Clay Aiken: Humor, Wit & Practical Jokes

I so love Clay’s sense of humor & quick wit. Last Summer Clay showed his sense of humor throughout his banter during the Jukebox Tour. A very talented Clay fan (sn simonschnzr) made a montage of some of the funniest moments. I had to clip it into 3 pieces for youtube.
You need to know a few details about how some of these moments came to be. In the middle of the tour Clay started a bit he called Stump the Band. Basically he asked for people to request a song from the 50’s – 90’s & they would try to do it. They took a couple of minutes with the mic’s off & then would perform the song. Sometimes they were amazing. Like this one:

Sometimes they were just ok. Because they were impromptu they allowed Clay’s quick wit to come out in force.

You have to understand that Clay LOVES practical jokes. Several of the songs during the show became fodder for upping the ante between Clay & his back up singers, Angela & Quiana. The main one came at the end of the 60’s medley Clay tormented the girls during that song & even when they tried to ‘fight’ back he usually won, until the final night of the tour. The final night of every tour that Clay has done is usually full of practical jokes. That night the girls got him back royally. They covered him in silly string. It was priceless!
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During the AI5 Finale, Clay got to take part in a joke or surprise. The show gave a Golden Idol award to a AI audition reject, Michael Sandeki, who looked a little like Clay did. Ryan asked Michael to sing & he began singing Don't Let the Sun Fo Down on Me. After a few lines in the song the backdrop opened & Clay walked out. The audience began screaming & Michael has said he thought the screams were for him. He eventually looked to the side & saw Clay & nearly went in to seizures. He was obviously thrilled & has since said so during several interviews. While I suspect AI wanted Clay to do this for the joke, what made the moment almost magical was that Clay managed to turn the 'joke' into a treat for Michael. I'm sure Michael will remember that moment forever.

The real practical joke is what Clay did to all of ClayNation. Somehow Clay managed to keep his new style a total surprise to his most involved internet fans. There had been a few small sitings with Clay with longer hair but he let it grow long last year during his down time. I doubt that any Clay fan expected Clay to look the way he did that night. I love the playfullness that shows when he does pull a practical joke. I can just hear him laughing while reading the response to the surprise on the message boards. So as Clay begins his 4th year in the business I can know without a doubt Clay will always be trying to surprise his fans.


I just have to post my favorite screencap from AI5 capped & posted originally by Permaswooned.
For a facsinating read try Permaswooned'sThe Pitfalls of Perception.
Since my blog is supposed to be on hobbies here's another great read Hobbies Part 1

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Great Hair Clay!

36 hours later & I’m still loving Clay’s new look. I’ve watched the clip from AI more times than I will ever admit to. But what I really want to see is portions of the Jukebox Tour from last summer with Clay’s new hair. Specifically ‘Can’t Buy Me Love.’ Clay managed to find an early Paul McCartney persona complete with Paul’s head bobbing when performing Can't Buy Me Love. I want to see this:


Video courtesy of hockeydonna.
The Clay Blog

with Clay’s cool new hair!


This photoshop is just too funny. I love it

For a great commentary on some of the reactions to Clay’s new look read this:Clay Aiken Hangover

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Wow, Clay's new look!

What a fantastic day to be a Clay Aiken fan.

I watched the AI5 finale last night. It was a pretty good show. I still think the group from AI2 could harmonize better than this year but at least the contestents can harmonize. Last year & the year before were the absolute worst. The kids those years may have been decent singers but not one of them could harmonize with each other.

Of course as a Clay fan I was watching for the rumored appearance of Clay. Members of his fanclub knew that something was up because we got an email just a few hours before to make sure an watch. That after 2 days of tons of buzz about whether or not he'd appear or sing or just sit in the audience. I had seen pics of Clay doing an appearance at a middle school for UNICEF fairly recently. He had quite long hair in those pics so I was really wondering what he would look like. I loved the long hair pics but I'm not all that picky about how the man looks. It's his voice that draws me in. So after 1 1/2 hours the segment begins. I knew as soon as they showed the kid who tried to be the next Clay Aiken (hate to tell you there will never be another one) I knew that Clay would be part of the skit. My first reaction was oh, no people are really going to be disappointed. Then they had the kid start singing & the doors opened up. I knew immediately it was Clay & I think I might have squealed 'He kept his LONG HAIR' After my reaction my hubby is now wondering if he should grow his out. Hee.

I loved this appearance because it was so like Clay. He made this kid's dream come true. He got to sing to his fans. He is a huge jokester so I'm sure he got a charge over the surprise. Even Ryan Seacrest said that he didn't recognize Clay when he first walked out. If you watch the clip you can see all three judges react. Randy claps, leans forward to talk to either Paula or Simon, Paula lept to her feet & stayed there for the duration, even Simon clapped when Micheal stumbled back in awe of Clay. It was a wonderful moment for me as a Clay fan.

Today has been a blast. All the entertainment shows are talking about Taylor's win but Clay('s hair) stole the show. Bottom line though, if Clay didn't have that voice it wouldn't matter what he looked like.

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Road to Baja 500

It’s probably a good thing for me that Clay Aiken does not have his new album out yet & therefore no new tour to spend money on. Last summer was my turn to spend a ton on concerts, travel, & spending time with Clay buddies. This summer is my hubby’s turn to spend a ton on off road motorcycle racing.

