Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken, born Clayton Holmes Grissom in 1978, is an American singer, actor, and television personality. He rose to prominence as the runner-up on the second season of American Idol in 2003. Aiken earned a bachelor's degree in special education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte before his music career took off.

His debut album, Measure of a Man, was released in 2003 and was certified multi-platinum. The album featured the single "This Is The Night." Aiken went on to release several studio albums, including the holiday collection Merry Christmas with Love in 2004, which includes the song "Mary, Did You Know," as well as A Thousand Different Ways, On My Way Here, and Tried and True in 2010. He also released the EP All is Well.

Beyond recording, Aiken appeared on Broadway in the musical Spamalot in 2008. He has also been active in humanitarian work, co-founding the National Inclusion Project in 2003 to support children with disabilities. He served as a UNICEF ambassador from 2004 to 2013.