COOL BEANS -- Clay Aiken's hometown station, WRAL-TV of Raleigh, NC, helped him spill the news about his upcoming CD in a special report by Lynda Loveland. WRAL Photo by Geof Levine.
Thrills Fans with CD News
Clay Aiken Spills the Beans
Days later, it still feels like Christmastime in Clay Cyberspace with the extensive revelations about the singer's new CD and the backstage glimpses at the Shubert Theater provided in Lynda Loveland's special reports aired on WRAL-TV this week.
Non-stop viewing of the the info-packed videos on the Raleigh station's website has been augmented by the fandom's innate nature to ferret out additional details once given a sampling of song titles, the probable album theme, and the producer's name. After the WRAL preview, the May 6 drop date seems light years away.
Parts of Clay Aiken Spills the Beans About Upcoming Album are printed below. Three videos in the sidebar are not to be missed and also can now also be viewed at Yahoo and at AOL.
At the WRAL site, look for these the videos about Clay's new CD:
* WRAL Exclusive: In the Studio with Clay Aiken
* WRAL Exclusive: Clay Aiken Spills the Beans About New Album
* Clay Aiken Spills the Beans on Upcoming Album
WRAL Screen Caps by Claystruck
NEW YORK -- Raleigh native Clay Aiken is a busy man these days, performing at night on Broadway as Sir Robin in "Monty Python's Spamalot" and working on his upcoming studio album during the day.
It's been five years since Aiken put together an original album, or one that is, he says, at least 95 percent original. [snip]
The songs had to meet two qualifications.
"They have to be something I'll enjoy and that I can do well," Aiken said. "And at the same time, they have to kind of fit into this common theme of 'On my way here.'"
"On My Way Here" is one of the tracks and might end up being the album title.
Aiken was working on that song and another the day he invited WRAL's Lynda Loveland to the recording studio. The second is called "Ashes". [snip]
For the first time, Aiken's album, which he hopes will be released sometime after May, is being produced by one person. He kept that person secret, until now.
Known only as Kipper, he is from the United Kingdom and might be best known for producing a Grammy award-winning album for Sting.
"We wanted to find someone who had a great reputation and had done stuff in the past that was kind of edgy and current," Aiken said.
Kipper is coming up with a new sound for Aiken and even wrote a song for him that's got a bit of an R&B vibe to it.
"We've captured some really great moments," Kipper said. "I'm very optimistic we're going to have a record where people will go, 'Is that Clay? Is that Clay Aiken?"
From WRAL's report, fans have constructed a tentative playlist that includes the following songs:
On My Way Here
The Real Me
Ashes
Lover All Alone
Everything I Don't Need (R&B)
Sacrificial Love
Yollie950, a CA fan, created a montage with the partial song clips that can be viewed at YouTube: New CD Song Cuts.
Here are Sendspace downloads of two WRAL videos: Clay Aiken Spills the Beans (16 minutes, 101 MBs) and Album News.
PHOTO INTERLUDE: This clickable interlude features the graphic designs and photographic talent of five visual artists, including Amazing_CA, photo by Scrpkym, 1; Amazing_CA, photos by Toni7babe, 2; Cindilu2, March calendar, 3; Artz11, photos by Toni7babe, 4; and Amazing_CA, photo by Scrpkym, 5.
In Aiken Reveals Backstage Secrets of 'Spamalot' , Clay escorts Loveland and the Raleigh TV crew on a tour through wardrobe, the wig room, the pit orchestra's "shoe box," and his tiny dressing room. Scenes from the show are also included.
The story and video appear on the WRAL website, and the video can also be viewed at the Yahoo and AOL links above. To download, here is a Sendspace of Spamalot Behind the Scenes.
Backstage Secrets of 'Spamalot'
NEW YORK — From singer to actor, Raleigh native Clay Aiken is taking a spin on Broadway in "Monty Python's Spamalot.” He plays several roles, but mainly Sir Robin.
In WRAL-TV's backstage tour of the Shubert Theatre includes the Wall of Fame, his "spacious" dressing room, as well as scenes from "Spamalot."
The role was modified a bit for Clay. There is even a reference to American Idol, which launched his career, in the line, "I'll be the idol of my age."
Although he initially worried about how the other actors would treat him, Clay said everyone has been really great.
Clay's final performance in “Spamalot” will be May 4.
