Clay Aiken

He is actively involved with a number of multiple benefit events and organizations such as ‘People with Intellectual Disabilities’, ‘National Inclusion Project’ and ‘UNICEF’.

He disclosed that he was gay in 2008 and he is involved in a number of organizations pertaining to gay rights. The same year, he announced the birth of his son, Parker Foster Aiken, with his friend, Jaymes Foster.

He has had a liposuction under his chin, while he underwent a treatment for a joint disorder.

Clayton Holmes ‘Clay’ Grissom was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. When he was an infant, his parents divorced and he took his mother’s maiden name, Aiken, as his legal last name.

He made his performing debut with the song, ‘Islands in the Stream’, at the age of five, at the Raleigh North Carolina, high school dance, in 1983.

As a teenager, he was a part of a number of church choirs, school choirs and was also with the local school band, ‘Just By Chance’. After he completed high school, he attended University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he studied ‘Special Education’.

In 2003, he planned to attend William & Mary College, but eventually decided that he would want to try to get into the second season of ‘American Idol’ first.

He was selected from hordes of contestants and although his education was put on hold, he managed to obtain his bachelor’s degree in special education, while on tour, in 2003.

On May 21, 2003, Aiken was placed a close-second after the winner, Ruben Studdard won the ‘American Idol’ title by 1,34,000 votes. The same year, he released his debut solo album, ‘Measure of a Man’, which featured on the Billboard countdown.

In 2003, he was seen in the television special ‘Christmas Day Parade’ by Disney. The next year, he produced his first TV special titled, ‘A Clay Aiken Christmas’, which featured special guests like Barry Manilow, Megan Mullally and Yolanda Adams.

In 2004, he released a holiday album, ‘Merry Christmas With Love’, which became the fastest-selling holiday album. The album also went on to receive RIAA certification. The same year, he also made his acting debut in ‘Ed’, where he played himself.

In 2004, he also authored the book, ‘Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life’.

In 2006, he released his second studio album, ‘A Thousand Different Ways’. The same year, he made an appearance as himself on ‘Days of our Lives’.

‘Measure of Man’, his debut record, released in 2003 sold over 3 million copies around the world and featured no.1 position on the Billboard 200. The album won a Billboard Award. This debut album is considered his magnum opus, because it also went triple-platinum in the first go.