Clay Aiken: 2008, the Year in Review

Hey Clay, how’s it going? Yes, it’s us, your internet fans once again discussing your life as we always do. You know, not everyone likes to be lumped into ‘internet fans’. They say, ‘you don’t speak for me’. Well they’re right, we don’t speak for everyone, but we read all the message boards and take the general gist of what the fans are feeling about the events in your life, year by year, so no, we can’t speak for all, but hopefully our little year end essays cover the most prevalent mood of all the boards. We also give the opposing view whenever we can. Now we’re switching to the singular for this essay. Actually, we’ll probably switch back and forth but who cares? We ain’t the grammar police. Heh.

So……………

What’s new with you for 2008? HA!HA! I crack myself up! You actually had a really good 2008, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll begin at the beginning of the year.

January: We left you last year in Mexico on a UNICEF trip where, once again, we oooh’ed and ahhh’ed over Humanitarian!Clay! and we pitched in our pennies and raised over $100,000 for UNICEF’s ‘Help Clay raise $100,000 by December 31st’ fund-raising campaign. I think that goal was hit around 4:00 pm (I could be wrong) New Year’s Eve. You done good, we done good, UNICEF and children the world over benefit. It’s a win-win situation.

On January 7th, you held your first ‘Golfing for Inclusion’ at the Mirasol Country Club in Florida. Along with Wayne Player, you were on the course, interacting with the golfers, having a grand old time. Clay, some of your fans loved the blond hair, some didn’t, but you looked mah-valous that day, simply mah-velous! The signed Masters flags were a nice touch for the winning groups (no, not signed by you, signed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player, three of the most beloved golfers in history), you and Diane gave a speech about inclusion, and you bestowed a grant to Vicki Pugh and Janice Labat for the Boca Raton YMCA to expand their inclusion program. Good job, Clay, good job. You had some really terrific prizes to auction off and you raised over $60,000 for the ‘Let’s ALL Play’ programs. And kudos for expanding your corporate sponsor list because that’s so important in the life of a Foundation. BTW, Clay, there are people out there that are dedicated to philanthropy AND vote for American Idol AND attend your concerts. Just sayin’…

Soon after the Golfing event, the numbers were released for the 2007 BAF Wrapping for Inclusion. The goal was $100,000, the actual amount raised was over $102,000! Good job to each and every person who participated and made Wrapping for Inclusion an annual fund-raising vehicle. What a nice way to spread the word about inclusion and the BAF.

We didn’t have to wonder when we’d next see you again, like we usually do at the end of a concert tour, because those of us who could had already scarfed up tickets for your Broadway debut. Let me say that again. Clay Aiken’s Broadway debut. God, that sounds good. Now, as you may very well know, while most of us loved the fact that you would be on Broadway, some of us didn’t like the idea. Some wanted Rock!Star!Clay! or at least Touring!Clay! but instead, we got something different! We got your Broadway debut in a vehicle that was far removed from what we thought you’d do, Clay Aiken starring in ‘Spamalot’. Monty Python! Irreverent humor, bawdy scenes, dancing numbers. STOP THE PRESSES! Did we say ‘dancing’? About the guy who has always said he doesn’t know how to dance? Shut up! Yeah, yeah, we know you said choreography is not the same as dancing, but it really is, especially after you’ve internalized the moves so that it comes naturally for you.

Anywho….., January 18th, 2008. The theater was filled with your fans and as we patiently waited for the curtain to rise, the atmosphere was almost as festive as one of your concerts. Old friends calling across the theater to each other, new friends meeting for the first time, that sense of anticipation that hangs heavy in the air at every Clay event, especially opening night. There was an air of underlying excitement, as there always is, when your fans know that they will see you again. We saw your mom, Faye, your grandmother and your brother, Brett standing at the theater door before the show started. That was cool. Little by little, we made our way to our seats and waited breathlessly for the show to begin.

