by Rebecca Rubin – Variety
Halloween is over, so it’s officially time to break out the eggnog and dust
off those Christmas CDs.
At least that’s the rule for Clay Aiken,
the “American Idol” runner-up whose new album “Christmas Bells Are Ringing”
drops on Nov. 22.
“Once the jack-o’-lanterns are gone, it’s time to go,” the North Carolina
native says via Zoom, in his signature Southern drawl.
The album marks Aiken’s first since 2004’s chart-topper “Merry Christmas With
Love.” In between, the 45-year-old competed on “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2012,
ran (and lost) twice for Congress and toured with “American Idol” winner Ruben
Studdard.
“I’ve spent the last 10 years in the political world, and I’m cured of that,”
Aiken says. “I wanted to get back to doing what I loved.”
Are you prepared to talk about Christmas for two months?
I love Christmas, but it does start earlier and earlier. I haven ‘t put out an
album in so long that doing press in general is new. By the way, did Shawn
Mendes come out today? Have you seen this video on his Instagram? I didn’t
finish watching it because I looked at the time and I was like, “Oh God, I
gotta get on the computer.” So I don’t know if he really did. I shouldn’t out
him if he didn’t.
No, I didn ‘t see it. How do you feel about people speculating about his
sexuality?
I feel like no one has speculated about shit since 2000 — since I went
through that crap. I joke that after I came out publicly, it stopped being a
story. I don’t know that anybody has had press in that way, like tabloid
stories or questions by Diane Sawyer.
Why is that?
Hell, I don ‘t know. Maybe people got bored after going through six years of
it with me. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ended in 2011 so America came to terms with
us gays a little better. We have insisted our media become more empathetic.
Press can’t invade in the way they used to be able to invade. And that’s
great. But I didn’t mean to derail this. It just came up on my screen right
before I turned on the computer.
Right, we are here to talk about “Christmas Bells Are Ringing.” What makes a
good Christmas album?
A good Christmas album doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Mariah Carey
reinvented it with “All I Want for Christmas,” and that became the most iconic
Christmas song ever. Outside of that, Christmas is about tradition.
What were you trying to capture with this set list?
I can ‘t say I grew up loving Perry Como and Andy Williams — I’m not quite
that old — but those albums stand the test of time. Christmas is supposed to
be cozy.
What made the timing right for this?
I ‘ve spent the last 10 years in the political world, and I’m cured of that. I
got to a place where I couldn’t stomach the political thing. Everybody’s music
at some point becomes dated, but Christmas survives. If I’m going to be gone
for 15-to-20 years, I want to come back to something that’s timeless.
Will you take this album on tour?
Next year. I haven ‘t been performing for years. So I’m going to spend this
year reminding people that I can sing and I’m still around.
What ‘s your favorite part of touring?
Oh, God. Do I have a favorite? Touring was part of why I stopped. Not because
I don’t like it, but when your hobby becomes your job, you stop.
Does it get tiring to perform the same songs each night?
We ‘re not working the third shift at the factory. Yes, it can be exhausting,
but people are cheering you on. Once things become routine, you can find ways
to make it fresh.
You became a household name after “American Idol.” Do reality singing
competitions today have the same cultural impact?
Probably not. Things became very saturated. We don’t watch TV the same way we
used to. We watch social media and streaming. It’s tough, if not impossible,
to get everybody watching the same thing.
Has anything from your “Idol” days stuck with you?
Back in the day when the judges were actually tough, it prepared us for
interviews or press that were negative or critical. It gives you thick skin. I
was criticized on that show so much, I can’t believe I made it to the end. If
you’re told by someone in front of 40 million viewers live on national TV that
they prefer you with their eyes closed, you eventually learn to not let things
bother you as much.
That is horrible.
Now, I think it ‘s funny, but at the time, it bothered me. I don’t get nervous
about anything anymore. If you can sing on live TV knowing that a British dude
is going to say something shitty to you, what is there to be nervous about
now?
Is there anything in entertainment that you haven ‘t explored yet?
I haven’t done much, frankly. I’ve always wanted to voice a cartoon. I’m good
friends with Lea Salonga, the voice of Mulan and Jasmine. I’m still jealous of
her for that. I have a unique voice speaking voice too, so I’d be perfect for
some “King of the Hill”-type character.
You said you can ‘t stomach politics anymore. Was there a breaking point?
Not necessarily. I think I watched too much “West Wing.” I grew up loving
politics. You would hope the political world would be full of people who
wanted to win for others, and it is not. I got a bad taste in my mouth. I have
faith in the system, but I don’t have much.
Are you surprised that Donald Trump was re-elected?
I ‘m not going to lie and say I saw it coming like I did in 2016. Kamala was a
great candidate and I am so impressed by what she was able to accomplish in
the short time she had. But I can’t pretend I was surprised; she was up
against almost insurmountable headwinds this year.
Given that you know Trump from “Celebrity Apprentice,” do you think he’ll
govern the same way as his first term?
I wish knowing him gave me better insight. The pre-2016 Trump that I know
hated two things: losing and being disliked. I really believe his whole
refusal to accept the real outcome of the 2020 election was his unwillingness,
his pathological inability, to concede that the majority of Americans didn’t
like him.
But he’s won reelection now. And he won the popular vote this time. He never
has to face the prospect of losing again. He could choose to abandon the
divisiveness and hateful rhetoric and try to work on making people happy
beyond his base and improving his legacy.
I’m praying that the pre-politics Trump I knew is still in there somewhere and
wants to be loved. And if I’m wrong and he doesn’t want people to like him, if
he really does want to get revenge on everyone who said he would destroy the
Constitution and said he isn’t fit for the office, I’d just want to remind him
that the very best revenge would be proving them all wrong.
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