How I discovered Clay Aiken
This is a repost of an entry I wrote several months ago at another board, now enhanced with video:
It's January 22, 2004, and I'm watching The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The guests tonight are Jennifer Aniston and Clay Aiken. This is the last season of Friends, which has been a favorite show of mine through my college years, so I will certainly make an attempt to see JA tonight. This Clay Aiken guy, I don't know much about, although I do recall that there was a skit about him on SNL a few weeks ago when Elijah Wood hosted and recall being rather confused about the fascination over him, so I'm a little curious to watch him tonight.
After JA's segment, which had fewer Friends mentions than I had hoped, and I'm watching this Clay Aiken fellow walk onto the set. I don't know much of anything about him, except that he sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on American Idol, and that he should have won and his fans made a big deal when he didn't. That's what my mother and the internet tell me, anyway. He is taller than I would have thought, since the last picture I saw of him was in Entertainment Weekly, when he was posing with a giant black man. He settles in easily to banter back and forth with Jay. What surprises me most about him is his sharp wit and the animated expressions on his face. He reacts with such bright alacrity to Jay's teasing and jokes that it's impossible not to be drawn to him. When Jay asks for his driver's license, he hands it right over, and I'm a little surprised that he wouldn't anticipate Jay's showing it to the camera. I burst into giggles when he snatches the license back after Jay jokes about the picture; there's a certain authority about him, an open, natural gutsyness to talk back and say exactly what's on his mind that I can't help but admire, even as he's squirming on the couch while watching a clip from his high school musical. I'm impressed and find it rather difficult to reconcil that he could be a pop star (all of the ones that I've seen are total bubbleheads) and certainly can't imagine his having ever been a reality show contestant considering his laid-back boldness and obvious comfort in front of the camera. I've watched many popular movie stars struggle to be interesting or connect with the host or camera, and this guy is just such an utter professional it blows my mind.
We're back after the commercial break, and he opens his mouth to sing. Damn, I didn't expect that. His singing voice is quite distinct from his speaking voice, so full and resonant and completely different than the usual variety of screaming or whiny voices I hear on these shows when "musicians" perform. I almost always turn the channel when musical guests perform on late night shows because they're almost always awful in my estimation, but this man is unquestionably a singer. And again I can't get over the fact that he could have been a reality show contestant less than a year ago. He has such a connection to the camera and moves with such grace that I honestly can't believe he hasn't been a professional for years. It's absolutely mindblowing for me, a person who has been so completely put off by musical acts for all my teenage and adult life, both by their "talent" and their "too cool for school attitude" through all my years of watching late-night television that I take pride in having never purchased a CD ever or been to a concert. I mean, who would pay money for music when it's A. not worth the money, and B. you can listen to it for free if you really want to by turning on your radio? I don't know what I'll do because I'm actually strangely compelled to seek out more of this "Clay Aiken"'s music that of course I'll turn to my omnipotent best friend, the internet and look for more information about him before I decide whether I can actually take the monumental step of actually purchasing a CD. Google turns up ClaytonAiken.com and its accompanying message board and I begin reading. And so it begins...
Technorati Tags: Clay Aiken, Tonight Show, Jay Leno
It's January 22, 2004, and I'm watching The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The guests tonight are Jennifer Aniston and Clay Aiken. This is the last season of Friends, which has been a favorite show of mine through my college years, so I will certainly make an attempt to see JA tonight. This Clay Aiken guy, I don't know much about, although I do recall that there was a skit about him on SNL a few weeks ago when Elijah Wood hosted and recall being rather confused about the fascination over him, so I'm a little curious to watch him tonight.
After JA's segment, which had fewer Friends mentions than I had hoped, and I'm watching this Clay Aiken fellow walk onto the set. I don't know much of anything about him, except that he sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on American Idol, and that he should have won and his fans made a big deal when he didn't. That's what my mother and the internet tell me, anyway. He is taller than I would have thought, since the last picture I saw of him was in Entertainment Weekly, when he was posing with a giant black man. He settles in easily to banter back and forth with Jay. What surprises me most about him is his sharp wit and the animated expressions on his face. He reacts with such bright alacrity to Jay's teasing and jokes that it's impossible not to be drawn to him. When Jay asks for his driver's license, he hands it right over, and I'm a little surprised that he wouldn't anticipate Jay's showing it to the camera. I burst into giggles when he snatches the license back after Jay jokes about the picture; there's a certain authority about him, an open, natural gutsyness to talk back and say exactly what's on his mind that I can't help but admire, even as he's squirming on the couch while watching a clip from his high school musical. I'm impressed and find it rather difficult to reconcil that he could be a pop star (all of the ones that I've seen are total bubbleheads) and certainly can't imagine his having ever been a reality show contestant considering his laid-back boldness and obvious comfort in front of the camera. I've watched many popular movie stars struggle to be interesting or connect with the host or camera, and this guy is just such an utter professional it blows my mind.
We're back after the commercial break, and he opens his mouth to sing. Damn, I didn't expect that. His singing voice is quite distinct from his speaking voice, so full and resonant and completely different than the usual variety of screaming or whiny voices I hear on these shows when "musicians" perform. I almost always turn the channel when musical guests perform on late night shows because they're almost always awful in my estimation, but this man is unquestionably a singer. And again I can't get over the fact that he could have been a reality show contestant less than a year ago. He has such a connection to the camera and moves with such grace that I honestly can't believe he hasn't been a professional for years. It's absolutely mindblowing for me, a person who has been so completely put off by musical acts for all my teenage and adult life, both by their "talent" and their "too cool for school attitude" through all my years of watching late-night television that I take pride in having never purchased a CD ever or been to a concert. I mean, who would pay money for music when it's A. not worth the money, and B. you can listen to it for free if you really want to by turning on your radio? I don't know what I'll do because I'm actually strangely compelled to seek out more of this "Clay Aiken"'s music that of course I'll turn to my omnipotent best friend, the internet and look for more information about him before I decide whether I can actually take the monumental step of actually purchasing a CD. Google turns up ClaytonAiken.com and its accompanying message board and I begin reading. And so it begins...
Technorati Tags: Clay Aiken, Tonight Show, Jay Leno
posted by sw | 9:42 AM
3 Comments:
I had forgotten how wonderful it was to see him on Leno. Thanks for giving me a chance to see it again. How great to have discovered him there. I love hearing stories about people who didn't see him on AI - and then hearing the voice.
Great blog entry! I hadn't watched that in a loooong time!
I loved your discovery story the first time you posted it on CV and I loved it even more the second time I read it. That Leno interview was one of his best. I had not seen it for ages. Thanks for posting it.
VV/EE
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