[Week
of May 25, 2003]
To Whom Ever Will Listen and Take ACTION,
I have been a loyal fan of American Idol during both seasons. However,
during this last season I was highly disappointed but dealing with the
final out come until 5/22/03. I adore both Ruben and Clay however, my
house and family voted for Clay. On 5/22/03 I watched Entertainment Tonight
to see the bits about American Idol and the final results. While watching
they showed a clip of Ruben's Mom and brother. They stated that his mom
got through 200 times for Ruben and Kevin (his brother) got through 123
times, totaling 323 votes from 2 people alone! This got my brain in overtime.
Wondering how Ruben's family could have possibly gotten through that many
times and Ruben still win? I being a faithful and loyal Clay fan called
for him hundreds of times during the final night but was only able to
actually get through 3 times yes I said only 3!!! My mother who also voted
in for Clay hundreds of times was only able to get through 2 times!!!!
Now, if Ruben really received more votes than Clay (fairly) how is it
that it was that simple for one or two people to get through to vote so
many times for Ruben when Clay's loyal and devoted fans could only get
a handful of calls through? The only logical explanation that I can find
is that something else is up. I feel that it's very possible or should
I say probable that there were more lines open for Ruben than there were
for Clay this would explain this could happen. If this is the case than
Ruben did not fairly win this title and this should be looked into asap!!!
I however, being just a regular everyday Joe do not have the ability to
make this right by myself. This is why I am sending this to as many people
as possible so that this can be properly addressed and looked into.
Now mind you I am not attempting to see the end of such a wonderful show
but I do feel if the show is not being fair than this needs to be corrected.
It's not like the Clay fans didn't notice that the week/s before the final
show that American Idol was highly pimping Ruben as to increase his fan
base. At this same time of course they did not mention anything about
Clay and if he was mentioned it was so watered down it was hardly worth
even adding in. Now if American Idol is going to say that it is up to
us (the voters) to make the final decisions than they need to stick to
that and not lean the tables or unfairly open more lines for one contestant
than another.
Sincerely,
A loyal, devoted, concerned fan
Hello,
you have a beautiful website. its one of my favorites. just thought i'd
get that squared away before a asked for a favor. a favor for clay really.
its seems of late that due to their obsessive over the top love of clay
some of the fans are going tooo far. for example:
"recent report of Clay leaving a radio station and nearly getting
his hand crushed in a car window because he was being Clay and waving
to his fans. It nearly got crushed because the other occupants in the
car began to roll it up when fans were trying to pull him out of the car.
"
this is extremely upsetting for most clay fans to hear. and has inspired
someone to create a new pledge.
"I know it's not much and it won't help the world at large, but many
of us took that two (later, three) hour pledge to help Clay become the
American Idol. I don't think that there is anyone here willing to pull
him out of the car for god know's what, but I think we should take a new
pledge, to be non-scary fans -- the kind of fans Clay deserves. This would
include:
* No stalking
* No pestering him when he's with friends
and/or family
* NO PULLING HIM OUT OF CARS
* Not engaging in any activity that would
cause immediate physical (and mental) harm
* Recognizing that Clay has the right to
be left alone
This guy who the world at large was not exposed to before January of this
year is now poised to become the next big thing...joining the ranks of
Elvis, John Lennon, Michael Jackson, and Jim Morrison. Did these stories
end happily? No. And fan reaction was a huge part of what happened to
them. And I don't think any of us want to see if Clay can get any whiter.
If the fate of any of those men scare you in the least, please extend
Clay some courtesy. I want him around for a while, and I'm sure you do
to. There are a lot of us here now and while I'm sure it's a far cry from
the millions of fans he has, we can definitely spread some word about
this. "
http://idolforums.neurox.net/viewtopic.php?t=2920
i was wondering if you would be willing to add this facet to your website.
Its important to reach as many people as possible and i know your website
would help.
clay has done nothing but be completely selfless and share himself with
us which must be hard for him on many levels. lets try to remind as many
people as possible he not only deserves our love but our respect as well.
thank you for your time
fellow clay fan,
elyse.
[Week of June 1, 2003]
Dear
Website Owner,
I have written a petition that will hopefully, with enough signatures,
convince Fox Broadcasting to change it's voting system to "1 Vote
Per Household", allowing each contestant an equal chance at obtaining
the title on future American Idol competitions.
