EASTON: The Express Times Pre-Concert Article

NJ's Express Times published a pleasant pre-concert article today, leading up to Clay's sold out concert at the State Theater in Easton, NJ next Monday. A condensed version of the article is shown below:

Aiken's appeal
'American Idol' runner-up to return for sold-out State Theatre show.

By SUSAN KALAN
The Express-Times

Clay Aiken will be performing his special Christmas show, accompanied by the 50-piece Chelsea Symphony Orchestra of New York, to a sold-out house Monday at the State Theatre in Easton.

Aiken's life was hectic in 2004 when he granted a 10-minute telephone interview to The Express-Times. He was on the heels of his first-ever headlining tour with 42 dates in three-months. His life on the road consisted of "staying in a hotel, catching up on interviews, doing a sound check, doing the show, and getting back on the (tour) bus," in his words.

He made headlines earlier this year when he started sporting an edgy, stylish look, opening "a new chapter" in his life, he told the Associated Press in September.

He launched a new album on RCA Records, "A Thousand Different Ways," with 10 classic love songs and four original tracks. It was a project headed by music mogul Clive Davis.

In July 2003, he established the Bubel/Aiken Foundation to help needy children. This past September, the foundation published the book, "Our Friend, Mikayla," written and illustrated by third-graders at Lower Nazareth Elementary School about their classmate, Mikayla Resh. The book aims to teach other kids about befriending people with disabilities.