Today is the anniversary of Bringing Broadway Home, a benefit concert celebrating 27 seasons of Broadway at the NC Theatre. Held in the Memorial Hall in Raleigh, North Carolina, the show was an exciting evening for Clay Aiken fans and all fans of great Broadway music.
Clay was joined on the stage by Lauren Kennedy, Quiana Parler, Terrance Mann, and Sharon Lawrence.
During a conversation with some friends on Saturday night, the topic of the Beatles was brought to the table. Most of the conversation was remembrances of the excitement the Beatles brought to the world of music. Most of our group remembered the enormous popularity of the Beatles and someone even brought up the term, “Beatlemania.”
Formed in Liverpool, England, in 1960, the Beatles were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music.
Saturday was John Lennon’s birthday. He would have been 70 on Oct. 9 had he not been killed in 1980 by a deranged fan at the age of 40.
Of course, talk about music with my friends means that Clay Aiken and his amazing musicianship will be a part of the conversation. After some discussion, we decided that Clay had performed three Beatles songs and one song from the pen of John Lennon.
As a contestant on American Idol in 2003, Clay sang Here, There and Everywhere. According to Wikipedia:
“Here, There and Everywhere” is a song written primarily by Paul McCartney, recorded for the Beatles 1966 album Revolver. In his biography Many Years From Now, McCartney said the song is one of his favorites. Beatles’ producer George Martin has also mentioned it as one of his favorite McCartney songs. John Lennon reportedly told McCartney it was “the best tune on the album” and said in his 1980 Playboy interview it was “one of my favorite songs of the Beatles.” Mojo ranked it the 4th greatest song of all time in 2000.
Clay included Can’t Buy Me Love as a part of the Jukebox Tour. As part of the 60’s medley, the song was a great hit.
According to Songfacts.com this was one of the first Pop songs to start with the chorus rather than a verse. That was producer George Martin’s idea.
When pressed by American journalists in 1966 to reveal the song’s “true” meaning, McCartney denied that “Can’t Buy Me Love” was about prostitution, stating that, although it was open to interpretation, that suggestion was going too far, saying: “The idea behind it was that all these material possessions are all very well, but they won’t buy me what I really want. ” Although he was to later comment: “It should have been ‘Can Buy Me Love’ ” when reflecting on the perks that money and fame had brought him
Can’t Buy Me Love” was recorded on 29 January 1964 in Paris, France.
In March, 2010, Clay sang a touching performance of In My Life. During the recording of his PBS Special, Clay introduced his former teachers and asked his 6th grade teacher to take a special bow. He told the audience that this special lady was the reason he made it through 6th grade. He then sang an amazing rendition of In My Life.
John Lennon wrote the original song, but McCartney contributed a great deal to the final version. The song was released on the 1965 album Rubber Soul. The song is ranked #5 on the list of the Beatles 100 Greatest Songs. It is also ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
In 1971, John Lennon released an album titled Imagine. The title song was released as a single in the United States and reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Lennon always said that Imagine was as good as anything he had ever written with the Beatles. Rolling Stone also made the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #3
Clay sang Imagine as part of the finale of “Bringing Broadway Home”, a wonderful benefit concert for the North Carolina Theatre. Clay was joined by Lauren Kennedy, Sharon Lawrence, Terrence Mann, and Quiana Parler to close the exciting concert held on June 21, 2010.
Each of these performances by Clay Aiken is amazing. Which one is your favorite? Did I leave out any songs? A big “thank-you” to LovesClaysVoice for her help in finding the videos for this article.
Each day there seems to be new articles that mention Clay Aiken. Some are excellent, informative articles that report about what he has been doing or, perhaps, what is in his future plans. Then there are the rumor sites that take one sentence and take it out of context and use it as a headline. An example of the latter is the over 100 sites on google that are claiming that Clay wants to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol. It really is crazy, but I guess it means that his name still equals hits!!
The UPI is a legitimate news source. Their web page says the following about their organization:
Since 1907, United Press International (UPI) has been a leading provider of critical information to media outlets, businesses, governments and researchers worldwide. UPI is a global operation with offices in Beirut, Hong Kong, London, Santiago, Seoul and Tokyo. Our headquarters is located in downtown Washington, DC, surrounded by major international policy-making governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Over 2.8 million unique visitors visit our web site every month and the number is rising. In December of 2008 alone, UPI.com received 6.5 million page views.
Each day UPI publishes its content directly to UPI.com, reaching an online audience that is constantly growing.
On Tuesday, Jun 29th, UPI posted the following article about co-hosts on The View.
