClay at the Clayboard

Clay knows to follow Jerome's lead. It may mean his life someday. I didn't see anything in the video but a little confusion.

I've noticed his arms. Quite muscular now. Big difference from when he was on AI.

HCorbett10 forwarding from the Clayboard this report:

From mariedrummond1:

she said that E made people reword their answers so that they were a complete sentence, instead of "since AI" they made them answer "Ive been a Clay fan since American Idol" she also said that jerome showed up behind them at the stagedoor before Clay came out and they joked that they hoped he didnt push in for an autograph and he said he was just waiting for E to overstep their bounds..

p.s. she didnt talk to E, she just evesdropped.

Mariedrummond1 video from the night, she was focusing on his striped socks when Jerome escorted Clay back inside when the E! crew came back:

Clayphan76 was also taking video and this was her view:

It had been reported that Clay came back out after a few minutes of discussion, but I do not have documented information on that yet.

Knight Fever

2008-10-16T17:16:00.003-05:00

Oh my goodness, I got an email about the Broadway.com "Ask A Star" column and this photo from their advertisement accompanied it. I just had to add it even though I had printed their story yesterday, enjoy...

Now go ask a question, LOL, at Broadway.com

Killer Older Photo

2008-10-16T17:04:00.002-05:00

Morgan Rowan at the Clayboard is wanting to know if she is the only one that hasn't seen this photo before. Goodness, I don't recall seeing it but it sure is newsworthy, LOL.

Stage Door 10-15-08

2008-10-16T08:49:00.002-05:00

As reported on the Clayboard

From Claysbabygurl:
She got video tonight
She said he looked HOTT tonight!!!
And that she couldn't stop saying how yummy he was tonight!!!
She also said .....OMG!!! lol
Said there was a lot of people there...3 to 4 rows deep
She said he took LOTS of pics tonight with fans and was in a GREAT mood

There conflicting reports about his socks, one fan said he had on one white sock and one striped sock, the other fan said both socks were striped. They did both agree that he did have on sandals.

It was a conflicting night for sure, LOL, one fan said Tom Deckman was there and another said he most certainly was not. Sounds like we have people out there thinking more about Clay and his smile than anything else, what are they thinking, LOL. Let's just say it was a papparazzi night and they forgot to take pictures, or at least post them. Bad papparazzi, bad papparazzi, LOL.

Playbill Yearbook

2008-10-15T23:06:00.003-05:00

We need to go to Playbill.com to get their latest yearbook, LOL, it has some Clay comments. Thanks to angelcat4jc we got the scoop.

angelcat4jc from the Clayboard bought the Playbill yearbook and there were several remarks about Clay entered.
I ordered this book when I ordered the new playbill with the new Bio along with a Spamalot mug from www.playbill.com.

It's called "The Playbill Broadway Yearbook-June 2007 to May 2008. It's a really great book and it was around $25.00.

Lots of Clay mentions in the Monty Python's Spamalot section, of course.

There's 8 pages on Spamalot.

The first page is what is usually in the playbill. It shows the front of the playbill, the list of Cast of Characters, the main title page with SAM S. SHUBERT THEATRE at the top and it has Jonathan Hadary, Hannah Waddingham, Clay Aiken as the starring roles. There's a picture of Clay/Robin holding the chicken and a picture of Chris Seiber (Galahad) and Hannah (LOTL) next to Clay's picture.

The 2nd page has the Scenes & Musical Numbers listed and Cast Continued (standbys, understudies, swings, dance, and orchestra) listed. Sean McDaniel is listed under orchestra/Drums.

The 3rd and 4th pages are the cast pictures like what is in the playbill from the Spring with Clay's picture of him with the bangs. It even has pictures of the crew including the director, choreographer, Eric Idle, John Du Prez, all the way to the standbys and producers and the actors who played the main parts before Clay got there. Clay is the 3rd picture, so he is prominently featured.

The 5th page has a continuation of the photos and a group picture of the crew, including, I think, Clay's dresser, Shannon?

The 6th page is a group picture of the Front of House staff-the ushers and ticket takers. There is a separate picture of the box office guy, Craig Bowley. He is holding the Spamalot Sir Robin Clay pin and is wearing a Clay Aiken lanyard as well! The rest of the page lists the staff of Spamalot-general management, casting directors, make-up, stage managers, etc.

