i wanna see if this thing comes true. i hope it does. i hope clay BECOMES a true idol. hey, why should i even have any doubt about that? more than often clay is being compared to the next frank sinatra or elvis presley... from http://www.beaversonidol.com/articles/Claytrueidol.html American Idol: Is Clay Aiken A True Idol? American Idol is a Fox television program that is in essence a singing competition. The winner of this competition is given the title, "American Idol." But being given this title does not make one a true singing idol. What is a true idol in this singing/performing context? The answer is a difficult one to arrive at because there have been very few true idols. However, there are some precedents to examine and hereby compare. Does Clay Aiken fit within the definition presented through the precedents given? That is up to the reader to decide. Clay fans already know the answer. What is a true idol? The first bona fide American singing idol was Frank Sinatra. I doubt many would argue this assertion. Sinatra was a singer with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra during the 1940s, and it was soon realized that people were coming mainly to hear Frank sing. The majority of these fans were young girls known as bobby-soxers. This was before the term "teenager" was coined. These girls screamed and swooned to the sounds of "The Voice," later to be known as "Old Blue Eyes." Elvis Presley followed this kind of stardom about 10 years later during the 1950s. Then again it was the teenaged girls who launched Presley into a realm that very few pop performers attain. It is little wonder that if you root around the Clay Aiken fan sites and message boards on the Internet that you will come across icons like this: ==(somebody's siggy on idolforums. the one with clay, frank, elvis and the american flag.)== The idol-maker of the true idol is found in the fans. The fans will make the true idol and there is nothing that anyone can do to stop it – not Fox, not the 19 Group of Companies, and not RCA. But why should any of those entities want to stop the making of a true idol? Well, there are good reasons for them wanting to tone this whole movement down somewhat. A true idol presents problems When a true idol discovers that they really are a true idol, they no longer need to rely so much upon those who helped put them where they are. In other words, their true power comes from the fans and not the record company or their manager, and thus they can become more independent if they so choose. The longer this fact is kept from the true idol, the longer those surrounding the idol retain control. This is a very natural power struggle, and Clay strikes me as a very clever fellow who will catch on to this concept very quickly, if he hasn’t already. American Idol 2 was known to the viewers as a program that made up the rules along the way. For instance, instead of there being 10 final contestants, it was decided that 12 would be better. Instead of eliminating someone from the program every week, it was decided that when someone was disqualified from the competition, no one needed to be eliminated even though the public was led along to vote. Of course, having the schedule end in an important sweeps month seemed to dictate most of these changes. Instead of there being one final winner who wins the recording contract, there was one final winner but two recording contracts were offered. Well, sometimes changing the rules results in something good happening for the public, but did they really have a choice? The voting margin was just so incredibly slim between Ruben and Clay, and, even then, it was very well known that Clay’s fans were not only great in number but exceedingly tenacious too. It was thought that releasing the two singles at the same time would enhance sales as the fans of Clay and Ruben competed through purchasing. Maybe this worked in increasing sales, but we will never really know. However, what we do know happened was that Ruben was robbed of having a number one single and he was the one that had the official title, "American Idol." Clay’s single simply held the number one position while Ruben’s went no higher than number two. Did anyone anticipate this? Perhaps they did, but the day of the single really ended over 30 years ago; the album is what counts today. Originally, both albums were to be released at the same time – August 19th. The new plan is that Ruben’s album will be released first, and Clay’s album will come out two weeks later. We have been told that this will occur in September, but don’t hold your breath because it might be even later. However, releasing Ruben’s album first should ensure that Ruben would at least have the number one selling album for a time. Ruben deserves his day in the sun, and everyone knows what would happen if Clay’s and Ruben’s albums were released on the same date. What this shows is that record executives are being forced to react and change their plans because of the number and intense devotion of Clay’s fans. This is one of the highest compliments that Clay and his fans can receive. It shows that Clay’s fans wield power and is a sign that they are creating a true idol. Clay vs. Ruben I wanted to do a comparison on a showing of Clay’s versus Ruben’s fans. So, I did some very quick but useful research to illustrate something very significant. I limited my research to the Internet and zeroed in on the Ezboard.com website that allows anyone to set up his or her own discussion board on virtually any topic. First, I did a search on "Ruben Studdard". I found only two message boards set up at ezboard.com totally dedicated to Ruben Studdard. One board had not had a new post on it for almost two months, and