Recaps Soar Through Clay Cyber
My friend Sally and her son flew home Friday following a three-day trip to New York City during which they attended two performances of "Spamalot." With front row seats on the floor Wednesday and on the mezzanine Thursday, Sally said they thoroughly enjoyed seeing the show from two very different perspectives.
Through intermission and post show phone reports, I shared her observations with a couple of message boards. Faster than a speeding sword, swallow, or coconut, they bounced from board to board. These are excerpts from our brief recaps:
Sally took her opera glasses to catch Clay's expressions and couldn't believe all he does with his face.
Clay really is one of the best of the non-dancers and is very light on his feet. He "soiled his pants" like a pro and has the moves down perfectly.
Clay is very comfortable in the roles, and there's no hesitation. He looks like he's been doing the show for a long time, and he really seems to be enjoying himself.
Btw, Sally was only able to use her opera glasses sparingly because her son kept them glued on the beautiful and talented "Lady of the Lake," Hannah Waddingham.
Week in a Nutshell
Rainlover succinctly summed up the celebratory mood from the week's "bean-spilling" reports, as well as the anticipatory atmosphere for the coming months, with this little ditty at Clayversity:
Spamalot
New CD
Excitement Rivals
2003
Month of May
All New Songs
Back on Top
Where He Belongs
Clickable Graphic by Sally
Our Butterfly Kai
In the previous blog, readers politely informed me that a special someone was missing. Reminiscent of the famous images of children by Anne Geddes, Sally turned grandson Kai into a beautiful butterfly on a constellation background in this latest graphic.
It seems the males in any species are blessed with the most brilliant colors.
This Saturday-Sunday American Idol Rewind 2 telecast features Disco Week during which Clay sang "Everlasting Love." Check your local listings for air times.
This clickable by Fountaindawg recalls scenes from 2003's two-night disco competition.
Clay at Disco Week
Caro
RELATED TAGS: Clay Aiken, Spamalot, Broadway, WRAL-TV, Lynda Loveland, Kipper, American Idol Rewind 2, Official Fan Club, Clay Nation
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2 comments:
Wheeee! Reading this has me all excited about the CD & Spamalot..again!
"Faster than a speeding sword, swallow, or coconut, they bounced from board to board."
Perfect description, your message from Sally really had wings.
A good day to you :). CsM
Hi Caro,
I had a very busy day yesterday with Connor as played in a hockey tournament and ending up scoring two goals! He is such a little showoff and has to do the whole theatric bit that major league players do when they score goals. It was so cute! Then after that it was off to visit a friend from work to play some cards for the evening. Chris was there as well and she was just excited to be out having some fun.
Her mom is not doing well at all therefore she will need to move her again to an actual nursing home (not just a retirement with assisted living) as the level of care she needs can only be found in a nursing home. The waiting lists are long at most of them here in the Ottawa area. She wants her mom to be placed into a home that is close to her but sometimes that is not always feasible, so she may have to relent and get her placed in the first nursing home that comes available and hope that soon she will get moved to one of her choice.
The news of Clay’s CD has sure caused some excitement around the boards and myself included can hardly wait! The interviews by Linda Loveland were just wonderful and you can tell that they do share a special bond. Just hearing the snippets has me wanting more so badly. I know in my heart that this will be the “CD” that is ALL Clay and what he has dreamed about all these years. His excitement about the release is contagious, and I loved the bit when he was talking about hearing the sound of a certain piano in a demo and then just had to have that sound on one of his songs. The fact that it was an old “not tuned” piano, says a lot about Clay and how “tuned” in he is about this CD.
Kipper sounds like he really enjoys working with Clay and actually listens to his input!
Glad to hear that Sally and her son enjoyed Clay and Hannah! I’m sure you wish you had of gone with her.
Kai looks so adorable in his “first” Anne Geddes photo shoot! Sally really knows how to capture these moments and make them into something so special!
Now that March is here, I am so looking forward to having “ALL” this snow melt. Or at least I thought I was until we had another major snowstorm on Friday night. In reading the newspaper yesterday morning, an editorial did have to remind us that Ottawa receives 22 percent of it’s annual snowfall in March! We can’t see over the snow banks as they are now! The thought of seeing Clay in April are helping me to keep my sanity through all of this madness.
Have a great week!
Hugs,
Sandy :)
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