hee hee! "The constant references to Clay being perfect for Broadway were silly too and Ruben supporters who parroted that time and time again apparently do not realize that only the purest, most talented singers with perfect voices are "perfect" for broadway. Because on Broadway you can't fake it. There is no one there to make your voice all nice and shiny like the people who work on Brittany Spear's CDs. To star on Broadway, you have to be perfect. Somehow Simon turned it into an insult. " told you there's nothing wrong... anyway, i'm angry at simon. *two tight slaps across his face* why did he actually want clay to be in the finals? just to put him down? clay very obviously did much better than ruben the entire night, but what did he get in return? unfair criticism. first simon said that clay was "really ugly" in the beginning, "look how handsome this show has made you". uh huh, we all know that clay is handsome now, but you didn't have to make anymore unnecessary references to what he looked like. at least clay improves. look at ruben. second simon insists that both clay and ruben left the best for the last. uh huh, you refuse to comment on it right? you just refused to admit that clay did well.. ruben did fine, you said he was superb. clay did well, you said "you can't really go wrong with this song". do you know the range of that song? *punch him in the stomach* third and last, clay's performance was without doubt the best of the night, if not the entire season. simon knew that, but he just had to say that clay was "a bit off tonight". he wasn't, HE WASN'T! you idiot of a simon... clay wasn't off at all, ruben was. he was hoarse, he was weary, he was off key during the end of his second song. {at this point, i must still stress that i'm fine with ruben cos he's better than loads of others.} what the heck is wrong with simon? the even more problem is, what is wrong with america? you all know that simon is talking nonsense, he's manipulating you, and you just let it be... oh i'm so pissed... "And lets not forget how many times we were told that Clay did not look like a pop star. But apparently Michael Jackson has been thinking of putting on a couple hundred pounds so that he can match Ruben's perfect pop star physique. Notice how Simon told Vanessa and some of the others that they needed to lose weight. It was never mentioned to Ruben. It makes you wonder if Ruben would have even been able to compete last year considering all the obese people Simon tossed aside due to image issues." on a brighter note, here's something nice! and i agree to it! check this out... it's from foxes on idol. So what is it about Clay? What has given Clay Aiken the X-factor? Here are my top ten Clay-factors: 1) That voice! Well, what can I say. That amazing voice became more searingly beautiful every week. It could have come straight from Heaven. Off-stage, Clay, by his own acknowledgment, is more hyperactive. On-stage he acquired a groundedness, depth and resonance which was almost ethereal. His voice spoke to the depths of the soul and touched emotions we didn’t know we had. 2) Love. Clay is loving and caring. This is very evident on stage. When he smiles, hearts melt. He seems to express such joy that people’s hearts go straight out to him. A fan explained this much better than I could: “Clay puts love and joy out there ... he gets it back ... and gives it out again ... that’s why we stay in love with him.” “And when he smiles ... he just has you smiling back. He is thoroughly enjoying himself ... and we enjoy him back.” He also loves his mom, and is very tactile towards women. How sweet was that to watch. No matter what country they were in, women would have been mesmerized. The same fan said, “And he’s so sweet and gentlemanly - what’s not to love. He stands there before us with OPEN ARMS ... and we just want to fall right into them.” 3) The ‘geek to chic’ factor. Clay has transformed himself before our very eyes. At his audition he was an ordinary student – crumpled, thickly bespectacled, red-haired, skinny, and with prominent ears. The judges didn’t think he looked remotely like an idol and were even unsure whether to allow him into the next heat. Then he transformed himself into a love-god. Turned out all the time he was not an ugly duckling at all! He got a makeover, or several. He stopped contorting his face. He got sharp suits and leather jackets. He got lighting. He got great songs to sing. His voice was fabulous. The mix became irresistible. So what emerged? A swan. 4) He forgot his words once, but he picked himself up again. During a potentially beautiful rendition of Don McLean’s “Vincent,” the unthinkable happened, and Clay forgot his words in two places. Did he collapse in a heap, show visible signs of nerves or flunk out of the contest? No way. This is Clay! What Clay did was blithely carry on as if nothing had happened, finishing, as Paula Abdul noted, with dignity. And when Ryan asked him how you pick yourself up from something like that, he said, “You bring it! You bring it next time!” And he proceeded to do so, and then some, knocking us out with “Mack the Knife” and “Unchained Melody.” What Clay was doing here was saying in not so many words, “It’s okay to mess up! We’re all human, and humans go wrong sometimes. When you do, you don’t have to rip yourself to shreds because of it or hope the floor will swallow you up. You don’t have to brand yourself a failure and give up. It’s okay! Just carry on, and you’ll get there in the end.” People love him for it. 5) Clay learned on the job. To start off with, all he had was potential – a fabulous voice and not much else going for him that anyone could see. Oh and self-belief. He told the judges he thought he could be the next American Idol. Every week, he listened and learned. He took Simon Cowell’s often abrasive comments and looked for the gold nugget in them. Je practiced relaxing his facial muscles so that he suddenly looked gorgeous while he was singing. He listened to Paula and injected more pizzazz into his performances. He learned to look into the camera so he was staring straight into the viewer’s eyes. As another fan said, “I feel like Clay is singing just to me through the camera.” He learned to exude sexuality, but probably didn’t even know he was doing it. So the rest of us could see that we didn’t have to be perfect, or even anything special to start off with. If we just focused on something, we could get better at it with practice, like he did. Anything became possible. We realized that there was a swan inside all of us, just waiting to get out. 6) He’s suffered. I don’t think that life has been a bed of roses for Clay Aiken. He hasn’t led a charmed existence. He’s just like the rest of us. His background may not be extremely poor (although he may have known some hardship), but it wasn’t wonderful either. He had a father with whom he wasn’t close. Clay felt strongly enough about this to change his name to his mother’s maiden name. He must have watched his mother struggle to bring him up. He also had to contend with acquiring a stepfather, and then his stepfather died last year. Clay has had his share of troubles in life. All of this gives him the depth of expression he always exhibits when he sings. 7) Humility. Clay Aiken doesn’t just say he has humility. He actually does really have it. He could be quite self-deprecating and genuinely didn’t understand what all the fuss was about – why he touched so many people’s hearts. If he were arrogant, then people may want to knock him. As it is, they love him. 8) Sincerity, kindness and thoughtfulness, being open and trusting. This young man is nothing if not sincere. He is genuine and straightforward. He is a Southern Baptist and wants to do good in the world. He wants the influence and exposure from American Idol to be able to help autistic children. And through everything, he has maintained an ability to be open and trusting, and let his emotions shine through. Singing “Solitaire” especially, he let his vulnerability be clearly seen. It endeared people to him. 9) He demonstrated a lovely sense of humor and didn’t take himself too seriously. His endearing smile lit up our TV screens. His sexual gyrating was done with glee. He found this funny! He demonstrated a quick wit and was more than a match for the judges, dealing with them with humor and dignity, or sometimes flirting with Paula. Paula: “I want to give you a hug.” Clay: “Is that a date?” 10) He and the other contestants saw us through a potentially dark period of human history. If love often arises out of adversity, then this could explain some of the depth of emotional attachment being felt. Perhaps Clay’s greatest achievement has been to give hope in what seemed an uncertain world. He has been like a beacon of light in the dark. He has given us hope that we could find our own path in life and fulfill our wildest dreams. If Clay could do it, then so perhaps could we. He made us feel special, and he made anything seem possible. posted by Yee 6:49 PM . . .
