Birthday: 11/30/1978
Birthplace: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Occupation: Singer
Sign: Sagittarius
Death date: N/A
Singer. Born Clayton Holmes Grissom on November 30, 1978, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. As an infant, his parents separated and Clay took his mother's maiden name, Aiken, as his legal last name.As a teenager, Aiken became a regular member of the Raleigh Boys Choir, and performed roles in many local theater productions. After high school, Aiken attended University of North Carolina at Charlotte to study Special Education. In 2003, he planned on attending William & Mary College to pursue a graduate degree, but first he decided to try out for reality television competition American Idol. Aiken beat out 7,000 other contestants to land in second place on the show, behind winner Ruben Studdard.
Weeks after finishing American Idol, Aiken was offered a record contract with RCA. In October of 2003, he released his debut album, Measure of Man, which sold 3 million copies and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album sold 613,000 copies in its first week, making it the highest selling debut album for a solo artist in 10 years, and earning Aiken an American Music Award. Also Aiken's debut single, "This is the Night/Bridge Over Troubled Water," earned him Billboard's best-selling single of 2003. The song sold over 392,000 copies during its first week, beating the record previously held by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" in 1997.In November of 2004, Clay Aiken released his first holiday album, Merry Christmas with Love. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Holiday Albums chart and was the biggest debut album in SoundScan history. That same year, Aiken also wrote a New York Times bestselling memoir titled Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life. The book detailed his upbringing and musical influences, but paid special attention to spiritual development. The book spent seven weeks on the bestseller list.
In 2006, People magazine readers chose Aiken as their favorite American idol. He also released two albums: A Thousand Different Ways and All is Well, which both debuted in the Billboard Top 5. While working on material for a new album in 2008, Aiken also took on the role of Sir Robin in the Broadway musical Monty Python's Spamalot. On My Way Here, was released later that year, making Aiken the eighth artist in music history to have their first four albums debut in the Billboard Top 5. Aiken left RCA shortly after the album was released. His fifth album, The Very Best of Clay Aiken, was released at the end of March 2009 on Sony's Legacy Recordings Playlist Series. Later that year, Aiken signed with Universal Music's Decca Records. He plans to release a new album in 2010.Aiken surprised fans in 2008, when he confirmed in People magazine interview that he is gay. In August of that year, Aiken announced the arrival of his first child, Parker Foster Aiken. His long-time friend and music producer Jaymes Foster, served as the surrogate for the child. He is currently romantically linked to Broadway actor Reed Kelly.
November was born on November 30, 1978 in Raleigh, North Carolina. From an early age, Aiken's family new he had a special gift and talent. At the early age of five, Aiken performed the Dolly Parton/ Kenny Rogers classic hit, ?Islands In the Stream,? to a crowd at a local high school dance. At the age of seven, he was purchasing his own albums through a mail-order catalog. As a teenager, Aiken was a member of the Raleigh Boys Choir. He also acted in various musicals: The Music man, Oklahoma, and countless stage plays. Aiken dropped his music career, however, in college. He opted to be a Special education major at the University of North Carolina in charlotte.
He had hopes of eventually attending the prestigious William & Mary College in Virginia in order to attain a Master's degree in Administration. This all changed, however, during 2003 when Aiken was selected from 7,000 contestants as a runner-up in the Fox Television Show: American Idol: The Search for a Super Star. Aiken's rendition of the Simon and Garfunkel classic, ?Bridge Over Troubled waters,? wowed both audience and judges. Although he came in second to winner Ruben Studdard, Aiken's career has taken off. Shortly after the show, he was offered a record deal with RCA.
During the summer of 2003, Aiken appeared on the cover of Rolling Stones Magazine. As a contestant on American Idol, Aiken tried not to discuss his personal life. In Rolling Stones, however, he gave an in-depth interview concerning his childhood, life now, and ambitions. In the article, Aiken discussed life at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, talked about the Buben-Aiken Foundation. Aiken co-founded the Buben/Aiken Foundation as a means to provide help to individuals with Autism of other physical and mental disabilities. Aiken confessed, in the article, that he is scared of water, loves instant grits, and bites his toenails. More personally, he talked about his childhood.
Aiken comes from a broken home. His biological father, Vernon Grissom, was an alcoholic who was physically and verbally abusive to Aiken and his mother. Grissom left Aiken and his mother when he was one years old. In the late 1990s, Aiken decided to get his last name legally changed to that of his mother's middle name. Clay admitted in his interview that he thinks of his mother's second husband, Ray Parker, as his true biological father. Sadly, Parker died in July 2002.Aiken wowed people when he released his debut single, ?This Is The Night.? The song was number one on the Billboard hot 100. It sold over 392,000 copies in the first week. The single beat Elton John's record of sales for his 1997 single dedicated to Princess Diana entitled ?Candle in the Wind 1997.?
In October 2003, Aiken released his debut album entitled The Measure of a Man. The album, which sold 613,000 copies in the first week, went to number one on the Billboard Chart Top 2000. The album's first single, ?Invisible,? has been a top request on the trendy MTV show, TRL. The Measure of a Man was co-produced by Simon Fuller and Clive Davis. The album features the songwriting talents of artists such as : Steve Mac, Cliff Magress, Desmond Child, Steve Morales, and Rick Nowels.
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