Mr. Heartthrob himself seems puzzled by the adulation

03:59 PM EDT on Wednesday, September 8, 2004

By DARLA ATLAS / The Dallas Morning News

Sinatra. Elvis.

Clay.

To the rabid fans of American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken, that progression is not a stretch. And his magnetism seems to be growing. The North Carolina redhead, who will be in North Texas for a show Sep. 8, was named sexiest male singer this month in an In Style magazine readers' poll, beating out more conventional hotties Usher and Justin Timberlake. That doesn't surprise Annette Knecht, a 48-year-old Arlington resident and executive director of Texas Clay Fans.

"It's like there's a glow about him that draws us," says Ms. Knecht, who spends about six hours a day working on her fan Web site and other projects on Mr. Aiken's behalf. Since early 2003, when she and the other Claymates first saw him on Idol, "we knew he was the next Frank Sinatra, the next Elvis Presley, that he could change everything."

Mention this to Mr. Heartthrob himself and he laughs. Uproariously.

"Lord, no!" Mr. Aiken says in recent phone interview to promote his concert tour, which comes to the Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie tonight. "Let's be real: Elvis and Clay Aiken? No."

Pressed to come up with comparisons – what about his onstage charisma? – he says, "We're both Southerners. We have that in common." He thinks some more, then laughs and says, "I'm done."

But that humility is part of his appeal, of course. Mr. Aiken, 25, refuses to cop an egotistical attitude, preferring to stay the same guy he's always been.

As for his ever-shrieking fans, "I really don't get it," he says. "The more people scream for me, the more I think it's a joke."

It's no joke. Ms. Knecht, a married grandmother who works part time for AT&T Wireless, says she and her cohorts "are dedicated to 'Clayverting' people every day. As long as we're devoted and dedicated to what we're doing, he'll continue to make it big."

Why is this important to her? For one, she says Mr. Aiken's music brings her joy. She also appreciates that he's squeaky clean.

"Instead of listening to a song where every word is a curse word, there's a light at the end of the tunnel," she says. "Clay is our light."

While Mr. Aiken appreciates the support, the adoration can be a little overwhelming. Although one of his friends from back home is on the road with him, Mr. Aiken says they have trouble finding things to do in his free time.

"If we go to the mall, it's a big deal; if we go to the movies, it's this big production," he says. "Unless I'm in a fat suit and completely disguised, I'll get recognized."

If fans do spot him, he has but one request: Don't call him Clayton.

That's the name he went by before his fame, he says: "I kind of save it for my mom and the friends who were there before this whole thing happened."

Speaking of those friends, he says he has a rule for them, too: Don't get all weird.

"The only ones I hang out with are the ones who won't treat me any differently," he says. "Actually, my best friends don't even ask me about it anymore. They'll just call and say, 'Hey, I'm having a computer problem – can you help?'"

There's something even Elvis couldn't do.