Zac Effron, This Is Your Future

(Thanks to EW Popwatch for the original link)

Some quick thoughts:

1) First, congratulations, Clay, on finally getting off the plane.

2) This is, in its own way, kind of funny, but the look of smugness on Clay Aiken's face seems odd, since Justin Timberlake's persona has often suggested he's in on his own joke. Timberlake might not have as much in common with Prince as he'd like, but they do share an ability to make themselves both the heroes and butts of their own sexual dreams and paranoias (unlike, say, this guy). What does it mean, then, theoretically speaking, to be doing a parody (Aiken) of a xerox (Timberlake) of a persona (Prince) that's already loaded with homages, reconfigurations and even parodies of earlier musical pioneers?

3) I made a joke to a friend a couple of years ago that we would someday see a new VH1 reality show called Being Clay Aiken, but even I didn't think it would come this fast. There's an odd whiff of cultish desperation to this thing that suggests the road from potential teen idol to future Surreal Lifer has become even shorter in recent years. Even Scott Baio had a longer career.