Biography of Clay Aiken

Aiken (he changed his last name from Grissom to his mother's maiden name Aiken) hails from Raleigh, North Carolina and attended Raleigh's Leesville Road High School before enrolling at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Although his American Idol activities temporarily delayed his academic pursuits, Aiken graduated with a bachelor's degree in special eduation in December of 2003. He found his interest in special education during high school, and became an assistant to a severely autistic boy. It was this child's mother that urged him to audition for American Idol.

His interest in autism issues led him to set up the Bubel-Aiken Foundation, which supports efforts to give children with special needs the same educational opportunities with normal children.

In November of 2003, Aiken appeared on The Nick At Nite Holiday Special, where he sang a duet with Bing Crosby via special effects. The song was "Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth", which was originally sung by Crosby and David Bowie on a 1977 Christmas special.

In 2004, Aiken embarked on the "Independent Tour" with Kelly Clarkson, winner of the first American Idol contest. He was also scheduled for selected summer tour dates, but high demand led to the booking of over 50 dates across the United States, leading to what many fans called the "Not-a-Tour". He will be touring for the third time this year in November and December for a series of Christmas shows with local orchestras. In November 2004, he published an "inspirational memoir" entitled Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life , written with Allison Glock, published by Random House. That same month, he released a holiday album entitled Merry Christmas With Love .

Some fans of Clay have been fondly referred to as "Claymates," a name that originated on the message boards during the second season of American Idol.