Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life by Allison Glock and CLAY AIKEN (2004, Hardcover)

Synopsis
Clay Aiken's interest in music began early with the usual round of local amateur productions in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. However, second place in the final of the popular TV talent show AMERICAN IDOL, together with his fresh-faced charm and innocence, guaranteed him attention from show organizer Simon Fuller, and he soon had a record deal, a hit single, and over half a million album sales to his credit. LEARNING TO SING is Clay Aiken looking back to his roots to see how far he's come, comparing what appears to have been a pretty miserable childhood to his current somewhat more pampered existence where his biggest annoyance may be an excess of avocado in his food. Less a memoir than a series of vignettes of reflection and rejuvenation, LEARNING TO SING poignantly itemizes the pitfalls of stardom for a North Carolina country boy, as well as the undoubted thrill of being recognized on the street and the feeling that the world is at your fingertips. Aiken remains typically humble throughout, his Christian faith sustaining him through what must seem wall-to-wall temptations, with a clear eye to his future goals as both an entertainer and a public figure.

Key Details
Author:	Clay Aiken, Allison Glock
Language:	English
Publisher:	Random House, Inc.
Format:	Hardcover
ISBN-10:	1400063922
ISBN-13:	9781400063925

Size
Length:	258 pages
Height:	8.5 in
Width:	6 in
Thickness:	1 in
Weight:	16 oz

Publisher's Note
The author describes his childhood, struggles, and career as a pop singer after competing on the television program "American Idol."

Industry Reviews
"Behind the polite narration emerges a complex guy with a folksy sense of humor...and an endearing ambivalence about his own insta-celebrity."
Entertainment Weekly (11/19/2004)