ABC NightLine Interview Tonight; CBS Interview Now Online

Clay will be on ABC's NightLine tonight at 11:35 PM EDT for an interview about the new album, "On My Way Here". ABCNews.com today ran a great article titled "Aiken Ditches Cover Songs":

Long before he starred in Broadway's "Spamalot," Clay Aiken was a performer. Some might say he always knew his audience.

[...]

Today Aiken, 29, still knows how to please a crowd and remains the most successful of the male "American Idol" contestants. His first three albums played it safe, with few original songs and lots of crowd-pleasing covers. Critics complained Aiken wasn't revealing enough, and after belting out Brian Adams and Mr. Mister, Aiken himself has admitted that it was tough for him to make a statement via repackaged music.

[...]

But unlike his previous albums that conform to a particular genre, Aiken considers his newest album, "On My Way Here," which arrived in stores this week, to be an eclectic mix that reflects his personal style. Aiken only wrote one song on the record, "Lover All Alone," but selected the remaining songs to represent experiences he's had in the past five years.

[...]

In 2003 Aiken did, however, come very close to winning "American Idol," the most well-known singing contest in the nation. As one of the two finalists left standing, Aiken lost while Ruben Studdard walked away with the coveted recording contract.

Since then, Studdard was dropped by his label after a disappointing performance on the music charts, while Aiken's albums went platinum. After receiving several prestigious honors from Billboard and the American Music Awards, Aiken has sold more albums and had more No. 1 songs than any other "American Idol" alum except for Kelly Clarkson.

CBS News also posted a report/interview about OMWH. Watch the interview at CBS Video.

Clay Aiken's Life Lessons

Clay Aiken's new album "On My Way Here" has been released and is his first collection of original songs since his debut album went double platinum in 2003. Karen Brown reports.