There seems to be some very nasty people on the Internet who are trying to drum up a fan war between the fans of Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert. pfffffffftttt - been there, done that, got the t-shirt. One of the odd (and sometimes scary) byproducts of American Idol is fan devotion. I've never really seen anything like it. The fans tend to be, shall we say, a little emotional when it comes to their favorite.
The latest brouhaha surrounds a gossip item on MSNBC. This item was posted by someone who has a less than stellar reputation (rightfully earned) and has now grown beyond a more than likely untrue story to a conspiracy brewing - pitting one fan base against another.
I understand that sometimes it's very difficult to look at things logically when emotions are running high, but let's try anyway.
There is information on the Internet stating that the "Claymates" planted a story about Adam Lambert to make him look bad. This was supposedly confirmed by Television Without Pity (TWOP). Let's take it one step at a time.
Could this story have been planted by a fan Clay Aiken? Absolutely - it could have also been planted by a fan of Kelly Clarkson or a fan of Kris Allen or a fan of Chris Daughtry or even a fan of Gene Simmons. Is there a Claymate conspiracy to take Adam Lambert down? I can tell you unequivocally the answer is no. There is no conspiracy, there is no organized effort on the part of Clay Aiken's fans to harm Adam Lambert's reputation in any way shape or form.
Look at it this way, when Clay made his "colorful" comment about Ring of Fire, there were several Lambert fans who were posting in the comment section of numerous articles threatening to put a bullet through Clay's brain. Does this mean that there's a conspiracy by the Adam Lambert fans to do bodily harm to Clay Aiken? Absolutely not. It means that there's some wackos in this world.
According to the people spreading this load of sh...., um story, the individual has been traced by TWOP and they have confirmed that it came from their board and the person is a "Claymate". Really? Exactly how can TWOP track exactly what an individual is doing once they have left their site? Well they can't. Once an individual poster has left their site they can't "see" what they're doing - they can't see if they are commenting on something, they can't see if they're sending an e-mail, they can't see if they're talking on the phone, they can't see if they're sending someone a PM, they can't see where they are on the Internet. What they COULD see is where the person went once they left their site and ONLY if they left via a link that had been posted on the board (like a link to MSNBC) and then ONLY if they have tracking software.
Actually, if I were the owner of TWOP I would be none to happy to be brought into this. Not only are they being accused of spying on the people who post on their board, but they're also being accused of providing their poster's private Internet browsing history to third parties. And if any of this is true, I would be gone from TWOP in a heartbeat.
Showing posts with label adam lambert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adam lambert. Show all posts
Friday, June 5, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Clay Aiken - New Blog!
Clay Aiken blogged again on May 22, 2009. Since we know a) the "media" will pay no attention because it doesn't suit their own purposes or b) they will post it with their own spin, taking it apart so that the initial meaning is TOTALLY LOST!!! SO - here tis:
Wow! Such influence! ha ha
Who knew I had so much influence and that my words and opinion mattered so much to so many people!?!?! HA HA HA I'll be the first to admit that my opinion is just that, only my opinion, but for as much as some of the bloggers seem to dislike me and care so little about my thoughts, they sure can waste a lot of their space on what I say! If only many of them took the time to pay attention to important things like the US economy and the welfare of the world's children. But... nah... I could blog about that type of stuff anytime and most wouldn't think twice, but let me say something that they can pick and choose quotes and misinterpret me... and it's showtime! I never assumed my opinion mattered so much! I guess I may have been wrong.That said, since my previous blog got dissected like a biology lab frog, i suppose I should clarify and even retract some of what I wrote.
