Sunday, January 30, 2011

NHL All-Star Game Another Memorable Clay Aiken Sing


RALEIGH IS MY HOME - Double clickabe graphic by cindilu2.

Clay Aiken Nails National Anthem

Hometown Performances Special

When Clay Aiken performs in his beloved hometown of Raleigh, NC, it's always a special "This Is the Moment" kind of event.

Like when he returned on June 21, 2010, to help raise money for Raleigh's theater arts in the "Bringing Broadway Home" benefit concert. The performance of "This Is the Moment" was videoed by Scarlett.


THIS IS THE MOMENT - Clay Aiken
View 'Bringing Broadway Home' video full screen at YouTube.

True to form, Sunday's rendition of the US national anthem will be, too. Be sure to check back later for a report of the "Star Spangled Banner" from pregame festivities.

UPDATE: Clay hit the banner out of the RBC Center!!! The announcer commented that he brought down the house. Here are Sendspace downloads for audio and video files (Canadian feed). The photo below links to the Canadian telecast on YouTube.


Clay sings national anthem at 58th NHL All-Star Game.
Click photo to view Canadian telecast on YouTube.


Click to enlarge this News & Observer photo of Clay.
To view more photos, see Getty Images.

Meanwhile, here are other memorable Raleigh performances -- not all, but a few. Take, for example, the unforgettable moment when the American Idol 2 Tour played Raleigh and the first runner-up took the stage.

Captured by an unknown graphic artist, the moment when Clay stood before a packed hometown crowd in the Raleigh Municipal Auditorium is preserved on countless CA fan hard drives.


RALEIGH TOUR PERFORMANCES: For the American Idol 2 concert
in his hometown, Clay appeared in a Carolina Hurricanes shirt.

Montage Presents NIP Overview

Featuring the dedication to humanitarian work that has always defined Clay Aiken, the final montage in the four-part 'Memories of 2010' series by LovesClaysVoice rewinds the latest Champions Gala of the National Inclusion Project, charity co-founded by Clay and Diane Bubel in 2003.

Included are portions of the singer's speech, live and Dutch auctions, and the treasured finale, "Both Sides Now," performed as a duet with Debra Leisey signing the lyrics.


Making a Difference - Memories of 2010, Part 4
View montage by LovesClaysVoice full screen at YouTube.

'Retro 3' Spotlights Appearances

The third montage in SueReu's Retrospective series features an overview of Clay's 2003-2009 special appearances.

Among the highlights are several national anthem performances, including the "Skate with Clay" National Inclusion Project fundraiser at a 2003 Carolina Hurricanes game.

Also featured are Christmas specials, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Capital One Holiday on Ice, Ed ("This Magic Moment" and "Ebay gold"), Scrubs ("Isn't She Lovely?"), Days of Our Lives, A Capital 4th on PBS, Saturday Night Live and the "Aiken wink," 30 Rock, and "Solitaire" from American Idol 3 and the 2007 Neil Sedaka Tribute.


Clay Aiken - A Retrospective, Part 3, A Special Guest
View montage by SueReu full screen at YouTube.

This overview of the Raleigh native's hometown performances would be incomplete without the PBS special taped last March. From Clay Aiken: Tried & True ~ LIVE, here is the big band arrangement of "Mack the Knife," a track from the singer's latest Decca release.

Songs from the Tried & True CD and special, promptly dubbed by fans as the "OMG Concert," are set to go on tour in selected cities Feb. 10 - March 12. For concert dates and times, see the Jan. 11 Carolina blog entry.


BACK IN TOWN: Clay sings "Mack the Knife" in Raleigh taping.
View PBS concert full screen at YouTube.

Another sing-it-to-the-rafters Raleigh performance! Have an awesome week, Clay Nation!

Caro

P.S. Thanks to Sandy Hall, Clay Aiken and hockey enthusiast extraordinaire, here is a very complimentary take on the All-Star weekend from the Ottawa Citizen: Pressure's on Ottawa to keep the Raleigh going.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Clay did a awesome job at the Hockey Game, he was loud and clear, looked fine , sneakers, jeans and hockey jersey. Was fun to see him, for sure. And I really enjoy your blogs, love those videos,pics, etc. And everything U provide for Us to learn about. Some talented ppl we have for sure to do all the stuff we enjoy! U included Caro, and I thank each and everyone of U.! D.in Wi.

Cynthia J. Coleman said...