NEW YORK, June 29 (UPI) — Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kate Gosselin and Clay Aiken have signed on as guest co-hosts of the U.S. chat show “The View,” ABC said Tuesday
The show’s regular hosts are Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd.
Numerous celebrities, including actor Ferguson, reality TV personality Gosselin and singer Aiken, have agreed to fill in for the regular hosts as they take days off in June and July, Bill Geddie, the show’s executive producer, said.
Also to appear as guest co-hosts are actresses Valerie Bertinelli, Yvette Nicole Brown and Rachael Harris; Jamyce Lee, winner of the “Good Morning America” Living the Dream contest and a 27-year-old mother of three; TV personality Bryant Gumbel; political commentator/talk show host Laura Ingraham; chef Marcella Valladolid; and TV/radio personality Jacque Reid.
Interesting that the one picture they have with the article is one of Clay Aiken. To see the article and the picture visit UPI
Robert W. McDowell is a writer for The Triangle Arts and Entertainment site. According to their site, it is A News Magazine Devoted To Visual and Performing Arts.
On Tuesday, McDowell wrote a nice review of the Bringing Broadway Home concert that was held in Raleigh on June 21st.
IN “BRINGING BROADWAY HOME,” CLAY AIKEN DELIGHTED HIS FANS, BUT LAUREN KENNEDY AND QUIANA PARLER WERE SHOWSTOPPERS, TOO
Last Monday night, the North Carolina Theatre, whose gala home-grown productions of big Broadway musicals compare favorably with many of the bus-and-truck tours that play the Triangle, staged BRINGING BROADWAY HOME: CELEBRATING 27 SEASONS OF BROADWAY, a spectacular benefit concert last Monday night, featuring effervescent performances by NCT alumni Clay Aiken, Lauren Kennedy, Sharon Lawrence, Terrence Mann, and Quiana Parler and a splendid orchestra led by frequent NCT musical director and conductor Edward G. Robinson.
Aiken is the 2003 “American Idol” runner-up and a multi-platinum recording artist who also played Sir Robin in MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT; Kennedy is a rising Broadway star, who has played Betty Schaefer in SUNSET BOULEVARD, Fantine in LES MISÉRABLES, and the Lady of the lake in SPAMALOT; and Lawrence is a television star probably most famous for playing assistant district attorney Sylvia Costas Sipowicz in the ground-breaking crime drama “NYPD Blue.”
Mann created the roles of the irrepressible Rum Tum Tugger and the implacable Inspector Javert in the American versions of CATS and LES MISÉRABLES, respectively, as well as starred as the Beast in the original Broadway production of DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST; and Parler is a superlative African-American actress and singer who gave a career-making performance as troubled diva Effie Melody White in the 2008 North Carolina Theatre production of DREAMGIRLS.
Hometown favorite Clay Aiken opened the show with a rousing rendition of “Home” from THE WIZ, then delighted his legion of local fans with two saucy selections from his new album “Tried and True,” released June 1st on Decca: “Mack the Knife” from THREE PENNY OPERA and “What Kind of Fool Am I?” from STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF. Aiken also added crowd-pleasing performances of “This Is the Moment” from JEKYLL & HYDE and “Those Magic Changes” from GREASE, and sang dynamic duets of “Last Night of the World” from MISS SAIGON with Quiana Parler and “In Whatever Time We Have” from CHILDREN OF EDEN with Lauren Kennedy.
Another highlight of the evening was the delightful reprise of “What Do the Simple Folk Do?” from CAMELOT by Terrence Mann and Sharon Lawrence, who played Arthur and Guenevere in NCT’s very first production in May 1984. Mann also reprised his role as Inspector Javert with brio as he sang “Stars” from LES MISÉRABLES, and his vibrant version of “Where’s the Girl?” from THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL also earned applause.
From the moment she sashayed onstage to sing “Popular” from WICKED, wearing a rhinestone tiara and a purple boa over her little black sequined and fringed dress, with a white sash emblazoned with “Raleigh’s Own” printed on it tied diagonally across her chest, Raleigh’s own Lauren Kennedy OWNED the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium audience lock, stock, and barrel. Her perky performance continued with vivacious versions of Jason Robert Brown’s sassy “I Can Do Better Than That” from THE LAST 5 YEARS, Fantine’s (and Susan Boyle’s) showstopper “I Dreamed a Dream” from LES MISÉRABLES, the wistful “Send in the Clowns” from A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, and “Hold On” from THE SECRET GARDEN.