both these boards had very few members and were virtually inactive. Then I did a search to find ezboards on the topic of "Clay Aiken." I found 26 such boards and each one is totally dedicated to discussing Clay. Most are quite active and two of them have so much activity that these must be two of the most successful ezboards ever created – we are talking about millions of page views on these two boards in only a matter of a few months with thousands of members. I have heard that for some reason, Ruben Studdard fans do not cater to the Internet as much as Clay’s fans. Well, I would most certainly like to hear what kind of reason could possibly be given for such a ludicrous claim. The Internet is not necessarily used by Clay fans more than Ruben fans, but what Internet activity reflects is what is really going on out there in society when it comes to number of fans and the degree of fan loyalty in this particular instance. There are millions of Clay fans and a large portion of Clay fans are fanatical. The word "fan" is derived from the word "fanatic" so if Clay fans are reading, please do not take offence. It is you who are making a true idol out of Clay. A true idol’s fans are fanatical. Ruben’s fans do not appear to take the fanatical route in expressing their "fanship." I do not want to take away from Ruben anything. I think he is a fabulous singer and he will more than likely have a long and successful recording career. Surely he does have a large fan base. Personally, I listen to Flying Without Wings far more often than I do to Clay’s This is the Night. But interestingly enough, I look forward more to hearing Clay’s new album than I do Ruben’s. I want to see if RCA has responded to the requests of Clay’s fans to fix Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Will the album version of this song subdue the choir and instruments so that we can hear Clay’s voice? What will the other songs on Clay’s album be? Will Neil Sedaka’s Solitaire be recorded by Clay? Will Clay do his version of Unchained Melody that was absolutely fabulous on American Idol? You see, I’m not even a Clay fan but I’m more interested in hearing Clay’s album than Ruben’s. How do you explain this? Is Clay really there yet? There are three key things that must happen before Clay becomes a true idol in my opinion. Clay fans might take exception to these items, but I really do not care. If Clay Aiken is following in the footsteps of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, then he must meet certain requirements. I did not set the requirements, but I have identified them through observation. Here are the three remaining requirements: (1) I am waiting to hear that the security surrounding Clay on the Tour has to be increased because Clay’s fans are more apt to get out of line and tend to mob him whenever they can. I have not read such a headline yet. Will I? If I do, then this is a definite sign of a true idol. (2) As the Tour progresses, I am also waiting to hear that Clay fans fainted during his performance and had to be taken away by ambulance. This is an effect that a true idol has on some of their fans. It is a true mark of a true idol. (3) When Clay’s first album is released, I assume that it will turn gold in the first week (500,000 copies sold). I take that as a given. However, if Clay is a true idol, his album by the second week should turn platinum (1,000,000 copies sold). This is a tall order, but if the fans really are there, it will happen. Personal reflections on Clay (author is James Shepherd) In writing this article I took time to reflect upon Clay Aiken and his contribution to American Idol 2. Simon Cowell once told Ruben that this competition would not be the same without him. But upon reflection, for me anyway, American Idol 2 would not have been really very much of anything without Clay Aiken. The reason why I say this is that when I think back, pretty well every highlight of the competition involved Clay Aiken in some way. I recall Clay’s singing that Elton John song in the wild card performance. I was completely blown away by him. All the judges were too, including Simon who said, "Wow Clay, I’m impressed." In my opinion, Clay Aiken actually sang an Elton John song better than Sir Elton John had done it originally. Who would not have been impressed? I also recall Clay continually making excellent performance after excellent performance on the show, and Simon Cowell continually making some sort of negative remarks with the rare exception. Clay took these criticisms all in stride and never retaliated. And when Clay, in one of the last of the regular programs, performed Unchained Melody and did an absolutely marvelous job of it, Simon Cowell made sure that Paula Abdul’s very complimentary praise was promptly squashed. Regardless, I thought that Paula was absolutely right – it was the best performance of the entire American Idol 2 program to that date. Hey! I am not even a Clay Aiken fanatic. But there is something very special about Clay Aiken that even I can see. I do not like some of his mannerisms. In fact, Clay and his mannerisms annoyed me throughout the AI2 competition. Nevertheless, Clay Aiken made some of the most extraordinary singing performances I have ever seen. He is a very special performer. Even I can see it and I do not fit within the profile of the average true idol fan. I’m the wrong gender and age, but I must admit that Clay Aiken rocks. If he is not a true idol now, he is scheduled to be one very soon. His fans already know it. i hope that in time to come, it will be proven that clay IS a true idol. and not just for america. =) please share him with th rest of the world. we'd be thankful... posted by Yee 12:35 PM . . .
