I don’t enjoy being clueless about 95% of what goes on in our popular culture, but I am not ashamed to admit that I have no idea who Clay Aiken is other than that he appeared on some talent show many years ago.
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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Yeah I don’t enjoy it either. When I’m at the bars with friends they have a mean little game they like to play with me. “See how many songs it takes for seabe to finally know who the artist is or what the song is titled.”
With friends like that…
I’m way beyond caring. But I do learn a little from my kids.
He was the runner-up on the 2nd season of American Idol, back when a lot of people watched the show and it was relevant. He never really caught on, though (neither did the winner that season, Ruben Studdard). Come to think of it, only 3 people (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Jennifer Hudson) parlayed their American Idol fame into mainstream success. A few had some specialized niche exposure (Chris Daughtry, Katherine McPhee), but the vast majority (especially recent winners) have been complete nobodies who gained zero fame from winning.
American Idol is the show where assholes judge people who may or may not have any talent, right?
Kind of a Gong Show without the humor.
I freely admit to not really watching American Idol, but I do admit to having being made to keep up with it since a lot of my fam like the show.
But I just wanted to add, that Fantasia Barrino, is actually doing pretty well for herself as well (Winner of Jennifer Hudson’s season)
You really haven’t missed anything.
He’s famous for being an obviously gay white American idol contestant who lost to a fat black and straight American idol contestant. There was a bit of minor bitching over him being screwed over because of teh gay, and thus gay being more of a disadvantage than being black.
The were both pretty good, but it turned into “who’s minority status is the most hated minority status and that’s why they won/lost” bitch fest in liberal circles. In other words, bullshit yuppie liberal drama that most sane people ignore and figure someone let Salon.coms editors out of the basement and at the tequila again.
I’m only aware of this from hanging out at bars with people I know who work at the HRC, a few blocks from my office.
Which makes him an oddball in his home state, but he has massive star power and his loss was somewhat of a scandal in gay rights circles, viewed as racially biased, and yet he went on to get a few albums while Ruben didn’t accomplish much.
Stay out of it and away form it unless you want to start scooping your brains out with a grapefruit spoon.
To be fair, minority statuses aside Aiken should have won his season of Idol anyway.
Ruben lost me when he did a blatant karaoke rendition of Al Green’s cover of How Can You Mend a Broken Heart during Bee Gees week. Same arrangement, same vocal stylings… I mean sure, it’s impressive anytime someone can mimic a voice like Al Green’s, but mimicry isn’t what anybody should be looking for in a future recording star.
The show itself then lost me when all three judges completely failed to notice that Ruben was doing karaoke and praised him for his originality, of all things. I haven’t paid attention to Idol since. I mean, seriously? Green’s cover version was only the second single from his most famous album, and had been used in a gazillion soundtracks in the three decades since it got released, including obscure little films like Good Will Hunting. I can forgive Paula Abdul for not recognizing it because, hey, it was Paula, but Randy and Simon should be ashamed of themselves.
I’ll stop now.
If Ruben lost it would have been racism, if Aiken lost it would have been homophobia. That’s the end all be all of it.
Oh my. Mr. Aiken’s image is seared deeply into my consciousness because my 27 year old daughter, now an attorney with a major Wall Street law firm, was then something like 11 or 12 and had a huge crush on the guy. She must have made 1000 phone calls to vote for him and try to put him over the top. When he lost, she was beside herself. I think she eventually went to one of his concerts. If I mentioned it now, she’d probably blush.
I think American Idol, gay, parent, Southern Baptist pretty much covers it.
Why not enjoy being clueless, Booman? You would be so much better off. Happier, too. 99% of what is promoted here as “popular culture” is totally ersatz bullshit, created for nothing but quick profit and an even quicker turnover. Here one day, forgotten the next. Planned obsolescence brought to the arts.
Meant to be forgotten.
So…cooperate.
Fuggedaboudit even before it comes to your attention.
The newest installment of the execrable “X-Men” movie series is called “Days of Future Past.” Unintentional schlock truth out of the mouths of Hollywood boobs. Forget about the cultural future before it even comes to pass.
Like I’ve been saying:
You be bettah off.
Bet on it.
S.
I thought Clay Aikins is that “sheee-it” guy from The Wire.
That’s Clay Davis….LOL
Clay Aiken does covers of country music and standards, which are popular in his part of North Carolina. He has a decent voice and almost won American Idol, which makes him a local hero. And from the Democrat’s perspective gives him name recognition.
A special education teacher when he went on American Idol, he has cut a few records and made sufficient money locally from them.
And he is post-American Idol now openly gay. And from Democrat’s perspective that will allow him to attract substantial campaign funds from outside NC.
Crisco was Secretary of Commerce during a period in which shenanigans went on in the use of economic development funds. Corruption in economic development activities cause one former governor Mike Easley to be charged and another Bev Perdue not to seek another term because of the actions of her aides. Those weakened the reputation of the Democratic state-level offices and allowed Pat McCrory (and his puppeteer Art Pope) to take the governor’s office.
Crisco is an example of the rotten establishment fighting back. This would be the point for the national Democrats to exert some influence on the state establishment to not seek a run-off.
The actual vote count in the race tells nothing about likely success of Aiken (or Crisco) against Ellmers.
Renee Ellmers 21,358 59%
Frank Roche 14,989 41%
Clay Aiken 11,634 41%
Keith Crisco 11,265 40%
Toni Morris 5,593 19%
Ellmers is 150,000 votes from absolute victory in the general
Aiken is 160,000 votes
Ellmers’s base was not challenged enough to turn out. Aiken’s base was probably the most motivated.
It’s OK to be clueless about Clay Aiken unless you live in the Triangle region of North Carolina. To have avoided hearing about Clay Aiken, you must have been living under a rock in central NC when he was on American Idol.
“…other than that he appeared on some talent show many years ago.”
You don’t sign recording contracts with major labels after what I would consider “talent shows”. Clay Aiken was already a professional musician for all intents and purposes, he just wasn’t signed until he placed 2nd in “auditions for a contract” as American Idol might be more accurately called…
But more importantly, Clay Aiken running might be the best thing that happened for NC Democrats. Ashley Judd without the baggage?
Heh, a friend was a big fan during the American Idol days. She’s now a crazy tea-hadist thanks to her conspiracy theory husband.
My late wife was an unabashed “Claymate” – which is how his fans refer to themselves. It would have made her quite happy to have not only see him run for Congress, but potentially win the Dem nomination.
I could even imagine her moving down to NC for the next few months just to volunteer for his election campaign. And having met a few of her fellow “Claymates”, I think that may become his biggest strength. Because his fans put our (alleged) SecretKenyanMuslimSocialistNaziDictatorWussy “worship” to shame.