That voice could not be denied..In the beginning....Part 1

That voice could not be denied

I’ve been meaning to chart my journey into the World of Clay for a few years. At first, I thought I’d do scrapbooks, but it’s expensive just purchasing all the supplies, so then I thought I’d write a journal, and I will, but for now, I’m going to chart it on my blog.

I will be using the words ‘we’ and ‘I’ intermingled because this experience was not only mine, but that of (some of) the Clay Nation, too.


Summer, 2002…

I was flipping through channels and came upon this show with some really bad singers and this English guy being pretty nasty to them. However, every once and a while, there would be a really good singer that was ‘chosen’, so I watched it. That was the very first episode of American Idol, Season 1.

I really enjoyed this show. My best friend and I watched it together over the phone and we had our favorites: Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Tamyra Gray, Nikki McKibbin. We watched the entire season and were shocked, as was America, that Tamyra Gray was voted off way too early. The Finale was between Kelly and Justin and by the last three shows, Kelly proved to be the superior singer and won the show. Her ‘coronation’ song, ‘A Moment Like This’ went on to radio success, but the movie she and Justin made, ‘From Justin to Kelly’, flopped badly. We’d hear more from Kelly in the future, we were sure.

Winter, 2003…

When the second season started, I was glued in front of my TV, hoping to enjoy the show as much as I did the first season. I was not disappointed. Then came January 28, 2003, when the show aired the Atlanta auditions. Out walked this skinny guy, all arms and elbows, dressed a bit ‘differently’ than most of the guys who auditioned for American Idol, exclaiming with a charming southern accent, “Ah am The American Ahdol”. I thought that he was there as a ringer and that Simon would rip him a new asshole.

Then he opened his mouth and sang:

Take time to tell me
You really care
And we’ll share tomorrow
Together
Baby, I’ll always love you
For – ever

Watch it again:





Only nineteen words and I was a goner. He got me, hook, line, and sinker. My friend and I called each other up on the phone and said, “Did you HEAR that guy’s voice?” We couldn’t believe that voice came out of that body! As the auditions progressed I had my favorites, Kim Locke, Frenchie Davis,who went on to star in Rent, Ruben, and Clay. In fact, since I love strong, powerful female voices, I loved Kim and Frenchie to distraction. Alas, Frenchy was asked to leave the show so my female love settled on Kim Locke and her marvelous voice. Kim, Ruben, and Clay were all part of Group 2 but only two people from each of four groups were allowed to go through. Kim, Ruben, and Clay had the most votes, but Clay was sent home, while Ruben and Kim went on to be part of the Top Eight. I couldn’t believe that Clay was sent home. In my opinion, he was much better than the two that were chosen from the first group, Julia DeMato and Charles Grigsby. There was nothing I could do about it.

But there was a hitch. The judges each picked a ‘favorite’ to put through as a Wild Card and America got to vote for the last one to be put through, making the Top Eight, a Top Twelve. One guess who America voted in.

That voice could not be denied.

Watch Clay sing "Don't Let the Sun go Down on Me":



Each week, I watched Clay come out and sing. Each week, he knocked it out of the ball park. Each week, he got better and better. I still loved K-Lo, but my Clay love was growing and growing. Until he sang Solitaire. Oh. My. God. I can’t describe what the song did to me. That song and that performance turned Clay from a cute boy with a great voice into a sensual man who was confident in himself and his talent. It was in his eyes. It was in his demeanor, the way he carried himself. That was also the episode that changed the focus of American Idol from The Simon Cowell show into the Clay Aiken show. Clay turned into a star that night.

Watch Clay sing 'Solitaire'



Stay tuned for part 2


Related Tags: Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, American Idol, Justin Guarini, Tamyra Gray, Kimberley Locke, Frenchie Davis, Ruben Studdard, Julia DeMato, Charles Grigsby, Solitaire