11:16 AM EDT on Tuesday, October 19, 2004

By WCNC.com Staff

‘American Idol’ runner-up Clay Aiken returned to his hometown Monday for two sold out concerts at the North Carolina State Fair.

Tickets went on sale in September and the show sold out in nine minutes. When the Raleigh native offered to do a second show, those tickets vanished in 14 minutes.

People from New York, Minnesota and Connecticut watched Aiken perform, and that made some people in North Carolina upset that local fans could not get tickets.

Christina, Kayla and Kim are college students from Minnesota who drove 20 hours for Aiken’s concert.

“We just love Clay,” they said.

A woman who traveled from New York for the concert said, “I just feel like a whole person when I hear him and see him.”

Aiken’s two concerts were held at the Dorton Arena at the State Fairgrounds as he wrapped up his first-ever solo headlining tour.

6NEWS

Clay Aiken performed Saturday at Carowinds.

Aiken began his solo tour July 6 in Bismarck, North Dakota. The 42-date tour was to promote Aiken's album Measure of a Man, which has already sold nearly three million copies. Eight of his concerts were at state fairs.

The North Carolina State Fair was Aiken’s last stop of the tour.

The UNCC graduate also performed Saturday night at the Paladium Amphitheatre at Carowinds in front of hundreds of fans.

Aiken will release a 2005 calendar at the end of October. The ‘American Idol’ runner-up also plans to release his holiday album and his first book in November.

The book is called "Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life." It is Aiken's story about his journey from being a UNC Charlotte student to becoming a pop star.

His holiday album and his book will be released November 16

Aiken also has a handful of television appearances soon including "Larry King Live" Nov. 15, "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" Dec. 6. His one-hour Christmas special is scheduled for Dec. 8 on NBC. He also will appear on "The Today Show" Dec. 8.

The singer is scheduled to begin a five-week holiday tour with a full orchestra next month.