Clay Aiken (b. 1978)

Clayton Holmes Aiken is an American singer, television personality, actor and political activist. Aiken finished second place on the second season of American Idol in 2003, and his debut album, Measure of a Man, went multi-platinum. He released four more albums on the RCA label, Merry Christmas with Love (2004), A Thousand Different Ways (2006), the Christmas EP All is Well (2006), and On My Way Here (2008). Since then he has released two more albums, both with Decca Records: Tried and True (2010) and Steadfast (2012). Aiken has also had eleven tours in support of his albums. In all, he has sold over 5 million albums, and is the fourth-highest-selling American Idol alumnus.

Quotes

I talk to friends of mine who are now teaching; they've graduated and they have classrooms. And I get really jealous, and I get really excited talking to them about their classrooms, and I want one. I think I'd be happy.
I'm a realist, I'm not an optimist. I don't want false hope. I don't know where this is going for me.
What I wanted to do was work with kids with behavioral and emotional handicaps. It's a puzzle, learning each child, because each child is different.
If I'm supposed to carry the banner for all the nerds in the world, I'm fine with that.
I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions because I don’t think you should have to wait until December to start working on how to change yourself. I think if you’ve got a problem, you need to fix it now.
It's important that I make a difference in some way. If it's performing and touching someone that way, that's great; if it's being a teacher and helping a kid understand something, that's even better. It's not necessarily how I make a difference, but I want to make sure that I do.
I hesitate to call myself a sex symbol. Lord help the sex symbol world if I'm one of them.
Working with children with autism has provided me with an opportunity to see the world in a different way. I see them strive to overcome obstacles and persevere, and learn to persevere myself. They are my inspiration.
Family is something I've always wanted, the one and a half kids and a dog.
Fame and glory are fleeting, especially in the music business. That's why completing my degree and graduating from college were priorities.
People feel comfortable around someone who is comfortable with himself.
I think that is what love is - when it's unimaginable to be away from the person, and you care about what makes them happy more than what makes you happy.
My own personal position is that it's much more special to wait for the person who you're married to.
There's nothing so wrong that it can't be easily fixed or easily ignored. I just let things roll off.
I realized, I'm never gonna be a Brad Pitt, so get over it, be happy with yourself, and move on.
It's okay for musicians not to be womanizers.
The biggest problem I had - and the biggest problem teenagers have - is not how they dress, how they look or how they act or talk. It's how they see themselves - their self-esteem. In the tenth grade, I realized I am who I am. I've got big ears and big feet. I can etiher sulk around or I can be happy with who I am. The minute I decided to be confident with who I was, all that other stuff stopped. It's all in the way you carry yourself.
If you're in the public eye, you're either a womanizer or you're gay. I'm neither one.
When you work with kids who have autism, they don't reciprocate any affection. You learn to find your self- worth within what you do, not what people tell you about yourself.
You know who I idolized? Mr. Rogers. Is there a market for the next Mr. Rogers? Because I'd love to do that. I'd much rather be quiet and important like him than live large and be some useless celebrity.