Clay Aiken Offers His $0.02 On ‘American Idol’ For The Low Price Of $29.95
Clay Aiken, the runner-up for the American Idol title who lost out to Ruben Studdard back in 2003, appears to no longer be a fan of American Idol. Clay posted a message about this season of American Idol on his official website (a site that charges a $29.95 annual fee for access to “ultimate membership”) that makes clear that he no longer watches the show (except for “once a season”) and is clearly not an Adam Lambert fan (who he described as “contrived, awful, and slightly frightening!”). I suppose it could be argued that he is not a Kris Allen fan either since Clay confesses, “I never saw Kris sing on the show, but whether he was good or not is really relative.” Thankfully, someone at Gawker/Defamer pays for the access to Clay Aiken’s deep thoughts (I suspect it’s my friend Brett who wrote their item for the site) so they can be disseminated to the rest of the Internets free of charge. Here is the full text of Clay’s nutshell commentary of this season of the American Idol:
Now that it’s all over, and for the record…. I couldn’t be happier about the way AI ended this year. I only turn the show on once a season, and only to see what the set looks like each year. This year, I happened to turn it during the minute that Adam Lambert was singing “Ring of Fire” and, at that moment, thought my ears would bleed. Contrived, awful, and slightly frightening! I wasn’t really a fan and found myself surprised whenever folks told me that they liked him. Granted, I never saw another performance (and many folks who I trust said that he was great) but I can’t imagine I would have enjoyed it. Just not my cup of tea at all. To each his own. I never saw Kris sing on the show, but whether he was good or not is really relative. It’s usually a matter of taste, right? But Idol is not always a matter of musical taste only. It’s about the person you like. From what little I saw, Kris seemed likable. (That’s not to say that Adam isn’t just as likable as anyone.. maybe more so… I don’t know) When Ruben and I were standing next to each other every night (many years ago) you had two equally talented, equally unlikely, equally unpolished contestants…. so it really was a matter of taste as to who was voted for. While some may argue that one of us was hyped more than the other, I don’t feel that was the case. However, this year, there was an obvious bias. Not even having watched the show, I can tell you that I was WELL aware of the bias from the judges as to who should win. In my opinion, that is awfully unattractive. I don’t think I am alone
In my opinion, it all often comes down to that last night of voting. Until the finale, folks are voting for the contestant that they want to see continue. But, I believe that on that last night, the dynamic changes. No longer forced to choose one person that they want to see win, the audience can effectively vote AGAINST the person that they don’t want to see win. In the case of season two this might have happened. There may have been some folks who voted for myself or Ruben because they didn’t like the other of us. I was the nerdy little girly boy who some didn’t want to see win, so they may have voted for Ruben. I don’t know. .. But again, I feel that Ruben and I were fairly matched. We both had our detractors and negatives, but I feel we were both very worthy of being on that stage in that moment, and either of us would have been worthy of winning. The show was different then, and folks made it in seasons 1-3 because they were “real” people who happened to sing/entertain well. But, somewhere along the way, AI stopped being about real people.
In a battle between David and Goliath, my money is on David!
I think many voters got sick of being “told who to vote for”. I think many were turned off by the blatant favoritism shown towards one contestant. Therefore, on that last night, they used their votes against a contestant that they were tired of hearing about and for the contestant who had been written off. And, at the same time, I think they voted AGAINST an American Idol that has, for four years now, been more about the slick productions and polished contestants than it has been about finding the raw talent that it did in its first three seasons.
Those votes for Kris were also votes to return the show to its roots of finding “real” contestants with undiscovered talent and giving them the chance to grow and shine. They were votes that said “we’re tired of seeing contestants who already seem to know it all”.
Will American Idol choose to listen to the resounding and clarion call that those voters gave them?…. “Enough with the pretention. More Rubens, more Clays, more Fantasias and Tamyras and Kellys please.” My faith has always been in the voters. I think they have gotten it right every year (mine included). It’s now up to American Idol to decide if it will finally REALLY listen to the folks that keep it on the air.
