Clay Aiken says he lost “50 percent” of his fans after coming out as gay in 2008.

The singer who had his big musical breakthrough in 2003 as a runner-up in the second season American Idol – revealed that he is gay People Cover story in 2008. In a new interview with the magazine, he revealed that his career took a big turn after he made his sexuality public.

“It was a big deal back then,” he said, noting how times have changed in the last 16 years.

“We live in a completely different time,” he added. “I lost maybe 50 percent of the fan base.”

When Aiken came out, he played the lead role Spamalot on Broadway, and he said its revelation had an impact on ticket sales.

“The first four months I was (Spamalot), the show was sold out, standing room only,” he said. “You can actually look at ticket sales the week after the cover came out. It sold very well until ticket sales dropped a week after the cover was released. Spamalot eventually ended a few months later.”

Aiken, now 46, decided to come out shortly after his son was born. He was 29 years old at the time.

“It was the first decision I made as a father,” he said. “I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things. I wasn’t raised like that and I won’t raise a child like that.”

He stands behind this decision today and says that he has no regrets about coming out.

“Many people who are now coming out are becoming increasingly popular as a result. This is overwhelming to me because it is the opposite of what happened when I came out,” he said. “But it does mean that there is progress and that we are on the right path as a country.”

After more than a decade away from music — including two unsuccessful runs for Congress — Aiken recently released a holiday album: Christmas bells are ringing.