a brilliant, beautifully written article from MichNews.com http://bigjweb.com/artman/publish/article_1629.shtml this is how articles should be like. reflective of the people. lovely. Guest Commentary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLAY AIKEN: HE CAME, HE SANG, HE CONQUERING By V. Davis Nov 4, 2003, 01:18 It's October 14, 2002. Little did Clay Aiken ever dream that one year later he would be stirring the "pot" known as the music industry. As a college student, majoring in special education, possessed with a beautiful voice, his life would change by auditioning for a reality TV talent show. He took a chance. Even after being initially cut, he felt this need, or was it inspiration, to try again. It didn't take long for the audience to latch on to this unlikely contestant. I'm sure there were those who felt from first appearances, he would have a terrible voice. Looks were certainly deceiving. What a surprise emerged from the supposed nerd. As the weeks passed, his popularity grew, but why? Was it the fact that he changed the outward dressings? In my humble opinion, that was not a factor. What drew people in was his voice; the sheer joy he exuded when he sang; the passion he showered his ballads and of course, there were the technical aspects, power and range. This young man mesmerized us. We were touched by his humility, dignity and gracious manner. There was also stamina and strength of character displayed against the sometimes-brutal lashings of a certain judge. After Mr. Aiken's recent interview with Time Magazine, "Building a Better Popstar", many in the "industry" called this young man, inexperienced in the complicated world of entertainment, "arrogant", "pious", because he was bold enough to state that the record executives didn't understand the wishes of a long forgotten audience. And there was also something they apparently didn't recognize when he made that statement. He was the "public". He was a "consumer". Perhaps he was one of the millions, and I include myself that had become disenchanted with the music originating from those supposedly in the "know". Additionally, when you have toured 39 cities and participated in the "meet and greet", and I know its true from discussions with those who actually met him, that many personally told him they loved his voice, the songs he sang and they were tired of the vulgarity in the majority of today's music. So, yes, he had first-hand testimonies from "everyday" people telling him they were disillusioned and they were looking for something wholesome they and their children could listen to. So lost in "making music", the industry "elite" didn't hear us speaking loudly as we stopped buying CD's, stopped listening to the radio, and stopped watching music award shows. Also let us not discount the courage this young man displayed in standing up to these esteemed record moguls as he took a position of not performing songs that would not reflect him, his beliefs and the wishes of the "neglected" audience. Clay was even ridiculed and bashed by his own record label for being bland, oh and lest we forget "vanilla". Clay also mentioned in the Time article that the audiences' desire for clean, decent music and seeing him as their hero could be considered a "revolution". Well a revolution it could be called. On October 22nd, Clive Davis of RCA presented Mr. Clay Aiken with Double Platinum for his debut album "Measure of a Man"! Amazing isn't it, since this album was just released on October 14, 2003 a year to the date of Clay's audition. Additionally, as of the week ending October 27, 2003 sales for his debut album reached a total of 838,000 units! What does this all say? First, the People have spoken. We want his kind of music. We want performers we can admire not just for their talent, but also for their character. My 12 year-old son locks himself in his room and gets lost listening to Clay. And I haven't stopped listening to the album, because I can't seem to hear it enough. If the record industry executives can't realize they were wrong, well it's just another indication that they really are "out of touch" with we the consumers. You know, this "revolution" didn't start on American Idol or with Mr. Aiken; it really began many years ago. But now Clay has become in more ways than one, its VOICE! -------- email comments to VDavis1955@aol.com posted by Yee 5:45 PM . . .