HMMM. While Clay does make some valid points, the overall tone of his rant seems awfully negative. He deffo sounds like he’s been noshing on some sour grapes. Why you gotta hate Clay? While I agree with his point that American Idol seems to really come down to a popularity contest (after all, Kris’s home State of Arkansas, with a population of 2.8 million, reportedly generated 38 million votes) I absolutely do not agree with his assertion that the show needs, “More Rubens, more Clays, more Fantasias …” On the contrary, what I think it needs is to limit voting to one vote per person … and it deffo needs more controversy cuz that’s what makes everyone talk about a show they don’t even watch (including former contestants, like Clay Aiken). I don’t personally believe that Clay’s commentary is worth the $29.95 annual fee, especially if most of his posts read like this one. It’s some funny shizz, tho, to read for free.
Tags: 'American Idol', Clay Aiken
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May 22nd, 2009 at 7:06 am
For someone who only tunes in once a season, he has a lot of thoughts about how the show can be improved. Save the drama for the stage, Clay.
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:13 am
I completely agree with you Trent. Clay definitely sounds a tad bitter, I’d say. And I agree with @Alicia, too. He has a lot of opinions for someone who claims to not watch the show.
AI definitely needs to limit to one vote per person. Maybe that’ll fix some of its flaws.
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:20 am
Did anyone see Clay Aiken on the season finale of 30 Rock…Kenneth’s cousin! Priceless. Happy Friday!
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:24 am
Clay sucks. I would never buy his records. Or does he even make records, should I say record.
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:40 am
When did Clay start looking like Stewert (look what I can do!) from MAD tv?
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:49 am
I can’t stand Clay Aiken. I don’t get what he means either about AI only being about “polished and slick contestants.” Was Taylor Hicks polished? Or Bo Bice? Even Carrie Underwood was just a normal Southern girl who just happened to be very talented. I think it’s funny too that he is championing for “more Clays, more Rubens, and more Fantasias,” when those are the people who have failed to maintain relevance in the music world since AI.
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:53 am
Thanks, Clays, for providing my beloved Kathy Griffin with even more material to roast your bitter ass. :D
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:56 am
rueben and fantasia have done well, just not my musical taste so i’ve never heard of them but i know fantasia at least won a grammy or 2… clay had his following till he got dropped from his lable… oops, did he forget to mention that. he is more bitter and jealous than any past contestant ever imo… get over yourself, you are no longer relevant… your 15 minutes is over and …. carrie underwood has kicked every other idols butt so far… deal with it.
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:21 am
Whoa whoa whoa WHOA!—don’t bite the hand that feeds you. My goodness! Why would you criticize the machine that provided you with the bit of fame/success you have? Shoot yourself right in the foot—I guess we won’t be seeing him on AI in the future? I hope he doesn’t use “American Idols’ Clay Aiken” on any promotional materials in the future, since he is so opposed to them. Which would be unfortunate, because if that association isn’t there—not sure how many people will know who he is?
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:23 am
I completely agree, AI needs to limit voting to one vote per person. Honestly, I stopped reading this halfway through because I was turned off by the overall tone. I don’t know why he needs to hate on Adam or Kris to make his point. That show is the only reason anyone cares enough to pay $29.95 to read his thoughts, so maybe he could show the love, not the hate!
I will say I love Clay’s voice, though. No, I never watched him on American Idol but I have “Invisible” on my Ipod and I freaking love that song.
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:47 am
Da-um Clay. Put down the Haterade and back away from the keyboard.
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:54 am
Who does this guy think he is?! Definitely not the most successful idol…Kelly and Carrie are tied in my mind for that one…and no one cares about his thoughts enough to PAY for them, well except this one company who just copies and pastes so all can see. LOL seriously Clay
I also think it’s a little sad that people out there dial/txt in over and over again just to vote for American Idol
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:09 am
I find *him* “slightly frightening”
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:25 am
I don’t see the show limiting their votes any time soon because they make money on each one – a dollar per vote and the voting in the millions?