The 7th and 8th pages are the most fun-they are the "scrapbook" pages (plus continuation of the Spamalot staff list). The scrapbook "correspondent" is Hannah. She answers questions about different things that happen backstage and her experiences. Some highlights include Clay mentions:

Most exciting celebrity visitor and what they did/said: Glenn Close. She didn't come to see me, she came to see Clay Aiken. I had just joined the show and I didn't realize she was there until I came out to the water cooler for a drink. When I saw her I did a quadruple take and spilled my water all over the floor. She came over to me and said, "I hear you're the new Lady of the Lake. I'm sure everybody will love you. Have a wonderul time in New York." I felt like I'd been ordained!
"Easter Bonnet" Sketch: Ours consisted of Clay Aiken and I singing "The Prayer" one night; Bradley Dean and I the next. We sang it very seriously while Lee Wilkins, dressed as The Flying Nun, rolled around us on roller skates.
Favorite In-theatre Gathering Place: There's really no place backstage at the Shubert. It's quite crowded. While Clay was here my dressing room became the hangout place. We would sit and gossip to each other. It's the first one on the main level and it gets a lot of traffic. Jim Woolley redecorated it like a Barbie caravan home: pink curtains, lots of greenery and flowers. It's absolutely revolting--but I love it. It's like a 12-year-old's bedroom.
Favorite Off-Site Hangout: The Westway Diner on Ninth Avenue. Everyone goes there between shows because they have really good food. (has anyone tried this place?)
Memorable Press Encounter: The show asked Clay Aiken, Jonathan Hadary and I to take pictures of us in full costumes--but for some reason wearing 3D glasses. And I just thought, "Christ!"
Memorable Stage Door Fan Encounters: Clay Aiken's fans were very full-on but lovely. They were so embracing of the rest of us as well. Even afer he left the show, I still get flowers and cookies from them, saying they liked me in the show as well.
Fastest Costume Change: Clay, out of Robin into Brother Maynard in the space of just a few lines.
Busiest Day at the Box Office: Clay Aiken's opening and closing nights. I would liken them to Wembley Arena with Elvis in the building.
Memorable Directorial Note/Tale from a Put-in: During the put-in for Clay and me, Mike Nichols said, "Don't try to get laughs on every line. It's very cheap and it's like paying for sex: ultimately unsatisfying." There was slight hiatus and then all of us wet ourselves.
Another Tale from a put-in: The next put-in was for Bradley Dean as Galahad. The only person who has to wear a costume during a put-in is the new person and Bradley was so embarrassed. So, to help, all of us dressed up in 1980's outfits: The boys all looked like something from Flashdance and the girls were all in leg warmers and hideously big dangly earrings. Great fun. (That's the pic Clay showed Jimmy on his show in May.)

Check out Broadway.com

2008-10-15T22:05:00.003-05:00

Here is your chance to ask Clay a question. Run on over to Broadway.com
and ask away. Come on folks, let's think of something out of the ordinary, something that hasn't been asked before. If your question is picked, you will "be in lights" on the pages of Broadway.com. Good luck all.

Stage Door 10-14-08

2008-10-15T09:17:00.014-05:00

Okay, I must warn you to get ready for this one, LOL. As one fan stated, doesn't Clay have a mirror in his dressing room? Is Jerome afraid to tell Clay his hair is not just right?

This per LilRed at the Clayboard, I just had to laugh at this one, LOL.

Now that hair style reminds me of the Flock of Seagulls Look LOL, but I don't even notice the hair when I see that SMILE...

Dianne

FROM CV:
Katy4Clay reporting Brown Hoodie with hair standing on end. 4/5 rows deep at stage door. She didn't get a look tonight but will be back tomorrow. She got some pictures ...eeeeeeeeeee

From Claysbabygurl:
Funny so far
Clay very animated tonight
Tom isn't here so its an understudy
Clay poked the understudy
He was so happy to catch the LOTL's armour
He told the drummer who does the symbol part that that's stupid
Making funny faces during the horse scene before the french guard scene
He screamed wait for me right before intermission I will have more late

Video uploaded to YouTube by ClayMelia, thanks so much. the crowd seemed very subdued even though there were a lot of people there. Some of the regulars up front, obvious when Clay said "Oh, I see I signed the other side, that is why you turned it over!" LOL, busted. It must be nice to be able to be there so much, I have seen the one set of ladies there numerous times, I only wish I could be. I do hope at the one show I will get to go to that I too will be able to get an autograph and perhaps a photo with OMC. What are the odds? LOL.

Now on to a verry, verry nice picture thanks to Barb916

Some of the regular group got to go backstage, and on stage to romp around for a little while, how cool is that? I guess it pays to be seen often, LOL.

Tidbits 10-15-08

2008-10-15T08:25:00.014-05:00

10-14-08 was the 5th Anniversary of the award winning, multi-platinum Clay CD "Measure of a Man". My how time flies.

