Corey Delaney Clark (born July 13, 1980) is an American singer. He is known for his highly publicized disqualification from the second season of American Idol and later allegations of a sexual relationship with then-Idol judge Paula Abdul, although an internal investigation by an independent counsel appointed by the Fox network found no cause to believe there had been a sexual relationship between the two. Clark is the older brother of WNBA player Alysha Clark.
Early life and career Corey Clark was born July 13, 1980, in San Bernardino, California, to Duane and Jan Clark,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0Q1Gszjwyc Segment of "Fallen Idol", Primetime Live'''s May 4, 2005 story on the scandal], from YouTube (Part 3 of 5).</ref> two singers who met on the road in Nashville, Tennessee in early 1978 while following their own musical aspirations. Duane, an R&B and disco singer who sang in San Bernardino nightclubs and opened for Al Wilson and B. B. King and recorded and performed with the James Last Orchestra and the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, is of African American, Cherokee, Apache, and Blackfoot descent. Jan Clark, the Hungarian-Ukrainian, Jewish, Irish, French, Cherokee, and Algonquian great granddaughter of a Budapest concert pianist, met Duane in Nashville while she worked in nightclubs specializing in R&B and Barbra Streisand. The multiracial nature of the Clarks’ relationship and of Corey's heritage was a source of racial conflict for the family during the Clarks' early years in Lufkin, Texas, where Corey recalls a story his parents told him about; a December 1979 incident in which the couple were driving to church for a Christmas event, with Duane dressed as Santa Claus, when they were pulled over by a white police officer, who smashed one of the car's tail lights, and told Duane he was being pulled over and arrested for driving with a broken tail light.
Less subtle was the racism at school, where Clark says he and his sister got into fights with schoolmates in the first grade who called them "niggers" and "cottonheads". Adding to his sense of identity confusion was the fact that African Americans did not accept him either, and called him and his sister "wiggers", on which Clark comments, "It's real unsettling when you’re young and don't know which group you belong to." Today, Clark reflects on his multiethnic heritage with pride, and says he wishes more people were open-minded about interracial dating, saying, "Our family could claim to be the ultimate melting pot," and that being of so many different ethnicities gave him the ability to "adapt to any situation".
Clark's interest in music was stimulated at an early age; his first clear memory was of his parents, his aunt Audrey, and his father's band recording a demo tape in a Denver studio. Having attended concerts by Boyz II Men, TLC and Montell Jordan, he himself began singing at age 11, without any formal training, at school functions and concerts.
Clark received his first professional singing job when he was 13, when Debbie Byrd, a family friend and vocal coach who would later go on to work on American Idol, recruited him and his parents to be among the backup singers for Barry Manilow during a week-long appearance in Las Vegas. Although Manilow was not a favorite of Clark's, he realized his dream during this engagement, saying,
At age 14, Clark started and performed as the lead vocalist in an R&B vocal group called Envy. The group also included the now-Grammy Award-winning singer Ne-Yo, Solomon Ridge and Ray Blaylock. Envy performed in several talent contests, and a few years later, won the grand prize at a Las Vegas amateur singing contest. Envy also opened major shows for major artists such as Mýa and Destiny's Child,, SuperiorPics.com and performed during Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. The group signed a recording deal in 2000, but nothing came of it, and it disbanded after eight years of performances.Kaufman, Gil. "From Teddy Bear To Sexy Beast:More mature songs about club-hopping, relationships 'will give people an opportunity to see who I am,' singer says."'; mtv.com; September 12, 2006
Clark and his family moved to Nashville, and while working as a stage hand in 2002, Clark auditioned for the reality television music competition show American Idol; he has been described as "one of the most impressive top ten finalists of the talent search's second season". Clark names making it to the top 32 finalists during that season to be his proudest moment.
