So the new Clay Aiken publicity photo landed in my inbox today…

Yikes.

Now, keep in mind that I expected Clay to look, well…different.

After all, lately Clay has undergone enough makeovers to rival his fellow quickchange diva Madonna.

For instance, there was that brunette K.D. Lang shag he rocked at the season 5 American Idol finale, when he shocked his “lookalike” idolizer Michael Sandecki as well as the entire Fox viewing audience.

Then he packed on about 30 pounds of body fat (inspiring nasty nicknames like “Clay Bacon” and “Clay Tummy-Achin’”), and probably twice that weight in spackled-on makeup, for his role in Broadway’s Spamalot.

And still, when I unwittingly checked my email this morning like I do on any uneventful Monday, I was in no way prepared for Clay’s latest look.

Take a deep breath and scroll down:

Oh, my Aiken eyes!

Sorry, I don’t mean to be cruel. I love me some Clay. Really, I do. But this photo frightens me.

So what do you think of Clay 3.0? Post your thoughts below–and try not to spamalot, OK?