Darren Hayes is an Australian singer/songwriter who is most famous for being the frontman and lead singer of the pop duo Savage Gardens. In 1997, their album Savage Garden, propelled them to stardom. The duo followed the success of their debut album with Affirmation, in 1999, which also produced several hits. Savage Garden sold more than 23 million albums worldwide before parting ways in 2001.

Rick Nowels has been writing songs since he was 13 years old. Coming from the San Francisco Bay Area he was weaned on late sixties eclectic rock from listening to the radio

In 1997… Rick met Madonna and they ended up writing 9 songs together. He also won a Grammy that year for Celine Dion’s Falling into You.

Since then, Rick has written and/or produced hits for Dido, Fleetwood Mac, N’SYNC, Jewel, KD Lang and many others.

In 2002, Darren Hayes and Rick Nowels collaborated to write a Pop song called “When You Say You Love Me.” As the fourth track on Clay Aiken’s CD, “Measure Of A Man”, the song was a light hearted song that was popular on Clay’s tours.

When You Say You Love Me – Clay Aiken

I’ve been watching you from afar
And the way you make your way around the bar
You laugh like you’re really entertained
And you smile like it’s your favorite game
Now you’re moving closer to me
And our eyes connect emotionally
I’m not looking for a one-night stand
Or a place for a broken heart to mend

I know ev’rybody here wants to hold you
I know what it’s like ’cause I feel the same
When you look in my eyes
There’s a part of me that’s still afraid

(Chorus:)
And when you say you love me, do you mean it?
Baby, when you hold me, do you feel it?
Should I believe the magic in your eyes?
I would wait until the end of time
To hear you say you love me like you mean it
Baby, when you hold me, make me feel it
All I want to do is make you mine
I’ve been hurt way too many times.

~~~~~

It’s an uncomplicated song and the lyrics are not too complex, but for some reason, Clay seemed to have trouble getting it right. Maybe he was concentrating on his dancing!

The videos are from one of Clay’s concerts. In the first one, Clay forgets the words and the audience helped him out. The second one is a montage of some fun performances of the song.  Maybe you will recognize one of the fans that dances with Clay.  It’s a great remembrance of a fun time.