Although Kelly Clarkson is the most successful person from "American Idol," the show itself became a phenomenon in season two, when Aiken had such dedicated fans that they named themselves the "Claymates."
After the show, Aiken's first five albums all reached the top 10, with his debut, "Measure of a Man," peaking at No. 1. His two highest-streamed songs are from that album, with 4 million and 1.6 million streams.
The follow-ups reached No. 4, No. 2, No. 4, and No. 9, respectively. He also had a No. 1 single in 2003 and a No. 4 song in 2004. He's also had at least 15 songs on the Adult Contemporary chart. His 2004 Christmas album also set records for the fastest-selling Christmas album since 1991.
Aiken, in general, is just a bona-fide celebrity. He's been on Broadway, competed on "Celebrity Apprentice," wrote a best-selling memoir, was the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live," has been on many game shows, and even appeared on "Law and Order: SVU." The 42-year-old has also won both American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards. Currently, he has 151,000 followers on Instagram.
In addition to all that, he also ran for office in 2014, running for the US House of Representatives, representing North Carolina. He won the Democratic primary but lost the race.