Redefining Clay Aiken

Five years ago, a skinny, bespectacled guy auditioned for American Idol. He was a college student studying to be a Special Education teacher. That should have told the world that he was something different, and it did. During his run on Idol, people saw many different things about Clay Aiken. Some saw a very naïve boy, sweet and very gentle. Others saw a child who needed their care. Many assigned traits and preferences to him without knowing anything about him other than the one dimensional character they saw twice a week for five months. Many defined his religious and political beliefs based on two minute interviews for the show, and then decided his beliefs where exactly like their own. Some people caught on to the fact that he had a biting sense of humor when they saw the Jaded Journalist interviews, while others missed that completely.Over the last five years, bits and piece of the real Clay Aiken have become known, or as well as we can know someone from their public actions alone...