Just when you think that the Season 13 finale of American Idol was business as usual — or rather business as usual with a swath of boredom draped over everything — Fox's reality standby brings out the big guns: Ryan Seacrest singing "Right Here Waiting For You" by Richard Marx... with Richard Marx. Yes, that was the finale's "Big gun." Well, that and Harry Connick, Jr.'s dad dancing.
Sure, we could have been focused on Caleb Johnson performing with an irrelevant rock band full of old men in Juggalo makeup. Sure, we could have lost our minds over Jessica Meuse standing awkwardly by while Demi Lovato and the other Idol hopefuls jumped up and down to Lovato's EDM hit. But the hands down best thing that happened as Season 13 came to a close was Seacrest's singing debut.
He took the stage while his buddy Randy Jackson and the rest of Seacrest's family cheered him on and actually began singing the words to "Right Here Waiting For You." Idol haters have called the show a glorified karaoke contest for years, and right here in Season 13, Seacrest gave them just that. Seacrest's off-key, goofy timbre would have been at home at any divey New York City karaoke bar with a free mic on a weekday night. Marx was a good sport, but it was obvious he wasn't sure what he was doing there as Seacrest acted like a jolly drunkard, almost shouting the lyrics at the man responsible for them. Sure, it was the weirdest thing we've seen all season, but then again, it just might be be the best thing we've seen all season.
Plus, we really should have seen this coming. Seacrest gave us a taste of his skills earlier this season:
The video is finally live, so we can enjoy this unique experience again and again. We may not get an encore, but at least we can cherish the YouTube video... until Seacrest's people ruin the internet and force Fox to take it down.