Schlip, Schlap! Schlip-a-schlap a-vay

The show began and as good as the opening number was, we were waiting to see you.

‘Oo goes there?’

The roar of the crowd, the smell of the greasepaint. *ahem* Sorry, I couldn’t resist. The roar of the crowd, your fans, welcoming you to Broadway! You stuck your head out of that tower, with shit all over you *g* and you freaking NAILED your part. The accent, your demeanor, your facial expressions. Pure perfection and it was only opening night!

‘Are you saying coconuts migrate?’

OMG, it was so funny! You were so funny! You played perfectly off King Arthur. We’re not going to recap each and every scene, well, maybe we will, so let’s resume!

“Bring out yer dead”

Clay, I don’t think we can encapsulate the feeling in the theater that night. The wonder, the joy, the giddiness, all leading up to the Bottle Dance, where we collectively held our breaths and waited for the conga line. You saw the piano, sat, played chopsticks, did the turn, the shoulder roll, stood up, large and in charge with the stomping, then came the line. Down on your knees, leg out, pull, other leg out, pull, leg out, pull. OMG, it was fabulous, just fabulous! You were fabulous, the cast was fabulous, the show was fabulous, and the night was magical.

There are so many scenes in Spamalot that deserve recognition. ‘Not Dead Fred’ was funny as anything, the entire ‘All for One’ leading into the Camelot scene and ‘Knights of the Round Table’ was brilliant in it’s combination of the comedic and the ridiculous. The absolutely sublime Rick Holmes as the French Taunter was sheer comic genius.

The way Brave Sir Robin get to experience all sorts of ‘death’ via everything Idle and Cleese could throw in, the Lady of the Lake and her Laker girls, The Knights who say Ni and various and assorted other things. The foolhardy bravery of the Black Knight, the show-stopping ‘You Won’t Succeed on Broadway’, Sir Lancelot and Prince Herbert, and, of course, Herbert’s father and the guard scene. King Arthur realizing that Patsy is family, the Killer Rabbit, or Ra-beet, as the French Taunters would say, Brother Maynard and the Holy Hand Grenade, finding the Grail, anointing the peasant, and the fabulous finale. What can we say about such an excellent production, from the script to the characters, to the actors who brought it to life, to the backstage support team, to the amazing audiences each performance? It was an experience that we will never forget, and it was a privilege to see you in your first Broadway production. It was a privilege to get to ‘know’ the cast members and see their talent hard at work. Clay, we not only loved you, but we loved the cast, too. Oh! And the Shubert Organization, from the ushers to the security, to the ticket people, they were all extremely gracious to your ‘Nation.

After the show, Shubert Alley was filled with fans and NJU from stem to stern, top to bottom, side to side. Most of us didn’t see you, the crowd was so thick but the camaraderie was hanging heavy in the air, old and new friends met up, we swarmed the local eateries, Juniors, John’s Pizza, Carmines, Sardi’s, we had little and not-so-little after-parties, we celebrated your Broadway debut and it was grand. Some of us saw all five shows that weekend, some saw only one, and others had to hear the intermission reports over a cellcert, but we were all there with you that night, celebrating. We hope we didn’t embarrass you too much. The cast was so generous of their praise for us, saying that when the audience is ‘on’, so are they. Good thing *wink*

Of course, during January there were also newscasts of your trip to Mexico on many and various stations and a few short interviews of your Broadway turn.

February: American Idol Rewind, which started in October of 2007, continued with the Top Ten episodes. How fun it was to relive the memories, to see you as a pup because you looked so young back then. How fun it was to watch the evolution of your look and to see your confidence grow each and every week, to see Brett looking so young, Faye looking so proud, Nick and Kristy grinning from ear to ear. Good times.

March: Thank heavens for the nightly stage door reports and the stage door clack because without that, we’d have died from lack of Clack. Heh. There were small Spamalot mentions on TV, short interviews, and Broadwayworld.com ran some nice articles about you.

