LOS ANGELES, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Clay Aiken, who came in second's on Fox's first "American Idol" but got a record deal nonetheless, said some at RCA don't like him or his music.
"There are many people at the record label who are afraid of me," Aiken said in an interview with Time magazine. "They don't understand the reasons someone as uncool as me is here."
Aiken, 24, was a special-education teacher in Raleigh, N.C., before 12 million people voted for him on "American Idol." He is a devout Baptist who does not smoke or drink and does not want to use certain words in songs he sings. He said the reconrd companies are used to marketing Christina Aguilera and Dirrty.
"RCA would not have picked me or Ruben (Studdard). Simon Cowell would not have picked us," Aiken said. "America has shown them."
RCA Records general manager Richard Sanders won't tell Time if he is a fan of Aiken's music and he understands some at RCA are "skeptical about the selection process and skeptical about selling a pop artist with no credibility."
His family-friendly pop album will be released Oct. 14.
