‘American Idol’ Alum Clay Aiken Loses Election Bid, Lists Suburban North Carolina Home

On the heels of being trounced in his long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination to North Carolina’s 4th congressional district earlier this year, special-education-teacher-turned-platinum-selling-pop-balladeer-turned-activist-and-political-hopeful Clay Aiken has put his home in the leafy northern suburbs of Raleigh, N.C., on the market at just under $1 million.

The “American Idol” alum — back in 2003, the fan favorite, now 43, finished in second place in the second season of the still churning televised talent competition — is looking for a 50% gain on the transitional traditional ranch-style home he scooped up about four years ago for $655,000.

Set on almost 1.25 acres, the mostly single-story home has three bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, plus a spacious bonus room over the two-car attached garage. Arched windows fill the white-brick residence’s nine rooms with natural light, French doors open the house to numerous decks and patios, and dark brown wood floors run throughout most of the nearly 4,300-square-foot home.

The wide entrance hall is complemented by a living room large enough to comfortably accommodate a lounge area and a white lacquer pool table, while the great-room’s kitchen is open to a spacious dining area and family room with vaulted ceiling, fireplace and walls painted an Easter-y shade of lavender.

Guest bedrooms have private baths, and the wall-to-wall-carpeted primary suite offers a sitting area with several sets of French doors to the backyard. The ample retreat also has a walk-in closet and a travertine-tiled bathroom with a column-accented garden tub, a separate shower and, to never to miss an important call, a wall-mounted telephone in the water closet.

A very nice feature during North Carolina’s hot, humid, and buggy summers, the screened porch overlooks the professionally landscaped backyard and dark-bottom swimming pool. There are also extensive concrete patios for al fresco soirées, including a 50-by-65-foot pad with a basketball hoop, and lush lawns that roll up to the edge of the dense woodlands that surround the property and blot out neighboring homes.

The property is available through Cameron Saemann at Second Story Realty.

Though he has not released a record since 2012, in his heady heyday years after “American Idol,” Aiken released half a dozen records, was named by People magazine readers in 2006 as their “Favorite American Idol,” made his Broadway debut in the runaway hit “Spamalot,” and won four Billboard Music Awards. In 2008 he had a baby with music producer Jayme Foster, and is a dedicated voice for UNICEF, autism awareness and LGBTQIA+ issues.