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Clay Debuts at #1 Despite the Critics
by Donna Reynolds -- 10/22/2003


The numbers are out and it's official. No matter what the critics
say, Clay's album is debuting at a solid #1 on the Billboard charts.

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Well, it's official. Clay Aiken's first full-length CD is debuting
at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 after having sold 613,000 copies in
its first week. For any other artist, this accomplishment would be
heralded as remarkable. For Aiken, however, it is being written off
by some as some kind of a fluke – a reflection of the fanaticism of
his fans.

As soon as the CD was released, critics seemed to be falling all
over each other in an effort to tear it apart. Using phrases
like "insipid lyrics," "bland," and "vanilla," the reviewers
appeared to be in a competition as to which one could write the
worst critique. To make matters even worse, not only did the critics
slam Clay, they also took shots at his fans, further insulting their
intelligence and musical aptitude.

It is fairly apparent that the critics had already decided to hate
the CD well before its release date. One such reviewer even
confessed this in his review. Forget about objectivity; let's just
judge the work based on the fact that the artist was a contestant on
a schlocky reality TV show. How could anything solid come from that?

One of the very few positive reviews came from Billboard. This
review was startling in contrast and bordered on being over the top
in terms of praise. Interestingly, Billboard held their review until
Friday, when certainly the sales numbers for this CD were beginning
to come in. I suspect that Billboard was not about to pan an album
that was going to debut at #1.

I have to confess that I had similar preconceived notions about this
CD. I enjoyed watching Clay on American Idol but always had this
feeling that twelve tracks of his music might be too much to take!
In my mind, I was hearing Broadway tunes and inwardly cringed. I
remember writing something to this effect during the competition.

As promised, however, I bought the CD the first day and listened to
it twice at a relatively low volume in my office. My co-workers,
many of whom are into heavy metal, already think that I am nuts with
all this Idol stuff so I didn't dare expose my latest purchase to
them until I was ready to "come out!" As I listened, I began to
relax, realizing that, although far from edgy, this CD was going to
be different from anything we had heard from Clay before.
Immediately, two songs stuck in my mind – "Shine" and "Touch." The
tunes are catchy and the arrangements bring to mind favorites from
my past. The second time through, I discovered "I Will Carry You"
and was so impressed that I listened to it a second time.

It wasn't until I brought the CD home, though, and was able to
listen to it at full volume that I really "heard" it for the first
time. Sure, some of the lyrics are a bit trite and several of the
arrangements are slightly extreme. However, Clay's remarkable voice
is what this is all about and to that end the CD is a success. "I
Will Carry You" is the most powerful example of this as his voice
soars. I think they missed the mark by not releasing this as his
first single.

I have been wondering how Clay has reacted to all of this. The
mother in me makes me want to say to him, "Ignore them, hold your
ground and keep doing what you're best at." His fans are in an
uproar and hopefully, that should sustain him. At the same time, I
know he can do better. His inexperience is apparent but with time he
will overcome this. Let's not forget that only a year ago, Clay
Aiken was a college student with no professional experience and
living a life of complete anonymity!

As I watched Clay's outstanding rendition of the National Anthem for
World Series opener, I remembered the first time most of us ever saw
this young man. In my mind, I could see him standing at his
audition, claiming that he was "the next American Idol." Simon's
smirk is indelible. Who would have ever suspected that this rather
comical looking character would be singing in front of a sold-out
crowd in Yankee Stadium less than a year later? Isn't that what the
whole American Idol experience is about, after all – making dreams
come true and discovering a star? As he finished the Anthem, finally
relaxing and breaking into a smile, it seemed to me that Clay was
feeling the same thing