This morning on the way to work I heard the tail end of an NPR feature about Clay Aiken, which reminded me what a fan of his I have been in the past.

Clay was runner-up in the second season of American Idol (2003), narrowly losing the popular vote to Ruben Studdard, who, despite being a talented performer, did not hold a candle to Clay.  Clay was musical, pitch-perfect, and sang with emotion, and most of his covers have become my go-to versions of the songs.  He sang an exquisite slow version of Dolly Parton’s “Here you come again”, and his redo of Diane Warren’s (and Celine Dion’s) “Because you loved me” was the basis for the slideshow that I put together for David and Amanda’s rehearsal dinner.  In a trip we took before that dinner Carol asked me why I wasn’t using Celine’s version.  I played her both versions, and she agreed that Clay’s was more emotional and had a simple elegance.

After his Idol run and a few records, Clay dropped out of sight for a few years, during which he came out of the closet (I always suspected that he lost out on Idol because of suspicions that he was gay), and adopted a son.

He is currently the Democratic nominee for a congressional seat from his home state of North Carolina.  From what I can tell, his chances are pretty good.  He was interviewed by NPR, who asked him if he would miss his singing career if he won the seat.  He said he was prepared to move on into a new phase of his life.

Wherever he goes, whatever he does…(oh yes, he also did a nice cover of Richard Marx’s “Right here waiting”)…I’ll be following him with interest.