On Monday, August 17th, there were some interesting mentions about Clay Aiken in social media…and they were fun to see.

The day started with some information about the American Idol auditions in Philadelphia on August 15th.  Clay was there helping out because Ryan Seacrest had a scheduling conflict.

Michele Amiable Angermiller wrote a Billboard article about the auditions that was published on Monday. She mentioned Clay in her report.  The following is the Clay mention:

Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr., and Keith Urban Brace for ‘American Idol’ Farewell as Auditions Begin

The first audition city hit a few road bumps. Longtime host Ryan Seacrest missed the taping due to a scheduling conflict, but Season Two runner-up Clay Aiken came to the rescue and took over hosting duties for the Aug. 15 auditions.

Not a lot of info, but nice to see a confirmation that Clay was chosen to help out.  The article was also posted on Yahoo News.

There was also a nice tweet about Clay at the auditions.

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The Washington Post – Reliable Source published a short article about Clay.

Singer and failed congressional candidate Clay Aiken catches ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ at Arena Stage

Hey, isn’t that … ‘American Idol’ fan fave and former congressional candidate Clay Aiken, catching the Friday-night performance of “Dear Evan Hansen” at Arena Stage?

The crooner/wannabe lawmaker has a connection to the hit show: its music director, Ben Cohn, is Aiken’s own music director, arranging tunes and playing piano for many of his live and studio performances.

Spotting Aiken begs the question of what’s he been up to since losing to Rep. Renee L. Ellmers (R-N.C.)  in the 2014 general election after clinching the Democratic primary? Not suffering from sore-loser syndrome, at least. Seems Aiken has embraced his role as the forever second-placer (he was also the runner-up in “American Idol” and got bested by Arsenio Hall in 2012 on “Celebrity Apprentice”), identifying himself in his Twitter bio as “America’s #1 Number Two”.

And he hasn’t ruled out another run for public office, telling Time in April: “I think it’ll happen.”

The Washington Post used the following picture.

Clay Aiken, shows here giving a concession speech after his failed 2014 congressional bid, attended an Arena Stage performance on Friday. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Corey Lowenstein)

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On Monday afternoon, Clay posted a new tweet:

Clay Aiken ‏@clayaiken  

A little #NC02 pride here! Well deserved!! Apex named Money magazine’s No. 1 place to live in United States http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article31293701.html …

According to the article from the NewsObserver, Apex was named by Money Magazine as the #1 place to live in the United States. Fox 8 in the Raleigh area wrote:

APEX, N.C. — Money magazine on Sunday published their list of “Best Places to Live in America” and Apex topped the list.

“This year we rank the 50 best small cities in the country — places with great jobs, strong economies, affordable homes, excellent schools, and that special something that makes it a great place to live,” Money said of the list.

Apex, with a population of 42,150, has a median income of $88,558 and a job growth rate of 15.5 percent, according to the magazine.

“Apex has all the things you’d expect in the No. 1 place to live: a charming downtown, top-notch schools, and the kind of community spirit that draws 15,000 people, or more than a third of the population, to the annual PeakFest street fair,” the magazine said.

The top five on the list also included Papillion, Neb.; Sharon, Mass.; Louisville, Colo.; and Snoqualmie, Wash.

Downtown Apex

No breaking headlines today, but always fun to see Clay featured in different ways.

 I look forward to reading more news…”SOON”