Clay Aiken took some convincing to record mostly covers for his new album, "A Thousand Different Ways."

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"Initially I was a little hesitant," said Aiken, whose third album features versions of hits by Foreigner, Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, Dolly Parton, Elton John and others. "There was some apprehension there because I'm not established enough to attempt to do other people's songs.

"But I went from apprehension to being probably more excited about this one than anything I've done so far."

The first single from "A Thousand Different Ways" is Harry Nilsson's "Without You." The album also features four originals, including one ("Lonely No More") co-written by Aiken and another ("These Open Arms") from Jon Bon Jovi. Aiken also co-wrote another original, "Lover All Alone," that will be available exclusively on iTunes.