April was a pretty busy month for you and for us. You participated in leaving your handprints in cement at Planet Hollywood, AOL First Listen debuted the first single…we were all over that like white on rice, and itunes had the CD up for pre-order. Thank you, God, for the QVC mini-concert on the 28th.. Thirty minutes, talking and singing five songs was a gift this year because you didn’t tour. Too bad only about 110 people got in the studio but those 110 people were the luckiest people in the world. Sorry, Spamalot keeps creeping into this conversation. Amazon released your digital single and April 29th saw the 22nd Annual Easter Bonnet Competition where you and Hannah sang The Prayer.

May was one of those bittersweet months. While we had the release of ‘On My Way Here’ on May 6th, we also saw the last night of your Spamalot run. Your fans filled the theater en masse and the show was probably one of the best of your run. The cast was on fire, you were on fire, the audience was on fire and when you did the drunken guard scene and started braiding the ribbons and Tom Deckman sat down, then David Hibbard sat down, then Brad Dean sat down and let you run with it, well, I don’t think we laughed so hard at anything before or since.

Shubert Alley that night was, once again, magical. The Alley was overflowing with people, all waiting for you to make your appearance and wow, did you ever! On the third floor ledge (or was it the second floor?), waving, blowing kisses, holding up six fingers. You looked fabulous, Clay, simple fabulous, and your ‘Nation was there, paying homage to your magnificent Broadway debut.

We can’t leave Spamalot v.1 without mentioning the cast, that marvelous cast that was the heart and soul of the show.

Jonathan Hadary, King Arthur, the heart of the show; David Hibbard, Patsy, the soul of the show; Hannah Waddingham, The Lady of the Lake, the multi-talented ‘love interest’; Tom Deckman, the comic relief (and that’s saying something in this ensemble); and your Knights of the Round Table: Rick Holmes, Sir Lancelot, man of many talents and a fabulous French taunter; Christopher Seibert, Sir Galahad and friend to Robin, who played off you to perfection; Bradley Dean, who took over when Chris Seibert left, and grew into the role magnificiently; Brad Oscar, Sir Bedevere, the gas-challenged and mother to Galahad.

The supporting cast and ensemble: Kevin Covert, Matthew Crowley, Thomas Cannizzaro, Greg Reuter, Emily Hsu, Brian Marcum, Andrew Fitch, Jenny Hill, Abbey O’Brien, Ariel Reid, Vanessa Sonon, Brandi Wooten, Callie Carter, Beth Johnson, Pamela Remler (dance captain), Rick Spaans *waves* (OK, I confess, this author thinks Rick is mighty hot) Lee Wilkins, and Todd Ellison and his fabulous orchestra. I know we’ve left out so many who contributed to Spamalot. Just know that we appreciate each and every one of the people behind the scenes for their contribution to a wonderful musical.

*Ahem*

What else happened in May, 2008? Oh, yeah, the release of your first CD since ‘Measure of a Man’ to feature all original songs, ‘On My Way Here’, or OMWH, as we abbreviate it. Clay, we could do a run-down on the state of the music industry today, the state of RCA promotion, digital downloads vs physical CD’s, pushing a single to radio, but no matter what the number sold, for the most part, your fans love the CD. To be honest, some don’t, they think there are too many strings, or the production is too much the same, some wanted more rock songs, but mostly we love it. We love the songs and we love your voice. It’s a win-win situation, for us. We just want you to tour behind it. Remember that word? Tour? Ok, we’re spoiled, we expect you to tour each year, we want you to tour each ear, we need to see you on that stage, singing, every year. But you do what you have to do, Clay, we’ll be right here waiting.

