http://www.foxesonidol.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=4&article=article1356.art&page=1 Clay CD Single to be Released on Same Day as Ruben’s Album by David Bloomberg -- 11/12/2003 While Clay’s first single from Measure of a Man, “Invisible,” has been available for radio play, it will also soon be released on CD – with a B-side that is likely to spark fans into buying it. When will the single be released? On the same day as Ruben’s Soulful CD. It looks like Ruben Studdard will have some competition for buyer dollars when he finally releases his album on December 9 – Clay Aiken’s first CD single from Measure of a Man will apparently be released the very same day. While there is no mention of this single yet on official American Idol sites, both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble online provide the date of its release – though neither has much specific information or a cover graphic as of this writing. The single will contain two songs. The first is “Invisible,” which is the first official single released to radio stations, and the one that Clay has been promoting (for example, in his appearance on The Tonight Show). The second song, however, is the reason that most fans will probably end up buying the single – it is “Solitaire,” the song he performed on the Neil Sedaka episode of American Idol to great fanfare. Many fans were wondering why Clay did not cover this song on Measure of a Man, and now we know – it’s a B-side single instead. Releasing the single really is a brilliant sales move by Clay’s record company in many ways. First, they know that fans will snap it up to hear “Solitaire.” Second, because it will sell a large number, the A-side of the CD, “Invisible,” will gain on the singles chart. Many radio stations have continued to be hesitant to play “Invisible” and so it has not jumped up the singles charts the way his album has. By making it available for sale, it could rise on the charts through this alternative method. And third, it will bring American Idol fans into music stores on the very same day that Ruben’s album comes out. While there is certainly not an overwhelming correlation between being a Clay fan and being a Ruben fan, there is definitely an overlap and the record company may believe that putting out Clay’s single on the same day could help propel sales for Ruben’s album as well. It will be interesting to see what kind of promotion Clay’s single is given. We can be fairly certain that Ruben’s album will be mentioned on the November 25 American Idol holiday special. Will Clay’s single also be mentioned? Or will they just rely on word of mouth from Clay fans (which we all know works quite well)? There is also an import CD available on Amazon called Measure of a Man +1. Unfortunately, we have been unable to find out any additional information about the CD as of now, though the title leads me to wonder if it might be the Measure of a Man CD with “Solitaire” added, for international audiences. (However, this is only a guess on my part.) [Additional information: I was wrong on my guess. The "+1" is actually "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Thanks to everybody who e-mailed to let me know.] As of this writing, “Invisible/Solitaire” is already at the #2 ranking on Amazon.com – before there has really even been any public mention of it! Will it help out Ruben’s album along the way? We’ll just have to wait and see. posted by Yee 3:36 PM . . .
