Clay Aiken – An American Idol


“Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight

Someone’s thinking of me and loving me tonight.”

Those beautiful lyrics were sung by Clay Aiken on March 18, 2003.  It was “Movie Night” on Season 2 and each contestant sang one of their favorite songs from a movie soundtrack.

Joining the regular judges, Simon, Randy and Paula, was  Gladys Knight.  She was introduced to the audience as the lady who sang the theme for the James Bond movie, “License to Kill.”  Gladys was a great support to all the performers and quietly encouraged the group.  That night, she gave Ruben the nickname of the “Velvet Teddy bear.”

The performances on this particular night ranged from Kimberley Locke singing “Home” from The Wiz, to Kimberly Caldwell singing “The Shoop Shoop Song.”

The highlight of the evening was “Somewhere Out There” from An American Tail.  Clay sang it beautifully.  It was a good song choice since it showed off his remarkable range and it was popular with people of all ages.

The judge’s comments were very positive:

Randy:  “….the power, the range……this is good……..you did your thing baby”

Paula:  “…..another one…..you are effortless with your voice….you are so natural…Congratulations”

Gladys:  “….you’re a mystery…..you have your own look, there’s something very magical about your look….and your voice is so pure…..I don’t know in the contemporary world what is going to happen with you, but something exceptional is gonna happen with you along the way, cause you are so pure.”

Simon:  “…..I think after tonight, you’re the one they’ve got to beat.”

It was a great night for Clay and an exciting time for all of his fans.

The following night, the audience was given a full hour of the results show.  There was lots of talking by assorted people and verbal sparring between Ryan and Randy.

One of the highlights of the show was the group song, “Footloose.”  The contestants performed it with a lot of energy and they moved all over the theater.  They worked well as a team and their voices blended well together.

Finally, the audience found out who was in the bottom three.  Josh, Trenyce, and Ricky were safe, but the next person, Julia, was in the bottom three.  Clay was called next and Ryan says: “America is in love with you.”  After Clay, Ruben, Carmen, Kim L. and Kim C. are all declared safe, Corey and Charles joined Julia in the bottom three.

Sadly, Charles was eliminated on Movie Night.  After singing an encore of his song, “You Can’t Win” from The Wiz, the hour show was over.

Although this was only the second episode of this popular show, it was already obvious who the leaders were going to be and the audience let the performers know that Clay and Ruben were loved.

Enjoy the following videos.  The first shows Clay’s performance and the judges comments.  The second is a video of the group performance.


httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s18G1Obk42I

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCDmyDrxqeY

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15 thoughts on “Clay Aiken – An American Idol

  1. Mama…what happened to the cookies!!!??????? hahaha

    It is so nice to re-live these performances again…We knew Clay was special back then,,, but when you hear him sing these songs….6 years ago, with just a track…He voice is amazing….Still to this day….His voice is like no others!!!! Week after week…He shined!!!…

    I love this stuff…thanks CANN

    Hugs,
    Judy

  2. Little did we know that Gladys would be so prophetic, “something exceptional is gonna happen.” It truly has and the best is yet to come.

  3. Ive only been a Clay fan recently. I was surfing you tube and was looking for “to love somebody song” which is my very favorite song along with Everything I do, I do it for you and what do u know, I clicked on Clay’s video from American Idol. Lo and behold, I was suddenly a Clay fan. That was the most beautiful version I have ever heard for those songs.I just love his voice. He’s fantastic.

  4. Clay hooked me from the moment he took the Idol stage to audition for Simon and Randy. But the night he sang Somewhere Out There he reeled me in and took my heart! What a magnificent voice. His voice IS pure…. Gladys was so right!

  5. Gladys saw what we saw that there was indeed something so very special and magical about Clay. Sometimes it hard to describe exactly what it is, but it’s always there.

    Mamarose, Can you please cut me a piece of your cake?

  6. Mamarose – I want cake too!!! and welcome Lynda!!!

    I loved that performance, his voice really IS pure. The thing about AI2 is that there was no band, no gimmicks, no background singers – just vocals. I actually miss those days.

  7. His voice captivated me then and it still does now! Welcome Lynda DeLeon, there’s so much for you to see. Ask any fan and we’ll be happy to help you find out more through our favorite videos and performances!

  8. Watching the videos it brings back so many memories! I did taped the show, and I have it, but for some reason I don’t remember, I don’t have that night. Clay was amanzing has always!!! Thanks for bring the videos here.

  9. Thank you for these wonderful memories! I loved Clay’s Somewhere Out There performance! It was beautiful! He was so cute in the group song too!

  10. Gladys had it right when she said something exceptional was going to happen to him.

    And aren’t we just all so lucky that she was right.

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