Clay Aiken answered YOUR questions!

First off, let me again thank all the “Sean’s Space” readers who submitted questions for me to ask Clay Aiken.

Less than 12 hours after I posted here, asking for Clay’s fans to submit questions for him, I received more than 100 questions e-mailed to me! My inbox runneth over.

They ranged from funny and easy-going to serious … some way too serious. (He’s a singer, remember, not a miracle worker.) They came from here in the Hudson Valley to Singapore to California to Florida to India to Mississippi ... you wouldn't believe it!

With such diversity to choose from, I tried to pick a cross-section. I had 10 readers’ submissions selected to ask Clay, but when he gave such heart-felt and thoughtful answers (you’ll see with the first one), we just ran out of time and could only to get three of your questions.

Clay was very nice, though, telling me, “I’ll talk as fast as I can to answer them, Sean!” to make sure he got to answer the last two readers’ questions before he was whisked away for another interview.

So, without any further ado, I now present three “Sean’s Space” readers’ questions and Clay Aiken’s answers to each:

Rosemary from Poughkeepsie, NY asked: Does traveling around all the time afford you much of a home life with friends and family?
Clay Aiken: I do. I’d say all told, I probably spend about five months a year at home. I spend time a lot going between Los Angeles and New York. I’d rather be working and doing something. It may be more like a month at home — after a while, I get so bored. Maybe I’m only home for two months and it just feels like five months. This Christmas, we’re going on a field visit for Unicef. It’ll be my first time being away for Christmas; Unicef doesn’t take a break. I won’t be back at my home for five months straight. That’s a bit weird. The last night I was at my home before the tour, I was in my bed and I was like, “This is the last night I’m going to sleep in this bed! I’m not going to see my house for five months!”

Anny from Toronto, Canada asked: Do you ever think about going back into teaching?
Clay Aiken: I think about it, but I don’t know if I ever will.

Khrystah from Toronto, Canada asked: What brand of shampoo & conditioner do you use to get your gorgeous hair so downright “I-wanna-run-my-fingers-thru-it” gorgeous?
Clay Aiken: I have absolutely no idea. I have someone do my hair every night on the road. I couldn’t tell you if I had a gun to my head.

And with that, Clay was off to his next interview. From previous experience, artists on tour usually spend one hour a day to do press interviews on the phone, cramming as many as they can into that hour.

No, I didn't get to ask about the new CD and its producer. Nope, couldn't get to "Spamalot" or living in NYC or if he has been taking piano lessons.


Still, Clay was very giving with his time. I was similarly very appreciative of his generosity, thoughtfully answering both my questions for the upcoming Poughkeepsie Journal story and your questions.

To compare how Taylor Hicks answered some fans' questions I posed to him during an interview back in August, click here.

So here's one final thank-you to all of Clay's fans who submitted questions and, of course, Clay himself for taking the time to answer them! C'mon back here to "Sean's Space" throughout the week for more on Clay's upcoming show here in Poughkeepsie on Dec. 8.

I'm hoping to make it to his Dec. 9 Mohegan Sun show in Connecticut, and if I make it there, look for a review the next day!