Photo by Vincent Soyez
Singer Clay Aiken
Clay Aiken is the sort of artist who gets a gut reaction. Some fans love him. Others, especially those who hate "American Idol," seem to despise him. Talking with Aiken, though, it would be hard not to like the guy. He laughs easily and seems comfortable. He answers questions without hesitation. When Aiken competed in "American Idol," he was a 25-year-old finishing up his degree in special education. He says he wasn't prepared for the negative aspects of becoming an instant celebrity.
"At the very beginning I, literally, was scared to death of it - hated it," says Aiken. "Then it became a major annoyance. Then it became a chronic annoyance!" Aiken laughs. "Slowly it's just kind of become, 'That's just how things are.' People say, 'Oh, you knew what you were getting when you got into this.' No, I really didn't. I went on a reality show. I wanted to be in a competition and by the time this started happening it was kind of too late to drop out of 'Idol.' I didn't ask for it."
Although Aiken came in at No. 2 in the competition, he is one of only a handful of the Idols to have a solid music career after competing.
He's released six albums and tours regularly. He says it took a little while to find his groove in the business.
"I imagine it's like any job," says Aiken. "The first few months of doing a job are a learning curve. ... You get past that anxiety of not knowing what you're doing, of not knowing how you're doing, of not knowing if you're going to get fired by their bosses if they screw something up. At some point you just get comfortable with it. It's been eight years since 'Idol' now, which makes me cry to think about how old I am! But I know the audience a little bit more, myself a little bit more, the business a little bit more."
Aiken says there's no dearth of people who aren't fans making comments about him. "I sang for the NHL All-Star Game a few nights ago, which, let's be honest, I was a perfect fit for - and that's pure sarcasm! I looked at comments for that and you know the comments were incredibly nasty. I've gotten beyond the point that it hurts my feelings. If I could be bruised by that, I'd have a big one."
Aiken said he decided to look at comments about Christina Aguilera singing at the Super Bowl, and they were just as mean. (Note: This interview was conducted before Aguilera flubbed the national anthem at the Super Bowl on Sunday night. Aiken is referring to general comments made about Aguilera when it was merely announced that she would be performing.)
"You never see anyone write anything nice. These are bullies and they wouldn't do it if their name and face and address were available. I can't tell you how many times I've read someone say something nasty about me in a blog or a comment somewhere, but I've never had anybody say anything nasty to my face, not once in eight years. The Internet has become someplace where we can hide. It would really change the tone of this country if you couldn't be anonymous. I'm all for free speech, but speak it and own it."
More upsetting to Aiken, though, is that some people think he is rude. He points to 2006 when he was on "Live With Regis and Kelly" and put his hand over Kelly Ripa's mouth.
"I think most people knew that was supposed to be a joke and people laughed and we laughed through it," he says. "The way it was spun was that I am a rude person. There is this faction of people out there that think I'm some sort of diva or mean person. If I was one, I would tell you I wasn't (laughs), but I really don't think that I am!
"People who are the meanest in life are the ones who are less secure. People who are happy with their lives and where they are in life are generally nice. I was definitely less secure in 2003 than I am in 2011. I like to think that that makes me more gregarious. I enjoy what I do, how I get to do it and who I get to do it with. I'm happy with my life. If I ever do start being mean to people then it will probably be because I'm not happy with my own situation. But I promise I won't!"
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Comments » 1
chelseaboots writes:
Wow! Thanks Wayne for the refreshing article.
Love it that Clay likes to tell it like it is.
It's sad for those people who don't give him a chance. DH and I saw his concert in Reno last summer. DH was only going because I wanted to go. He was blown away by the talent of Clay and all the people on stage with him that night. It was a fun 2+ hours of singing and comedy with people nearly doubled over with laughter. Don't miss his Tried & True concert. He will bring the same fun to the stage and quality music. He might even throw in a little Gaga music for laughs! ;)
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