We held the CD release parties on Monday night, May 5th, the CD was released on Tuesday, May 6th, you signed CD’s in Virgin Megastore, appeared on GMA on Wednesday, May 7th. We were there, both inside and outside the studio, supporting you as we always do. You did The View, The Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda,; you did the Mo Rocca interview that we loved. What was that with the pea? You were on ABC’s Nightline with your playlist songs, you did a fabulous AOL Sessions. In fact, you were on the AOL top ten videos for a few months, Clay. Good job! You sprinkled some UNICEF interviews around here and there, Jimmy Kimmel and Rachael Ray on May 16th. You were a busy guy in May. Just the fact that you did eight shows a week with Spamalot AND recorded an album, all at the same time, spoke volumes of your dedication and work ethic, and, unbeknownst to us, you, or rather Jaymes, were cooking something in the oven. Hmmmm…..

June: You participated in the Ford’s Theater Gala at the National Theater in Washington DC. Tribute to the musical, The Civil War and you sang ‘Sarah’. We consider that lost Clack. See what you can do about that, OK?

Also in June, you made a trip to Somalia and Kenya on behalf of UNICEF. While a lot of your fans already know what’s going on in these countries, we’re still being educated by your trips and your blogs about conditions in the third world countries. About the education, or lack thereof, about the health conditions and lack of medical personnel in the field, about how the children of these countries are hungry for an education. Again, good job, Clay. The teacher in you in never far from the surface, is it?

We first heard rumors of baby news on May 29th from that bastion of journalistic integrity, TMZ *cough*. I think our eyes fell out of our head. Baby? Clay? And with Jaymes? Yowza. That news hit us right between the eyes. Was it true? Was it journalistic crap? We turned it into one of our acronyms, IIT, for ‘if it’s true’ every time we wrote about it. Of course, not a word was heard from TeamClay. But the tabloids? Unnamed sources? Eric Roberts. Sisters-in-law, publicists, first it was there, then it was retracted, WTF was going on? Then appeared a photo of Jaymes with a little belly. Now that woman never had a belly in her life, tiny thing that she is. We had no clue if it was true, but as the weeks went on, I think most of us came to accept it as a fact but we also remember what you said: Don’t believe it unless it’s on the ofc. Heh. OK.

July: On the 6th of July, CNN presented a special, ‘The Survival Project: One Child at a Time’ on which you appeared as a UNICEF spokesman. Ya know, you didn’t do much over the summer except wait for Parker to emerge. Doesn’t leave us much to write about, but never fear, we’ll persevere. Lead on, MacBeth!

August: 08/08/08 at 8:08 am. The birth of your first child, Parker Foster Aiken, first name, middle name, last name, no hyphen. Happy birthday, Parker. We saw the pictures of you and Jaymes leaving the hospital, you didn’t look too thrilled with the paparazzi that day, Clay. We don’t blame you but we were glad to see the pictures. We hope that you had an uneventful first month with Parker; then we found out about his gastric problem. That must have scared a few years off you and Jaymes, but it’s good to know that everything turned out all right.

September: Well. What can we say about September? Specifically September 24th, the day that People hit the newsstands. Wow. This is going to be hard to write about because the fans’ emotions were all over the place and we don’t want to slight anyone’s feelings. First, off, the majority of your fans really didn’t care that you were gay. There was a saying on some of the message boards: ‘When he starts singing with his dick, then I’ll care’. Yeah, that line will probably not be in the version on the ofc, but it will be in my blog. Some fans suspected you were gay, some had no clue, most were in the middle, taking you at your word and letting you self-identify. After all, you’re right, it’s nobody’s business except the person you’re sleeping with and you were never going to sleep with us. OK, me, but I digress.

Emotions were flying high for a few weeks. You lost some fans. For that, I’m sad. I’m sad that they let something that should have been personal to you get in the way of all that you are and all the fun that you brought to this fandom. Some left for religious reasons, some left because they thought you weren’t the man you professed to be over the past five years. Most of us didn’t feel that way. Most of your fans realized that being straight or gay is just a small part of a person, a very small part; that your heart remains as big as your voice, that the funny is still there, the intelligence is still there, the caring is still there, and demmit, the performer is still the same as before September 24th, 2008.

