15 Days to American Idol

"The greatest glory never comes from winning, but from rising each time you fall. A person is defined by what he chooses to do with his life, not by what happens to him."

-- Clay Aiken


(Today's entry is brought to you by Lindsay Hemphill)

Since I watched Season 2 from the beginning (already soaking up ever detail that I could), I remember Clay’s audition. Ryan was doing his normal voice-overs leading you to believe that Clay Aiken was going to be another “geek” with a horrible voice. So, in walked Clay who said he believed he was the ‘next American idol”….all of us at home saying “riiiiiiiiiight”! And then he opened his mouth to sing and this huge and amazing voice came out!

What followed over the next few months is very much the reason American Idol is still around and thriving. By the time we got to the final 3, we had three very non-American Idol looking contestants. And all 3 of them could have vocally kicked any season 1 contestant (except, of course, Kelly) right out of the running. Clay (along with Ruben and K-Lo) had talent. During Clay’s run, he was able to build a serious fan base! They are the Clay-mates….my Mom is one, so I’ve seen him several times since Idol and I must say that he sounds EXACTLY the same in person as he did on TV 6 years ago!

He’s since had multiple albums and is currently on Broadway (he’s actually QUITE funny in Spamalot right now!!) But mostly, Clay was the proof that you didn’t have to win American Idol to be successful! I have a feeling that he’ll be around for quite some time!

[PS. Ssssshhhhhhhh, don’t tell Marc, but here’s a bonus clip: Clay singing my favorite Christmas song, “Mary Did you Know”, on the View a couple of years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scHi3SaoeQk]