MTV Newsroom › clay-aiken

Clay Aiken And Ruben Studdard's 'Timeless' Tour: Medleys, Exorcisms And Borscht Belt Comedy

Posted 8/12/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


On Wednesday night (August 11), Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard brought their joint "Timeless" tour to New York's Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center. Well, it was supposed to be at Hammerstein, but at the last minute it was moved to some secret ballroom on the seventh floor, which had the decor (and odor) of an untouched 1970s wedding reception hall.

It turns out the venue switch (due to low ticket sales) worked brilliantly for Clay and Ruben, since their show played like a long-lost Carol Burnett/Julie Andrews variety special. (With less of a budget.)

The setlist is set up like the tagline of Terri Garr's favorite radio station: Featuring the hits of the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and today! Except scratch the "today" part. The only songs from this decade were their debut schmaltzy "Idol" singles, performed in an opening "battle" mash-up that winked at the fan-wars that erupted after Ruben won the second season of "Idol." (They didn't even perform their post-"Idol" hits — I guess Clay's "Invisible" and Ruben's "Sorry (2004)" were deemed too musically adventurous for this tour.)

"Timeless" is wall-to-wall decade medleys. I counted 69 different songs represented in the two-hour show. And most of them are tracks you'd find on one of those cassettes your parents used to buy at a car wash: "Harper Valley PTA," "Turn the Beat Around," "When I See You Smile," "Caribbean Queen," "Can't Fight This Feeling," "Basically Every Song That's Ever Appeared On A Time-Life Compilation And/Or '80s Movie Soundtrack."

In between sets, Clay and Ruben delivered their finest stand-up material, whether it was bantering about 1960's race relations (!!), joking about Clay's sexuality (!!!) or performing endless sketches about "Pastor Ruben" curing Clay's "lack-of-rhythmitis." (!!!!!!!!!!!)

Feast on these sample exchanges:
Read More...

Tags , , ,

Justin Bieber To Sell My World 2.0 On QVC, Joins Cable Sales Vets Elton John And Dr. Dre

Posted 3/5/10 12:20 pm EST by in Music


Justin Bieber is everywhere. He's on your radio. He's in your computer. And he's deep in your cable system, showing up on MTV, TNT, ABC, NBC and a whole bunch of other networks. Next week, he'll be able to add another one to his resumé: QVC. Bieber will appear on the home shopping channel's "QVC Presents QSessions Live," where he'll perform live and sell special copies of his upcoming album My World 2.0. Early birds will not only be able to purchase the album two weeks prior to the March 23 release date, but they'll also get an exclusive DVD for their troubles. Bieber's spots on the network will air Tuesday, March 9 and Friday, March 12.

Though it seems like a strange forum for album sales, Bieber joins an impressive roster of artists who have found their way to QVC for a sales pitch.

Goo Goo Dolls
The veteran Buffalo band put out Let Love In back in 2007. Rather than just visit the studio, the Dolls actually had QVC film a concert at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club for broadcast with a behind-the-scenes interview.

Clay Aiken
In 2008, Aiken promoted his new album On My Way Here on QVC much in the same way that Bieber will, performing a few songs and taking questions from a studio audience (though it's unlikely Bieber will bust out any Natalie Grant tunes).

Barry Manilow
The veteran crooner holds the record for most music sales in an hour on a QVC program, moving 43,000 copies of his The Greatest Songs of the Sixties back in 2006. Read More...

Tags , , , , , ,

Adam Lambert's Album Cover Reminds Us Of The Most Insane 'American Idol' Covers

Posted 10/27/09 7:09 pm EST by in Music


Adam Lambert revealed his album cover for "For Your Entertainment" and it’s as spectacularly over-the-top and jaw-dropping as his memorable “American Idol” performances. The dude is a walking water-cooler conversation. And by golly, he’s done it again.

In the Tweet that linked to the cover, Lambert wrote, “Glam is back!!!” Judging from this album art, however, I don’t know that I’d say it’s back so much as hanging out at the mall Glamour Shots kiosk. (Will this eye-catching retro look help sell albums? We'll find out when it lands in stores November 23.)

The thing is, “American Idol” has a long history of eyebrow raising album covers. Read More...

Tags , , , , , , , ,

Monty Python's 'Spamalot' To End Its Successful Broadway Run

Posted 10/20/08 1:54 pm EST by in Broadway


After a nearly four-year run on Broadway, Monty Python’s “Spamalot” will perform its final show on January 18 at its home the Shubert Theatre, according to The New York Times. The Tony Award-winning spectacle, based on the 1975 movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," is the latest casualty on Broadway, following in the wake of "Hairspray" and "Legally Blonde."

Currently, the show stars "American Idol" alum and new dad Clay Aiken, who will end his role as Sir Robin on January 4. Other castmembers include Michael Siberry, Merle Dandridge, Tom Deckman, Rick Holmes, Bradley Dean, Wally Dunn and David Hibbard. In the past, Tim Curry, Hank Azaria, Sara Ramirez of "Grey's Anatomy" and Monty Python's own John Cleese have all starred in the show.
Read More...

