Clay Aiken was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. As a young boy, Aiken sang in the Raleigh Boychoir; and, as a teenager, he sang in school choirs, church choir, musicals and local theatre productions. After high school, he sang lead with a local band, Just By Chance, co-hosting and performing with the band at "Just by Chance and Friends" shows in Dunn, North Carolina. He was also MC and performer at the Johnston Community College Country Showcase in Smithfield and at the North Carolina Music Connection and Hometown Music Connection shows in Garner, and Benson.

Aiken was born into a Baptist family. As a toddler, in 1980, he attended Leesville Baptist Church every week. According to his book, Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life, he was involved in Bible school, choir, and the youth group. The book made The New York Times Best Seller List in 2004, debuting at number two. It was written with Allison Glock and published by Random House. Barely mentioning American Idol, Aiken instead turned his focus to the people who had the most influence in his life - his mother, grandparents, siblings, teachers, and friends - and to the importance of religion in his life. He describes himself as a proud Southern Baptist who journeyed away from those roots in his late teens in search of a religion with more liberal social policies. He then returned to that church because of family and social ties although he remains at odds with the church on some issues.  When asked in a PBS Kids interview to name his idols, he responded, "When people ask me what three people I'd like to have dinner with, living or dead, I say Jesus Christ, Mr. Rogers, and Jimmy Carter."  While not self-identified as a Christian music artist, Aiken was featured in Christian Music Planet as an "American Idol Christian" in 2004, and in a cover story, "Clay Aiken's Balancing Act", in the January/February 2005 issue. His pre-Idol demo albums included several selections of Contemporary Christian Music (or CCM) and gospel songs. A performance of the Commodores' "Jesus is Love" at the American Music Awards in 2003 earned Aiken and Ruben Studdard a standing ovation. Aiken has sung a few CCM songs at his pop concerts, and has made Christmas albums, Christmas television specials and performances, and Christmas tours essential elements of his career.  Aiken makes it clear that he is aware not everyone shares his religious beliefs and it is not his intention to press these beliefs on others. When he worked as a camp counselor at the YMCA, he challenged other camp faculty by insisting that singing "overtly Christian songs" was inappropriate, as some of the kids were Jewish. "I stood firm... no child is going to have a spiritual crisis on my watch." His public philosophy, geared towards inclusion and service to others, reflects his stance that decisions about religion should be made at home.  Aiken stated in an April 2007 interview with People that he was planning a new album, and during his May 2007 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he mentioned that he was in Los Angeles interviewing producers for the new album. Aiken found a song, "On My Way Here", written by OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, that struck a chord with him and became the inspiration for the album's theme in addition to the album title. For a cohesive sound, Aiken chose Mark 'Kipper' Eldridge to produce the entire album. On My Way Here was released May 6, 2008, on the RCA label.  According to an article posted on Billboard, Aiken and RCA parted ways shortly after his On My Way Here album was released. Aiken's rep confirmed to People magazine that Aiken left RCA. Stated in the cited People article, "The buzz about Aiken's exit was fueled earlier this week when his picture disappeared online and Billboard, citing unnamed sources, reported Friday that Aiken, 30, had been dropped by the label. According to Billboard, Aiken's 2008 album "On My Way Here" sold just 159,000 copies in the U.S., compared to his 2003 debut album, "Measure of a Man", which sold 2.78 million copies".  A fifth album, The Very Best of Clay Aiken, was released at the end of March 2009 on Sony's Legacy Recordings Playlist Series. This album was a compilation of songs that had been included on the previous albums released by RCA. First week sales of 3000 copies placed Playlist: The Very Best of Clay Aiken at number 173 on the Billboard 200 chart and at number ten on the Top Internet Albums chart.

How young was Clay when he started helping people ?