Clayton Holmes Aiken is an American singer, television personality, actor, politician, and 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.
Ruben Studdard is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second season of American Idol and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of "Superstar". In the years following Idol, Studdard has released seven studio albums, including his platinum-selling debut, Soulful, and the top-selling gospel follow-up, I Need an Angel. He is most well known for his recording career, which has produced hits including "Flying Without Wings", "Sorry 2004", and "Change Me", but he has also segued into television and stage work. Most notably, he starred as Fats Waller in a national tour revival of Ain't Misbehavin', which spawned a Grammy-nominated soundtrack.
Neil Sedaka is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard "Howie" Greenfield and Phil Cody.
"Bridge over Troubled Water" is a song by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released in January 1970 as the second single from their fifth studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). It was written by Paul Simon and produced by Simon, Art Garfunkel and Roy Halee.
Measure of a Man is the debut album by American singer Clay Aiken. It was released on October 14, 2003 through RCA Records, five months after the conclusion of the second season of American Idol.
"The Way"/"Solitaire" is the second commercial double A-side CD single by Clay Aiken released on March 16, 2004, on the RCA label. The record peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum.
"This Is the Night" is the debut single of American Idol second season contestant Clay Aiken, written by Chris Braide, Aldo Nova, and Gary Burr. It was released on June 10, 2003, on the RCA label, simultaneously with "Flying Without Wings" by rival contestant Ruben Studdard. It became the 11th song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to debut at number one on that chart, restricting "Flying Without Wings" to the number-two position.
Christopher Braide is an English songwriter, record producer and singer, formerly based in Malibu, Los Angeles.
A Thousand Different Ways is the third studio album by Clay Aiken. The album, which was executive produced by Jaymes Foster, consists of ten covers and four new songs. It was released by RCA on September 19, 2006. The first single was "Without You" and the second, "A Thousand Days."
"Solitaire" is a ballad written by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody. Cody employs playing the card game of solitaire as a metaphor for a man "who lost his love through his indifference"—"while life goes on around him everywhere he's playing solitaire". The song is perhaps best known via its rendition by Carpenters. Another version by Andy Williams reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in 1973.
"Brokenhearted" is a song by American recording artist Brandy Norwood. It was written and produced by Kipper Jones and Keith Crouch for her self-titled debut studio album, Brandy (1994). Requested by then Atlantic Records head Sylvia Rhone, the song was developed late into the production of the album. Pressured to meet Rhone's deadline for Brandy, Kipper suffered from a case of writer's block during the early writing process but eventually came up with the idea for a sweet, morose R&B ballad that deals with the aches of a teenager's first heartbreak.
The discography of Clay Aiken, an American pop music singer, consists of six studio albums, eighteen singles, one extended play, two Double A-side CDs (B-sides) and five music videos.
Gary Burr is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, primarily in the country music genre. Many of the songs he has written have become Top-10 hits, the first of which was "Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me" released by Juice Newton in 1982. He became a member of the group Pure Prairie League, taking over after Vince Gill departed the group. Burr later moved to Nashville to focus on his songwriting career, though he has continued performing and is currently a member of the Blue Sky Riders. He has written and co-written songs for many country artists, and a few songs for Pop and Rock artists.
On My Way Here is the fourth studio album released by Clay Aiken on May 6, 2008. This album of both ballads and pop-rock is an eclectic mix of styles and tempos. Aiken wanted to get away from using multiple producers and chose Grammy Award-winning British producer Mark 'Kipper' Eldridge to produce the album. Jaymes Foster was the executive producer. This was his final studio album for RCA.
Mark Eldridge, better known by the stage name Kipper, is a British Grammy Award-winning guitarist, keyboardist and record producer, known mostly from his collaborations with Gary Numan and Sting.
Measure of a Man is a song written by Cathy Dennis, produced by Stephen Lipson and recorded by Pop Idol contestants Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes, collectively known as Sam & Mark, in 2003. It was released as a double A-side single with "With a Little Help from My Friends" and peaked at number 1 in the United Kingdom. The song was also recorded by American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken in the same year for his first solo album of the same name. Aiken's album made it to number One on the Billboard top 200.
"Invisible" is a song by Irish boy band D-Side, released as the third single from their first studio album, Stronger Together (2003). The song was written and produced by Desmond Child, Andreas Carlsson, and Chris Braide. Released on 14 July 2003, the song became a top-10 hit in Ireland and the United Kingdom, peaking at number five in the former country and number seven in the latter. The same year, American Idol second two runner-up Clay Aiken covered the song and reached number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with his rendition. The song has been frequently targeted by music critics for its unsettling lyrical content, with several calling the track a "stalkers' anthem".
The Independent Tour was a co-headlining tour by American recording artists Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken. The tour supported their debut albums, Thankful (2003) and Measure of a Man (2003). The tour only reached the United States during the winter and spring of 2004. Clarkson and Aiken performed individual shows before joining in a duet for Clarkson's encore. Many critics described the tour as the PG version of The Justified & Stripped Tour in 2003. The tour placed 58th in Pollstar's annual "Top 100 Tours", earning over ten million dollars with 31 shows.
Clifton “Clif” Magness is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known for co-writing and producing several tracks on Avril Lavigne’s 2002 debut album, Let Go including the song "Losing Grip".
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