clay aiken
Here's "He Needs A Kidney" from last night's 30 Rock
30 Rock: Kidney Now! (season finale)
(S03E22) "There's no such thing as bisexual. That's just something invented in the 90s so they could sell more hair products." - LizOK, so how long before "We Need A Kidney" is available for download from the NBC site or from iTunes? I suspect it will be up before you finish reading this review.
I was going to talk about how this episode was a little disappointing, but then I hit rewind on my DVR and watched it again and realized, wow, they actually hit all of the season finale notes rather perfectly. Not in a "we're having a baby!" or "he has amnesia!" way, but in a way that symbolized that "this is the end of the season but we're not going to go overboard" way. Some might think that having 20 big-name musical guest stars on a season finale actually is over the top, but it didn't turn out that way. This episode was quite funny.
Musical guest stars galore on 30 Rock finale
Guest stars include Elvis Costello, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Maroon 5's Adam Levine and Clay Aiken. The clip below reveals some shocking truths about some of these famous crooners, including Aiken's relation to NBC page Kenneth Parcell.
May Sweeps Guest Stars
May sweeps has officially arrived. For TV fans that means a full month of explosive season finales, jaw-dropping cliffhangers and -- best of all -- a long list of famous guest stars from both the big and small screens.Among the A-listers you'll see this season: a daytime TV queen (Elisabeth Hasselbeck), a 'Star Trek' icon (Leonard Nimoy) and a two-time Oscar winner (Jodie Foster) who will finally let Maggie Simpson do the talking.
Check out our guest stars gallery to see when all of Hollywood's finest will be sweeping their way onto your favorite TV shows.
Best 'American Idol' Performances Ever
Kelly ... Ruben ... Carrie ... David ...They may all own the title of 'American Idol,' but winning is one thing -- turning in one of the show's most memorable performances is something else entirely.
We scoured through the past seven seasons to come up with the 16 best. Then YOU, the fans, voted for the No. 1 greatest 'Idol' performance of all time. See who topped the list.
What's On Tonight: Frosty, Stargate Atlantis, Family Entertainment Awards
At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, followed by new episodes of Supernanny and 20/20.- CBS has Frosty The Snowman at 8, then Frosty Returns and The Flight Before Christmas.
- NBC has the special Greatest Holiday Moments: Songs of the Season Countdown at 8, followed by new episodes of Lipstick Jungle and Dateline.
- There's a new Everybody Hates Chris on The CW at 8.
- PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, then new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
- Alton Brown makes eggnog on a repeat Good Eats, on Food Network at 8.
- Nickeloeon has a new Fairly Oddparents at 8.
- Also at 8: Disney has a new Suite Life on Deck.
- At 9, The CW has The Family Entertainment Awards.
- Discovery has a new Survivorman at 9.
- Lifetime has the movie Recipe For A Perfect Christmas at 9.
- Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis at 9, then a new Sanctuary.
- VH-1 has Best Year Ever at 9.
- Hallmark has the movie The Christmas Choir at 9.
- E! has a Clay Aiken True Hollywood Story at 9, followed by a new episode of The Soup.
- At 10, USA has the season finale of The Starter Wife.
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talkj show listings.
Which is the best American Idol finale?
Going into last night's finale of American Idol, I was very excited to see the Davids battle each other for the title. It was the first American Idol in a while that did not have an obvious winner at the outset. Even though it really was David Archuleta's night, I still hold out hope that David Cook might pull out a win. He's the one with the most potential and is the better performer. Little Archuleta has that killer voice, though.Anyway, last night's epic battle got me thinking about past American Idol finales and whether any of them were this much of a contest. It seems like we've gone into most of the American Idol finales with obvious winners. Here's a breakdown of the past American Idol finales, and whether they stack up to last night's performances:
AI Aftermath: 2nd place finishers - VIDEOS

Welcome back to "AI Aftermath," where we explore Idol's past. Each installment, as one more American Idol hopeful is eliminated from the competition, we take a look back at contestants past who were eliminated at the same point. We'll examine how they did on the show and what they've been up to since their eliminations. In honor of David Archuleta's elimination in the finale, we'll be looking at other second place finishers.
