Clay Aiken Reflects On Losing '50 Percent' Of His Fans After Coming Out In 2008

LOADINGERROR LOADINGAs he returns to music after a 12-year hiatus, Clay Aiken is looking back on his path to living as his true self.A North Carolina native, Aiken rose to prominence on the second season of “American Idol” in 2003.

Though he finished in second place behind Ruben Studdard, he nonetheless won widespread acclaim for his debut album, “Measure of a Man,” which hit No.1 on the Billboard charts.

Advertisement Speaking to People in an interview published last week, however, Aiken recalled how that initial flush of success came to an abrupt halt when he came out as gay.He publicly addressed his sexuality in a People cover story published about a month after welcoming his son, Parker, in 2008.“Back then it was a big deal,” he told People.

“We are in a very different time.I lost maybe 50 percent of the fan base.”Aiken said he immediately noticed the impact by observing the ticket sales for “Spamalot,” the Broadway musical in which he was appearing at the time of his coming-out.

Advertisement Clay Aiken rose to prominence on "American Idol" in 2003, coming in at second place behind winner Ruben Studdard.Vince Bucci via Getty Images“The first four months that I was in, the show was selling out, standing room only.

You can actually look at the ticket sales the week after that cover came out,” he explained.“It went from selling very well to the week after the cover came out, the ticket sales dropped.

‘Spamalot’ ended up closing a few months after that.”Though Aiken continued to record music and tour, his album sales waned considerably.For much of the past decade, he’s been focused on politics, having run for Congress as a Democrat in his home state of North Carolina in 2014 and 2022.

Advertisement Last month, Aiken unveiled “Christmas Bells Are Ringing,” a collection of holiday songs that’s also first studio album in 12 years.And though he has no regrets about coming out as gay when he did, he said he�...