Clay Aiken - Biography

Last Editor: beth.penland				Clay Aiken Biography -   Name : Clay Aiken Full Name : Clayton Holmes Grissom Date of Birth : November 30, 1978 Place of Birth : Raleigh, North Carolina U.S. Age : 29 Height : 6' 1 Profession : Singer Genre(s) : Pop;Pop rock

Clay Aiken Trivia -

Clay has changed his last name, Grissom, to the maiden name of his mother , Aiken. He was a special education major at UNC-Charlotte Clay has worked for the YMCA in Raleigh, North Carolina He has shortened his name from Clayton to Clay after a suggestion from the producers of "American Idol". Before "American Idol" Clay has recorded two CDs entitled "Redefined" and "Look What Love Has Done" prior to American Idol. The name of her mother is Faye Aiken Parker. Ray Parker is his late step-father. Step-brother is Jeff, step-sister is Amy and half-brother is Brett. In the first week of the release of his single, it sold more than 393,000 copies, the most since Elton John's "Candle in the Wind." Clay's single titled 'This Is The Night', went platinum in the US, and 6 times platinum in Canada. He formed the Bubel/Aiken Foundation for the children with neurological disabilities in activities with typical children. Named the foundation for Diane Bubel, the mother of a child with autism he worked with in North Carolina, who persuaded him to audition for American Idol. Clay's freshman album,titled Measure of a Man, shipped double platinum. He used to share a house in L.A with ex American Idol contestant Kimberley Locke Plans to release one album in 2004, a Christmas album His song, "The Way," was co-written by Enrique Iglesias. His biological father, Vernon Grissom, passed away on February 27, 2004. His stepfather, Ray Parker, also died on July 4, 2002. He was the one and only contestant on the 2nd season of American Idol that was never voted in the bottom two or three. On April 15, 2004, Clay's single, "Solitaire," sold 191,132 copies. His first album went triple platinum. Clay shares her birthday with other celebrities like Ben Stiller, 80s punk rocker Billy Idol, "8 Simple Rules..." star Kaley Cuoco, "24" star Elisha Cuthbert and Dick Clark. Clay was born with a collapsed lung. Christmas album, titled Merry Christmas with Love, was released on November 16th, 2004. His first book, titled Learning to Sing, came out on November 19th, 2004. He has got his first name (Clayton) from his grandmother's maiden name. He claims it is a Southern Tradition. (Source: "Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music In Your Life," by Clay Aiken) Clay had three major tours in the year 2004. These are namely The Independent Tour in Spring, the Clay Aiken Solo Tour 2004 in Summer, and the Joyful Noise Tour in Winter) Clay was ranked as No 18 in TV Guide's list of "TV's 25 Greatest Teen Idols" (23 January 2005 issue). On 5 September 2006 , President Bush selected him to serve on the President's Committee for People With Intellectual Disabilities. He is allergic to many kinds of foods, including all tree nuts. He is not allergic to peanuts, which grow on a vine. He claimed that former Avalon member Jody Mcbrayer is one of his favorite singers, and was a big inspiration to him. Clay's first son Parker Foster Aiken weighed in at 6 lbs, 2 oz.

Clay Aiken Detailed Biography -

Born on November 30, 1978, Clay has gained popularity as an American pop singer who became famous on the second season of the television program American Idol in the year 2003. Based on album sales that has managed to surpass only by Idol winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken became the most successful male and the most successful runner-up in the history of the show. So far as personal life is concerned, Aiken came out of the closet and declared that he is a gay in a September 2008 interview with People magazine. In the years following his American Idol appearance, Clay has launched 8 tours and wrote a New York Times best-selling book titled 'Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life with Allison Glock'. In fact Clay was the executive producer for a 2004 televised Christmas special, A Clay Aiken Christmas. He frequented talk show especially on The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, also appeared as a guest star on Scrubs, participated in comedy skits on Kimmel and Saturday Night Live, and made his Broadway debut playing the role of Sir Robin in Monty Python's Spamalot in January 2008. Clay has created the Bubel/Aiken Foundation in the year 2003, accepted a UNICEF ambassadorship in 2004,and in 2006 he was appointed for a two year term by President George W. Bush to a committee that acts in an advisory capacity to the President and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on matters that are related to programs and services for persons with intellectual disabilities. Clay released a new studio album (the first album of original material since 2003's Measure of A Man), entitled On My Way Here on May 6, 2008.