Clayton Holmes Aiken is an American singer, television personality, actor, politician, and activist.
84 Facts About Clay Aiken
2.
Clay Aiken released four more albums on the RCA label, Merry Christmas with Love, A Thousand Different Ways, the Christmas EP All is Well, and On My Way Here.
3.
Clay Aiken has had eleven tours in support of his albums.
4.
Clay Aiken co-wrote a bestselling memoir in 2004, Learning to Sing.
5.
In 2014, Clay Aiken ran for the United States House of Representatives in North Carolina's 2nd congressional district.
6.
Clay Aiken won the Democratic primary, but lost to Republican incumbent Renee Ellmers in the general election.
7.
Clay Aiken was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina.
8.
Clay Aiken was MC and performer at the Johnston Community College Country Showcase in Smithfield and at the North Carolina Music Connection and Hometown Music Connection shows in Garner, and Benson.
9.
Clay Aiken performed the national anthem numerous times for the Raleigh IceCaps and the Carolina Hurricanes hockey teams, and performed it at the 2011 NHL All-Star Game at the RBC Center in Raleigh.
10.
Clay Aiken attended Raleigh's Leesville Road High School and took courses at Campbell University before enrolling at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
11.
Still in high school, Clay Aiken learned quickly that he could make a difference in the lives of young people.
12.
Clay Aiken found his interest in special education while directing YMCA children's camps as a teenager, and at age 19, he served as a substitute teacher for a classroom of autistic students at Brentwood Elementary School in Raleigh.
13.
On November 18,2010, Clay Aiken went to Washington, DC, on behalf of Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network at a Capitol Hill briefing talking about anti-gay bullying.
14.
Clay Aiken describes himself as a proud Southern Baptist who journeyed away from those roots in his late teens in search of a religion with more liberal social policies.
15.
Clay Aiken then returned to that church because of family and social ties although he remains at odds with the church on some issues.
16.
Clay Aiken has sung a few CCM songs at his pop concerts and has made Christmas albums, Christmas television specials and performances, and Christmas tours essential elements of his career.
17.
Clay Aiken makes it clear that he is aware not everyone shares his religious beliefs and it is not his intention to press these beliefs on others.
18.
Clay Aiken had filled out an application to participate in the reality show The Amazing Race when a friend of his insisted that he try out for American Idol instead.
19.
Clay Aiken made it to the round of 32 before being cut from the show, but he was invited to return for the "Wild Card" round; his performance of Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" sent him on to the final 12 as the viewer's choice.
20.
Clay Aiken received enough votes every week to keep him out of the bottom three.
21.
Clay Aiken replaced his glasses with contact lenses and agreed to let the show's stylists change his hair style.
22.
On May 21,2003, Clay Aiken came in a close second to Ruben Studdard, who won the contest by 134,000 votes out of more than 24,000,000 votes cast.
23.
Clay Aiken appeared without introduction in a well-tailored designer suit and longer, darker hair with bangs, looking so different that many did not recognize him until he began to sing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me".
24.
On October 14,2003, Clay Aiken released his first solo album, Measure of a Man, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with 613,000 copies sold in its first week, the highest-selling debut for a solo artist in 10 years.
25.
On November 16,2004, Clay Aiken released a holiday album titled Merry Christmas with Love, which set a new record for fastest-selling holiday album in the Soundscan era.
26.
Clay Aiken found a song, "On My Way Here", written by OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, that struck a chord with him and became the inspiration for the album's theme in addition to the album title.
27.
Clay Aiken's rep confirmed to People magazine that Clay Aiken left RCA.
28.
The album was released on June 1,2010 and features songs popular in the 1950s and 1960s, including two Clay Aiken covered during his run on American Idol, "Mack the Knife" and "Unchained Melody".
29.
On December 20,2011, Clay Aiken released a new single, "Bring Back My Love" under the Decca Label.
30.
On March 27,2012 Clay Aiken released Steadfast, a new album of previous recordings and songs only sung in concerts.
31.
On Labor Day 2003, Clay Aiken sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water" at the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon and received a standing ovation from the audience.
32.
On July 4,2004, Clay Aiken was one of the performers in the A Capitol Fourth concert in Washington, DC and performed in the Good Morning America Summer Concert Series in 2004 and 2005.
33.
Clay Aiken sang "Isn't She Lovely" on the popular television show Scrubs.
34.
Clay Aiken was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in 2004 and participated in several skits.
35.
Clay Aiken made his acting debut on Ed in early 2004, playing himself, and in 2005, he was interviewed by Erica Kane on All My Children.
36.
Clay Aiken played the role of cafeteria worker Kenny on the Scrubs episode "My Life in Four Cameras".
37.
Clay Aiken was a special correspondent for The Insider for the 2005 Emmy Awards, and on the sets of the sitcom Reba with Reba McEntire and Dancing With the Stars.
38.
Clay Aiken co-hosted The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet in 2006, and on November 17,2006, filled in for Regis Philbin as guest host on Live with Regis and Kelly.
39.
Clay Aiken made fun of the controversy on the 2006 American Music Awards the next night with Tori Spelling.
40.
Clay Aiken was a guest judge on the April 8,2009, segment of Banks show America's Next Top Model; in what the show refers to as a teach, he worked with the remaining eight contestants on their acting skills prior to the judging.
41.
Clay Aiken sang an inspirational duet with Chaka Khan, to encourage those who did not believe that Phineas and Ferb could accomplish their goal of circling the globe faster than the sun, thus creating the longest summer day of all time.
