American Idol" singer Clay Aiken confirmed that he is gay, in an interview with People magazine. The cover of the magazine posted on PerezHilton.com on Tuesday afternoon (September 23) shows a photo of Aiken with his son, Parker Foster, and a headline, "Yes, I'm Gay," with a subhead line : "The Idol star opens up about his emotional decision to come out: 'I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things.” The child was born a few weeks ago through artificial insemination. Aiken wants Jaymes Foster, the child’s mother to bring up his son.

Aiken, 29, became famous as a contestant on U.S. TV talent show "American Idol" in 2003. Though he was the runner-up that season, he succeeded in building a solid singing career. Currently, he appears on Broadway in "Monty Python's SPAMALOT."

When contacted, a spokeswoman for People neither confirmed nor denied that Aiken told the magazine he is gay. But the magazine issued a statement saying, "We can confirm that Clay Aiken and his son appear on the next cover of People.