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.