Clay Aiken...what did you do on Thursday as you celebrated a wonderful day off from your successful Joyful Noise Tour?  Whatever you did, I hope you could relax and have lots of fun with your family and friends!

Even when there is a break in the tour, life goes on…the press still writes about Clay and fans still enjoy watching and listening to the wonderful “Clack” that is a part of Joyful Noise 2012.

The Kane County Chronicle in the Saint Charles area,  published an interesting interview with Clay Aiken.

Clay Aiken Talks Music, Fame, Philanthropy

American Idol Finalist To Perform Christmas Special

by KARA SILVA

Clay Aiken has come a long way since his days on “American Idol.” Among the more successful musicians to come out of the ‘Idol’ woodwork since his 2003 debut on the show’s second season, Aiken has experienced his fair share of bucket-list worthy moments and brushes with greatness. From singing for the president to kicking off the national anthem at the World Series, the North Carolina native said his success as a singer “was never expected.”…

…KS: Do you have any dream projects or collaborations you’d like to pursue in the future?
CA: I feel like I’ve done so much. I mean I loved being on Broadway. I’d love to go back and do something where I get to sing. I love Trisha Yearwood, and I want to sing with her at some point.

There are a lot of things that I’d still love to do, but I don’t have a bucket list anymore. My bucket’s pretty full….

These quotes are the beginning and the end of this positive article.  Be sure and click on the site.  It is important that we let Kara and the website know we enjoyed the article.  Click on KANECOUNTY

The HUFFPOST -GAY VOICES published a list of Gay Christmas Songs.  Now, I will admit, I wasn’t sure what made any Christmas Song gay.  But, after looking at the list, I do believe that the site really meant Christmas Songs SUNG by Gays.  I guess…  Clay is on the list and they listed one of my favorite Christmas songs that he sings – Mary Did You Know.  They used a video of Clay’s performance of the song from the Tyra Banks Show.  Be sure and check it out.  I am glad that people will click on the video and see and hear a remarkable performance.  You can link to the site by clicking on GAYVOICES

Tap Milwaukee – Tuned In writes about the latest news and views about music in Milwaukee and beyond.

Clay Aiken’s Three Favorite Christmas Songs

by Piet Levy

Besides his appearances on “American Idol” and “Celebrity Apprentice,” (on both of which he famously, and unjustly, came in second place), Clay Aiken has earned a reputation in recent years as a musical Mr. Christmas, thanks to the success of 2004 album “Merry Christmas With Love,” (the fastest-selling Christmas album documented by Nielsen SoundScan), and by performing old holiday standards on several different tours across the country

“I say sometimes to people that I was born about two decades too late for my musical style,” Aiken told me in a recent phone interview. “Christmas music is timeless…and my voice fits the older-sounding, crooner-type stuff.”

This year’s holiday tour comes to the Northern Lights Theater at Potawatomi Bingo Casino Dec. 16 (local Claymates have already snatched up all the tickets). As he’s done in the past, an orchestra of Milwaukee musicians will provide Aiken with musical backing, and a handful of real-life holiday stories will be shared, including a couple that happened to and will be read by locals.

And of course, there’ll be a lot of Christmas songs. We asked Aiken to name his favorites, and while he says they typically “change from minute to minute and day to day,” he said there were three he loves to perform the most…

NO….I will not reveal the songs…You need to read the article and watch the attached videos at the Tap Milwaukee Site.  We want Piet to know we appreciate this fun article about Clay.  You can reach the site by clicking on TAP

 The Hollywood Reporter – Idol Worship published a list of the top 20 Christmas songs by American Idol  finalists from the Fox TV series.

The article and list was written by Fred Bronson.  To see the list, click on IDOL

The list is interesting and includes some people that surprised me.  One interesting fact was that the Idol with the most songs on the list is Clay Aiken with 6 songs.

I love the following video from Easton MD.  Clay’s performance was beautiful