Some fans thought you lied to them. Not about being gay, but that you lied about lying about being gay. Was that sentence grammatically correct? Again, the majority of your fans understand why you misdirected, starting with the Rolling Stone interview and through a few other interviews. Yes, you were vague in your answers, but again, those were answers to questions that no one should have to answer.

It was nice that you let the ofc have an open forum for two weeks for people to come to grips with whatever issues they had, whether with you, with your sexuality, or with their perceptions of who you were. It was sometimes a nasty thread as posters picked on each other, but you also had posters who learned from others, who shared their feelings and realized that they may have been wrong about how they felt, or others whose opinions remained the same. Some posters didn’t have the patience to help others through their feelings, yet other posters remained on-line for as long as someone needed to vent. We think that you leaving that thread up for as long as you did was a very brave thing to do. It had to have hurt to read some of the things being said, but we hope you took comfort in most of the reactions from the fandom. We just hope you’re OK with some gentle ribbing about your sexuality once in a while, ‘cos some of us just can’t keep our mouths shut.

Well, I said it would be hard to write about the fandom reactions. We probably didn’t get every single emotion down on paper and for that, I apologize to any who felt left out, however, the blog you wrote on October 10th brought a lot of us to our knees, figuratively speaking. What a heartfelt blog that was, Clay. Some read it with a cynical eye, some read it and cried for what you’ve been through the past 10 years, some read and asked, ‘OK, when’s he touring’, yet others read it and it wasn’t enough for them. You have to do what feels right for you, Clay. Some fans understand that, others don’t, but you can only live your life to be true to who you are, as we all must do. Hold your head high and know that you are loved. The fact that you laid yourself bare for the world to see took a courage that a lot of people don’t have and we admire you for that. Stay strong, Clay.

OK, enough about that. What else happened in September, 2008? On the 19th, you returned to the scene of the crime, Spamalot v. 2. For the next four months, we’d know where you were for most nights. That felt good. We also looked forward to the stage door experience. You seemed more friendly (or should that be friendlier?), or maybe it was just a relief for you, that you could be yourself and not have to parse everything you said. You signed for the fans, you took pictures with them. You made the stage door a truly unique experience for those so lucky to experience them.

Anyway….Spam v2 was a different experience because the audience consisted of not just the fans, but a lot of NJU. You do know what that means, don’t you? After all, per you, ‘yeah, I know your words’. NJU = Not Just Us, meaning not just your core fans, the die-hards, but just regular people who loved Monty Python, or just people who wanted to see a funny show, or people who saw you on American Idol but haven’t been following you ever since, like some we could mention. It was fun watching their reactions and listening to them after the show. One guy said, just recently, ‘Clay Aiken was the best thing in the show’. Don’t get a swelled head, m’k? Other NJU’s said things like ‘he really held his own’, or ‘I didn’t know he could act’. It warmed our hearts that more people are seeing what we’ve seen all along, the mad-talented Mr. Aiken. And of course, that fabulous cast. There were some cast changes, some of us preferred the old and others liked the new members, but all in all, Spamalot was a wonderful experience for the fandom, Clay.

Let’s see, People hit the newsstands on Sept. 24th and on the 25th and 26th, you gave our old friend, Diane Sawyer, another interview. How to say this? Coming on the heels of People, hearing you talk about being a homosexual so nonchalantly was a bit jarring, but we have to remember while we had only days to process it, you had ten years. ‘Paula’s Party’ aired on the 27th and you cooked with her. How freaking cute was that?