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:01 am
How is he so opinionated on the show if he only watches it once a year? Clay wouldn’t get past the first round with the talent that auditions now. What a bitter loser. He confesses to never seeing Kris sing, but then says the votes for him are a return to the “roots” of idol? That makes no sense. Cleary Clay lost touch with pop music fans along time ago because he hasn’t been burning up the charts lately. Boo, Clay. Poor sportsmanship!!!
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:32 am
I think the voting should be set up so that you vote for the person you want to leave, not the one you want to stay. That would solve a lot of the problems with the outcome!
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:52 am
Hmm, I always thought Clay WAS one of the more successful former contestants, just not in music. I can’t stand to hear him sing, but he was in Spamalot, which is awesome, and he does great guest appearances, like 30 Rock and Scrubs.
And I do find Adam Lambert to be awfully contrived (not that I’ve ever actually watched, just seeing him in magazines or on blogs, he just looks like any emo kid that crawled out of Hot Topic).
That said, it is stupid of Clay to root for the guy that won, just because he didn’t like the other.
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:54 pm
This is really sad… I used to be a HUGE claymate! But, as time went by, the things I liked about him began to slip away. For example: his humble, innocent nature. It seems that, with time, Clay’s head has gotten bigger and bigger. I first noticed it when he criticized “Idol Gives Back” for its “lack of information.” Yet it has raised a lot of money, along with awareness. Then, Clay made some pretty rude comments to Diane Sawyer, just because she was doing her job as a journalist. Don’t shoot the messanger, Clay! And now this, coming from someone who hasn’t even watched American Idol for years. What does he even know about it?
And, by the wa Clay, it was easy to find “real” people during the first couple of seasons because no one really understood how the show worked. Now, it’s the most popular show in the world. So, obviously people are going to try to up their game to match that of those from previous seasons.
May 22nd, 2009 at 2:38 pm
EWWW I CAN’T STAND CLAY! I never have been able to and I certainly never will.
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:40 pm
aimie- what are you talkin’ about lady? Fantasia has never won a grammy. are you thinking of J Hudson? that’d be an Oscar.
Fantasia, as far as I can recall, never had a hit- and neither did Ruben. Ruben only had one song that I can even really remember seeing the video for or hearing and it was awful.
anyways.. wasn’t it reported a few weeks ago that Clay wanted to duet with Adam and was given a big fat NO? someone seems bitter and jealous, suckin’ on those sour grapes really hard.
May 23rd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I agree with Clay 100%. I never missed an episode of American Idol this season, and I found it ridiculous and unfair how they pimped Adam. He always got the pimp spot (the last of the night), there were only a couple of nights when he was in the middle and he only went 1st one time. He always got the special lighting and effects. How can you put one person on the cover of a magazine (Entertainment Weekly) when he hasn’t won yet? That shouldn’t be allowed. It was blatant agenda pushing. So while I really enjoy Kris Allen, me and several of my friends were voting as much FOR him as we were AGAINST Adam. And it wasn’t so much Against Adam as much as it was against the agenda pushing and unfair pimping of Adam. His music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I’m not a Clay Aiken fan, and this is the first season I ever voted, but he’s right.
As for the number of votes that came from Arkansas, I think Adam fans are being immature. There are 2.8 people in Arkansas, and there are more than that in Adam’s hometown of San Diego. Don’t be mad because Kris’s home STATE showed more support for him that Adams HOME TOWN. Besides, look at Clay’s career, Adam’s gonna be alright.
May 24th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Kelly Clarkson won the 1st season of AI and has sold over 10.1 million albums and counting. Carrie Underwood won the 4th season of AI and has sold 9.5 million albums and counting. Clay Aiken has been dropped from his record label. Sour grapes indeed.