Please note that we now have a poll for you and hope that you will participate in it. We are wondering what type of Clay Tour you would like most of those listed. I think it would be interesting to see what most people would like. Thanks for taking the time to enter your answer. The poll is in the left column of this page.

The Clammy awards have been announced and our very own J4Clay won a Clammy for one of her Blends, and a People's Choice Award for one of her photos. Congrats J4Clay, keep up the good work.

The Forgotten Knights

2008-10-14T10:50:00.007-05:00

I saw this really fantastic video over at YouTube and just had to bring it over. Thanks to Mariedrummond1, this is such a great look at Clay and his banter. A great montage...

Did you catch the surprise Jerome appearance, LOL. Clay, oh please, please give us a tour this year we miss them so much.

Subtle yet speaks volumes

2008-10-14T10:29:00.006-05:00

I was of course over at the Clayboard today to see what was going on and I found a lovely post by Nicki503 and it moved me. I thought I would add this, with her permission, to today's CDD, enjoy.

I just figured out how to get this over here! claysbabygurl316 was kind enough to take the picture. Thank goodness its not on my camera as I still don't have my normal PC back and can't upload any of my SD pictures yet! I and my two other traveling friends wanted to show our support for Clay without blatantly having Clay on our shirts because we love the whole Spam cast and did not want to specifically point out Clay. We knew Clay would know what the shirts meant. I was so happy to get this pic while we were wearing them.

What a lovely photo, and I think in this case less was more. What a nice way Nicki503 to show your support, it goes to prove everything doesn't always have to be shouted from the rooftops to be effective. I am sure Clay noticed and appreciated this sentiment. Thanks again Nicki503.

Tidbits 10-14-08

2008-10-14T08:04:00.015-05:00

It is reported on Playbill.com that Spamalot's attendance has gone from 54% Sep 29th - Oct 5th to 70% this Oct 6th - Oct 12th. I would say that was excellent news.

Is anyone interested in making a Clack'o'lantern? Run right over to Claypiccity and get all the instructions you need to have the best pumpkin on the block. This could be fun and your neighbors will all know who your favorite Halloween character is, LOL.

The State Register Journal in Springfield Illinois is the oldest newspaper in Illinois, and to my surprise we have a little tidbit today. Jaymee Toler got to have her 15 minutes of fame in their columns today and this is just a little of what she had to say:

THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Oct 13, 2008 @ 11:44 PM

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Jaymee Toler

School: Routt Catholic High School

Grade: Senior

My dream job would be: an actress on Broadway.

The best thing to splurge on is: new clothes.

My school needs: a better theater program.

Concert I’d most like to see: Clay Aiken (again).

The most unique item in my wallet or purse is: deodorant.

I say Jaymee is one smart young lady, how about you?

Have you used Clack Unlimited?

2008-10-13T20:06:00.004-05:00

I just found out in a post at the Clayboard by GooodBabyBrush that Clack Unlimited is in jeopardy. Please read below and remember all the times that you have downloaded something from there. Things are slow right now so we haven't used it too much, but we need to keep this massive resource up and running. Check it out please:

I don't think the Congressional bailout extends to clack vaults...
Over the last few months, we have had a large number of cancelled subscriptions to Clack Unlimited. Our ability to keep the site afloat is in serious jeopardy.
I will focus on the issues related to the CU:

Our ability to keep the site afloat was based on both the one-off donations and monthly subscription commitments made during the last fundraiser.
Since most of you opted for monthly subscriptions, we have to rely on those periodic payments to finance CU. We have a very modest sum of money in the account from the one-off donations and they are dwindling quickly because of the lower subscription payments coming in every month. With CU, the one-off donations are way, way down.
We have been following up with people regarding their cancelled subscriptions as they occur but in most cases, we do not receive a reply. We realize that many of you have legitimate reasons for having to cancel your subscriptions.
However, the main reason people have for canceling is because they aren't "downloading very much clack right now" and they've vowed to start up a new subscription when Clay tours again.
Unfortunately, busy or not busy, we have to incur the same operating expenses for CU every month. So, CU may not be here by the time things get busy again/Clay tours.
The situation is dire and we need to get a handle on it now.
PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING:
If you are under the impression that you have an active monthly subscription, check your Paypal account and ensure this is the case. If your subscription was terminated because there was a problem with your funding source and you would like to start up a new one, please visit the site http://www.clackunlimited.com/ and click on "subscribe."
If you are in a position to make a one-off donation, please use the same link above or send your donation to funds@clackunlimited.comThank you.