I am providing you with a link to the petition, and ask that you please
take a few minutes to read it. If you are in support of this petition
and feel that it promotes fairness in voting, please feel free to include
the following link on your website.
American Idol - 1 Vote Per Household Petition
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/2004ai3/petition.html
Signatures are being taken through August 31, 2003 and will then be sent
to Fox Broadcasting Company.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Your help in
promoting this petition is greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
Jean Pntlo - Petition Author
**Whoever
emailed me this email, please write back, telling me your email address!
I lost it!!**
Thank
you to everyone who has contacted me regarding "Project Gonzo".
Some of you were cc'ed an e-mail I sent to various autism organizations
last night, but some of you are still in the dark about it so to catch
everyone up... There are a lot of angry Clay Aiken fans right now, and
I'm not about to say I don't think they should feel that way. I already
sent my e-mail to Fox saying I think they should be ashamed that they
made such a big deal about the show but failed to open sufficient phone
lines... but there is talk of petitions, slander of Ruben, talk of boycotting
the albums and concerts, even talk about legal action. I look at Clay's
sweet face, see how well he is taking this, and knowing he is still getting
the star treatment I just don't believe he would want that stuff to happen.
Instead we can use our anger to do something meaningful that would show
Clay how much we support him, and do something he would want very much
to see done! Clay said he wanted to be the American Idol because "American
celebrities have an amazing amount of influence on the way America thinks,
feels, and acts. I think that such influences should be used in the most
positive way possible." What better way to prove to him, to 19 Entertainment,
to the world even, that he IS an American Idol, than to show he DID influence
us? I am proposing a large group effort to raise funds for autism groups
and YMCAs across the country (even the world) in Clay's honor. While many
would not be able to donate much, even just a dollar would add up if enough
people did it!!! I am in the process of contacting various groups to invite
them to be a part of the donor drive. All we are asking of them is that
they send an acknowledgement or receipt to Frances through Clay's fan
mail PO box, so that we can keep track of the donations. Additionally
we will be suggesting that people log "Gonzo Hours" as volunteers.
After all: Time is more precious than money! Think of the impact this
project could have on people all around the world! I have already found
potential groups in Canada and in the UK in addition to the US, but I
NEED help! Here's where I "am" as of now: I have a small list
of Autism groups nationwide, many of whom I have already e-mailed. I also
have some mailing addresses and will be composing a letter this morning
to send out this afternoon. I am going to be calling the Jim Henson Company
in a little while to discuss permission to call our drive "Project
Gonzo", hopefully they will be agreeable- maybe they would even get
involved! I will be mailing the National YMCA to get a mailing list for
ALL the YMCAs. I have emailed the owner of www.ClaytonAiken.com,
in the hopes that she will publicize this, and I guess I'll need to set
up some sort of website (???) so that people will have a place to log
on and find out what group is closest (or dearest) to them so they can
volunteer or send a donation.
I have received rumor that there are people writing into DJs sending them threatening e-mails. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS!!! You are not helping Clay's career in fact you are in danger of damaging it because DJs will not honor the requests of people who are harsh. They will also associate Clay with the negative publicity. So, please, PLEASE show courtesy. I just sent a letter of apology to Rick Dees in case he was one who had received these negative e-mails.
[Week of July 6th, 2003]
Hi,
I really like your colorful site. I guess you have probably seen this
captured picture from video of the show on April 9th when the audience
was buzzing the whole performance of the group number because the chemistry
between Clay and Carmen were so obvious, getting very close when dancing,
and I made a note in my critique book that night: "Carmen and Clay
clinging together tonight. Looks real, not part of the act. What's going
on?"
This picture was taken in the split second just before the camera panned
in to the middle section of singers at the end of the song, and Ruben
on the left, and Clay-Carmen were done singing. Carmen whispered to Clay,
and he turned to her, embracing her and bending down to her lips like
he was kissing her. I have three versions of this picture - the bigger
one is better but takes a few minutes to load when you get it. If you'd
like to use it, I'll send you the bigger one.
Someone from near Bountiful, Utah sent an interview by Carmen in the Utah
newspapers after she went home, saying she had "a huge crush on Clay",
and they said on May 4th she flew back to Los Angeles for "personal
reasons" that no one could find out about.
