The White House last week announced that Clay Aiken will be one of 12 people that the President intends to appoint to the Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.

In other news, Clay's new album debuts on Tuesday, September 19th and is titled, "A Thousand Different Ways". The project, Aiken's first outing since 2004, combines 10 cover versions of well-known songs from the '70s, '80s and '90s with four brand-new songs.

For Clay, the new album's title has multiple meanings. "This is an album of love songs," he explains, "but they are about all different kinds of love. Romantic love, Friendship, Unconditional love. There are a thousand different kinds of love; a thousand different ways to tell someone you love them. And, on top of that, since so many of these songs are covers, it's realistic to say that many of them have been or could be sung a thousand different ways."