Just You, Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken emerges from the Byron & Tracey hair salon with a stylish new do on Saturday (April 25) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The 30-year-old former American Idol contestant just shared an unreleased track called “Just You,” which was recorded around the time of his 2006 album A Thousand Different Ways. You don’t have to pay a penny for the track but Clay blogged, “I encourage you… I ask of you… that you make a donation to the Bubel/Aiken Foundation for how ever much you feel the song is worth. If you want to give $1… great. If you want to give $1000… GREAT… if you can only give $.05 … that’s fine too. It’s a tough time we’re living through nowadays.”

Download here but donate at BubelAiken.org.

(Click inside to read Clay‘s full blog entry…)

CLAY AIKEN – “HONOR SYSTEM” – 04/24/09

What an interesting afternoon! You have kept my attention longer than I thought possible. If only my homework in high school had held my attention as long, huh?

Lots of interesting questions today and lots of energy. One question in particular got me (and Jaymes) to thinking. “Clay, will you ever record … Just You?”

Well folks… truth is.. . I did. Long ago. As a matter of fact It was one of the first songs we recorded for the album A Thousand Different Ways. It was recorded before the label asked me to do the album of cover love songs and before the budget was officially approved, so I actually paid for it myself. Then, as I recall, when the decision was made to do the cover album, the label opened a budget for the album, but it did not include reimbursing me for songs I had recorded that did not fit the concept. So, here I have had this song all along that, to my knowledge, I own the only copy of. What to do with it.. what to do? Well, this evening (with some encouragement from Jaymes) I decided…. let’s just give it to them. Why not? We do have plans (which we will tell you about eventually) to be back in the studio and record in the near future, but until then… you might as well get a bit of something you haven’t been able to hear in a while. “New” music.

Now… here’s the deal. I want to give it to you because you deserve it. You’ve stuck by me and been patient for a long time. But, also, I really have to give it to you. Since I didn’t write it or produce it, I can’t sell it to you… but I hate to encourage getting music for free. You all have always been SOOOO ethical when it has come to downloading music. I know my fans are probably some of the most scrupulous in the country and I believe that you never steal music. That said… We are gonna do this on the “honor system”… Go ahead…. download the song. It’s yours. Share it with your friends. It’s free. But… I want to make it count for someone… so let’s make it count for tens of thousands of children in the US with developmental disabilities If you can’t afford anything for it.. then don’t pay… but… if you can… I encourage you… I ask of you… that you make a donation to the Bubel/Aiken Foundation for how ever much you feel the song is worth. If you want to give $1… great. If you want to give $1000… GREAT… if you can only give $.05 … that’s fine too. It’s a tough time we’re living through nowadays, and non-profits are hurting more than ever as well. BAF (which will soon be known by a different name) has had amazing success in fulfilling it’s mission, and is embarking on a long term plan to continue including kids in every aspect of life. But, it will continue to need help from all of us in order to make that possible.

Consider this track a “charity recording” …. donate whatever you can or whatever you are willing to… and accept our thanks.

The song is for you…JUST YOU… from me.

c