Clay Aiken

America first fell in love with Clay Aiken’s extraordinary voice and undeniable charisma on the second season of American Idol. His journey on the show became a cultural phenomenon, drawing nearly 40 million viewers to the finale—one of the highest-rated live television broadcasts of the 21st century—and launching one of the most successful recording careers to emerge from the series. Aiken’s first single, “This Is The Night,” made history as the first track by a brand-new artist to enter the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1, selling nearly 400,000 copies in its opening week. The follow-up, “Invisible,” became a defining early-2000s pop hit, climbing to No. 37 on the Hot 100 and earning RIAA Gold certification. His debut album, Measure of a Man, then entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 and went multi- platinum, cementing him as one of pop music’s biggest new artists. Among his early highlights was the chart-topping holiday album Merry Christmas with Love, which still holds the record for the largest debut week ever for a holiday album in the SoundScan era.