Twenty-nine-year old singer Clay Aiken ended years of speculation about his sexuality on Tuesday when he came out on the cover of People Magazine. This makes the American Idol runner-up the latest in a string of gay men including Lance Bass and Neil Patrick Harris to come out on the cover of the magazine.

Echoing Ellen DeGeneres's famous Time Magazine cover, People quotes Aiken as saying, "Yes, I'm gay." A second quote explains Aiken's reason for coming out as "I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things," a reference to Aiken's five-week-old son Parker Foster Aiken.

Aiken first rose to prominence in 2003 during the second season of American Idol after finishing a close second to Ruben Studdard, though Aiken has gone on to much greater success.

Speculation about Aiken's sexuality began immediately after he shot to fame, although the singer has long refused to discuss the topic directly. He told Rolling Stone in 2003, "One thing I've found of people in the public eye, either you're a womanizer or you've got to be gay. Since I'm neither one of those, people are completely concerned about me."

Then in 2006 he told People, "It doesn't matter what I say. People are going to believe what they want."

But speculation grew stronger after John Paulus, a former Green Beret, came forward in January of 2006 and told the National Enquirer that he has allegedly been intimate with Aiken.

When he was asked about his sexuality in May of 2006 by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America, Aiken grew visibly perturbed and told Sawyer, "I don't understand why you want to know. I don't understand why it's any of your business." He went on to say, "At some point, [the question] becomes just really rude, you know?"

Controversy continued to dog Aiken throughout 2006 including a brouhaha that began during an appearance on Regis and Kelly. During one segment, Aiken placed his hand over Ripa's mouth, and Ripa responded by saying, "I just don't know where that hand's been, honey." That remark led to The View's then co-host Rosie O'Donnell to accuse Ripa of homophobia.

Kelly Ripa, Diane Sawyer

"Now listen, to me that was a homophobic remark. If that was a straight man, if that was a cute man, if that was a guy that she didn't question his sexuality, she would have said a different thing," O'Donnell said.

Originally named Clayton Holmes Grisson, Aiken was born in 1978, and grew up near Raleigh, North Carolina. He was musically inclined from a young age, singing in the Raleigh Boychoir as well as performing in school and church choirs. Additionally, he performed in musicals, and after graduating high school became the lead singer for the band "Just By Chance."

Aiken attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he earned a bachelor's degree in special education. It was during his senior year that he got his break on American Idol.

Fans very nearly missed their chance to see the future pop star when he failed to make it into the show's round of 32. However, Aiken was invited to return as a wild card and his rendition of Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" propelled him into the final 12 as a viewer's choice.