14 DAY TRIAL // Clay Aiken has been out of the spotlight for a while so let's freshen up on who he is and what he's been doing. He first came to national and international attention when he became the finalist to the American Idol show, coming in second after Ruben Studdard in 2003.
Now that your memory has been jilted, let's get back to the present day, when Clay is actively pursuing an entrance in the political world and is thinking of running for Congress in North Carolina.
Reports have him working with one of the people who set up political campaigns for Al Gore and Bev Purdues, the former North Carolina governor.
The openly gay star has also been spotted around Washington where he's made his presence felt, in an effort to draw attention to himself and probably make some contacts for his upcoming campaign. It's yet unclear if he will announce his intention to run for a seat in the House, but he'll have to fight Renee Ellmers, who's currently holding the position for North Carolina.
Since his famous Idol stint, Aiken has flirted with TV again in 2012 when he appeared on Celebrity Apprentice but again came in second, losing this time to Arsenio Hall. He's also had several albums recorded which performed pretty well. This led to tours in the United States, and even a stint on Broadway in "Monty Python's Spamalot."
On a more serious note, he's been a UNICEF Ambassador tasked with ensuring children's access to education. As part of this job he traveled to countries like Uganda, Afghanistan, Somalia and Kenya.
The closest he's got to the political world was in 2006 when he was appointed by former president George W. Bush to the Presidential Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. He must have seen something he liked in Washington because now he's thinking of making a move into the political.