We all remember Clay Aiken as the nerdy young American Idol contestant back in 2003. His hair stuck up at wild angles, his striped shirt was anything but “rock star,” and Simon couldn’t stand him. When a wild card contestant was chosen, Paula dug in her heels and insisted they use Clay. He worked his way up the ladder, charming the American audience week after week with his unassuming way, and somewhere along the path he got less nerdy, he got more comfortable with the stage, and in the end, he placed second to Ruben Studdard.
To look at him now, though, you would think he’d won it all.
After his near win in 2003, he released the album “Measure of a Man” which went double-platinum. In 2004, he released “Merry Christmas with Love,” which was platinum-certified. 2006 brought the album “A Thousand Different Ways,” which was gold-certified. Everyone knows who Clay Aiken is. He has 32,000 friends on MySpace. He’s even starring on Broadway right now.
Today is another red-letter day in his career. His album “On My Way Here” is now available for purchase. He calls it a thematic journey. The songs are a summation of the lessons he’s learned since appearing on American Idol five years ago. One, “The Real Me,” was written by Christian musician Natalie Grant, and another, the title song, was penned by Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic.
I’m a big Clay Aiken fan. I have been ever since hearing him sing “Vincent” on the AI stage. (Hate the song, loved the performance.) I like his voice, I like his unassuming ways, I like how his celebrity hasn’t gone to his head. I will be in line for his new album. I’m not one of his MySpace friends, but you know, I just may have to remedy that.
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