2003....Our Summer of Clay

That first summer of Clay. What an amazing time that was. Not only were we discovering a new Clay, but Clay was discovering and exploring his new-found fame. I think, I hope that was a summer of wonderment for Clay, a summer of discovery, a summer of realizing that maybe the love that poured over him from all of his fans was something he could start to believe in. I remember seeing his face during the ‘God Bless the USA’ medley in the early concerts. He often took out his earpieces, lowered his mic, stopped singing, and just looked out over the audience. With his yammy face. As if he would never see a crowd reaction again. As if he didn’t believe it. As if absorbing it, in case it ended. He was so young during that summer, young in experience, maybe a bit naïve, and most of his fans just wanted to let him to know how much we loved him. How much we were there for him, how much we would support him.

I wrote this in the summer of 2003, towards the end of the American Idol concert tour. It encapsulates what the fandom went through that summer. Not only was it a summer of wonderment for Clay, it was a summer of wonderment for us, too.

What we did on our Summer Vacation

School was let out on May 21, 2003. That's when we all grew up, just a little. That's what disappointment can do to you, make you a little older, a little wiser. Sometimes it's hard growing up but everyone has to do it.

If you're lucky, growing up can also be a turning point in your life. Look at us. We came to these boards to commiserate with each other and what did we find? We found friends, friends that thought the same way we did, felt the same way we did and we talked, we reveled in our Clay love. We talked to each other about so many things, first and foremost, Clay Aiken, but also about personal things. Some of us became friends off the boards, friends who probably would have never met if not for Clay Aiken. Turning point, indeed.

We talked about what we were going to do this summer, for Clay, for ourselves. We pretty much agreed that we needed to watch every TV appearance and listen to every radio interview. After all, it's Clay! We agreed that when his first single was released, we would buy multiple copies and push him to #1. We did. Then Clay went to London and we missed him. We had no Clay for two weeks; it was like going through withdrawal. But we did have something to look forward to, the concerts.

July 08, 2003 was the REAL beginning of our summer vacation. St. Paul, MN, the public unveiling of Invisible, the first jersey, the first jersey tug, the first concert reports describing how he rose from the floor for This is the Night, the audience reaction, the solos of the other Idols, the group numbers, Clay's solo on To Love Somebody and Can You Feel The Love Tonight, and the indescribable Invisible. God Bless The USA, Clay holding the mic out, pulling out his ear piece to absorb the crowd as if it was his last time ever seeing this outpouring of love for him, the yammy face, the meet n greets, the backstage passes and the buses. Lord, that first concert was priceless.

So, this is my take on what we did on our summer vacation; The Year of our First Clay Concerts, sub-titled OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, what WAS that move:

Did you go to the concert, what seat do you have, I have nosebleeds, I upgraded to floor, I got first row, you're sitting near me, let's meet up at a restaurant, what are you wearing, did you make a shirt, what should my sign say, I don't know if you can take signs, can you take cameras, I'm sneaking my camera in, should we wear red, I'm wearing red shoes, do you have glowsticks, I have extra glowsticks, should we toss panties, Clay asked us to toss panties, I don't think it's a good idea, I did it! I tossed them, where are the concert reviewers, they should have been back by now, I just got back! they were awesome, Charles was really good, Ricky rocked, Julia was better than I thought, Carmen lost the wobble, Carmen got the wobble back, Caldwell was meh, Trenyce wowed the audience, Kimberley brought the house down, Ruben sounded good but not great, new song did not go over well, the screams for Clay were deafening, he rose from the floor, did you see the mic yank, he showed so much emotion, he bent his knees, he yanked, tugged and clutched! "Ruben, I got panties", Clay=Female Viagra, he winked at me, he looked right at me, he read my sign, he so knows.

I got into the meet n greet, Clay is so adorable, his freckles are wonderful, he's so cute in person, Natural!Clay!, I got his autograph, I got a picture taken with him, he hugged me, I got backstage passes, I sent Clay a gift, I sent a letter, I sent a check, he talked to everyone, who's that big guy, that's Jerome, boy did Jerome whisk Clay out of there so fast, we waved at the buses, Clay came up the hill to touch everyone's hand, I touched Clay.

Do you have pics, where are the pics, I took lots of pics, how do I get them on the computer, I uploaded my pics, all I see is a box with a red X, I wanna see the pics, OMG, those pics are great, a concert video? we have a video, must.see.video., where is the video, Gonzo & VelcroBaby can host the video, it's at the secret site, it's sideways, I got a crick in my neck watching it, someone fixed it, it's a video of Clay singing Invisible, can someone e-mail me the video, it's going to take 4 hours to download the video, @#$% dial-up, Neurox never works for me, Dot!Clay! Clay unbuttoned his shirt? OMG, we BETTER have that video.

So that's what we did on our summer vacation, we attended every single Clay concert in every city he performed it in, whether we were there or not, we still got to 'see' Clay in concert. Some of us traveled hours, some, days, some, many, many miles. We held cell-certs and loved them, we watched Clay in Raleigh on the Webcam, refreshing our screens all night and seeing nothing but a tiny dot. But we were there, watching history in the making!

That's what we did on our Summer Vacation


Picture credit belongs to the fabulous Buzztechie.

Related Tags: Clay Aiken, American Idol, Ruben Studdard, Kim Locke