Clay Surprises on Last Night's Idol Finale

CDD VIDEO: Clay sings with wannabe on Idol finale.
Clay surprised everyone last night on the finale of American Idol. Sporting a tux and a new hair-doo, Clay sang a 'duet' of Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me with Clay impersonator Micahel Sandecki from earlier this year's AI auditions.

Sandecki was invited to the show by producers as part of the show's Golden Idol Awards spoof which saw awards given to idol-rejects as well as relatives of the top 12. During the duet, Sandecki was visibly excited by Clay's appearance. This article from Reality TV Calendar says "Michael just about passed out." He yelled "Oh My God" as Ryan Seacreast tried to seat him and let Clay finish the rest of the song.

Even better, the audience reception was fantastic! Clay gleamed as he snuck out from behind the giant screen as fans screamed. An estimated 200 million viewers saw Clay perform. This is despite the fact during the 2 minute segment, Clay's name was NEVER MENTIONED once! WOW! Judge Paula Abdul was also seen dancing and clapping for Clay.

According to preliminary Nielsen data and this AP article, this finale did not eclipse the viewership of the AI2 finale.

Video of Clay singing Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me is now up on Measure of a Fan. An MP3 file is available here.

And here's a recap of all the media coverage Clay has received today as a result of this appearance. Also go through our Tidbits post today... lots of great mentions there. And... check out our TV coverage on this post.

• USA Today wants to know which Idol performance last night was the best. Clay is currently leading. (scroll down to the middle of the page)
• People wants to know via its Celebrity Makeovers poll whether you like the new look or not. Voters seem to be split right. 49% like it, 51% 'hate it'.
• Wireimages has some nice, albeit small, shots of Clay from last night.
• Clay is the 4th hottest search term today on Netscape.
• On Ryan Seacrest's LA radio show, he says even he (the idol host) was surprised when Clay came out.
• Star 94 Atlanta's Vicki Locke admits she isn't a Clayfan but still "loves his new look" and thought the Clay moment was the best part of the finale.
• Yahoo News has some nice photos. If you have a Yahoo account, you can log on and vote on the picture. Yahoo also said this in an AI article: "Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken made a victorious return to the "Idol" stage, sporting a new look that helped him pull in more buzz than last year's champ Carrie Underwood."
• CNN.com commented on Clay's "slick new look"
• Clay's MOAM ranking on Amazon.com shot up from 3,000 to 34 this morning! WOW!
• Clay was the most searched for term on E! Online's website.2nd was Carrie Underwood, 3rd - Simon Cowell, 4th- Prince, 5th- Ruben Studdard, 6th- Fantasia.
• MSNBC says last night's Clay appearance was a finale 'highlight' "Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken making an appearance. See that, Kelly Clarkson! Some people aren't afraid to remind people where they came from."
• Clay's Official Fanclub issued an e-mail and statement last night at the last minute confirming Clay's Idol appearance. They said it was "something you don't want to miss"
• AmericanIdol.com...Best moment from AI finale? Clay is winning by a large margin, but still, VOTE!
• Awesome commentary on the new hair from the broads! LBFCA.
• According to FOX's Houston affiliate, who broadcasted live from last night's finale: the reaction from the 33 press members within the Kodak last night was that Clay stole the night with his appearance.
  

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