Tidbits 10-12-08

2008-10-13T16:34:00.004-05:00

This is a well writen, cute intro to a cute stage door story told by Saratoga Gal at the Clayboard:

There are 2 different people that are out there. One, kind of serious a good share of the time, cleanshaven and usually well dressed, and a nice looking man. The 2nd has a mustache, and he tends (or has tended) to get a little anxious when he is out there, and I have never seen him smile.

I don't remember this being posted, but on the Matinee on Sat. the 11th, there was a good crowd at Stage door. In fact not many places to stand at the rail as soon as we got out. I was in SRO, and got right out, and I got half a spot, 2 others behind me did not get a spot. When the door opened and Jerome & the Shubert security guy came out the announcement was "ok, sorry to tell you to put away your pens"..... (and everyone groaned), AND they continued "Because Clay has his own marker!!!".. and everyone cheered. They were quite pleased with themselves for making people believe for an instant that Clay would not be out.

A Few Years Back...

2008-10-13T15:45:00.006-05:00

Is anyone up for a little Jukebox Tour? Sit back, relax and feast your eyes on Clelvis. What we wouldn't do for another Jukebox Tour, oh heck any Tour, LOL.

This video is courtesy of YouTube and was created by Tsunamimommy, thanks.

Stage Door 10-12-08

2008-10-13T07:03:00.010-05:00

Originally Posted by lc82577
So, I'm 9 yrs old and I had the best time of my life. It's probably my 11th time now, I'm hoping to be in Spamalot soon, but of course I have to finish school. It's my very first time being a peasant , I was so nervous I was shaking so much. When I saw the numbers, my seat jumped up and my heart started to pound like crazy. I was making movements that my aunt and I would switch seats, but the sound would not come out . I started geting suspicious because everyone was looking at me like (I wonder who is sitting there?) during the play. Once I got on stage, I was so close to Clay that I might have seen that he had a cut on his lip, I do not know how I remember that because I was in a Clay/Robin fog I also saw Clay blowing me kisses. He gave me a new nickname during the SD, "BELL".

P.S. Guess who I want to be, SIR ROBIN, although they make fun of me at dance class for liking the play but, I never listen to them, SPAMALOT IS THE BEST . By the way, my aunt says that she'll post my picture after she scans it tomorrow, we are stil in New York, I live in Massachusetts.

The video for the matinee on 10-12-08 from YouTube by Clayphan76, thanks.

Sue4AllYouDo posted on the Clayboard that one show was not enough, she went for the matinee and stayed for the day, LOL.

Hi All !!! Just got home from what was supposed to be a short day in New York with tickets only for the matinee, but ended up with us going to the evening show also!!! Tom Deckman was out for the matinee, but back for the evening show!!!

The Matinee was great. It was an audience of mostly NJUs, but a very enthusiastic audience indeed. The crowd was really into the show and there was lots of laugher and applause. Clay was GREAT, as usual....nothing different to report here.

Stage Door this afternoon was incredible. It was 4-5 deep and Clay signed MANY items and took MANY pictures. What I found to be most touching was the fact that Clay sent Jerome out to the Stage Door Crowd to find one of our own, and he brought her back to see Clay. Seems that this very young lady has suffered a loss and Clay took the time to comfort her. I admire him so very much.....please don't ever let anyone tell you that Clay has changed.....HE HAS NOT !!!!! When you see acts of kindness like this, it really touches your heart.

Thank you to Jess for being so kind and for taking a really great picture of Clay and I. As soon as I figure out how to show you guys, I will. Also, Clayphan, has terrific video that she said she will post, and Jess's friend (is it Kristen) also has some really great pictures. It was a really fun afternoon, with lots of friendship, laughs and cameraderie.
The folks that I was with tonight decided to stay afterall, so we raced from Juniors to the Box Office and found that tonight's show was practically SOLD OUT (I think the matinee was SOLD OUT, also!!!) 2 of us got Standing Room Only and 2 of us got seats in the Mezzinine....no problem....the show was GREAT and Clay SANG the "Amen"!!!!! It was the most beautiful AMEN I have ever heard!!! I was quite amazed by this because this is the very first time I have ever heard him sing this part.....It was really, really beautiful. Again, the evening crowd was enthusiastic and fun. Another great Stage Door and this time there were many children getting autographs. Seat A101 tonight was a wonderful little girl....she was dressed in a beautiful red dress with a red tiara in her hair....a little princess. Clay paid particular attention to all the children today, those that were at the matinee stage door and the evening stage door alike.

We also had some important visitors today.....Brett was there, as was Jerome's beautiful daughter.
Another great day in New York City...another great day with friends and strangers.....everyone having a wonderful time, enjoying our wonderful, compassionate and considerate man. I really can't say enough good things about Clay Aiken and I'm so happy to see all the love that is being sent to him, because he has no problem giving it right back.

