Singer Aiken leaves RCA Records

NEW YORK, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. pop singer Clay Aiken, who rode the "American Idol" TV competition to fame, has left RCA Records, the singer's representative says.

Representative Cindi Berger told People magazine exclusively Friday Aiken decided to part ways with RCA after the two sides failed to agree on details of a new recording contract.

"We were unable to come to terms in a recent contract negotiation, and decided that it was best to move on," Berger said.

Berger's news comes after unidentified sources claimed Aiken was dropped by RCA Records following the disappointing showing of his CD "On My Way Here," which sold only 159,000 copies nationwide.

The news of the Aiken-RCA split also comes a couple months after the singer informed People he was eager to spend more time with his son, Parker, following his involvement in a Broadway production.

"I want to spend time with Parker," Aiken said in December. "He's still uber-dependent. I'm ready for him to start talking. I'm ready for a little action!"