Aiken, 24, of Raleigh, NC, made his way into the hearts of "American Idol" fans by being nice--and having the type of voice that raises the roofs of Broadway theaters.

His first single, "This is the Night/Bridge over Troubled Water," debuted at No. 1, besting "Flying Without Wings/Superstar" by "Idol"-winner Ruben Studdard. The Aiken cut sold nearly 393,000 copies in its first week, making it the biggest debut since Elton John's 1997 "Candle in the Wind" remake surrounding the death of Princess Diana.

Aiken's sales success isn't good enough for some of his fans, apparently. A group of them recently wrote to the FCC claiming that the "American Idol" results were fixed, something that Aiken laughs at. However, the FCC reportedly is looking into the matter.

Aiken talked to liveDaily about his forthcoming album--due out in September--the "American Idols Live [ tickets ]" tour and the perils of being popular.

liveDaily: How's the tour going so far?

Clay Aiken: It's going really well. We're having a good time with it. We had some rough dress rehearsals but our shows have been extremely, extremely good.

What was rough about the dress rehearsals?

Oh, we were just forgetting when we were supposed to come in; not knowing our songs, all that stuff. We just had trouble with that. I didn't know the words to some of my songs until the first show.

What are some of the songs that you're singing?

I'm doing "This is the Night" and Ruben and I are doing stuff that will be coming off of our new albums. We're having a good time with it.

Is your album finished?

It's almost done. I'm driving to New York [on July 16] to finish up one [song on July 17], and then I'll be finished. I'm lovin' being finished. Hopefully I can relax.

Who are some of the songwriters you worked with?

Chris Braide worked on "This is the Night," …; Cathy Dennis, she wrote "A Moment Like This" from last year's show. And just a bunch of big-name producers: Clif Magness, who did some stuff with Avril Lavigne; Rick Knowles, who works with Savage Garden, Santana and Michelle Branch; Steve Morales, who did all the Enrique [Iglesias] and Shakira stuff.

What can people expect from it?

The nice thing about it is that it's not a huge departure for me. The record company, myself and the management group have been able to really agree on what we'd like to see from it. We're not going to see a lot of hardcore, inappropriate stuff that I'm not all for. A lot of the stuff is like "This is the Night." It's a pop-flavored album. I think there's a lot of people out there who may not be the best influence for kids. I wouldn't want my kids listening to some of the stuff out there. None of the stuff on the album is like that.

What do you think about all the complaints that "American Idol" was fixed?

It's kind of flattering because it's coming from fans who like me, and all that stuff. But I was on the show and involved closely in it for a long time, and I know everyone who was involved in it. I totally trust the outcome of the show. It was so close. It wasn't like the outcome was 70 to 30 percent. I completely trust the results. Sometimes I just wish people would put their energies into supporting a charity or something like that instead of calling the FCC. (laughs) It concerns me because Ruben's a good, good friend of mine. I totally am proud of him and support everything that he does. Both of us really got exactly what we wanted out of this show. We both went into it hoping to get a recording contract and get this type of career--and we both got it. He's got the title and that's what different. Other than that, we're both having a great time and I'm totally happy with where I am. So, people who want to write letters can write letters to the Autism Society and help them out. (laughs)

How have you handled the sudden stardom?

It's been difficult. It's hard to look at our pictures in newspapers and on magazines and all that type of stuff and think of it as anything more than, "Oh, it's just me. That's my picture. That's not a big deal. Who cares what cover it's on. Who cares what magazine it's in. It's just me." People who scream and cheer for us, it's like, "Wow." It's really hard to take in a lot of times. We're just ourselves when we go up there and sing. It's amazing that--what, nine months after we started the show?--so many people want to be around us and hear us.

How do you get used to that?

You don't. I don't think you can. Every night something's different and new. Last night I had panties thrown on the stage. Every night it's something different. It's extremely flattering every single night. It's all a new experience. It's something that we all wanted to do for so long. We're just enjoying the ride and trying to take it all in.

How do you keep from laughing when women throw their panties on stage when you're trying to sing?

I laughed, right there in front of them. (laughs) How can you try to not laugh? The lady who was sitting in the front, I just asked her, "Please tell me you weren't wearing these before you threw them on stage." It's very funny. I'm not used to it, don't worry.

What is the format of the "American Idols Live" show?

We start with Charlie Grigsby, and the first half is all solos. We start with Charlie and work all the way to Ruben through the first half. The second half is all group songs, medleys, Ruben and I do a duet, Ruben and I both sing our songs from our album during the second half. The guys sing together, the girls sing together. We do a tribute to the Bee Gees.

What song do you and Ruben do together?

That's a surprise!

What is it like to tour with the other "Idols"?

We know each other so well. I think that's what's so cool about it. We've all known each other for nine months now. We know where everybody came from. We're all just friends. Nobody gets star struck at anybody. Everybody's just hangin'. We've known each other for so long that we're really like a family. We travel together. We live together and all that stuff. We definitely enjoy being together. We really perform well together. We used to rehearse for the show and just have the nastiest rehearsals on Wednesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons. Then when the show hit the airwaves on Wednesday nights, our medleys would come together flawlessly. That's just the way the whole show has worked because we know each other so well.