Well, if you can take another video, here is the evening video again from YouTube by Clayphan76. Notice the clean and jerk with the Lady of the Lake, LOL.

10-11-08 Stage Door Evening

2008-10-12T18:45:00.006-05:00

Isn't this wonderful, to have so many Clack gatherers willing to share their photos and stories with all of us? I love a good tour, but there is something about getting eight reports a week from NYC that is just plain fantastic. I sure am loving it, how about you?

HCorbett10 reported:

From Jax:

OMG! I just got off the phone with JessMcVargas!

Great show tonight. Good amount of Clay fans there. Clay was wearing the same thing he wore for the matinee and looked absolutely adorable and sounded really cute too.

ANNNDDD I GOT TO TALK TO CLAY ON THE PHONE! EEEK!

I think Jax is a little excited but can you blame her, a "hey" from OMC?

Joy2Talk2U reported:

From LauraQ....

Theatre was packed....if it wasn't sold out, it was close. NJU sitting next to her practically choked to death she was laughing so hard. She was laughing so hard she shook Laura's seat. He sang the Amen tonight. People clapped all thru the performance. The crowd was very lively.

Stage door was at least 4 to 5 deep all the way around. Laura got her pic taken with him.....she is practically incoherent!!!! She will try to post pics tonight after they get something to eat. Clay wore same hoodie as he did this afternoon.

Lucky Laura, but we still want photos, or we will settle for the video from YouTube thanks to ClayMelia2, LOL.

Oh my goodness, one of our own, ClayandKimfan was the lucky peasant tonight, that must feel wonderful. Congrats to her. She was tired but managed to report:

Hey all,
Its VERY VERY late and Im so tired and I will post more in the morning or afternoon when I get more of a chance. I just wanted to say how much fun I had and Jerome is such a sweetie and so is many of the ushers and staff of the Shubert. We were able to have standing seats for the 2pm mantinee show and of course as I had been nervous over I was chosen Peasant for the 8pm show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its a memory I WONT soon forget. Im short so EVERYONE including Clay was so much taller than me lol. Ill post a recap and pictures tommorrow It was truly amaizing day for me !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Luv to you all...A sistas got to get some sleep now
D

Stage Door 10-11-08 Matinee

2008-10-12T18:23:00.009-05:00

LOL, OMC says Chef Boyardee is um-um-good!! I couldn't resist after hearing about his shopping trip and he looks so well fed.

There was little clack from the Matinee, but what there was is good. Thanks to Joy2Talk2U at the Clayboard I have added it below:

More from LauraQ....

looks nearly sold out....... mostly nju people.
Men laughing a lot at matinee behind us. 3 to 4 rows deep are stage door for the
matinee behind he took pics with fans.
grey hoodie and jeans couldnt see his
feet.

I love that Laura has her priorities straight, gotta check out those feet, wonder if she is looking for more striped socks and sandels?

KrystyneY at the Clayboard offered, in part:

It was not really much of a Clay crowd. There was clapping for him when he first appeared, and laughing at all his jokes of course...but you can tell it wasn't mostly us. The crowd seemed to appreciate him though.

I wish I could remember more details. He was very cute in the Not Dead Yet scene, and he did poke Tom with the triangle ringy thing. He got laughs for the Idol of my Age line...but you could tell some people did not get it. He didn't catch the LOTL's arm in the Camelot scene...Of course he was a totally oogling perv throughout like always! The quail line got a lot of laughs, and he did that whole scene more like a statement than the usual question of "The quail?" He lay on the floor praying for a long time while God was speaking. He was really funny in Brave Sir Robin, and the people laughed a lot...but you could still here the minstrals whole song, which was good. Pooping his pants has become a huge production! Very funny. YWSOB was amazing...very impressive as always. The crowd really responded to that. Brother Maynard was very funny...he has individualized all his characters so much...they are so different from one another. The hand shake thing during the peasant scene is still hysterical. It never gets old when he puts his hand out and the peasant ignores it! Because he times it just right, so that they are never looking his way. He seemed to be having such a great time during Always Look On the Bright Side of Life, and he shimmied with one of the girls...cute...and he gave us his usual salute as the lights went out.

Thank you once again to all the Clack gatherers, we all appreciate you so much. Keep the reports and photos coming please.

A Look back...

2008-10-12T13:42:00.003-05:00

I realize it isn't Valentine's Day but I thought we could take a look back a few years and just enjoy Clay. The video is from YouTube of course and as I was spending the afternoon watching these videos, this one just hit a warm spot in my heart. I thought I would share it with you once again.