Clay Aiken: the 'Measure' of a Rising Star

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - It's a showbiz paradox. The top-selling singer to emerge so far from the "American Idol" TV talent showdown did not even win the contest.

Not that Clay Aiken is complaining. He is too busy leading the hectic life of an in-demand pop star to dwell on the fact that he finished in second place on "American Idol."

By now, most people familiar with American pop culture know Aiken's story: As a contestant on the second season of "American Idol," he transformed from a bookish-looking, gawky neophyte to a polished performer who went through a striking image makeover.

During the season finale last May, Aiken lost to Ruben Studdard by less than 1% of the vote. Although the media often portrayed Aiken and Studdard as rivals, the two singers have remained friends during and after their time on the show.

For the music industry, the votes in the season finale have counted less than the votes of fans that buy records.

And in that respect, the 25-year-old Aiken is the true "American Idol" champ. In the wake of his second-place finish, he signed a recording contract with RCA Records, a management deal with 19 Entertainment, the company behind "American Idol" and similar shows worldwide, and in June released his first single, "This Is the Night." The song hit No. 1 on The Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and became the top-selling single of the year, with U.S. sales of more than 950,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Aiken's debut album, "Measure of a Man," released Oct. 14, 2003, sold 613,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200. It had the second-strongest opening sales week for a debut album in the Nielsen SoundScan era (exceeded only by Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Doggystyle," which had first-week sales of 803,000 units in 1993).

"Measure of a Man" was certified platinum in November by the Recording Industry Assn. of America. The album has since surpassed 2 million in sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Somewhere amid the milestones of a new pop career, Aiken graduated from college last December (from the University of North Carolina in Charlotte with a Bachelor of Arts degree in special education), started a charity (the Bubel/Aiken Foundation for children with disabilities) and launched his first tour. A new trek, co-headlining arenas with first "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson, will begin Feb. 24.

According to Aiken, the path to platinum has been a whirlwind experience that began during the show's second-season finale last May. That's when he found out that he had a record deal with RCA.

"Right after the, Ruben and I did a press tour in New York," he recalls. "During that week I had a meeting with Clive Davis at his house in Connecticut, where he and Tom Ennis from 19 Entertainment, Steve Ferrera and I went up and listened to the stuff they already had prepared for me. They did a lot of the song selections before the second season on was over."

19 Entertainment founder Simon Fuller and other members of his team also were an integral part of the song-selection process.

According to Ennis, 19 Entertainment initially planned to sign only the winner of that season's "American Idol." But that all changed when "we saw the results of the voting were so close," he says. "We were also blown away by Clay's talent and the fact that he appeals to millions of people. We knew we had to sign him."