Just wanted to give you a heads-up as he is flying back from London this
weekend and will be at St. Paul, MN on Tuesday to begin practices with
the group for the tour. Let's keep an eye on Clay and Carmen this summer
for the 6 week tour, if we spot any news or pictures. I would love to
see how they are doing together.
When she came for the final show, after Clay reportedly telling someone
she was too young for him, she was totally transformed so much that I
did not recognize her at first. Face, hair, and she looked older and so
much more grown up, beautiful. How many of us remember the summer after
we graduated from high school, feeling adult and changed?
It will be fun to see what happens, if we get the chance.
---------------------------------------------------
There
is another issue here that I am convinced of: Simon owns a record company
in England that records and caters to teenagers, and I always believed
he picked Carmen as his Wildcard for this purpose. When she turned 18
the end of March, I think he made some suggestions to her
About it, and she rebuffed him. He made too many excuses when he chose
her as wildcard, and I said to myself, he likes young blond teenage girls?
Because in my notes, suddenly Simon turned against her in judging. She
wasn't in tune on April 8th and he said not good enough and she would
not be a finalist, and on April 15 he said the cruel thing about a child
singing at a party and you just want to tell her to shut up. The night
after the 8th was when Clay and Carmen were this romantic, and I think
she was sure she was going home and would have to leave him. But Rickey
was out, and the next week Kim was out. Finally on the 22nd show, Carmen
went home.
I think Simon was furious that Carmen would not go along with his plans
(or advances?), and that she was smitten with Clay, and this weird attacking
Clay now on Howard Stern this past week shows an emotional jealousy to
me. People were sending in suggestions like Simon made a move on Clay
and got rejected? No, I think he made a move on Carmen and got rejected
in favor of Clay, and Simon will never forgive him or support him.
Just another theory! My gosh, I'm full of them this week.
---------------------------------------------------
I'm thinking of Carmen being taken out of her high school and stuck in
that house in L.A. where some of the contestants were said to not like
her (they thought she had already been chosen by Simon?), and you and
I both know who would be protective and outraged, who would come to her
rescue. Our darling Sir Knight, Clay. Kimberley also comforted and protected
her, evidently, from the comments in People Magazine that Carmen said,
so Clay and Kimberley became close friends in this decent thing to do.
Simon is such a scum, and evidently quite a common example in the industry
of using a young innocent girl to achieve their purposes. Just my opinions,
but I definitely see that intimate picture of them as Carmen crying to
Clay, "I'm being voted off tonight and I don't want to leave you."
He has been so sympathetic with each person voted off.
--Anonymous
*not
to be taken overly seriously--all in good fun*
Okay,
being in a state of hormonal overload lately, I decided to undertake a
little research on the important matter of the shirt tug. So I very carefully
perused the available video evidence, did my own field research, and pondered
it at mind-numbing length (hey, it was tough, but someone had to do it).
Here's what I came up with:
There are really three different moves going
on here:
1. The Clutch--This one is more like
caress of the torso, causing jersey/shirt to be pushed askew.
2. The Tug--This is probably everyone's
fav, involving a moment of deep feeling on the part of Clay which results
in him grabbing aforementioned jersey/shirt. There is some pulling of
the garment involved, but it is more gentle than . . .
3. The Yank--This is the one that
is emerging most these days. This is that aggressive pulling that causes
untucking, unbuttoning, and someday, God willing, total annihilation of
the garment itself.
One cannot discount the significance of other
variables such as:
1. jersey vs. button-down shirt
2. tucked in vs. worn out
3. planned vs. spontaneous
I have also noticed in the course of my research that a number of Clay's
public feel that the planned events "lose something" over the
earlier spontaneous ones. My conclusions on this phenomenon are as follows:
Clay is no longer our collective boyfriend, ladies. We have consummated
the relationship. We have made our oaths and pledges, we have committed
ourselves and delivered Clay's platinum record as a gift of devotion.
And now, we have taken our relationship to the next level. Clay has become
our collective lover and, being clearly skilled in this department, stumbled,
quite by accident, on a move that drove his paramours wild. And, being
generous, as well as skilled, he has demonstrated an intent to please.
Those little planned gestures are all for us, our gift of love from Clay.
So, it may never be like the first time, but, hmm, it's working for me.
~Gwyn