I am sure that some were upset by my choice of words describing my opinion of a performance I heard from Adam Lambert. I hope no one actually believed that blood truly poured forth from my ears when I heard him. I obviously meant it as a colorful statement to imply that I did not enjoy what I heard. Any performer hopes that their music will appeal to all people, but no singer realistically expects it to. God knows, I am SURE there are PLENTY of people who can't stand to hear me sing either. I wouldn't dream of assuming that, and I am sure that far worse things have been said about my performances than I would even venture to type here. To me, that's fine. I don't expect unanimous, nor even majority support for my music. But, my guess is Adam doesn't either. I would not venture to make judgements on the personality or demeanor of anyone I don't know, so none of what I said in my previous blog was directed as a "slam" on Adam as a person. At the same time, I wouldn't dream of slamming him as an entertainer. He does what he does, because he enjoys it, and he obviously has many fans who enjoy it as well. If what i said in my previous blog regarding my impression of a single performance from Adam upset or offended any of his fans, I expect that the mature ones will realize that it was simply a poorly worded metaphor describing my personal tastes. The only person I would really dream of apologizing to is Adam. And the irony is, if he's smart he couldn't give a crap what I think of his Ring of Fire performance. As an entertainer, Adam knows that one person's opinion of one performance really matters a little less than zero, in the grand scheme of things. He could not have gotten on Idol (nor made it as far as he did) without an immense amount of talent. He surely doesn't need my approval to know he has a gift. At the same time, he realizes that amazing talent doesn't always equal universal appeal. (I could NEVER have the amount of skill and talent that ballet dancers have! that's talent! But, I don't particularly enjoy it!) I am sure that I will have plenty of opportunities in the coming years to hear Adam sing. I imagine he'll be around for years to come. But in the meantime, I definitely don't want to stoop to the level of so many negative freaks on the internet... so, I do apologize to Adam for my colorful (and negative) choice of words. I hope he can forgive me. I imagine he doesn't give a damn! :-) God knows he shouldn't. :-)
Now, for those of you who are able to comment on this.... lets take bets as to which bits and pieces of this blog will end up mass distributed. Be creative.... they don't seem to care about punctuation or whether or not they use all of the words in a sentence... so, have fun.... ;-)
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Thanks Clay, as always you always make me smile!
Clay Aiken, American Idol & Reading Comprehension 101
Clay Aiken blogged on his Official Fan Club answering a question that one of the members asked. This blog was leaked by a less than honorable member of his board and is now all over the internet in various forms. There has been serious cutting and pasting by the "media" (and I use that term loosely) to fit their own agenda. So here it is and, since there seems that a lot of people have a real problem with reading comprehension, let's take it step by step.
QUESTION:
Clay -You said a while ago that you aren't a big fan of IDOL anymore....because it isn't about the unknown person next door kind of contest. Tonight, it is a dead heat between a seasoned performer, Adam Lambert, and the boy next door, Kris Allen. If Kris Allen wins IDOL this year, will your faith in the show have been restored??? Thanks!
ANSWER:
Now that it's all over, and for the record.... I couldn't be happier about the way AI ended this year. I only turn the show on once a season, and only to see what the set looks like each year. This year, I happened to turn it during the minute that Adam Lambert was singing "Ring of Fire" and, at that moment, thought my ears would bleed. Contrived, awful, and slightly frightening! I wasn't really a fan and found myself surprised whenever folks told me that they liked him. Granted, I never saw another performance (and many folks who I trust said that he was great) but I can't imagine I would have enjoyed it. Just not my cup of tea at all. To each his own.
My take: Clay is not a fan of Adam Lambert. Nowhere in this paragraph did he say that Adam Lambert is not talented, lots of people thought he was talented, Adam's just not his cup of tea at all, to each his own. Actually, he pretty much echoed exactly what Simon Cowell said about the performance ~ "I think what Randy was trying to say was what the hell was that? I mean, sorry, but I would never go to Nashville if I were you either, because I think there are a lot of people throwing their television sets out the window at this point, because I thought it was absolute, indulgent rubbish, if you want my honest opinion. I mean really, really horrific."
