American Idol

Whoever said Clay Aiken wanted to tour with Adam Lambert was wrong, wrong, wrong. The season 2 runner-up revealed to his fan club today that he is not a fan of the raven-haired shriek machine.

I only turn the show on once a season, and only to see what the set looks like each year. This year, I happened to turn it during the minute that Adam Lambert was singing “Ring of Fire” and, at that moment, thought my ears would bleed. Contrived, awful, and slightly frightening! I wasn’t really a fan and found myself surprised whenever folks told me that they liked him. Granted, I never saw another performance (and many folks who I trust said that he was great) but I can’t imagine I would have enjoyed it. Just not my cup of tea at all. To each his own.

He then went on to explain the victory of underdog Kris Allen over Lambert as “a battle between David and Goliath—my money is on David!”

Those votes for Kris were also votes to return the show to its roots of finding “real” contestants with undiscovered talent and giving them the chance to grow and shine. They were votes that said “we’re tired of seeing contestants who already seem to know it all.”

Is Clay right, or is he just sore that Glambert won’t make that album of duets?

[Photo: Getty Images]

Clay Aiken’s still bringing the drama on Idol! According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the 2nd season runner-up crashed the set last week to talk to Adam Lambert. Producers were furious—and not just because of wink-wink nudge-nudge.

“Not only did [Clay] drop [Idol runners] 19 Entertainment,” said the paper’s source, “but everyone knows he also talked Kelly Clarkson into dropping us, too…to say the least, it was tense around here when Clay showed up—and boy, did they hustle him off the premises as fast as possible. If he didn’t get the hint after that—he never will.”

Hard to believe, but Aiken reportedly hopes to record an album of duets with Glambert. We’re not sure why the Idol front-runner would bother—Danny Gokey performing nude in Hair would make more sense. But, looking at his record sales, we can’t blame Clay for giving it a shot.

[Photos: Getty Images]

American Idol as a TV show is about as successful as you can get, but people might not realize just how big the empire is. Okay, some of its former contestants probably realized after it was too late that conquering movies was maybe not their thing (From Justin to Kelly to … nowhere). But if you consider their musical track record, it’s pretty impressive. Since the show started in 2002, there have been more than 200 songs by Idol alums to hit the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. David Cook even had 11 songs from his self-titled debut hit the chart in 2008 in the same week.

We took into account album sales and chart-toppers and threw in a dose of personal favorites to bring you our list of The Top 25 Greatest American Idol Alumni Videos. Some artists show up a few times (Kelly Clarkson bookends the list) and a certain someone only shows up once because his baby face is just too sweet to stare at for too long (David Archuleta, we’re looking at you…). Our methods aren’t scientific, but they do take things like over-cuteness into account.

25. Kelly Clarkson - “My Life Would Suck Without You”

The latest of Clarkson’s singles, it made our list because while it’s a great song, the video sticks to the Clarkson formula that all other Clarkson videos adhere to – shots of Kelly performing with the band, spliced with shots of Kelly freaking out on/about a guy in a series of dramatic reenactments.

24. Bo Bice - “Witness”

Bice’s hair blows so freely — in the wind, in his convertible, by the sheer power of song — throughout the video, we couldn’t turn away. Viewers loved it too, the song spent three weeks at #1 on the VH1 Top 20 in December 2007.

23. Daughtry - “Over You”

“Hi, my name is Sara. Only it’s not, it’s Jessica Szohr, of TV’s Gossip Girl. I’m sorry I just cried throughout this whole video while wrapped in a towel. Actually nevermind - that was probably pretty hot. You’re welcome.”

(more…)

Going from hometown hopeful to Hollywood hottie is not always a smooth ride for American Idol contestants. From haircuts to diets to porcelain veneers, the Idol kids have undergone some extreme makeovers. See who changed for the better, and who changed for the worse. While Carrie Underwood may have become a country music super-babe, Jessica Sierra’s mugshot demonstrated her damaging lifestyle. Check out the pics below to see the transformations of all your favorite Idol contestants from seasons one to seven.