He is an avid off road motorcycle racer. He raced motocross in his youth but gave up the sport in his early adult years. He bought a dirt bike in his 30’s & a racing bike for his 40th birthday. He’s been racing in hare scrambles & enduros for the last 8 years. Hare Scrambles are races over a track laid out in the woods. All the cyclists start at the same time and ride several laps around the track. They tend to be shorter races than enduros. Enduros are much longer races through a track laid out in the woods. The riders have differing start times & have several checkpoints through the course. They can lose points for arriving too early or too late at any checkpoint. Enduros are on a course that is usually about 60 miles & can take around 3 hours. They are run through very tight trails & are extremely challenging.

This year my hubby is riding in the Baja 500. It’s a 500 mile race throughout Baja California, Mexico. He & a buddy (he met on the internet) will be driving from the east coast to Baja the last week of May. The race takes place on June 3rd and they will be driving back on June 4th. This race is grueling as it is a continuous 500 miles but through some of the most incredible terrain imaginable.
He's been rebuilding his motorcycle since it was severely damaged when our sons rolled our truck with the bike on a lift. He actually tore the bike apart completely but it is back better than new, well almost.



My hubby is currently in China on a business trip. We have had a steady delivery of motorcycle parts & gear. You almost can’t walk through the garage for all the stuff he’s bought for this trip. I can't wait to see his face when he goes through all the stuff that has arrived. He'll be like a kid in a candy store. This trip really is an opportunity of a lifetime. I’m almost as excited for him as he is.

He has told me that he supported my Clay hobby because of all the years I’ve supported his dirt bike hobby. I actually got the sweetest Mother’s Day present this year. He went on the internet & searched for something Clay related. He ended up getting 2 AI2 Coke Bottles. I have always been a collector but I never bought the coke bottles. He is not usually a great gift giver. Not that he doesn’t care, because he is wonderful to me & our family every day; he just doesn’t really think about gifts. The gift this year shows me how much he appreciates my support of his racing.

I am a bit nervous about this race but I trust him to know his limits. I can’t wait for the stories he will have to share with me.

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Jaded Journalist

Well, I've finally decided to try uploading video & sharing it here. Since I mentioned the Jaded Journalist interviews I thought I would share them here. The Jaded Journalist is an interviewer from the old idolonfox website who kept his identity secret. His interviews were usually somewhat mocking & most of his interviewees (victims) couldn’t keep up with the biting sarcasm. Not so for Clay.

Losing my Clay Buddy?

Today is an odd day for me. I have 4 grown children. The youngest one is turning 19 soon & is moving back to Florida tomorrow morning. We moved from FL to PA in 2004. He misses his friends and has decided to try to make a go of it on his own. Well he really won't be on his own, he will be staying with some friends of ours until he can get out on his own. Our 2 oldest kids currently live in FL but they have both decided to move up here with us in the next couple of months. So we left FL with just our youngest and by July we will have the 3 oldest living with us & the youngest on his own. Though he knows the door will always be open for him he just really has to find out for himself if he will be happier in FL.

It's odd for me because I have a different kind of relationship with my youngest son. He has always been interested in my Clay Aiken fandom. He's not a fan himself as he is really into classic rock but he does love Clay's sarcastic side & he likes watching the funny concert videos. It was this son who discovered the Jaded Journalist interviews with me. The more I learned on the computer the more praise I got from this son. In fact, the day I had my vhs to dvd set up (before the instant push button machines you can get now) this son walked in the room, looked at all the equipment, examined what I was doing & pronounced "Mom, you rock!"

We also love watching Gilmore Girls together. The dialog drew us both in.

I suppose it sounds like he is a momma's boy but he is anything but. His favorite activities usually involve knives, guns, explosives & fire. Fortunately he does have a good sense of right from wrong. He is 'all boy' as the saying goes but he is a good friend, too. I know I will miss him alot!

Clay Aiken

I am a hobbier.

I have lots of hobbies.

Currently my biggest hobby for the last 3 years has been being an internet Clay Aiken fan. I can now do more things on the computer than my 2 computer geeky sons. Really it's all their fault I discovered this hobby. You see, in 2003 my only daughter went off to college & I was left with my wonderful hubby & 2 teenage sons. The three men in my life took over the TV & decided Fear Factor was the best show EVER. I swear it was on all night long. I started out playing around on the computer because Fear Factor is not a show I'm interested in. I don't mind the scary challenges it's the gross ones I gag over. I discovered listening to that show was almost as bad as watching so I started looking for music/videos on the internet. I happened to catch AI & was blown away by Clay. I did a google search & discovered a web site that I could download video of Clay from the show. I started downloading like crazy & then I wanted to watch the videos on my TV. I took a weekend to figure out how to make VCD & SVCD discs. It wasn't long before I had to learn how to make DVD's. Of course I had to learn how to deal with cleaning up the pc & deal with trojans & other crap that you can pick up on the internet.

My hubby likes my hobby because it has had non-Clay related benefits, also. I learned how to transfering VHS tapes to DVD's so the old home movies are now on DVDs (well at least some of them are.) He is a off-road motorcycles racer & I record & burn dvd's of his races. I've taught him how to make DVD's also but he usually just lets me do it for him.

I love my Clay hobby & I plan on loving it for as long as Clay wants to sing!