b. Clayton Holmes Grissom, 30 November 1978, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. A runner-up on the second series of the highly rated Fox TV show American Idol, Aiken's stratospheric rise to fame shadowed the career of his English counterpart on the Pop Idol show, Gareth Gates. At their commercial peak, Aiken and Gates both boasted sales figures to rival and sometimes eclipse those of the two singers who beat them to the top slot in their respective competitions, Ruben Studdard and Will Young. The second series of American Idol, which came to the screens in spring 2003, established the show as one of the most popular on US television, with viewers enthralled by the battle between the larger-than-life belter Studdard and boy-next-door balladeer Aiken. Following the show's climax in May 2003, Aiken signed a recording contract with RCA Records and entered the studio with veteran producer Clive Davis to work on his debut album. He enjoyed immediate success the following month when lead-off single "This Is The Night" pipped Studdard's "Flying Without Wings" to the top slot in the Billboard Hot 100. Aiken also beat Studdard to the draw in the album stakes, releasing Measure Of A Man in October. This pleasant but completely unremarkable MOR collection duly topped the album chart in the first week of release.
As befitting someone who broke through on a reality television show, Aiken kept himself busy over the next few years touring and appearing on numerous television shows. He also released a seasonal album in 2004 and A Thousand Different Ways in 2006, both of which followed his debut into the US Top 5. Aiken made his Broadway debut in January 2008 playing the role of Sir Robin in Spamalot.
DISCOGRAPHY: Measure Of A Man (RCA 2003)***, Merry Christmas With Love (RCA 2004)**, A Thousand Different Ways (RCA 2006)**.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Learning To Sing: Hearing The Music In Your Life, Clay Aiken.
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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