Kelly Clarkson Accidentally Forgets Clay Aiken Did Not Win His American Idol Season: ‘Sorry, Ruben.’

Kelly Clarkson is reflecting on the early days of American Idol, and she mistakenly omits some important elements.

When friend and singer Clay Aiken, 46, went on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday, Dec. 16, the reality show alumni naturally talked about their time on the successful program, and Clarkson, 42, forgot that Aiken did not win his season.

“So we spent a lot of time… we toured,” the season 1 winner said, alluding to the singers’ 2004 co-headlining Independent Tour, which followed the first two seasons of American Idol.

“I won the season before you, but we toured after you won,” she said, eliciting a shocked look from Aiken, the season 2 runner-up to Ruben Studdard.

The Christmas Bells Are Ringing musician’s eyes widened, darting back and forth in response to the host’s bogus remark. “After I came in second,” he graciously clarified, and a surprised Clarkson said, “You what?”

Realizing her error, the “Since U Been Gone” singer quickly and humorously went to the camera to correct it by apologizing to Studdard, 46.

“I’m very sorry, Ruben,” she said, drawing laughter from both the crowd and Aiken.

“Look, I am 42, dude. Okay, I forgot,” the host joked, while Aiken reassured her that it had been 20 years. We’re both getting older.

Clarkson kept going: “Yes, and I kind of feel like for some reason in my brain movie, y’all are on different shows.”

Aiken then remarked that Studdard would call him over Clarkson’s mix-up. “He will be calling me,” the singer quipped to the presenter, “without question.”

After reminiscing about their American Idol and touring days, from furious Scrabble battles to disagreements about Aiken’s refrigerator organization, Clarkson brought up the “winning thing” again.

“See, now I truly did win,” she began, but Aiken interrupted, “Because you did win. Yes. I remember that, too.”

Despite her guest’s objection, Clarkson continued, “I don’t know if you remember this, and you probably do, but no one cared that I was there [on the 2004 tour].” “No one!” she said, doubling down. “That whole tour.”

And, after receiving confirmation from Jason Halbert, a current member of her house band who was also on tour, she said, “I’m telling you, it was as if I didn’t exist.”

“You exist now, darling,” Aiken continued, drawing a sprinkling of applause.

Elsewhere in the program, the duo highlighted Aiken’s lovely connection with Studdard—the season 2 winner and runner-up also teamed on Broadway in 2018 for Ruben and Clay’s Christmas Show—with Aiken expressing that he is “sure” he and Studdard would “do stuff again.”

“I mean, we’re sort of inseparable,” he was saying. “I think we’re better together than apart.”

Clarkson, for her part, described the duo as an “odd couple” that somehow “works.”