Thank you for the comment, visit, and birthday wish. Excellent blog, as always. I wished I could have heard Clay sing today, but I'l see him soon on Feb. 17th. Take care and God bless. Love always, Cynthia

Stephanie said...

Hurray! He did a fantastic job (not that I doubted for a second!), and I experienced that little heart quickening that always happens whenever I see him. :) Thank you so much for posting this so quickly- I wasn't able to catch it live and so wanted to see it. :)

T said...

Awesome blog Caro! The beautiful opening graphic of cindilu2 captures it all.

That's why I visit your blog because you always bring the best highlights and just watched Clay singing the U.S. National Athem. Wow! It was perfect and amazing voice.

All the montages are wonderful and again, many thanks for your blogs. You're the BEST!

Have a nice week.

((Hugs))
T

Anonymous said...

Hi Caro. Love Clay's voice. He did an awesome job. Did not know he sang until today but so glad you told me so I could hear him sing.

The graphic you shared by "unknown artist" is one of the first graphics I remember right clicking and saving of Clay. :)

Thanks so much for sharing. And I lurved the montages also.

((HUGS)) Kathy/Aspiegirl

gerra said...

Always proud to be a fan of Clay. He so owns the SSB with that awesome voice of his.

Anonymous said...

Hi Caro,

What an awesome way to start my morning, with one of your wonderful blogs.....Thank You!!

I love "SueReu's" montage A Retrospective, Part 3, A Special Guest, I think I'm going to have to watch is again and again....awwww the memories. I think we need to see more or Clay on TV, I do miss seeing him. "cindilu2's" graphic is wonderful. I think that tomorrow (we are having more snow!!) I am going to have a Clay Aiken music and video marathon.

Caro Thanks AGAIN for EVERYTHING! You are the BEST!!!!

Big Hugs,
Marlyne

Ginger Scarlett said...

Thanks v. much for putting up the links so quickly! It was great to see him looking fine and sounding even better than I remember! Loved this version, especially with the low notes and that bit of scaling that I hope is a peek at what we might hear on the upcoming tour!

It was fun to view the Memories and Retrospectives videos. May have said this before but I love how LCV started with the clip from the Y, giving the right perspective and history to the Gala clips including that amazing Dutch auction. And I can't believe I missed the beautiful Retrospective video Part 3 -- Sue outdid herself with this one, picking a delightful progression of clips that have you going, "Oh, that was a great one, "I haven't seen that in a while", "What fun that was", etc. I'm adding it to my "start my day with a smile" YouTube queue.

Thanks for all you do!!!

SueReu said...

Clay Aiken brought it on Sunday!!! He not only did himself proud, but the City of Raleigh, the NHL and all of us. Bravo Clay!!!

Cannot wait for the tour to start!! Just a few more weeks :D I'm so excited to hear/see what Clay has in store for us. I'm going to the last concert for the tour and the 1 year anniversary of the PBS Taping. Should be fun!!!!

On a side note, I just read that Broadway Backwards is SOLD OUT!! YAY for those who get to go!!!

Beautiful blend by cincilu2 and great montage by LCV - they both do stunning work.

Thanks!!

Sandy said...

Can I just say that I now hate Curling more than I ever hated it before! I was so angry when I found out that the Curling that was being shown went into overtime and CBC, our wonderful TV station (NOT) choose to finish broadcasting this game and then return to Hockey once it was over. So needless to say, once curling was over and they switched back the feed to hockey, they were dropping the puck and I was left utterly speechless!!! NO CLAY!!!Words cannot even describe my anger! I had company at the time so had to wait until they left and then hit the boards as fast as I could as I was sure someone had it uploaded or a link already and sure enough the fans came through!
What a magnificent job he did!
Will have to watch Sue Rue's montages at home. I am at work right now and access is denied!
I was reading the sports this morning in our daily newspaper and this article caught my eye!! Have copied the link here. Well done Raleigh in being the perfect hosts for the All Star Game!

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Scanlan+Pressure+Ottawa+keep+Raleigh+going/4199623/story.html

Have a great day!!

Sandy

Unknown said...

Wow! That was an amazing National Anthem. I love it! Thank you for posting it here. THank youu also for being my first to comment at my blog. I didn't think anyone would ever go there. You really made my day. I appreciate that.
http://togetherforinclusion.blogspot.com/2011/01/final-2011-calendar-fundraising-info.html


Thanks for all you do! The donation was mailed this morning via certified mail.

Hugs,
Rosa