Sharon Lawrence served as an informal mistress of ceremonies and contributed a charming version of “Shy” from ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, and Quiana Parler’s solo on “What I Did for Love” from A CHORUS LINE sparkled. But even if Clay Aiken was the evening’s most flamboyant showman, his erstwhile singing partner Quiana Parler one-upped Aiken and the rest of this stellar cast with her simply fab-u-lous rendition of “(And I Am Telling You) I’m Not Going” from DREAMGIRLS. After that next-to-last number, the company’s grand finale of “Imagine” by ex-Beatle John Lennon seemed anti-climactic.
All in all, BRINGING BROADWAY HOME was a bracing program of music and reminiscences in which backstage tales were told and North Carolina Theatre founder and head honcho De Ann Jones and her son and successor, Wally Jones, were given their due. NCT is a shining jewel in this state’s cultural crown and, for one magical evening, a fabulous quintet of NCT alumni, emphatically demonstrated how excellent this critically acclaimed regional theater is as a springboard to show business fame and fortune.
Please take a moment and give the site a visit and leave a positive comment. It is important for the publication and Mr. McDowell to know that we support Clay and enjoy news and reports about him on their site. You can see the article at TRIANGLE ARTS
On Tuesday evening, the following was posted on Facebook by Universal Music Singapore:
It looks like the International Promo for Tried & True is starting. Of course, sales outside the United States do not show on the Billboard sales charts, but they do count towards total album sales statistics. RIAA recently awarded Clay a sales plaque for 6 million sales internationally.
Today is the last day of the month. We can only hope that the buzz around Clay Aiken continues in July. Are you ready?
On June 21, 2010, Clay Aiken performed in Raleigh at a concert called Bringing Broadway Back. The evening was a wonderful mix of performances by five talented performers who reminded the audience of the excitement of the music of Broadway.
One of the surprise highlights of the evening was Clay’s performance of Those Magic Changes, a song from the musical Grease. The song, usually considered a throwaway in the musical, was full of fun, and great vocals. The audience, with the encouragement of Terrence Mann, participated in the fun rendition by clapping in rhythm as Clay showed that he could sing all types of music with panache and vocal agility. With the great performance of this song, I wondered who wrote it.
Jim Jacob and Warren Casey are best known as the co-authors of the hit musical Grease, a rock-n-roll parody of 1950s high school life. They wrote the book, music and lyrics of the hit musical that was a light musical romance about teenagers
Originally staged as a five-hour amateur production in a Chicago trolley barn, Grease took a satirical look at the dress, manners, morals, and music of teenagers at the beginning of the rock and roll era. The original version was just a play with music, not a musical.
It just happened that two young theatre producers, Ken Waissman and Maxine Fox, saw the show.
Waissman said of the authors:
‘I told them I liked their idea, but that it wouldn’t work as a play. It had to be a musical. I told them if they were willing to move to New York, rewrite the thing from scratch with a full score, we’d like to do it as a Broadway musical.
‘They thought about it a few minutes, and then agreed. They were taking quite a gamble. It meant leaving their jobs. Warren was a lingerie buyer for a department store and Jim was a copywriter.
‘They came here and worked every day on the show, on something that might have run only one or two nights — because eight out of ten shows don’t last very long on Broadway.’
Grease opened Off-Broadway at the downtown Eden Theater, and then moved to Broadway to play at the Broadhurst Theater and eventually the Royale. At 3,388 performances the show set a record as the longest running on Broadway until 1980, when A Chorus Line overtook it. The original cast featured Barry Bostwick and Carole Demas.
What an amazing bit of luck for these two amateur composers. Jim Jacobs is still active in the Broadway community in New York. Warren Casey died of AIDS in 1988.
The first video is Clay as he sang in Raleigh. It certainly brings out the smiles. The second video is interesting as it is Johnny Contardo with ShaNaNa singing the same song. What do you think of the gold outfit?
From all reports, the concert, Bringing Broadway Home, was amazing Clay Aiken was in fine voice and all the performers added so much to the concert. I asked a wonderful Clay fan, tnmtmama if I could post her review of the concert. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
I had been debating with myself about going to the “Bringing Broadway Home” (BBH) concert from the first time we knew about it. I had gone to the PBS taping, forever known as the OMG Concert, and was as blown away as everyone else by the strength and power of Clay’s voice. It was even better than his stint on AI. I wanted to go to the BBH concert to make sure that what I heard was not a one time fluke brought on by excitement, either because Clay was so excited, or because I was, just to see him again after two years away from a live stage. I finally bit the bullet and bought a ticket on Sunday night. I got a balcony ticket and took my binoculars.
