Clay Aiken

"Singer" seems too slim a description to truly cover Clay Aiken's larger-than-life role in American pop culture; Broadway performer, TV personality, tireless activist, all these titles and more are part of his résumé, though there's still no getting around that golden voice. American Idol fans may have been the first to find out what his titanic tones could do with the Simon & Garfunkel classic "Bridge Over Troubled Water," but the rest of the world caught on quickly, making his version the best-selling single of 2003. The romantic sway of Aiken's smash "The Way" from his debut album proved he could put original material across with just as much emotional punch. And when he lights up the old Johnny Mercer standard "Moon River" — with guitar courtesy of Vince Gill — his place in the lineage of great American pop vocalists becomes blindingly clear. Discover Clay Aiken's multiple musical personalities, from power balladeer to jazzy crooner, in Next Steps.

One of the many traits Clay Aiken shares with the great interpreters who've gone before him — aside from the obvious, superhuman vocal chops — is the ability to tackle a song from almost any source and make it his own. Not only does he wear some Elvis-sized shoes on "Suspicious Minds," but he also fits them to his own sure-footed steps. With the help of cabaret queen Linda Eder, Aiken gets every ounce of drama from Roy Orbison's soaring pop-opera "Crying." And when he summons up a late-night saloon-song vibe on the holiday heart-tugger "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve," you can smell the snow and the lovesick speculation in the air.

When a skinny 24-year-old from North Carolina belted out a shatteringly soulful version of "Always and Forever" on the 2003 American Idol audition episode, the nation didn't yet realize it had just met the singing sensation of the decade. From then on, Clay Aiken blazed a big, bold trail that led directly to the hearts of AI viewers, Broadway theatergoers, and enough music lovers to make his debut album a double-platinum phenomenon. With a voice capable of climbing to the heavens on a passion-packed power ballad or crooning with uncommon subtlety, Aiken has delivered everything from jazz standards to '80s pop hits, not to mention his chart-scaling original tunes. And now we've stacked up his most irresistible offerings in a wide-ranging menu of musical delights you'll undoubtedly be achin' (sorry) to sample.