Idols Come Back- Updated!

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      Clay Aiken was one of several American Idol alumni who have come back to mentor this season’s contestants. It would be great if he were made a permanent mentor or judge for the show, and I am not the only one who feels that way.

        By the way, I am sorry that I have not posted in a year. I will try to do much better.

       After Clay’s visit, the viewers had positive and negative reactions .  Here are some tweets by link; 1 , 2, 3, and 

https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-microphone-on-stage-2247677

     Having Clay on the show brought back memories of his time as a contestant. Lionel Richie was one of the guest judges during Clay’s season on Idol.  What do you think about his time as a mentor this week? Do you think Clay should be a permanent mentor or judge on American Idol? Please let me know in the comments below. 

Tell Her About It- Updated

This is an updated post from May of 2018.

Photo by Dzenina Lukac from Pexels

"Tell Her About It'' is a song that was inspired by singer-songwriter Billy Joel's relationship with model Christie Brinkley. It was reminiscent of the 1960's and that was reflected in Joel''s video. The song was popular in the early 1980's as part of Joel's album, An Innocent Man, but Clay Aiken sang it

on American Idol in 2003.

A different version of this song was rearranged by John "Jellybean" Benitez. Several artists have covered both versions of the song, including Sam and Dave.

Hope you will enjoy it;

https://www.flickr.com/photos/8436547@N08/o

If you enjoyed this post about the song, "Tell Her About It," please comment and share. Oh, and don't forget that Mother's Day is this Sunday. By the way, have you heard about Billy Joel playing on a donated piano outside a Long Island thrift store? Entertainment Tonight

has the story and video.

34 Years of "Somewere Out There"

34 Years of "Somewhere Out There"

(updated February 2nd, 2020)

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     It's hard to believe that it has been 34 years since An American Tail (and also since I graduated high school 😀)! The movie was produced by a team which included  Stephen Spielberg. 

     "Somewhere Out There" was one of the songs from the Don Bluth animated movie. All of the music from An American Tail was penned by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, and James Horner. It was originally recorded by Kennedy Center honoree, Linda Ronstadt and the late James Ingram; and for the film- by Phillip Glasser and Betsy Cathcart who played Fieval and Tanya. There have been several performers who covered this song, in addition to Clay Aiken when he was in American Idol. One of the cutest and youngest singers was 4 year-old Kaitlyn Maher. Click her name to see her video.

      I had not seen the animated movie until this weekend  (it's available at Amazon Prime now to rent for 24 hours at $3.99 or buy at $14.99), but I am familiar with the tune. It must have been included in the music for hundreds of weddings over the years. I know of at least 1 couple who had it in their wedding. Although the song lyrics mentioned love over a distance, the love in the movie story-line was between the main character Fieval Mousekewitz-a Jewish mouse immigrating to America from Russia- and his sister Tanya. The family encouraged Fieval by saying,"In America , there are no cats." Cats(Cossacks) were why the family leaves Russia. The characters have several adventures on the way to America and after their arrival . 


     If you haven't seen the movie, you might want to check it out, especially if you have young children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews . Meanwhile , the song was featured in one memorable performance by a young man from North Carolina, Clay Aiken, as he rose to fame on American Idol in 2003. One of the most complementary judges that night was guest judge Gladys Knight. Even Simon Cowell was unusually kind in his remarks .

             

       
AI2 Somewhere Out There and judges comments
By Kathmandu79


 

        I hope you are having a fun time honoring Somewhere Out There, but there is more entertainment to see below before you leave- including; a picture of Clay, a Somewhere Out There video playlist from YouTube, and some related content. If you like this post, please comment and share via social media.

 

Related posts and other content:

•  Somewhere Out There (from An American Tail) | Hal Leonard Online

  •  

    #YoureNotAloneWhen you are underneath the same big sky #somewhereoutthere pic.twitter.com/9dRBkDpFO8

    — Lisa 🖤😻🐾 (@Lisaley) November 13, 2017

  Somewhere Out There - By #JamesIngram and #LindaRonstadt pic.twitter.com/cMyHcghWIy

  — Le misérable (@S1HA2_) January 14, 2020

  • It’s New Year’s Eve and I felt compelled to draw a realistic Fieval...#mood #anamericantail #nostalgia #donbluth #somewhereoutthere #foulfellowpress #newyearsart #supportlocalart pic.twitter.com/8Y8w5pzr7l

    — Daniel Foulfellow (@DanielFoulfell1) January 1, 2020

     

  
  

• Happy 34th Fievel Mousekitewicz! @DonBluth @Swiftor #AnAmericanTail pic.twitter.com/Q9q4KmAv6U

  — Bryan Lucifer Chene (@AgingSilver42) January 15, 2020

  
  
  •  

• Reel History: An American Tail 
•  Hell On Frisco Bay: An American Tail (1986)

Please don't forget to share.

