November was born on November 30, 1978 in Raleigh, North Carolina. From an early age, Aiken's family new he had a special gift and talent. At the early age of five, Aiken performed the Dolly Parton/ Kenny Rogers classic hit, ?Islands In the Stream,? to a crowd at a local high school dance. At the age of seven, he was purchasing his own albums through a mail-order catalog. As a teenager, Aiken was a member of the Raleigh Boys Choir. He also acted in various musicals: The Music man, Oklahoma, and countless stage plays. Aiken dropped his music career, however, in college. He opted to be a Special education major at the University of North Carolina in charlotte. He had hopes of eventually attending the prestigious William & Mary College in Virginia in order to attain a Master's degree in Administration. This all changed, however, during 2003 when Aiken was selected from 7,000 contestants as a runner-up in the Fox Television Show: American Idol: The Search for a Super Star. Aiken's rendition of the Simon and Garfunkel classic, ?Bridge Over Troubled waters,? wowed both audience and judges. Although he came in second to winner Ruben Studdard, Aiken's career has taken off. Shortly after the show, he was offered a record deal with RCA.
During the summer of 2003, Aiken appeared on the cover of Rolling Stones Magazine. As a contestant on American Idol, Aiken tried not to discuss his personal life. In Rolling Stones, however, he gave an in-depth interview concerning his childhood, life now, and ambitions. In the article, Aiken discussed life at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, talked about the Buben-Aiken Foundation. Aiken co-founded the Buben/Aiken Foundation as a means to provide help to individuals with Autism of other physical and mental disabilities. Aiken confessed, in the article, that he is scared of water, loves instant grits, and bites his toenails. More personally, he talked about his childhood. Aiken comes from a broken home. His biological father, Vernon Grissom, was an alcoholic who was physically and verbally abusive to Aiken and his mother. Grissom left Aiken and his mother when he was one years old. In the late 1990s, Aiken decided to get his last name legally changed to that of his mother's middle name. Clay admitted in his interview that he thinks of his mother's second husband, Ray Parker, as his true biological father. Sadly, Parker died in July 2002.
Aiken wowed people when he released his debut single, ?This Is The Night.? The song was number one on the Billboard hot 100. It sold over 392,000 copies in the first week. The single beat Elton John's record of sales for his 1997 single dedicated to Princess Diana entitled ?Candle in the Wind 1997.?
In October 2003, Aiken released his debut album entitled The Measure of a Man. The album, which sold 613,000 copies in the first week, went to number one on the Billboard Chart Top 2000. The album's first single, ?Invisible,? has been a top request on the trendy MTV show, TRL. The Measure of a Man was co-produced by Simon Fuller and Clive Davis. The album features the songwriting talents of artists such as : Steve Mac, Cliff Magress, Desmond Child, Steve Morales, and Rick Nowels.