Clay Aiken's Holiday Musical Comeback - A Tale of Rediscovery and Joy
Returning to the Musical Stage
After a long hiatus, Clay Aiken's passion for music was reignited when his Idol season 2 co-star Ruben Studdard reached out. This led to a tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Aiken's Merry Christmas with Love. The experience was eye-opening for him, as he discovered a newfound enjoyment in being on the road. By the end of the 82-date tour, he knew he wanted to continue. "I'd like to go back out and do this again at some point. And I realized in order to do that, that I probably needed to do something new for the first time, and I needed to record some new material," he reflects.His festive string of Joyful Noise shows from 2004-2007 holds a special place in his heart as his favorite "tour to do," and Merry Christmas with Love is his favorite "album in general." This holiday season, he presents his new album, which celebrates tradition and nostalgia with beloved holiday standards.
Christmas Bells Are Ringing - A Celebration of Tradition
The 10-track album features beloved holiday standards such as Bing Crosby's "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and Nat King Cole's "Caroling, Caroling." Aiken explains, "I really wanted to do songs that people know Christmas is about. It's that time of year where we look back on the year and reflect, and we also like those memories from years past. I wanted classic Christmas songs and to hearken back to the Andy Williams, Perry Como vibe of those sixties and seventies albums that have become American standards. So I picked songs that specifically lent themselves to that style or to being produced in that style."This album aims to recreate the 1960s and 70s Christmas classic feel, bringing a sense of warmth and nostalgia to listeners. Each song is carefully selected to capture the essence of the holiday season.
Reflections on the Musical Hiatus
Reflecting on his time away from music, Aiken describes the break as "eye-opening, educational [and] heartbreaking." He hopes to have gained a better sense of real America during this period. "I say heartbreaking, mostly because of the way our political system operates now. It's not like The West Wing. People aren't always in it for themselves, but I have gotten a beautiful sense of non-political American people, those working every day to feed their kids and put clothes on their backs," he shares.On a personal level, he believes the experience has made him resilient and opened his eyes to the power of music. "Coming back to it, I see that there's a way that music and entertainment can make people happy and give them an opportunity to escape from their problems in ways that the other stuff I was working on would never be able to do."
Christmas Bells Are Ringing is now available for fans to enjoy, bringing the joy of the holiday season through the power of music.