After a long, lovely drive from Charlotte, I got to Raleigh with plenty of time for a burger at the McD’s just across from the theater. Sitting down at a table, mind completely on the coming show, I didn’t even notice the group of three people across the isle from me until I heard mention of a Broadway show. I took a good look then, and was staring at Terrance Mann! You just don’t expect to see huge Broadway stars in McDonalds! Unfortunately, Clay wasn’t with him.
I got to the theater and picked up my ticket at Will Call, got the program, called Always & Forever to give her the set list, and found my seat. The balcony is a great place to sit if you want a view of the entire stage, but not good if you are primarily interested in seeing Clay up close and personal. Binoculars are a great invention!
Clay opened the concert with “Home” from The Wiz. It was so appropriate because this show was all about the homegrown talent from Raleigh. I’ll admit now that I was a little apprehensive. I guess I just couldn’t believe that the voice I heard at the PBS taping was really as good as I remembered it. Well, it was, and then some. Rich, full, and so strong, that beautiful voice filled the theater all the way to the last row of the balcony. I forgot all about my binoculars because it didn’t even matter what the owner of that voice looked like, I just wanted to sit there and hear that music. Well, lucky for us, he is as beautiful in flesh as he is in voice.
Everyone on the stage was in such fine voice last night. I’m not a critic and not an expert, so I could just sit there and revel in the pleasure of the music, no need or desire to evaluate any of it, just grateful that I could hear it. The highlight of the concert for me was the trio of Clay, Lauren, and Terrance singing “Leavin’s No the Only Way to Go” from Big River. Clay has mentioned in the past that he would have loved to be in this show, but he is passed the age now where he could do the role. This may be true, but I would have loved to see the faces of the audience if he had sung this as a young kid.
Terrance Mann was everything you expect in a major Broadway star, including funny. He performed “Where’s the Girl” from The Scarlett Pimpernel while roaming around the stage flirting with the girls. After he ran out of women to sing to, he sat on Clay’s lap and sang to him! His next move was to the conductor of the orchestra, who was in for more attention than he expected.
I love vocal harmony, so the biggest treat for me, next to the trio number, was the duets. If you have ever seen Clay in concert, you know he loves to duet. Last night was a great night for duet lovers, because Clay and Quaina sang “Last Night of the World” from Miss Saigon, and Clay and Lauren sang “In Whatever Time We Have” from Children of Eden. I would love it if Clay recorded a CD of songs with Broadway Divas.
As we know by now, Quiana brought the house down. She was outstanding and held her own, and then some, with these powerful singers from the world’s best stage. She really needs to be up there with them.
The show ended with “Imagine” from Lennon, another beautiful combination of voices. It all ended too some for me. I could have stayed in that bliss for hours, but it was time to drive home. After that evening of music, being on the road alone at night gave me a chance to sort out my thoughts on Clay and his career. I know there are still many fans who long for the pop star, but the situation in music today doesn’t fit Clay and his talent. Pop stars are manufactured by record labels. They find someone with a “look,” dress them right, throw a ton of publicity at them, protool the crap out of their voice, record generic songs from the likes of Ryan Tedder and Kira D, and you have a teen pop star. They aren’t expected to last, and no talent or personality is needed.
I can look back and see that this is what they tried to do with Clay, ignoring the fact that he had personality to spare, talent like no other, and no need for protools. Clay was so right when he said that RCA didn’t know what the hell to do with him, and unfortunately, today’s critics are so tuned to the generic pop sound that they slammed Clay for not having it. How many times have we read “bombastic” and “theatrical” when they describe his music? RCA was handed a Rolls Royce and they used it to carpool the kids to school. Any minivan could have done the job, but only the Rolls is right to take you to the State Dinner at the White House. Like current top 40 pop, the minivan will sell a lot more, but 20 years for now the minivans will be on the scrap heap and the Rolls will just be hitting his stride.
Two Pictures From The After-Party
Here I am, sitting at my computer on the first day of summer. I should be happy and I am. But, I am also envious of all the people who are able to attend the special concert, Bringing Broadway Home. The concert, a fundraiser for The North Carolina Theater will star Clay Aiken, Lauren Kennedy, Sharon Lawrence, Terrence Mann and Quiana Parler. Each star has a history with the theater and is hoping to raise money for the theater group.
For Clay Aiken fans, this is the opportunity to hear him sing songs that we have not heard he sing before. He has said that he will sing two songs from his new CD, Tried & True, but, but since all the songs will be from Broadway, he will be performing other songs too.
Clay has been active in promoting this concert. He has given many interviews on both regional radio and television to encourage people to attend the concert.
I hope that those who are lucky enough to attend will give us some great reports of the concert and the fun they had. I also hope that the concert brings much needed funds to the North Carolina Theatre.