42.
On January 30,2011, Clay Aiken sang the United States' national anthem at the 2011 NHL All-Star game held at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, home of the Carolina Hurricanes.
43.
On July 24,2011, Clay Aiken guest starred on the comedy drama series Drop Dead Diva.
44.
In 2012, Clay Aiken was the runner-up on the fifth season of The Celebrity Apprentice, raising US$361,500 for the National Inclusion Project.
45.
Clay Aiken played himself and was one of the judges for a reality show that Andy was auditioning for.
46.
On January 18,2008, Clay Aiken made his Broadway debut when he joined the cast of Monty Python's Spamalot for a four-month run, ending on May 4,2008.
47.
Clay Aiken played Sir Robin, in the Tony Award-winning musical directed by Mike Nichols.
48.
On December 23,2008, Clay Aiken had his caricature unveiled at world-famous Sardi's restaurant.
49.
In May 2013, Clay Aiken starred as "Man in Chair" in North Carolina Theatre's production of The Drowsy Chaperone, along with fellow Raleigh native and Tony Award winner Beth Leavel, who reprised her role as "The Chaperone".
50.
In June 2019, Clay Aiken starred as Teen Angel in Grease at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
51.
In November 2004, Clay Aiken launched his third tour of the year, which revolved around a Christmas theme.
52.
In some cities, Clay Aiken was supported by the local philharmonic or symphony, such as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
53.
Clay Aiken performed a few new songs being considered for his next album.
54.
In early November 2005, Clay Aiken launched his second Christmas tour.
55.
The 2005 Joyful Noise tour featured a series of vignettes, written by Clay Aiken, which told the story of an older woman who had lost the Christmas spirit and a young boy who helps her find it again.
56.
In December 2006, Clay Aiken began his third Christmas tour, comprising performances in 18 Midwest and East Coast cities.
57.
Clay Aiken was supported by local orchestras, which opened the concerts with a program of seasonal music.
58.
On this tour Clay Aiken hired local symphonies to back him, along with tour regulars Jesse Vargas, pianist, conductor and arranger; Sean McDaniel, drummer; and Quiana Parler and Angela Fisher, backup singers.
59.
Clay Aiken told Entertainment Tonight that he had been sleeping when the incident occurred.
60.
Clay Aiken has ended all of his Christmas tours with his signature Christmas song, "Don't Save It All For Christmas Day".
61.
Clay Aiken began his fifth Christmas tour "Joyful Noise 2012" in Florida in November 2012.
62.
At 19, Clay Aiken taught at Brentwood Elementary School in a class of kids with autism.
63.
Clay Aiken was a spokesperson for the 2004 Toys For Tots drive, and acted as an ambassador for the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
64.
In September 2006, Aiken was appointed to the Presidential Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities by President George W Bush.
65.
Appointees serve a two-year term; Aiken was sworn on September 14,2006, by HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Wade F Horn, PhD.
66.
In 2010, Clay Aiken spoke out for gay rights at the Human Rights Campaign dinner in North Carolina.
67.
Clay Aiken joined other celebrities in filming an educational video for Cyndi Lauper's web based Give a Damn campaign, a project of her True Colors Fund.
68.
In July 2005, Raleigh's WRAL-TV reported on an internet campaign mounted by critics questioning how Clay Aiken's foundation used its money.
69.
CNN picked up the story, and Clay Aiken appeared on Showbiz Tonight to provide details about the foundation's programs.
70.
In November 2004, Clay Aiken was appointed a US Fund for UNICEF National Ambassador, with a mission to help ensure that children everywhere are afforded a primary education.
71.
Clay Aiken later recorded a video, featuring the song "Give A Little Bit", to be used as a public service announcement to raise money for tsunami victims.
72.
Clay Aiken was the 2005 spokesperson for the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF drive.
73.
Clay Aiken was sent to Kabul and Bamyan, in Afghanistan in April 2007, where he was able to spend time with children in their classrooms; he visited a health center for women and children where he administered oral polio vaccinations to babies.
74.
Clay Aiken observed that Afghani children, after being forbidden for so many years by the Taliban regime to attend school, are eager to return to school now that they are allowed to receive an education.
75.
Clay Aiken spent his 2007 Christmas in Mexico with the children affected by the floods in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco.
76.
Clay Aiken won the Democratic primary, held on May 6,2014, by fewer than 400 votes.
77.
Clay Aiken's campaign was captured by a filmmaking team and shown in the 2015 documentary miniseries The Runner-Up, which aired on the Esquire Network.
78.
Since coming out as gay in 2008, Clay Aiken has been more politically outspoken, particularly on gay rights and same-sex marriage.
79.
Clay Aiken spoke out against North Carolina Amendment 1, adopted in 2012, which banned gay marriage and civil unions in the state.
80.
Clay Aiken said he wanted to focus on issues that were more important to people in his district.
81.
Clay Aiken's assertion earned him a number of critics among supporters of same-sex marriage, including Bill Maher.
82.
In January 2022, Clay Aiken released a video titled "Warming Up", in which he announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination in North Carolina's 4th congressional district.
83.
Clay Aiken was voted the Favorite Reality Star of 2003 by TV Guide readers and "the most-loved reality star of all time" in a TV Guide poll conducted in the summer of 2005.
84.
Clay Aiken then teased him about having his own "Clay Nation".