Tags , , ,

Lindsay Lohan And Clay Aiken's News Makes The Closet A Lot More Spacious, By Kim Stolz

Posted 9/24/08 2:09 pm EST by in clay-aiken, Lindsay Lohan


This week is the week of coming out: From Lindsay Lohan finally admitting to dating DJ Sam Ronson "for a very long time" to Clay Aiken, proud new daddy and proudly out GAY man (no surprise there), it seems that everyone has decided to jump out of the closet and show Sarah Palin who they are. (Ha! Can Lindsay please hit on Governor P? Please??) And, OMFG, there was even a blind item this week about a famous TV housewife who is getting separated from her real-life husband (her beard?) and is rumored to be coming out SOON!

Anyway, long gone are the days when kissing a fellow contestant in a limo full of models was considered cool or edgy (three years ago, I kissed fellow contestant Sarah Rhoades in front of the cameras on "America's Next Top Model"), or when the statement "Yep, I'm gay" was actually daring — people claimed that would end Ellen DeGeneres' career, and now she's one of America's most beloved talk-show hosts, has a hot wife, and gets all the free episodes of "Arrested Development" that she wants! (Yep, I'm jealous.) Remember the uproar when some people claimed one of the Teletubbies might be gay? Read More...

Tags , ,

Clay Aiken Flashback: We Asked That Question Two Years Ago ... And It Wasn't Pretty

Posted 9/23/08 8:01 pm EST by in clay-aiken


BREAKING NEWS! Clay Aiken has apparently come out of the closet! Kudos to Clay for coming to terms with his true self, and kudos to People magazine for paying the "American Idol" contestant to talk about his sexuality.

I had the privilege to interview Clay on September 21, 2006 (almost exactly two years ago!), during his "I'm gonna admit to taking anti-depressants and, at the same time, promote my new album" tour. My superiors in the department thought it would be a good opportunity for me to "gently" ask Clay about his personal life. At the time, there were all kinds of unflattering rumors surrounding the singer and his sexuality, and even though he'd recently called Diane Sawyer "rude" for asking about them, I figured I'd try my luck.

Watch Jim's awkward interview with Clay Aiken after the jump!
Read More...

Tags , , , , ,

Smooth Operator Neil Diamond Lands First Ever #1 Album

Posted 5/14/08 12:37 pm EST by in Charts


DiamondCharts

It’s hard to imagine an artist as accomplished and beloved as Neil Diamond (trust us -- your mom digs him) has never, over the course of his more than forty-year career, known the feeling of having an album hit the chart at #1. Hard to imagine, but true.

That's why this week is so sweet for the Solitary Man, because according to the latest SoundScan figures, Diamond’s Rick Rubin-produced Home Before Dark has broken that bad-luck streak, selling close to 146,000 copies to top next week’s chart. This was no doubt made possible by the tremendous boost of having some of his classic tunes featured (and, you know, mostly murdered) on that popular singing contest "American Idol."

Check out some other twists and turns in the chart, after the jump. Read More...

Tags , , , , ,

Did Clay Aiken Come Out Through Song on QVC?

Posted 4/29/08 5:40 pm EST by in Music, Television


ClayBlog

An MTV News producer who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of incurring the wrath of the always-intense Claymates just sent this in:

So I watched Clay on QVC last night (it was worth it for the studio audience alone), and he debuted a bunch of new tracks from his super-anticipated-by-very-particular-people upcoming album.

Anyway, during his final song, I'm pretty sure he came out of the closet.

I give you the lyrics to the song "THE REAL ME." [Ed: This is Clay's cover of a Natalie Grant song.] Note the second verse especially...

Foolish heart looks like we're here again
Same old game of plastic smile
Don't let anybody in
Hiding my heartache, will this glass house break
How much will they take before I'm empty
Do I let it show, does anybody know?

[Chorus:]
But you see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely
I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause you see the real me

Painted on, life is behind a mask
Self-inflicted circus clown
I'm tired of the song and dance
Living a charade, always on parade...

Hmmm...what could he be talking about???

Tragically, the broadcast ended about 90 seconds into this performance, so I have no idea how the song ends. But my jaw hit the ground when I heard those lyrics.

A clip of Clay singing the (cough) provocative tune after the jump. Read More...

Tags ,

For The Record: Slick Rick, Clay Aiken, Go-Go & More

Posted 4/23/08 4:28 pm EST by in For The Record


SlickRickFTR

· Slick Rick, Vampire Weekend, Mates of State, and Kurt Cobain's favorite songwriter Daniel Johnston are among the acts playing Philly’s second-ever Popped! fest.

· Clay Aiken is debuting his new album on QVC next Monday. Clayniacs are sooo thankful!

· How did we miss this? Pour one out for Robert Reed of Trouble Funk, who helped make the DC go-go scene.

· A former MTV exec is coming out with a book on homosexuality and the hip-hop industry -- as in, how everyone's too terrified to come out.

Tags ,

Does David Cook's 'Baby' Mean an 'Idol' Win?

Posted 4/16/08 2:15 pm EST by in American Idol


DavidCookBlog

In a season light on star-making performances from guys not named Archuleta, “American Idol” had a “moment” Tuesday night when an emotional David Cook roughed up guest judge Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby.”

The Train-meets-Nickelback-style cover -- which, for the record, some of us thought was a trainwreck of mush-mouthed, grunty vocals plowing into a car crash of muddy accompaniment, but that's just us, apparently -- drew rave reviews from the judges, who pegged it as one of the most original, gutsy performances so far this year.

The Cook-ie party of praise got us thinking about seven other “Idol” breakout performances that still stick in our brains. Some of those contestants went on to win big -- while others peaked too early. Our list after the jump. Read More...

Tags , , , , , , , , , ,

SPONSORS
AD:
©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.