The multiracial nature of the Clarks’ relationship and of Corey's heritage was a source of racial conflict for the family during the Clarks' early years in Lufkin, Texas, where Corey recalls a story his parents told him about; a December 1979 incident in which the couple were driving to church for a Christmas event, with Duane dressed as Santa Claus, when they were pulled over by a white police officer, who smashed one of the car's tail lights, and told Duane he was being pulled over and arrested for driving with a broken tail light.

Adding to his sense of identity confusion was the fact that African Americans did not accept him either, and called him and his sister "wiggers", on which Clark comments, "It's real unsettling when you’re young and don't know which group you belong to."

Today, Clark reflects on his multiethnic heritage with pride, and says he wishes more people were open-minded about interracial dating, saying, "Our family could claim to be the ultimate melting pot," and that being of so many different ethnicities gave him the ability to "adapt to any situation".

Clark's interest in music was stimulated at an early age; his first clear memory was of his parents, his aunt Audrey, and his father's band recording a demo tape in a Denver studio.

Clark received his first professional singing job when he was 13, when Debbie Byrd, a family friend and vocal coach who would later go on to work on American Idol, recruited him and his parents to be among the backup singers for Barry Manilow during a week-long appearance in Las Vegas.

[citation needed] During the American Idol competition, The Smoking Gun revealed that Clark had been arrested at his Topeka, Kansas home on October 12, 2002, after neighbors called police after hearing a commotion within the residence, including a girl yelling.

After managing to get his handcuffed hands in front of him in the squad car, he was shown a taser and warned he would be shot with it if he continued to resist, at which point he relented.

[5] On December 4, days after Clark became one of the final 32 American Idol contestants, he was charged in Kansas District Court with resisting arrest, battery upon his sister, and criminal restraint.

Clark states in his book, "Initially no charges were filed against me, and I was refunded my $116.00 USD bond money after attending a November 11, 2002 court hearing back in Topeka.

"[6] That December, after Clark had filled out his contracts for American Idol and was publicly named a semi-finalist on the show, the state district attorney elected to proceed with the case and filed charges against him.

[10][11] Clark stated in his E-book, They Told Me to Tell the Truth, So...: The Sex, Lies and Paulatics of One of America's Idols,[citation needed] and in a May 2005 interview with Primetime Live that Idol judge Paula Abdul took him under her wing, beginning on December 12, 2002, and coached him on how to succeed in the competition, including helping him select the right songs, clothes, and hairstyle, in order to avoid the show's "exploitation" of young hopefuls' careers like himself,[12] and that this mentorship developed into a three-month-long sexual relationship.

Lythgoe also addressed Clark's claim that he sent Abdul a secret message by singing "I owe it all to you" on the show by explaining that the serenade was choreographed by the producers.

[16] Clark denies that the timing of his revelation was part of a marketing ploy, asserting, "If I wanted publicity, I could have done it two years ago when they were first trying to defame my name."

Clark states that Abdul and the producers engaged in a character assassination campaign that he could not afford to combat or ignore, and accused them of spreading falsehoods about him throughout the industry in order to ruin his career.

"[24][25] In the fourth season finale of American Idol, there was a parody of Clark's claims, in which judge Simon Cowell was alleged to be having an affair with himself.

[29] In June 2006, Monica Rodriguez Gonzalez, Clark's wife and mother of their child, Yeshua,[30] filed for a domestic violence protective order.

[31] On October 2, 2007, Clark pled guilty under a plea agreement to charges of felony aggravated harassment involving domestic violence for the trespassing offense, and was also placed on probation.

The soundtrack sold more than 500,000 copies domestically, giving Clark and his fellow second-season castmates Gold record status, as well as making them all number one artists on the Billboard Music Charts of May, 2003.

Despite featured guest spots from The Black Eyed Peas and Scott Storch, consumers were generally unaware that the album was released and available to the market.

[35] Clark made a guest appearance on the first episode of the sixth season of The Surreal Life, as one of five possible new castmates to be chosen from in a "15 More Minutes of Fame Reality Hunk Pageant".