Mcall.com Article (for Musikfest)

Although he's idolized, Aiken finds time to help others
MUSIKFEST 2005

By Tom Jicha
Special to The Morning Call

Clay Aiken didn't watch a single episode of ''American Idol'' this season. He wasn't snubbing the show, even though the show might be snubbing him because he broke free of contractual ties to it. The extraordinary demands on his time just haven't afforded him the opportunity to watch, he says.

Legal squabbles notwithstanding, Aiken, whose Musikfest concert last year sold out faster than any other performance in the festival's 21-year history, says he still has warm feelings for the series that made him one of America's hottest performers.

His debut CD, ''Measure of a Man,'' sold three million copies; his 2004 holiday album, ''Merry Christmas With Love,'' sold a million; ''This Is the Night'' was the best-selling single of 2003, and his shows are windfalls for scalpers.

'''American Idol' is a very familial atmosphere,'' he says. ''When you're with people 24/7, as we were, you get to love them or hate them. I got to love them.''

He has toured with original ''Idol'' Kelly Clarkson and talks to her regularly. He tries to keep in touch with Ruben Studdard, the soul singer to whom Aiken finished first runner-up in 2003. He wanted to watch the April 6 results show, which included a performance by 2004 ''Idol'' Fantasia Barrino, but says he couldn't escape other commitments to get to a TV set.

No matter how jammed his schedule gets, he makes time to help others. For example, in April he participated in the ''Florida Voices for Change'' benefit in Broward County. Tickets were available for $200 and $275, with tables for 10 ranging as high as $25,000.

The pricing might have been a little steep for ''Clay-mates,'' his wildly supportive fan base, whose passion and loyalty mystifies him. ''I love it, but it's hard to understand why they care so much,'' he says, displaying the same boyish politeness in a phone interview that he exhibited toward Randy, Paula and Simon. His humility, even now that he has reached legitimate star status, is a big reason.

The beneficiary of ''Florida Voices for Change'' was the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which he formed in 2003 with activist Diane Bubel, whose son Mike is autistic. The organization is dedicated to the integration into the mainstream of young people with developmental disabilities.

Aiken clearly has not forgotten where he comes from, another of his endearing traits. Helping children with special needs is probably what he would be doing, albeit on a less grand scale, if he had never been discovered. He has a bachelor's degree in special ed from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and was working with children with disabilities when he auditioned for ''American Idol.''

Aiken recalls teaching special-needs children at the YMCA in his hometown of Raleigh, N.C., and becoming disheartened when programs that could have been helpful were unavailable because of lack of funds. He says he used to tell himself, ''I'd love to be able to figure a way to get the kids into those programs.'' The fund-raising that has become a major part of his life has helped to do just that.

In late March, Aiken, an ambassador for UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund), toured the tsunami-ravaged Indonesian province of Aceh on a fact-finding mission. He also made a brief appearance but did not sing at the eight-hour Force of Nature Concert for Tsunami Aid at a stadium just outside Kuala Lumpur in Mayalsia.

The only downside to his global celebrity is that it has made him a target for the tabloids, which realize his face on the cover will sell papers. Not even someone with his wholesome image is immune to their creative smearing. He's adopted the savvy strategy of ignoring them, but one piece, which was sent to him, was especially hurtful, he said. ''One of them wrote I was working with a children's choir last Christmas and I was rude to them. I've spent my entire life working with kids, trying to help them.''

The only consolation, he said, is, ''I think most people didn't believe this story because it was so preposterous.''

Tom Jicha writes for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a Tribune Publishing newspaper.