View this post on Instagram

Ccol4him's Claymania: 34 Years of "Somewhere Out There" bit.ly/2t2Sn14 🎵🎥🐁

A post shared by Cynthia Coleman (@ccol4him) on Jan 26, 2020 at 11:06am PST

Ccol4him's Claymania: 34 Years of "Somewhere Out There"https://t.co/cKsQJ89r6R pic.twitter.com/18bZfyzbqx

— Cynthia Coleman (@ccol4him)

Song Battle 2: "Vincent" Results

       

 

     








       Recently, you voted on the second round of the #songbattle for this blog. It was the song, "Vincent," and the contenders were Don McLean and Clay Aiken.
If you missed the first #songbattle round, here are the voting and results posts
The results from the second Facebook poll are in. And the winner is(insert imaginary drum roll here).......;

 

 

   

Song Battle 2: Vincent (Voting)

     

    

     The song choice for this second #songbattle is Vincent(Starry, starry night).  The contenders are Don Mclean(one of the song's co-writers) and Clay Aiken . 
      If you missed the first round, here are the posts;   Song Battle 1 :  Grease Is The Word (Voting) and  Song Battle 1: Results .


      This song was written by Don McLean, who also wrote and performed the song "American Pie,".   McLean was moved by Vincent Van Gogh's painting, "Starry, Starry Night"to write "Vincent." Both McLean and Van Gogh had their share of troubles, as well as success. Both the song and the painting reflect those troubles. It was rumored that Vincent Van Gogh had mental illness, but no one knows for certain. The Van Gogh Gallery lists everything from temporal lobe epilepsy to Bipolar Disorder. 

     
       This was one of the songs performed by Clay Aiken during his run on American Idol. It wasn't one of his best because the  producers changed the arrangement  at the last minute and he missed a cue. Still, he sang the rest very beautifully. "Vincent" has also been covered more recently by singers Josh Groban and Ed Sheeran.

Made with Canva   https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Don_McLean_at_the_NYCB_Theatre_at_Westbury_2013-07-13_3.jog   https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clay_Aiken_Merrillville_05-08-23.jpg   

• Video by SiouxRoux--  Clay Aiken - American Idol Season 2 - Top 3 - Vincent

•  linda6084-Clay Aiken Talks about miscue on Vincent 5/2003

• James DeWeaver Don McLean - Vincent - BEFORE American Pie Release Archival Footage of First Playing to Live
  

The Fabulous Gladys Knight Rises Above Controversy

Many celebrities such as Knight and Clay Aiken sometimes have to encounter and handle criticism and controversy . In spite of criticism by other celebrities over her appearance in Super Bowl LIII, Gladys Knight's performance of the National Anthem was extraordinary .











Her reaction to the criticism was ,

"I pray that this National Anthem will bring us all together in a way never before witnessed and we can move forward and untangle these truths which mean so much to all of us,"






The singer also had a 'message' for Colin Kaepernick..

II
The amazing performance at Super Bowl LII pregame via YouTube and Instagram;

View this post on Instagram

Thank you for allowing me this moment to honor our great nation! And a special thank you to my musical director @RickeyMinor, as well as orchestra/strings arranger @LennyWee, for this beautiful rendition! May God bless America. #SBLIII ❤️🇺🇸

A post shared by Gladys Knight (@msgladysknight) on Feb 3, 2019 at 8:08pm PST

         MJ Santilli and other bloggers have suggested that Knight might also be the Bee from the reality show, The Masked Singer.

        Gladys Knight was a guest judge on American Idol when Clay was a contestant. It was movie night and Clay sang "Somewhere Out There" from An American Tail. You can read more at Clay Aiken News Network.      

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Photo by Rachel Lynette French on Unsplash

           

         

What are some ways that you handle criticism ? Do you think that the Bee from The Masked Singer is Gladys Knight? What are your thoughts ?

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What are some ways that you handle criticism ? Do you think that the Bee from The Masked Singer is Gladys Knight? What are your thoughts

American Idol Is Coming to Chattanooga!

       Chattanooga is one of a few new cities which will be visited by the American Idol bus this year. Those who would like to audition locally can expect the bus to arrive on August 28th. You can also audition online.

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             There are several Idol alumni who have ties to Chattanooga and nearby communities. Lauren Alaina is from Rossville, Georgia and the town is just across the Tennessee-Georgia line from Chattanooga. Paul McDonald's mother works at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Clark Beckham attended college in Cleveland, TN-which is about 50 miles away from Chattanooga. Phil Stacey is from Cleveland. 

 

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        If you aren't interested in auditioning or are not in the age bracket, there are plenty of attractions, parks and venues to see here in the Chattanooga area. Also, since most vacationers are back at work and school, the crowds will not be bad. If you have a dog, Enterprise South Nature Park and Heritage Park are great choices. Have children along? Here are a few options. If you are a music buff, come see our new guitar museum, Songbirds. If you like history, there are Civil War relics and monuments galore to see here. There is plenty to do and see for everyone!

         Good luck to the local contestants and to all who are auditioning for the next season of American Idol! I can't hardly wait for the new episodes! Are you excited to see what happens next on Idol?

Clay Aiken's Second Dream

       Before Clay Aiken tried out for American Idol and became the singer, actor and politician he is today; Clay had the dream of becoming a special education teacher.

               

1. Quote from AZdictionary       2. Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

             Although his love for children of all abilities still continued, Clay found a different classroom- through UNICEF and his own charity, the Bubel Aiken Foundation, which is now called the National Inclusion Project. He taught his fans some things along the way and helped celebrate other teachers at the 2004 Disney Hand Teacher Awards;

• Clay Concert Seating Etiquette
  

• Clay Aiken - UNICEF Webisode                

                                 

July 25, 2004 - Disney Hand Teacher Awards

       I think that what people can learn from Clay's experience is to keep dreaming because you never know which one will come true. So, what are some of your dreams? Please let me know in the comments below and please share. Thank you.