It has been a long journey, but Clay's much anticipated CD is finally in our grasp....well, in 45 days! Some have been waiting for this CD since MOAM, unhappy with what they perceive as over-production and a lack of focus on Clay's vocals, but still loving the CD and loving Clay's performances in concert even more. Some have been waiting for it since the JBT when we got to see rocker Clay ala Elvis, Rickey Martin, but also the softer side of Clay when he brought us to tears with "I Can't Make You Love Me". We saw possibilities, what Clay could be with the right songs and production; and Clay told us he working on the new CD and previewed some possible contenders. Some loved ATD, some hated it...some liked Just You, some felt it needed work; Tears Run Dry got a resounding thumbs up and BFM became our anthem and we were hopeful.
And as we were wont to do, we speculated, fantisized; imagined and angsted...Would RCA be behind him this time, would he get the promotion he deserved, would he get radio play, please no covers on the CD, I don't mind covers, I like covers, Clive is the Dread Lord and he is going to screw Clay, Clive has been in the music business and he knows what he is doing...yeah but look what he did with Barry Manilow and Rod Stewart.
Then January and new worries popped up and we angst and cried and wrapped our arms around Clay tightly as he faced adversity and kept in our hearts that a new CD would be out soon and would prove the naysayers wrong and keep the gnats at bay.
February came in with a little blurb in EW...original songs and lots of covers...oh my...our worst nightmare come true, Clive is going to make Clay do a cover CD, he is ruining his career; Clay will never get away from American Idol...but it's just a blurb, we really don't know for sure what is going to be on the CD and why aren't we getting anymore information.
The beat goes on and we start counting the weeks with no news except for the tabloid crap and we worry some more and wonder if Clay's career is over and why doesn't he blog and where is Team Clay and is there a Team Clay and will there ever be a CD.
Finally Clay blogs and tells us there will indeed be covers on the CD, in fact it is going to be a CD of love songs from the 80's and Clay really loves these songs and they are going to have new arrangements and there is a moment of silence in the fandom as we cotemplate what this means...some are happy, some are not sure, some are already donning their black funeral garb and mourning what could have been...and again we speculate...what kind of covers, maybe they will be obscure songs that a lot of people may not have heard...it doesn't matter, everything Clay sings he will make his own...I love the 80's, I was raising a family in the 80's, so I didn't listen to much radio, so these songs will be new to me...I really hate covers.
Slowly news begins to leak out, first we hear May 9th for Mother's Day (groan), then June 20th (Yay!...whoops RCA takes the date down..sigh); Insider information begins to trickle in...vocally stunning...some believe, some do not...we have become cynical with the long wait and want solid information.
The summer drags on and we keep ourselves amused with guessing Clay's favorite vegetable, his least favorite food; but some our wearing of the games and the wait and trying to decipher Clay's blogs to see if he is leaving us clues. Then the NANA contest...dancing in the streets, the CD has a title...we spend days thinking, some put together spread sheets and Clay gives us more clues and finally we have a winner...ATDW...A Thousand Different Ways...we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, there will be a CD (some had doubts)
But it is July, what is taking so long; look at the time frames, there is no time for promotion and tour, oh no, the other idols are releasing CD's too...some even opine it may not be this year (horrors!) and then it is the first week of August and Clay blogs...It is official: ATDW will be out Sept. 19...there is a write up in USA Today, a Press Release, Clay is on ET (Omg, he looks hot!)...it is all good or is it?
The track list...It looks like all ballads but Clay said there would be different arrangements; he's doing a Dolly Parton song? Celine Dion? The Critics are going to crucify him, his career is over, Clive is a jerk, what was Clay thinking, Clive made him do it, Clay is a very smart man and a great singer and this CD is going to be awesome! Stories trickle in from the Just-Not-Us crowd and they are excited about the CD and wow, this could be a huge hit and maybe it won't be so bad after all.
That journey that began so long ago is now at its conclusion, the CD is a reality,,,maybe not the reality some were hoping for and maybe exactly what some were hoping for and maybe half and half. Some are still mourning, some are excited and some are in the wait and see car...in 45 days on September 19th we will all be able to listen to the CD...and a new journey will begin.
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