The Clay Aiken Reaction

It's taken me an entire day to process both the fan reaction and the media reaction to Clay's appearance on American Idol.

My reaction was classic Shadylil. As soon as my jaw dropped, I started laughing and laughing and laughing because Clay Freaking Aiken had done it again. He totally surprised the hell out of me. Here was a guy who was known as much for his hair style as he was for his voice and what does he do? He completely blows his former image out of the water. That, my friends, take balls of titanium and Aiken has them in spades.

After Clay finished singing:
Clay Aiken wannabe Michael Sandecki is absolutely stunned when his hero walks behind him on stage. After the song ends and the cameras turn off, Sandecki remains in shock. He walks off the side of the stage and people sitting near the front try to shake his hand and offer their support but he’ll have none of it. He keeps his hands over his open mouth, never moving his arms, literally traumatized by the recent turn of events. His emotions get the best of him and he begins gently weeping before leaving.

The phone line in my house was humming with quite a few calls from friends to talk about Clay's appearance. My e-mail was receiving a workout and both The ClackHouse and Clayton's Place were posting so fast that it was hard to keep up. Thank God I had off yesterday.

The bloggers have been all abuzz about it. Check out Idle Wanderings for a list of links to various media sources, or The Clay Blog for the video of Clay's AI performance and the priceless reaction of Michael Sandecki, the uber-fan of the night. Check out Marhaven Musings to not only read about Clay's appearance, but to listen to his glorious voice singing Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun go Down on Me".

For a comparison of American Idol's top ten best moments, go to Diamond Dust and start reliving some of those wonderful 'moments' in AI history.

I also want to take this moment to congratulate Taylor Hicks on his win as the American Idol of 2006. I love Taylor, loved him since the beginning. Whenever he goes on stage, I smile. He's an infectuous performer who spreads joy when he sings.


And to Katherine McPhee, honey, you're going to be a huge star! With a voice like yours, the opportunities that will open for you will be endless. Grab ahold of them and enjoy the ride.


Related Tags: American Idol, Clay Aiken, The Clackhouse, Clayton's Place, Elton John, Taylor Hicks, Katherine McPhee, Clay Aiken Official Fan Club