The Journal Gazette

CLAY AIKEN
Carolina crooner in town tonight
By Steve Penhollow
The Journal Gazette

Clay Aiken is often described as “elfin.”
There was a time when this sort of adjective, when applied to anyone who was not the Elite Modeling Agency’s “Look of the Year” or anyone who was not cheating on Frank Sinatra with Robert Evans (or vice versa), was an automatic insult.
But we live in days when elves are played on screen by dreamboats like Orlando Bloom, so “elfin” is in.
So is Clay Aiken.
He’s a sex symbol, and the unlikeliest one since Dud-ley Moore joined John Gielgud in that big mansion in the sky.
There are people who can’t quite believe Aiken is a sex symbol, but the biggest skeptic by far is Aiken himself.
The thousands of women who scream nightly for the “American Idol” celeb have done little to convince him.
“That does not make me think I’m a sex symbol,” Aiken said, in a phone interview.
“It makes me think, ‘What is wrong with these ladies?’?”
Aiken performs today at the Memorial Coliseum.
There is little about Aiken’s ascendance that isn’t slightly implausible, except his irrefutable talent.
With his Peter Pan face, his Pee Wee Herman frame, his Richie Cunningham charm and his Anthony Newley voice, Aiken seemed unlikely to survive into the final rounds of the insanely popular and absurdly picky talent showcase.
But Aiken came in second and then proceeded to surpass that season’s winner, Ruben Studdard, in album sales and consumer interest.
There are some fans who still believe a conspiracy was at the heart of Aiken’s silver medal status.
Aiken rubbishes those rumors, however.
“Anyone who was on that show will vouch for the fact that, from our seats, everything was very honest. There was nothing rigged about it
“It was a close call. I kind of say, ‘If it was in the cards for me to win, I would have won.’ In some regards, it was better for me that I didn’t win because the expectations were lower for me.
“I’m proud of him, and he is proud of me. I don’t care whether I won or not.”
Headlining his own tour (something Studdard is also doing, but not without a little gimmickry and added incentive for potential ticket buyers) can hardly be described as a consolation prize for Aiken.
He made the ultimate touring faux pas not too long ago, giving a shout out to South Dakota when he was in North Dakota.
“Hey I’m from North Carolina,” he says, “and if someone had yelled out South Carolina to me, I would have thrown something at him.”
But Aiken has been getting generally good marks from critics for his stage presence, patter and pizazz.
There is nothing like touring the country to help a nascent star understand that his days as a small-town Southern boy are over.
There are few places Aiken can go anymore where he isn’t mobbed.
“It is a little difficult to go out and go shopping,” he said.
“I recently went to a mall in New Hampshire. It had been a long since I’d gone to a mall. It was all right for a while, and then my friend turned to me and said, ‘I think we’re about to wear out our welcome.’ Within minutes, people were chasing us around.
“It is a downside. I talk to my friends back at home, and I tell them, ‘When you’re done with work, you go home. The only time I’m off is when I’m in my house and no one is around.’?”
Not that Aiken is complaining. In fact, the only time the notoriously nice guy got ever-so-slightly agitated during the interview was when the reporter suggested he might have a legitimate excuse for being not-so-nice to the more insistent type of fan.
“You are making it sound like it’s easier to be rude than be nice,” he said. “You make it sound like being nice takes more effort.”
Being nice takes more effort for most, but it’s clearly a cakewalk for Aiken.
The qualities that have caused all nations to call Aiken blessed were unobstructed by the phone lines: his sweet nature, his “aw shucks” humility, his occasional goof-iness.
And, of course, there’s that laugh: like a flock of shocked chickens bursting from the henhouse.
The laugh erupts when Aiken compares and contrasts the first three seasons of “Idol.”
“Kelly and I both argued about which season was best,” Aiken said, “her season or my season. I’m sure Fantasia (Barrino) would argue that her season was the best.
“But we all know that the only person who is right would be me,” Aiken said.

posted by Yee 10:45 PM

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