One critic’s view: “‘This Is The Night’ has left absolutely zero cultural impact. There are no prominent covers, no samples, no soundtrack placements. The song has utterly evaporated.” – Tom Breihan @ Stereogum
The public’s view: 1.51 / 5.00, the worst #1 hit of the 2000s decade
The first season of American Idol successfully discovered the best unsigned singer in the United States. The second season’s goal was to reveal the nation’s second-best unsigned singer – not counting anyone who had lost to Kelly Clarkson in the first season, and also not counting anyone who had ever been arrested or who had posed for nude photos or who was on the no-fly list or who had rotting green teeth or who was older than 24. Clay Aiken was the second-best of this batch of the second-best, finishing behind a guy named Ruben Studdard. Yet it is Aiken’s name – not Studdard’s – that is written in the record books as the proud owner of a #1 single. The aforementioned record books are the only place you will find any reference to “This Is the Night”. It is perhaps the most forgettable #1 in all of Hot 100 history, Tommy Page notwithstanding.
“This Is the Night” and its spiky-haired performer traveled a pothole-filled road to #1. First, Aiken was voted off of Idol in one of the early rounds of competition. Through a quirk in the show’s rules, he was permitted to return as a “wild card” contestant despite this initial rejection by the public. The public then decided that they liked him after all. Aiken was like Grandma’s Brussels sprout casserole: something that grosses everyone out the first time they try it, but later becomes a favorite.
Even though he had endeared himself to many Idol viewers by the time of the final vote, Aiken still lost by a slim margin. He was disappointed, but he didn’t pout or whine or accuse his opponent of cheating. He didn’t urge his supporters to boycott Fox or to mail poop to Ryan Seacrest. Instead, Aiken reacted to his loss by congratulating the winner and expressing gratitude for the opportunity to compete. I’m glad that our society no longer accepts this pathetic defeatist attitude. Everyone today now understands that contests don’t end simply because someone wins them.
Losing the final round on American Idol usually comes with a humiliating penalty. The first season’s runner-up, a young man named Justin Guarini, was forced to co-star in a terrible movie before being sentenced to a lifetime of appearing in Dr. Pepper ads. Clay Aiken’s contractually mandated chore was to perform “I’m a Little Teapot” with the aid of a sock puppet. Just kidding – it was worse than that. He was required to record “This Is the Night”, a generic composition that had already been disparaged by the Idol judges. Releasing it as his first single was certain to put his career on a monorail to Nowhereville. He’d be lucky if even Fresca or Mr. Pibb wanted him as a spokesman after that.
“This Is the Night” was designed to be a nondescript song that could be used in a talent competition without giving an unfair advantage to the person singing it. It is musical wallpaper, with nothing interesting to offer aside from the absurdity of it becoming a #1 hit. And Aiken was a decent enough singer, but his domination of the Hot 100 – and, therefore, of the national arts and culture scene – was far out of proportion to his TV fame. Simon Cowell was the most popular figure on American Idol; the contestants were merely his foils. The fate of a secondary character such as Aiken could never be as big of a phenomenon as the shooting of J.R. Ewing on Dallas, which sent the whole country into a maelstrom of angst until the beloved oilman recovered from his injury and the perpetrator was identified. Claymania – which my spell-checker keeps changing to “Chlamydia” – was as relevant to most people’s lives as if someone had shot Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley, or had thrown a pie in the face of Higgins on Magnum, P.I. Nonetheless, the lackluster entertainment environment of the mid-2000s allowed Aiken to spend a couple weeks on top of the chart.
Predictably, “This Is the Night” was not a golden ticket to sustained success in popular music. Aiken did, however, branch out into politics, where he was able to once again demonstrate his proven skill at getting the second-most number of votes.
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