We joined in on the speculation back in September that Clay Aiken would be competing on the next season of "The Celebrity Apprentice" -- and we were right! (Okay, technically, the Reality Blurred blogger was right, but we happily glommed on!)

The Raleigh native, who was a runner-up on the second season of "American Idol," was officially announced yesterday as a member of the 5th season of "The Celebrity Apprentice," which also features Arsenio Hall, Lou Ferrigno, Cheryl Tiegs, Penn Gillette, Debbie Gibson, Adam Carolla, and others.

In an interview with "Today.com," Aiken said he respects "Celebrity Apprentice" host Donald Trump more than he respected Simon Cowell, the head judge on "American Idol," because Trump's "success is real outside of TV." Ouch.

Could Clay Aiken be on the next season of "The Celebrity Apprentice?"

A Reality Blurred blogger has done the scheduling math and believes there's a good chance it could be happening.

The "American Idol" runner-up from Cary recently announced that an event he was originally set to host in October had to be rescheduled due to “an unavoidable scheduling conflict with a network television show.” Based on the date of that event and the production schedule of "Celebrity Apprentice," it's not a terrible guess.

Contestants on "The Celebrity Apprentice" compete to win money for charity.

We'll keep you posted ...

FunnyorDie.com has posted a "Hoarders" spoof in which Tori Spelling gets an intervention due to her excessive hoarding of gay pals. "Hoarders: The Untold sTori" prominently features local "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken.

Wake County Schools Superintendent Tony Tata singled out "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery for praise today.

During his weekly news briefing, Tata congratulated McCreery, 17, a Garner High School junior, for Wednesday night's win. Tata also took the opportunity to get in some praise for the school system's music programs.

"We’re all very proud of Scotty and all that he represents," Tata said. "He’s a role model for all of our students and indeed for all of us as he has demonstrated poise, courage and talent under pressure. Scotty’s success is just another example of how our music and arts programs, as well as our athletic programs, afford opportunities to all of our children so they can aspire to achieve their dreams."

Here are some Scotty McCreery nuggets for you -- some McNuggets, if you will...

-Scotty won the "American Idol" coin toss, which determines who gets to sing first on next Tuesday night's show. According to Billboard Magazine, the coin featured a picture of Scotty's face on one side and Lauren's on the other. Scotty, a perfect Southern gentleman, deferred to Lauren, who said she'd like to go second. Billboard says the person who sings second is thought to have a slight advantage. Yes, well, we shall see about that.

-How much could Scotty potentially earn as a result of his "Idol" run? Well, as of this week, "Idol" Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood has sold more than 12 million albums and nearly . . .

There's got to be something about "American Idol" fans and the Wake County school board.

In the latest episode, school board member John Tedesco drew boos at Saturday's festivities at Lake Benson Park in Garner for "American Idol" contestant Scotty McCreery. Tedesco was among the elected officials at the event who were announced by Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams.

Tedesco was there because Garner is in his district. McCreery is also a junior at Garner High School, which is in Tedesco's district.

In the school system's prior brush with "American Idol," former finalist Clay Aiken criticized the school board majority for eliminating the diversity policy.

North Carolina moved a step closer to its second “American Idol” tonight as Scotty McCreery was named one of the Final Four finalists of this, the show’s 10th season.

The Garner High School junior is less than three weeks from the May 25 finale. Scotty has reached the highest spot for a Tar Heel resident since Season Five of “Idol,” when Chris Daughtry made the Final Four. The sole “Idol” winner from North Carolina is Fantasia Barrino of Season Three. (Raleigh’s Clay Aiken was second in Season Two.)

Scotty won praise this week for the variety he showed in his two Wednesday performances – Montgomery Gentry’s “Gone” and Elvis Presley’s “Always On My Mind.” On tonight's show, Scotty joined the other finalists for a version of The Turtles’ “Happy Together” that showcased – in a bad way – how different their five voices are.

These days everything's all "Scotty McCreery Scotty McCreery Scotty McCreery," but we haven't forgotten the original local 'American Idol' golden boy, one Mr. Clayton Aiken (right).

So here's a little scoop for the Claymates out there: Clay will be a guest star in the third season premiere episode of 'Drop Dead Diva,' a great little drama that airs on Lifetime.

Clay Aiken: Tried & True Live (8pm, UNC-TV) - A broadcast of Clay Aiken's Raleigh concert for which he was joined by "American Idol" pal Ruben Studdard and vocalist Linda Eder. Clay sings classics like "Unchained Melody," "Moon River," "Mack the Knife," "Crying," and "It's Impossible." UNC-TV airs this again at 9:30pm. UNC-TV is also hosting a Twitter party during the show.

Cops (8pm, Fox) - The 23rd Season and 800th episode of "Cops" opens in Boynton Beach, Florida, with an officer chasing a car on foot after he finds something left behd by a suspect. Another officer reponds to a call about a boa constrictor in a residential area.

Dogs 101 (8pm, Animal Planet) - The Season 3 opens with profiles on a bunch of dogs, including the Irish Wolfhound, the Gordon Setter, and Wonder Dogs.

Fairfield Road (9pm, Hallmark) - Jesse Metcalfe ("Depserate Housewives") stars in this new Hallmark movie about a Boston man with political aspirations who goes to Cape Cod after a series of personal setbacks and finds himself becoming involved in a local election. During his stay, he also meets a spunky bookstore owner (Natalie Lisinska) who helps him appreciate the charms of small-town life.

America's Most Wanted (9pm, Fox) - Season 24 uses the occasion of the Sept. 11 anniversary to review the attacks and offer an update on the hunt for surviving perpetrators. Included is a profile of Adnan El Shukrijumah, whom the FBI believes is Al Qaeda's operations chief.

Clay Aiken kicks off UNC-TV's SeptemberFest pledge event next weekend with the premiere of his special "Clay Aiken: Tried and True Live," and you could be there with him live in the UNC-TV studios.

Here's how it works: UNC-TV's 4000th fan on Facebook will win a tour of the studio and a "meet and greet" with Clay. If the station doesn't reach 4000 fans by the deadline, September 10, the UNC-TV fan with the most mutual friends who are also UNC-TV fans will win. As of today (September 4), UNC-TV has just over 3,400 fans on the site.