This week: 2nd place finishers, featuring featuring Justin Guarini (Season One), Clay Aiken (Season Two), Diana DeGarmo (Season Three), Bo Bice (Season Four), Katharine McPhee (Season Five) and Blake Lewis (Season Six).
Taylor Hicks headed for Broadway
With Clay Aiken having wrapped up his run as Sir Robin in Spamalot, the Idol quotient on Broadway was down. Fortunately for theatergoers, it's Taylor Hicks to the rescue. Kind of. He's a bit of a step down from Clay Aiken, isn't he? I mean, Clay's new album debuted at number four, and Taylor was dropped from his label.
Whichever way you see it, Hicks will be joining the cast of Grease to take on the role of Teen Angel. Should you be in the area, you can head over to the Brooks Atkinson Theater and hear his version of "Beauty School Dropout." An interesting TV side-note, this production of Grease stars Laura Osnes and Max Crumm. You may remember them as being the winners of the ill-fated NBC show, You're The One That I Want.
Clay Aiken Live... on QVC
Clay Aiken's career track is an interesting one. For someone with my musical tastes and interests, he virtually disappeared after his season of American Idol was over. His act is really just not for me. Unlike so many other also-rans from the show though, a couple times a year, he pops up again. Clay is performing here. He's sold another million albums there. And along the way he's managed to build one of the most devoted fan bases anyone could ask for.
That brings us to the latest rise of Clay on to the radar for the rest of us. He's kicking off the release of his fourth studio album next Monday, with an appearance on QVC. I'm reminded of Arsenio and the old "things that make you go hmmm" bit. I'm not sure I get it, but we should probably just not question Clay's judgment. He seems to be doing alright. He's never going to have the media exposure of Kelly Clarkson, but he's not going to just fade away either.
[ via E! Online ]
Former and current Idol public appearances
Hey all you Idol maniacs. Want to know where your favorite Idol contestants past and present will be making appearances? Of course you do. You've already got the RV packed, notes to the kids' schools written explaining their prolonged absences and a case of Funyuns jammed underneath the passenger seat. You're a member of the Soul Patrol, a Clayniac and are still suffering from McPheever. Oh you've got it bad.But MJ's Big Blog has what you need. No more aimless driving around America shouting "Can anyone tell me where Gina Glocksen is performing tonight?" or "Has anyone seen Jessica Sierra, she still owes me bail money?" Now you can go to one place and plan your journey like the Deadheads before you. Now you can follow Ace Young as he travels around various Borders signing Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul, and you can catch Diana DeGarmo at the Braves opener. Oh, and if you're in Atlanta at Kroger tonight, look up Melinda Doolittle, buy some ice cream and tell her I said "Hi."
Major 'Idol' Makeovers
Before Carrie Underwood was a Grammy-winning superstar, she was just a small-town girl from Checotah, Oklahoma.But with the help of 'American Idol,' Carrie, Jennifer Hudson and others were given the full Hollywood treatment, transforming their everyday looks into red carpet glam.
Click through our gallery to see the before and after shots of some of your favorite 'Idol' contestants.
'American Idol' Stars: Where Are They Now?
Call it what you will -- the downfall of pop music or its savior -- there's no denying that 'American Idol' is a fickle god-maker.Some winners have found great success (hello, Kelly!), some have been dumped by their labels (so sorry, Ruben and Taylor), while some also-rans have gone on to bigger and better things.
We check in on 30 'AI' alums and fill you in on which ones are in trouble with the law, which are still giving it their best shot ... and which have fallen off the radar.
Biggest 'American Idol' Scandals
Like every TV show, 'American Idol' couldn't survive without a headline scandal.In just seven seasons, 'Idol' has had its fair share of juicy gossip items: nude photos; arrests; wrong numbers -- not to mention Corey Clark's alleged affair with Paula Abdul.
We've compiled a list of the biggest 'Idol' scandals ever. After the jump, click through our gallery to relive moments every 'Idol' wants you to forget.
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