"American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken may have the top-selling U.S. Christmas album, but he's a little ambivalent about the holiday itself.

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"My memories have always been the mishaps, the things that happen wrong at Christmas," he said. "I remember driving back from getting the Christmas tree and having to stick it through the open back windows of the car and freezing all the way home, strange things like that. I think a majority of Americans' Christmas memories are much less It's a Wonderful Life' and much more National Lampoon."

Aiken's holiday album, "Merry Christmas With Love," debuted at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Top Holiday Albums chart with first-week sales of more than 270,000 copies.

His TV special, "A Clay Aiken Christmas," co-starring Barry Manilow, Yolanda Adams and "Will & Grace" co-star Megan Mullally airs at 8 p.m. ET Dec. 8 on NBC. The special comes out on DVD on Dec. 14.

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