October saw that heartfelt blog from you and the open board that we discussed ^^ up there. October 18th brought us the BAF Champions for Change Gala in Raleigh which was even more successful than the first one in 2007. From the morning’s round table discussion of inclusion to the special screening of ‘Including Samuel’, those attending left with a greater appreciation of the work the BAF was doing and how their volunteer efforts affected the community at large. That evening’s celebration, beginning with the VIP reception and ending with a mini-concert defies explanation but that hasn’t stopped us yet, has it? Linda Loveland, Diane Bubel and you all spoke about the opportunities the Let’s ALL Play camps provided for children with special needs. After the dinner, you and Diane bestowed honors on the 2008 champions of Change:

Dan Habib and his wife Betsy McNamara
Rick Donovan
CVS Caremark Representative Randy Martinez

The auction at the end of the evening was once again a freaking hoot. Clay, you are funny! The auction items were really good, very creative and gave some fans a chance to interact with you outside a concert venue, well, except for the Celine package, which is inside a concert venue, just not yours. The clothes raised a lot of money and in the end, not only did you raise over $500,000 for the BAF, the closing song, ‘Right Here Waiting’ brought tears to the eyes of not just the attendees, but from most who watched the clack of the song. Oh, and Clay? About Emma Bubel babysitting? Some fans hoped that you’d wait for her to grow up, but guess that’s not going to happen now. See what we mean about gentle ribbing? She’s cute as a button.

October also brought you to the Friars Club to participate in that raunchy roasting. We only wish you got up to do some zingers because you’re probably funnier than most of those who spoke, although Meredith was pretty funny.

November was busy for you with the Rosie’s Gala, ‘Building Dreams for Kids’, and participating in ‘Rosie Live’, while continuing to do Spamalot. You talked to the anchors of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and on 11/29 you held a fund-raiser for BE/EFA at the Shubert called ‘Conversation with Clay’. Thank heavens we have some fans with good memories because the recaps were wonderful. You continue to be an enigma at times, don’t you? And on November 30th, you FINALLY reached 30, a milestone birthday. Happy birthday, Clay.

December saw you featured in an hour-long ’E! True Hollywood Story!’ which, for E!, wasn’t bad at all with the exception of a few interviewee’s that could have been left on the cutting room floor. On the 23rd of December, you had bestowed upon you one of Broadway’s highest honors, your caricature on the wall of Sardi’s. Although opinions about the caricature were all over the place, the opinions that you looked especially good were pretty unanimous. Except some didn’t like the shirt, and some didn’t like the sweater, and some didn’t like the hair. HA!HA! We crack ourselves up. But what would this fandom be without dissenting opinions? On the 27th, you were featured on a special with Geraldo Rivera. That was a really good appearance Clay. You came across as educated on the subject and as a caring man. That’s a good way to end the year.

And as we end this long-as…, uh, long-winded recap, we want to mention two things. First was a statement you made to People.com in an interview on 12/21/2008:
"At the end of the day, Parker is the most important thing of the year, and of my life, without question," Aiken, 30, tells PEOPLE. "Having a son and that type of responsibility is obviously going to be something that I remember forever."

At the end of OUR day, your fans, in how we feel about you, Clay, while you’re not the most important thing in our lives, as fans, I think each and every one of us wish you nothing but the best. Knowing that you now have the child that you’ve been saying you wanted since 2003, well, it makes our hearts swell with love.

As we look forward to 2009, with the historic swearing-in of the first black President of the United States, our thoughts, once again, turn to wondering when we’re going to see you next. Take your couple of months off to spend time with your son (note the use of the word ‘your’. Because your sense of time and our sense of time are vastly different), visit some countries that need awareness brought to them with UNICEF, do some work for the BAF, but please, keep us informed periodically. You do have use of this new-fangled thing called a blog, you know. Your blogs don’t all have to be prophetic, they can be about the mundane, too. We’re not picky. But whatever you do, don’t forget us, Clay, because we’ll be right here waiting. Always and forever.

With thanks to Ms Marmalade at the Clack House and www.FindingClayAiken.com website for keeping such detailed records of everything Clay, and to Berkeley for documenting the BAF activities.

Any and all mistakes in content and/or timeline are solely the fault of the author.

Clay Aiken
UNICEF
The Bubel Aiken Foundation
Monty Python's Spamalot
American Idol
QVC
On My Way Here
Sardi's