Clay Calloway

"*I haven't even heard one of my songs in over 15 years! And for a good reason.*"
— Clay talking about his retirement from the music business to Ash

INFO
GALLERY

Clay Calloway  *Featured Article*  (September 2021)

Physical Information

Species
Lion

Gender
Male

Age
Elderly

Status
Alive

Physical Appearance
* Tan fur
* White mane
* Red coat with blue button up shirt underneath
* Blue jeans
* Brown belt
* Brown boots

When performing:* Black leather jacket
* Black jeans
* Black boots

Personal Information

Aliases
*Unknown*

Occupation
Rock star

Residence
His house

Family
Ruby (wife, deceased)

Allies
* Ash
* Buster Moon
* Johnny
* Meena
* Rosita
* Gunter
* Miss Crawly
* Porsha Crystal
* Nooshy
* Darius
* Suki Lane

Enemies
* Jimmy Crystal
* Jerry
* Jimmy's bodyguards

Likes
Music

Dislikes
* Being reminded of his wife (formerly)
* Being bothered
* Honey in tea

Production Information

Debut
*Sing 2*

Voiced by
* Bono
* Dörner György

Songs Performed

Sing
N/A

Sing 2
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (with Ash)

**Clay Calloway** is a male lion and a main character in *Sing 2*. He could possibly be an African lion.

He is voiced by U2 frontman Bono .
Appearance
Clay is an elderly lion with tan fur and a white mane. He wears a red coat with a blue plaid button-up shirt underneath, blue jeans with a brown belt, and brown boots.
When he performs, Clay wears a black leather jacket, black jeans, and black boots.

Personality
When introduced, Clay showed himself to be a dramatic and bitter recluse in how he scared off Miss Crawly with firecrackers, his motorcycle, and shooting at her with a paint gun, likely as retaliation for his warning signs not being heeded and his privacy being intruded upon.
When Buster Moon and Ash went to meet him, he told them to go away, but was considerate enough to warn them not to touch his fence (which was electrified) and give them first-aid in his house after they were electrocuted.
Regardless, Clay showed himself to be a bitter recluse, unwilling to engage with the world or with his musical career after the passing of his wife, Ruby, who was his muse and the inspiration for all of his songs. Because of her death, Clay was unable to listen to his own songs for fifteen years since he lost his Ruby to sickness. The loss of the love of his life had seemingly left Clay broken and lost in his own grieving, leaving him unable to reconcile with the fact that she was gone by his refusal to have anything more to do with music, his own or otherwise, because music reminded him painfully too much of his Ruby.
It was the singing of Ash that relit the spark within Clay, for though he was solemn in listening to her play, something about the song and Ash's words and perhaps, the memory of his Ruby finally cajoled Clay to agree to take a chance, come out of retirement, and perform again. Upon learning that the show was apparently off and that Buster wanted to run, due to Jimmy Crystal trying to kill him, Clay gave some gruff encouragement, that running from your problems isn't all it's cracked up to be and that there's always a choice to do something about it.
When the crew worked together to put on the show behind Jimmy's back, Clay seemed excited and even looking forward to it... up until it was his turn to go out onstage. The moment of truth caused Clay to falter and start to think he'd made a mistake. But then, Ash went out onto the stage and led the audience in singing the opening of Clay's song, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Hearing his song from the audience and Ash left Clay speechless and in that moment, he felt his Ruby was with him, in spirit and in memory, and he found the fire within to perform again, and was left humbled and deeply appreciative of the audience and the fans who had not forgotten Clay and still loved him and his music.
Clay found himself again and seemed to finally find peace with his wife's passing, in that he would thence remember her fondly rather than mourn her miserably, and he was happy to continue performing, as he agreed to continue to perform in the musical of *Out of This World* alongside Buster and his crew.
Clay demonstrated a habit of winking as a way of responding positively or agreeing to something.

Biography
 *Sing 2*
Formerly a rock star legend, Clay isolated himself from the rest of the world after the death of his beloved wife, Ruby (which happens to be the reason why he hasn't listened to his own music in 15 years, as all of his songs are inspired by her). He later meets Buster Moon and his friends, who aim to persuade him to perform on stage again.

Quotes

"*He said, no. Not in a million years.*"
— Clay initially rejecting Buster's offer to perform in *Out of This World*

"*Your friend is even more annoying than you are!*"
— Clay joking with Buster on the phone about Ash

"*I remember you.*"
— Clay seeing Miss Crawly among the rest of the troupe, causing her to faint

"*You sure about that? 'Cause I can tell you, running and hiding away is not that it’s cracked up to be. (Buster: Well, we don’t have a choice.) Yeah, well, all these years, I thought the same, but turns out there’s always a choice. Just never had the guts to make the right one. Know what I mean?*"
— Clay telling Buster not to run and hide like he did

"*I'm beginning to like this guy.*"
— Clay, on Buster's idea to jump off the hotel's balcony to escape Jimmy's security guards

References

1. ↑ Signore, Andy (February 12, 2020). EXCLUSIVE: U2's Bono to Star in Illumination's SING 2. *FandomWire*. Retrieved on June 23, 2021.