‘Measure Of A Man’— Clay Aiken

By MEGAN SENNETT, GB Youth Board

Published: November 20, 2003

He may have come in second place to Ruben Studdard on the second season of FOX’s hit reality TV show “American Idol,” but ever since then, Clay Aiken has never come in any place but first.

His single “This Is the Night”/ “Bridge Over Troubled Water” debuted at number one in June on the Billboard Hot 100 Sales Chart with the highest first-week sales total since Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind ‘97,” easily making it the best-selling single of 2003. Aiken spent much of the summer performing as part of the “American Idols Live” Tour and also recently sang at the Miss America Pageant and at game one of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.

His debut album “Measure of a Man” was released by RCA Records on Oct. 14 and sold 613,000 copies its first week, the most for any solo artist in the past 10 years.

Aiken’s list of achievements isn’t all that shabby, considering that a year ago, he was a special education major at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and worked with autistic children.

Diane Bubel, the mother of one of the autistic children he worked with, first encouraged Aiken to audition for the show. He has since formed the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, through which he hopes to provide opportunities for people with autism and other disabilities to participate in programs that are usually only offered to people without disabilities.

Aiken’s kind and generous values extend to his music. In a music industry full of artists who make millions of dollars singing about drugs, sex, violence and other inappropriate behaviors, Aiken is a welcome breath of fresh air. His music evokes a feeling that we’re back in a time when life was a little less complicated and a lot more sheltered. Aiken’s incredibly strong voice makes his compilation of 12 songs sound both honest and believable.

“No More Sad Songs” is an angst-ridden tune about recovering after a breakup with a girlfriend, on which the slow rock background and lyrics are excellent.

“Invisible,” which was released as the first single off the new album, is a very catchy, up-tempo pop number. “Perfect Day” is another great ballad with a good rock beat, several interesting key changes, and a soaring chorus. On “I Survived You,” a well-done ballad, Aiken’s unique voice comes through very well.

Two songs that show off Aiken’s versatility are “When You Say You Love Me,” a good song with a slight country flavor, and “Touch,” a dance song with a Latin-inspired beat.

My favorite song on the CD is the title track “Measure of a Man,” a beautiful ballad that describes that people are measured by their actions and not by the material items they have.

Aiken’s voice shines through perfectly and his sincerity with regard to the meaning of the lyrics is conveyed really well.

According to an Oct. 13 Time Magazine article by Josh Tyrangiel, although Aiken constantly had to battle RCA executives, including chairman and music industry legend Clive Davis, for the right to make his CD completely “clean” and free of sexual innuendo, he stuck by his strong morals and values and won out in the end.

As Aiken himself said, “There are certain words and emotions I don’t want kids hearing, and I’m not changing because they think it’s going to sell better.”

He is not ashamed to state publicly that he does not drink, smoke, curse or have sex. For sticking up for his ethics and principles, Aiken has become a positive role model and has incredible talent to boot, something the entertainment industry has not seen in a long time.

Clay Aiken may not have been the “American Idol,” but he sure is an American icon.

Megan Sennett is a sophomore at Chattahoochee High School and attends St. Brigid Church in Alpharetta.