I never saw Kris sing on the show, but whether he was good or not is really relative. It's usually a matter of taste, right? But Idol is not always a matter of musical taste only. It's about the person you like. From what little I saw, Kris seemed likable. (That's not to say that Adam isn't just as likable as anyone.. maybe more so... I don't know) When Ruben and I were standing next to each other every night (many years ago) you had two equally talented, equally unlikely, equally unpolished contestants.... so it really was a matter of taste as to who was voted for. While some may argue that one of us was hyped more than the other, I don't feel that was the case. However, this year, there was an obvious bias. Not even having watched the show, I can tell you that I was WELL aware of the bias from the judges as to who should win. In my opinion, that is awfully unattractive. I don't think I am alone.
My take: American Idol is not about who is the most talented contestant, it's about who the viewing public likes. If this weren't the case there would be no back story and there would be no interviews. If this show was based solely on talent, there would be no need to get to "know" the contestants and their stories. They would stand up and sing, the judge's would critique, and the show would last 1/2 hour (or maybe just more commercials would be thrown in). During Season 2, Ruben & Clay were equals - the judge's did not favor one over the other (for the record, Clay & I disagree on this point). However, this season there was very blatant favoritism and bias shown by the judges toward one contestant.
In my opinion, it all often comes down to that last night of voting. Until the finale, folks are voting for the contestant that they want to see continue. But, I believe that on that last night, the dynamic changes. No longer forced to choose one person that they want to see win, the audience can effectively vote AGAINST the person that they don't want to see win. In the case of season two this might have happened. There may have been some folks who voted for myself or Ruben because they didn't like the other of us. I was the nerdy little girly boy who some didn't want to see win, so they may have voted for Ruben. I don't know. .. But again, I feel that Ruben and I were fairly matched. We both had our detractors and negatives, but I feel we were both very worthy of being on that stage in that moment, and either of us would have been worthy of winning. The show was different then, and folks made it in seasons 1-3 because they were "real" people who happened to sing/entertain well. But, somewhere along the way, AI stopped being about real people and started being about "fame" and "gloss"; It stopped being about the talented kid-next-door and started being about who was most marketable. (I don't think anyone would have argued in 2003 that Ruben or I were extremely marketable.) So, this year it was not like 2003. This year it all came down to two contestants so extremely different and mis-matched.... one that was so obviously the "favorite"... so hyped and polished and "ready for market"; who (accurately or inaccurately) came off to many as arrogant and superior ... and one kid who no one thought had a chance and (accurately or inaccurately) came off as humble and real.
My Take: On the night of the finale, the voting changes and, for some, it goes from who you want to stay to who you don't want to see win - a negative vote. This is what happened during Season 8. The public perception was that of a contestant who was very polished & seasoned, a professional and one who was the boy next door, the underdog - whether those perceptions were accurate or inaccurate doesn't matter, it's what the voting public saw.
In a battle between David and Goliath, my money is on David!
I think many voters got sick of being "told who to vote for". I think many were turned off by the blatant favoritism shown towards one contestant. Therefore, on that last night, they used their votes against a contestant that they were tired of hearing about and for the contestant who had been written off. And, at the same time, I think they voted AGAINST an American Idol that has, for four years now, been more about the slick productions and polished contestants than it has been about finding the raw talent that it did in its first three seasons.
My Take: People did not really vote against Adam Lambert as much as they voted against the American idol machine and their blatant attempt to manipulate the voting. It was a vote to get American Idol to take notice, that the viewing public is tired of the ringers and want the raw talent from the earlier years.
Those votes for Kris were also votes to return the show to its roots of finding "real" contestants with undiscovered talent and giving them the chance to grow and shine. They were votes that said "we're tired of seeing contestants who already seem to know it all".
Will American Idol choose to listen to the resounding and clarion call that those voters gave them?.... "Enough with the pretention. More Rubens, more Clays, more Fantasias and Tamyras and Kellys please." My faith has always been in the voters. I think they have gotten it right every year (mine included). It's now up to American Idol to decide if it will finally REALLY listen to the folks that keep it on the air.
My take: the American public was sending a message to American Idol to stop with the manipulation and go back to the roots - contestants who you get to see grow and change week after week, not contestants who have already arrived.
and as an aside - Rolling Stone? Clay Aiken HAS NOT taken down his blog - you need a new fact checker.
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