It's late and I'm feeling all serene and happy perhaps due to the fact that I have enough leftovers to last a couple of days or maybe because I just have complete and utter confidence in the rising star of one Mr. Clay Aiken.

Mr. Clay Aiken is a very smart man. In three short years, he has progressed from a starry-eyed young man from Raleigh who was amazed and thrilled to "be on Oprah!!!!!!" to a multi-platinum Superstar singer sought out by some of the giants in the business of celebrity, to travelling the globe as a Unicef ambassador, to heading a multi-million dollar foundation that is making a difference in scores of lives, to being appointed by the President of the United States to an important Committee.

Wow!!!

He is rich enough to "buy an airline ticket to anywhere he needs to go, if necessary" and I would venture, he would have a few bucks left over. He has the respect of those who matter. He is rapidly becoming a household name to everyone and loved by many. His voice is unique, his confidence and bearing impressive, his steely determination incredible.

He has faced highs and lows that few of us can ever imagine. Through it all he has comported himself with style and grace.

He has a new CD composed of incredibly beautiful love songs with one wonderful bonus track and another that takes one's breath away and introduces his fans to one more incredible asset - lyricist.

He has a family who love him, fans who adore him, an executive producer that has become a close friend, a mentor who is a "king maker", many,many friends who care deeply about him and a new determination to "take his life back" . What a wonderful, mature, incredible man.

Clay knows full well the downside of the music business. He spoke of it in a TV Guide article last year and that because of the dark underside of the industry, he needed to move back to Raleigh, not I would venture to get away from music but to pursue it on his terms. He may have won and lost battles with his record company but I have confidence that he has incredibly talented and competent people in his corner and everything will be "very, very good" and he will be "okay".

I don't know why I wrote all this - I'm just one voice wanting to give my perspective and explain why I'm "fangirly" and "optimistic" all the time. I'm not blind or foolish, pollyannish or naive. I just feel that he will overcome the shortcomings of the promotion, the nastiness of the business and those who would seek to hurt him. I believe he and "his people" will prevail and his star will shine brightly.

Listen to "Lover All Alone" - Mr. Clay Aiken is here to stay.