American Idol Performances
WeekThemeSong SungArtistOrder PerformedStatusSemifinalsGroup #4"Foolish Heart"Steve Perry8AdvancedTop 12Motown"This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)"The Isley Brothers9SafeTop 11Songs of the Cinema"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" from "Against All Odds"Phil Collins1Bottom 2Top 10Country Rock"Drift Away"Dobie Gray4SafeLater disqualified
Controversies Disqualification
During the American Idol competition, The Smoking Gun revealed that Clark had been arrested at his Topeka, Kansas home on October 12, 2002, after neighbors called police after hearing a commotion within the residence, including a girl yelling. Police arrived and questioned Clark and his 15-year-old sister Alysha, after which Clark became confrontational with the officers. Clark alleges police misconduct in handling the matter, asserting that he was beaten by the officers, who ultimately wrestled Clark to the pavement and handcuffed him behind his back. After managing to get his handcuffed hands in front of him in the squad car, he was shown a taser and warned he would be shot with it if he continued to resist, at which point he relented. He was charged with misdemeanor battery on four police officers and his sister, and endangering the welfare of a child. However both Clark and his sister Alysha have denied that he ever hit her, and Alysha echoed her brother's account of the way the situation transpired."American Idol 2: Corey’s Story" , foxesonidol.com, April 18, 2003
On December 4, days after Clark became one of the final 32 American Idol contestants, he was charged in Kansas District Court with resisting arrest, battery upon his sister, and criminal restraint. Clark ultimately pleaded "no contest" to "obstructing legal process" through a plea agreement, and was sentenced to six months unsupervised probation and ordered to pay $116.00 USD in legal costs. Clark states in his book, "Initially no charges were filed against me, and I was refunded my $116.00 USD bond money after attending a November 11, 2002 court hearing back in Topeka."Clark; 2005; Chapter 4. That December, after Clark had filled out his contracts for American Idol and was publicly named a semi-finalist on the show, the state district attorney elected to proceed with the case and filed charges against him."Another 'American Idol' Scandal", The Smoking Gun; June 19, 2003
According to American Idol's producers, Clark did not disclose his arrest record when joining the competition, although Clark maintains in his book American Paulatics that he spoke with them and with judge Paula Abdul about his legal troubles. Producers also explained that the background checks conducted on all contestants did not uncover his arrest because of a misspelling of Clark's name in the police report. Clark maintains that this could not be true, as all background checks are conducted via social security numbers, which Clark had provided to producers in his contract. The producers disqualified Clark from further participation in the competition nine hours after the story broke."Statement Regarding Corey Clark and American Idol". The Smoking Gun. March 31, 2003
Clark believes that he was punished for causing conflict with producers behind the scenes. According to Clark, after he made it to the twelve finalists' round, he and the other finalists were unduly pressured by producers to sign a contract, using one of two attorneys handpicked by the producers for representation, or be disqualified from the show. Clark and his fellow contestants' position was that having the producers select an attorney for them was a conflict of interest, a conclusion they reached with the advice of Abdul, who had told Clark, "Look, if you can get six of your fellow contestants to stand up with you and say, 'We want our own attorney, we're not rolling with this stuff you want us to do,' they will not kick off the rest of the cast." The other contestants decided to support him in standing up to producers, and consulted with Abdul's lawyer, Howard Siegel, on her recommendation (though Clark maintains in his book that they did not know at the time that Siegel was one of Abdul's attorneys). Two weeks later, producers began asking Clark about his arrest record, and dismissed him from the show.Harris, Chris (May 6, 2005). "Corey Clark Says Paula Abdul 'Told Me She Loved Me'". MTV.com.
Relationship with Paula Abdul Two years later, Clark began making allegations about his relationship with Abdul."Steamy 'American Idol' Allegations" Ex-Contestant Corey Clark Claims He Had Affair With Paula Abdul; CBS.com; May 5, 2005Walls, Jeannette. "Ex-‘Idol’ contestant claims Abdul affair"; MSNBC.com; April 28, 2005 Clark stated in his E-book, They Told Me to Tell the Truth, So...: The Sex, Lies and Paulatics of One of America's Idols, and in a May 2005 interview with Primetime Live that Idol judge Paula Abdul took him under her wing, beginning on December 12, 2002, and coached him on how to succeed in the competition, including helping him select the right songs, clothes, and hairstyle, in order to avoid the show's "exploitation" of young hopefuls' careers like himself,“Clark won’t help ‘Idol’ verify his claims”; MSNBC.com/AP; May 5, 2005 and that this mentorship developed into a three-month-long sexual relationship.Segment of "Fallen Idol", Primetime Live's May 4, 2005 story on the scandal, from YouTube (Part 2 of 5).