No one could’ve guessed the firestorm that would have erupted following Clay Aiken’s appearance on Regis and Kelly.
It’s amazing what one hand can do. But you can be sure that Clay would like to have that moment back. Especially when you consider that deep down, he’s a quite country boy who doesn’t always want the attention he gets.
And as Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson found out when she caught up with Clay as he was taping his guest appearance on the set of “Days of Our Lives,” sometimes he wishes it would all go away.
“Would you trade everything that you have today for your anonymity?” Shaun asked Clay.
“It depends on what day you ask me,” Aiken admitted. “I’m kind of happy today. I like what I’m doing. But there are days when it gets very nerve-wrecking.”
Safe to say, the past week would qualify as one big long bad day for Clay after the controversy Kelly Ripa’s caustic comment caused, which then led to Rosie O’Donnell inadvertently outing him referring to Ripa’s actions as “homophobic.”
Ironically, a week before all the brouhaha started, Shaun spoke with an introspective Clay on the downfalls of fame as Clay was filming a cameo for the December 26 episode of “Days of Our Lives.”
“It’s all kind of frightening and scary and there are days when I think ‘Will anybody ever not know who I am?’” Clay revealed.
Clay also admitted that soap operas have never really been his thing. So how did they convince him to do a “Days” cameo?
“They gave me a call and said they had this love story and they wanted a song for it and my last album was all love songs so it was a good fit,” Clay explained.
On his latest album, “A Thousand Ways,” Clay covers a range of classic love songs — an idea dreamed up by famed record producer Clive Davis.
Davis also happens to work with a woman known for her love songs — Whitney Houston. But could a duet be in the works?
“Have you got Clive’s cell phone number? I think you need to just call him up and say you think you and Whitney would make a great pair,” Shaun joked.
“She would blow me out of the water,” Clay laughed. “She’s too good. I’d love to do it though.”