Idol Chit-Chat
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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Clay Talks Old CD and New CD...

In an interview with the “Houston Chronicle,” Clay Aiken made some frank comments about his CD, “A Thousand Different Ways,” and gave a little insight into his next CD…

When “Chronicle” reporter Joey Guerra asked if there were any songs that didn’t make the cut on “Ways,” Clay answered, “Things other than covers. Sorry, I’m being way too honest today. How do I say this politically correctly? I was strongly encouraged by other sources to do an album of covers. There was the feeling that it might be successful because there’d been success with Rod Stewart and Barry Manilow doing covers. I guess the argument against that would be I don’t have the reputation that Rod Stewart has. I really don’t have the credibility that he has, so there’s no reason for me to do them.”

Guerra then asked Clay if he liked the disc at all. “It did turn out to be something I was really proud of. My mom’s always told me, ‘Take lemons…’ I think we really did that.”

As for his next CD, Clay said, “The goal for the next album is to go with one producer. The person we picked is very credible, has won Grammys and has really done an eclectic mix of stuff. The hope is that we’ll be able to find really great songs that suit me and produce them in a way that…makes me hip without trying too hard.”

Do I smell a collaboration with Timbaland? How classic would that be?...

And I’m curious who the “we” is that picked the producer. I hope he didn’t mean him and Clive. No doubt that is who he was referring to when he said “other sources,” but clearly he’s learned from Kelly Clarkson’s troubles to keep his mouth shut…

One of the songs Clay did during his show with the Houston Symphony was “SexyBack” as part of a medley of songs people wouldn’t expect to hear with an orchestra. “I know that it’s not going to be cool,” he said. “I have no problem making fun of myself.”

Clay also apparently has no problem taking credit for things. In the interview, he credits the Claymates with getting “Jericho” back on the air. You can read about that on my “Stay Tuned” blog at http://media.herald-dispatch.com/blog/tuned/2007/07/did-claymates-save-jericho.html...

And on another Clay note, he did confirm to “Entertainment Tonight” that he was involved in that airplane skirmish Saturday. He told “ET” in a statement, “While sleeping on a plane over the weekend, my foot evidently found a home on the arm rest of the passenger seated directly in front of me. I didn’t realize I was causing the woman any distress until she woke me up with a quick hit to the chest…I’d like to thank everyone for their concern. I’m fine and have taken steps to prevent any foot wandering in the future.”