MOAM Interview Tops Charts

AI5 FINALE APPEARANCE -- Graphic of Clay Aiken by Cindilu2

Most Popular at Billboard

MOAM Interview Tops Charts

As Clay Aiken fans prepare for the upcoming promotional campaign that will accompany the singer's sophomore CD, A Thousand Different Ways, it is interesting to note that the 10/4/03 interview about his first mainstream album, Measure of a Man, is still in the "headlines."

At the top of any news article or column on the Billboard site, is a row of links like this:


By clicking on the "Most Popular" tab, the reader is taken to another window with these options: Most SAVED, Most EMAILED, and Most PRINTED.

Currently, Fred Bronson's interview -- Clay Aiken 'Measures' Up on RCA Debut -- is ranked #1 in all three categories for TODAY and is in several top slots on Billboard's Most Popular Charts for THIS WEEK and THIS MONTH.

Though the listings change constantly, here is a cap of the Most Popular EMAILED links when this blog went to press:

No doubt, it is highly unusual for a three-year-old article to be in the current Top 10. However, there is no cap in sight on the fandom's excitement level surrounding the proposed Sept. 19 release of ATDW. In fact, one could say the anticipation gage is already off the charts.

Interview Merits a Look Back

The three-year-old Billboard article is quite interesting as Clay and Fred discussed every song on MOAM -- how they were chosen; when, where, and how they were recorded -- as well as his huge, devoted fan base even then. For CA fans, especially newcomers, the 2003 MOAM interview is well worth the read.

Here is an excerpt from the discussion about the title song, MOAM:

BRONSON: Some people think that the album's title song, "Measure of a Man," is a cover of a song recorded by the group 4Him.

CLAY: Right. I thought that first. There's a little bit of a funny story that goes with "Measure of a Man." No one else will laugh but me and Vanessa, my manager. She sent me the copy of "Measure of a Man" to the hotel in L.A. I picked up the CD. It said "Measure of a Man" on it and the first thing I thought was, "Oh, I wonder if it's that 4Him song?" because I kind of liked that song. So I put it in the CD player and people had been telling me, "Oh, it's a beautiful song. You're going to like it. It's your type of song," because apparently some other people had listened to it before.

I put it in the CD player and I cannot describe to you what came out of the speakers on that CD but it was not something I'm going to sing. It was "boom boom shoomp boom"! It was so loud and it was like this rap-heavy metal mix. It was rough, and I of course had the CD player turned up pretty loud so I could feel the song and it blew me away. I shut it down and I tried to skip to track two and there was no track two and I called Vanessa. I said, "I didn't really listen to it at all. I turned it off pretty quickly, but I can't imagine that you guys would give me this song to sing." And I played it to her through the phone and she said, "Ooh, that's not it at all."

I finally got the [real song] and it was definitely a stark contrast and definitely pleasing to my ear. The lyrics are great. They talk about someone telling you that they love you, it's not about material things, it's not about anything other than the confirmation of love. Can that be enough? And the title of the song was really perfect. We all got excited about that being the album title really quickly.

I think I might have mentioned it to a friend or two. I cannot imagine that I mentioned it to too many people, but Amazon.com had it up as "Measure of a Man" way before we had ever decided that that would be it. We were really still thinking of some other things. We went through a number of different possibilities before we decided on it just a week or two ago. And Amazon.com had it up as "Measure of a Man," then they had it up as "Clay Aiken" and then they had it up as "Untitled" and "TBD" and I think finally they've got it up as "Measure of a Man" again, so I'm sure the programmers at Amazon are very frustrated with us.

Among the questions about Clay's huge fan base in 2003 was this exchange:

BRONSON: Some of your fans have written to me, saying the next time we do an interview, I should tell you to eat more.

CLAY: They tell me I'm getting skinny, and I love that. There are a lot of generous, selfless people out there and I appreciate that. I wish everybody were more like that.

PHOTO INTERMISSION: Featured in today's clickable interlude are graphics/blends by Amazing_CA (1, 4, 5); Katt45 (2); and Cindilu2 (3). Photo credit for Clay's Camp Gonzo appearance in #4: Karebear65.

Claymates a Powerful Force

At the end of last week, Clay, a UNICEF Ambassador for Education since 2004, asked his fans to send donations to help alleviate the crisis of innocent children caught in the horror of the current Middle East conflict. In less than two days, the CA Internet fans knocked the socks off UNICEF's New York office with record-breaking donations. [See 7/28/06 blog: Aiken Fans Make a Difference.]

Informed of Friday afternoon's closing $47K tally, entertainer Rosie O'Donnell made known via her website that she will match last week's Claymate donations for the Lebanon crisis.

Shortly after 2 p.m. Monday (July 31), our UNICEF ambassador reported a new Claymate total: $66,723.12, a whopping $19K add to Friday's gifts. In UNICEF lingo, that is the equivalent of 357 school-in-a-box kits serving 28,534 children or 273 emergency health kits for 273,455 people for 3 months.

Clay also confirmed that Sept. 19 is the official release date of his new CD -- A Thousand Different Ways.

We are a powerful, loyal force who believe strongly in what our singing ambassador is about. Billboard and UNICEF "ain't" seen nothin' yet!

Caro

RELATED TAGS: Clay Aiken, Measure of a Man, Billboard, Fred Bronson, A Thousand Different Ways, UNICEF, Middle East, Rosie O'Donnell, Claymates