Who is Clay Aiken from American Idol and is he running for Congress? Tue 11 January 2022 12:06 Brooke Harrison
Ava Arnold American Idol star Clay Aiken has announced that he will be running for Congress in North Carolina for the second time.
The American singer and activist looks different since the last time he was on television, and this time he’s here to make a difference. The 43-year-old announced his new venture yesterday, and social media users seem more than thrilled.
If you weren’t an American Idol fan, then you may be wondering who Clay Aiken is. But don’t worry, Reality Titbit have found out everything you need to know and all the details on his second run.
Who is Clay Aiken?
Clay Aiken is best known for coming in second place on American Idol back in 2003. He finished after winner Ruben Studdard.
Despite not winning, this didn’t stop his music career from progressing. Clay has landed deals with major record labels and is the fourth highest selling American Idol contestant, selling over 5 million albums.
He has a 13-year-old son, called Parker Foster Austin. Clay has kept his sons life private from the public, and rarely speaks about him across his social media.
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Clay Aiken is running for Congress
American Idol fans were shocked to learn that Clay Aiken was running for Congress in North Carolina. Aiken is running as a Democrat in the states 6th District, and is up against the likes of Wiley Nickel and Valerie Foushee.
This isn’t Clay’s first time running for Congress, as he attempted in 2014, however was beat by Republican Renee Ellmers. In his announcement video, he explained that a lot has changed for him since American Idol, such as:
“I came home, I came out, I became a father. These days my life looks a lot more like yours than Justin Bieber’s, that I can promise you. But one thing that has never changed for me is how much I love my home state. North Carolina is the place where I discovered first that I had a voice, and that it was a voice that could be used for more than singing”
Can you believe it's been almost 20 years since I first got to share my voice with you? That's a long time. A LOT has changed!
We need powerful voices more than ever, so I'm running for Congress.
And my voice is even stronger now! 😉 #JoinTheChorus
— Clay Aiken (@clayaiken) January 10, 2022
Clay has a Foundation for children with special needs
Aiken founded The Bubel/Aiken Foundation, set up to assist children with special needs. Before his appearance on American Idol, he studied special education at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
After the show, he put his fame to good use by setting up The Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which first began as a University project. The inspiration for the name came from Clays volunteer work, when he met an autistic child called Mike Bubel.
In 2009 the name of the Foundation was changed to the National Inclusion Project. They state on their website: “With those beliefs in mind, we’ve made it our mission to make the inclusion of children with disabilities the EXPECTATION, not the exception”.
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