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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