Reviews for Out of the Blue: Clay It Forward

The average rating for Out of the Blue: Clay It Forward based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-03-25 00:00:00 Robert Lance As everyone knows I have been a, what I'd call, committed Claymate for over a year and a half now and there are very few facts out there about Clay that I do not know. I would go so far as to tell you that I could have written that book for him with all of the facts in place, but I could never have imagined the reality behind it the way Clay portrays it. Clay Aiken: American Idol Runner-up, multi-platinum artist, former teacher and counselor of autistic students, rough childhood, and dorky appeal. Clay's life has been an open book from the minute he walked into that American Idol audition room in Charlotte. It has been no mystery, Clay's past, mainly because he has always been very open and honest about it. With all this in mind however, reading Learning to Sing sheds a whole new light on this talented kid with the funny hair. Initially, I thought writing this book was, well, not such a good idea. It seemed kind of farfetched to me and unnecessary at this moment. Remember, I heard about this book early this year, of course as the date got closer I could not wait for it's release, but somewhere in my mind I was still convinced Clay was not at a point in his life where he should be writing his memoirs. Boy was I wrong! Reading about this Raleigh native who overcame some of the most difficult struggles in life to end up the biggest hit of radio and television was no new news to me but hearing it, or reading it, from him was really remarkable. It brought emotion, often sadness, into the reality of just what a kid, unaccepted and unwanted anywhere had to do to "make it". In writing about his life it would only seem fit for him to begin with his father, Vernon Grossom. Living with drunk and often violent husband, was not the life Clay's mother Faye wanted little Clayton to grow up in, so at the age of three, Clay and his mother left. I will spare writing all these facts because as I have already mentioned, most fans already know this. We also knew Clay's mom re-married when Clay was a little older and prior to reading it from Clay I always though Clay's relationship with his step father was a good one. This probably came as the biggest shock while reading the memoirs, was really, how distant Clay was to his step father. On interviews or such, Clay would always refer to Ray Parker as his "father" giving me the impression that he had found the true dad in his life. This however was not the case. Clay never puts blame on his father, it is always, "he didn't know how" to love a step son. Clay also puts some of the blame on himself when he says that he could have tried harder to make the father-son relationship work, but he didn't. Clay goes into a very touching description of the time his father was dying. He speaks of how everyone in the family got their good bye talk from Parker except Clay. Again, I never realized the REAL relationship with Clay and his father. After going through the differences between his brother Brett and himself, Clay comes to the conclusion that he was just a "mama's boy". In today's society many poke fun of this fact in Clay's life, but it is the truth and he is not afraid to admit it. "It got to the point that I wondered if I was not supposed to have a father"-Clay Aiken Through all this however Clay manages to speak highly of his father, with respect and love. Both Ray Parker and Vernon Grossom have passed away and although Clay illuminated his regrets he makes a point to also illuminate the lessons he learned. To tell you the truth, this was the most touching and "surprising" part of the book. The rest describes Clay's odd fit at school and the girls he grew up with, even had crushes on. Yes, anyone in their right mind would be jealous but Clay never presents it as such to his fans. The small stories and parts of his life always tie back into what Clay has learned from that experience. The life lessons that get him through the day. These lessons, however, that Clay seams to reiterate become clichéd and redundant over the course of 256 pages. They are the same things that all parents tell their kids growing up yet from the mouth or the pen of Clay Aiken, it's different. For a man who is making millions and millions of dollars a year, for him to still listen to his mom's advice is remarkable and inspirational. Yes, this is where it got mushy. Again tracing his life through the YMCA and other teaching and counseling jobs Clay gives the readers more funny and sad stories that shaped his life. Working with Mike Bubel, the fans realize that the person they should be thanking is Diane Bubel, who, if not for her, Clay would still be in a small classroom teaching. One thing to note are the very creative (yet corny) titles at the beginning of each chapter. Ranging from "Listen First" to "Aim for the High Notes" or "Even the Best Singer's Voice Cracks". The chapters seem to flow very well with the titles and the titles go along very well with the book cover. A fun, clever, and meaningful mix. I do not want to summarize a whole lot so I will say this, getting to the end of the book, the other REALLY noteworthy part was the chapter where Clay spoke about his faith. All good Claymates know Clay's faith means a lot to him and he has shown it often whether it be the Christmas songs he chose on his last album or songs like "You Were There" performed at the Solo Tour. But Clay makes a point to tell all of his readers exactly what it is he believes in and why he chooses to let people know this at his concerts. He makes it clear that his faith is never something he wants to give up and when his sings these gospel songs at his concerts, he is not "trying to shove it down anyone's throat". He does this for "himself and the Lord". Although I personally do not agree 100% with what Clay says in that portion of the book I do commend him for coming out and saying it. If he were doing this JUST for the fans, he shouldn't be doing this at all. All in all, Learning to Sing is a book that everyone should read yet only Claymates will. Like I have said before there was not too much new material for a Claymate and for someone like me it could only strengthen my love for and dedication to OMC (our man Clay). Everyone knows Clay Aiken is different. From his music to his looks, to his principles, different becomes a common adjective. In this case different is better. Different is what we should read about and support. From humble beginnings Clay never lost sight of what is important. Clay was able to "Go. Find [his] voice. Then open [his] mouth and let [his] song free."-Clay Aiken

Review # 2 was written on 2011-02-20 00:00:00 WREN MASSEY "Then there is a chapter where he lists all of his family members." - Episode 38 LEARNING TEETH