Clay Aiken Wants To Be Our Era’s Manilow

Jeff Spevak of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle was on hand for Clay Aiken’s concert Saturday night at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, which Spevak dubbed “Operation Mandy”, suspecting the ‘American Idol’ season two runner-up wants to be the Barry Manilow of this century. Spevak writes, “His fans love it. They sang along, they cheered lustily and they had a great time. But where does the adoration come from? The sex appeal? Why are the women screaming? The guy’s a nerd. He looks like he spent all four years of high school gym class being held upside down by his ankles over a toilet by the team. And we’re not talking the football team. The chess team could have handled the job.”