I have to admit it: I now love Clay's new look!

Hello everyone,

Well, I have to say that I now take back what I wrote way back in May about Clay's new look: I now love it! That was during the American Idol 5 finale show, when Clay made a surprise appearance, now infamous as one of the most hilarious moments ever of AI, what with Clay wannabe Michael Sandecki's emotional reaction to seeing Clay join him on stage.

Clay showed off his new look at that time and it was talked up all over the Net, with "Clay Aiken" being the most-searched term on blog search engine Technorati for a number of weeks. His hair was longer, straight and dyed fairly dark - no longer did we see the fair, spikey look we had come to love. The majority of those of you who voted in my poll at the time said you loved the new look, many finding it smoldering and more mature than his former look.

I didn't like it so much as his former look (my favourite ever being his hair during 2005's Jukebox Tour); the dark look made him look pale to me, and I didn't like the stringy, plastered-bangs-falling-in-the-eyes thing going on - it hid his beautiful eyes...

What won me over? Since May, he has lightened the hair, added some soft blond highlights, shortened the bangs, so now we see that sweet face, framed by soft, fair hair - all Clay! It was his September 22nd appearance on ABC's The View that sealed the deal for me and won me over. You can watch the interview on YouTube.com in two parts: Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Now I can actually say that Clay's new look is hot! And that is not a term I use often... Even my teenage stepdaughter, who usually rolls her eyes when I mention Clay, says that now he is "almost hot".

But take a look and make up your own mind: there are lots of videos and pictures out there. I suggest checking out these sources for great Clack:

- Hartford Symphony Orchestra web site - Clay will be participating in their upcoming Christmas concert. Check out especially the five great pictures of Clay in their Media Photos section
- Clay's Daily Double
- pictures on Clack.unlimited

Here is one of my favourites: