Clay Aiken is becoming a man....

Clay Aiken is no longer the charmingly awkward, self-confessed "dork" who came in second on 2003's second season of American Idol. He has a new look, a new album – A Thousand Different Ways, which hit stores Tuesday – and some new, hard-won wisdom. "I'm becoming a man, not just with my hair," he says, laughing about his darker, longer 'do, "but with my life. This year's been an education: the education of Clay." He's also aware of what people have been saying about him this year, and in the new issue of PEOPLE (on newsstands Friday), he addresses rumors about his sexuality and more. Here's a preview: On whether he's gay: "What do you say (to that question)? … It's like when I was 8. I remember something would get broken in the house, and Mom and Dad would call me in and say, 'Did you do this?' Well, it didn't matter what I said. The only thing they would believe was yes. … People are going to believe what they want."