Today is The Summer Solstice It’s the longest day of the year. The amount of daylight only goes down from here for the next six months. Summer Solstice is the meteorological start of summer. It’s time to enjoy vacations, great weather, pools, baseballs, and everything else that goes along with the favorite season of kids and most adults. Grab your favorite beverage and enjoy the season, because for many of us it is all too short.
The Summer Solstice has been a very special time of year for many cultures through history. People have built monuments dedicated to the solstice and tracking the sun and stars. Stonehenge in England and Machu Picchu in Peru are both believed to be such monuments. Midsummer has long been believed to be special for falling in love and getting married, and herbs and flowers harvested on Midsummer Day were thought to have magical qualities, like making people invisible.
Did you know? The sun does not set at the North Pole today. There is 24 hours of sunlight. Does it make up for that cold day in December when the sun does not rise above the horizon? No, but on this day it sure does feel good wherever you are!
On June 16th, Tracey Early at News 14 Carolina aired an interview with Clay Aiken and Lauren Kennedy about their participation in a benefit concert for the North Carolina Theatre. Titled Bringing Broadway Home, the concert will be on Monday, June 21st at 8pm at the Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh. The interview is short, but filled with lots of fun information about the program and the stars ties to the NCT. It is particularly fun to see the great rapport between Clay and Lauren. The video is on their site and you can see it at NEWS14
Angela Hampton is a reporter at ABC11 in the Raleigh, NC community. She reports on community events, organizations and activities that you and the entire family can take part in. On Wednesday afternoon, she wrote a short article about her interview with Clay Aiken and the benefit show. She said:
Clay Aiken came to our studio today to tape a segment for Heart of Carolina Perspectives (which airs Sunday, 6/20 11am). We had a blast! Even though I followed his rise to fame on “American Idol” and kept up with his successes and turmoils in the media, I have never had the opportunity to interview him, until now. He joined me on “HOCP” to talk about the benefit concert for North Carolina Theatre on Monday, June 21st at 8pm at Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh. Clay is joining four other artists who have performed at “NCT” who are lending their time and talent to this concert. It’s called “Bringing Broadway Home” and the lineup is impressive: multi-platinum recording artist Clay Aiken, Broadway actress Lauren Kennedy, Emmy nominated actress Sharon Lawrence, Tony-nominated Broadway actor Terrence Mann and singer/actress Quiana Parler. Lauren taped the segment with Clay, and they were a riot! They reminisced about early roles at N.C. Theatre and about their work on Broadway (Monty Python’s “Spamalot”) and other experiences as performers. One of the funniest moments came when I asked them if being parents had an impact on the projects they chose to do or the types of songs they sang. Clay said his son (who is still a toddler) doesn’t like to hear him sing! He verbally protests when Daddy breaks into song. Go figure! Clay has other anecdotes to share from growing up in Raleigh and performing at NCT. Check ‘em out this Sunday at 11am on “HOCP”. No matter your musical tastes, we should be proud of our local performers who’ve made it to the “big time” and are now giving back to the local community by helping a non-profit that helped them get their start. By the way, tickets are still available for Monday’s concert. I hope you’ll support NCT, the region’s only theater producing professional broadway musical revivals!
So…….lets all tune in to ABC11 on Sunday to hear Clay on the program, Heart of Carolina Perspectives. I am sure it will be another great interview. And, why not visit Angela’s article and leave a message to let her know we are looking forward to her interview with Clay. ABC11
Decca Music has a nice artist page for Clay Aiken on their website. Today, they added Clay’s performance of Unchained Melody on The View. It would be great to visit the page, watch the video and leave a comment to let them know we love Clay. DECCA
An interesting Tweet showed up on Wednesday from a company called MOTT MARKETING.
Check out @clayaiken on @popeater (AOL) on June 24th! They followed Clay for a day and documented it via photos, video, interview and more!
Popeater is an entertainment site that has been very supportive of Clay recently. It looks like they will have some more information about “A Day in the life of Clay Aiken.” Lets look for it on June 24th.
There is one more bit of news. Clay Aiken’s Official Fan Club announced a Meet & Greet Sweepstakes. OFC members will have the opportunity to win a M &G with Clay and Ruben on their upcoming “Timeless Tour” this summer. The sweepstakes will begin on June 17th and run for two weeks. So, if you are planning on attending one or more of the concerts this summer, why not try and win one of the 5 spots for each concert. For more information, visit the new Official Fan Club Site.
The following was announced today!
I hope some of you will be able to attend this fabulous performance!
E-Mail was sent by NC Theatre
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