Clay Aiken: Snapshot
- Name
- Clay Aiken
- Birth Date
- November 30, 1978
- Birth Place
- Raleigh, N.C.
Although Aiken studied special education, music has always been his passion. His debut single, "This Is the Night," bested Elton John's record-holding "Candle in the Wind" for first-week sales. Subsequent albums – notably The Measure of a Man – also topped the charts.
The singer has battled in court with a biographer who claimed Aiken defamed her and has addressed rumors about his sexuality by telling PEOPLE simply "people are going to believe what they want."
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Clay Aiken: Five Fun Facts
- Every Christmas Clay Aiken arranges his family's porcelain nativity scene on the living-room bookcase. "That's my favorite part," he told PEOPLE in 2004.
- Clay Aiken's white shirt, black pants and a pair of shoes he wore in an early round of American Idol were on display at the North Carolina Museum of History for 7 months before becoming a permanent part of the museum's collection.
- Clay Aiken is followed around the country by "Claymates," throngs of adoring women who mail him panties (mostly red and lacy ones) or throw them at the stage while he's performing.
- Clay Aiken beat Oprah Winfrey for the top spot on the "10 Best-Mannered People of 2003."
- The American Idol stylists used a flatiron on Clay Aiken's hair, and now he does it himself. "Sometimes I'll look in the mirror when I'm doing it and think about how much has changed."
Clay Aiken: Biography 
- 1983
A Star is Born
A 5-year-old Aiken makes his performing debut as the mascot at a Raleigh, N.C., high school dance. The kindergartener sings the song that Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton performed as a duet: "Islands in the Stream."
- 1995
Clay Hits the Stage
In his first headlining role, 16-year-old Aiken stars in his high school's production of Oklahoma!.
- 2002
Enter Idol
Studying to be a special-education teacher at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Aiken tries out in Atlanta for the second season of American Idol. Though the judges aren't crazy about his look – "Simon said, 'You don't look like a pop star,'" Aiken tells PEOPLE in 2006 – his rendition of "Always and Forever" is enough to get him to Hollywood.
Photo Credits
Top Left: MR Photo/Corbis Outline
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): FAYE PARKER; FAYE PARKER; FOX
