A Thousand Different Ways, the follow-up to Clay Aiken's chart-burning debut Measure of a Man, trots out the kind of material a fleet-voiced former American Idol contestant can't help having a field day with: Aiken's version of Richard Marx's "Right Here Waiting" is bathed in a smoothness that renders it arguably better than the original; his step into Celine Dion's shoes for "Because You Loved Me" sees nary a stumble (no easy feat, considering it's a vocal obstacle course of a song); and his cover of Paul Young's '80s classic "Everytime You Go Away" comes across as a clean-sounding, much-needed update.

More proof that Aiken ain't fakin' when it comes to being a stylish interpreter comes courtesy of his convincing carry-off of Dolly Parton's sweet "Here You Come Again," but where he'll earn the most merit points for this disc is with its four originals--"A Thousand Days" especially. Aiken has the kind of voice that makes listeners want to scoot close to the speaker. He may be a softy, but when it comes to trapping raw emotion in song, he's become a mop-topped man of steel. - Tammy La Gorce