TORONTO - There's a showroom in Las Vegas with Clay Aiken's name on it.

At least judging from his medley-heavy and costume-friendly show last night at the Molson Amphitheatre.

Aiken's so-called Jukebox tour -- marking his first-ever solo concert in Toronto -- covered pop music from the '50s to the early 21st century.

And I do mean covered.

At last count, Aiken -- the second season runnerup of American Idol -- and his nine-piece band performed over 60 songs, mostly snippets mind you, although some got the full treatment.

It often felt like an exhaustive, decade-by-decade examination -- as the show dragged past the two-and-a-half hour mark including a 20 minute intermission -- when it had all the makings of what could have been a decent night of music.

While it's not my taste, Aiken does have a No. 1 album, 2003's Measure Of A Man, that he's numerously toured in support of in the U.S.

He said he felt compelled to do a different show this summer but I might have waited until his sophomore album was released.

The real revelation was Aiken himself, the self-professed nerd from Raleigh, N.C., who is quite charismatic in a live setting, friendly and funny and in complete control of both his band and the audience, while not at all willing to take himself too seriously.

When he introduced the Canadian executive producer of his next album, Jaymes Levy Foster (sister of David Foster) in the audience, he said of the delayed disc: "It's going to have Canadian flair to it when it comes out in 2025!"

Another funny bit saw him taking requests from the audience -- everything from Guns 'N Roses Sweet Child O' Mine to O Canada -- while fighting against the noise from competing fireworks courtesy of the CNE.

But the first clue the cheese was coming was the way the concert started: Three of Aiken's musicians asked for quarters to put in the small jukebox on stage.

Of all things, one of the worst songs in rock history, Starship's We Built This City, came blaring out and then started skipping crazily before a black leather jacket-clad Aiken appeared on stage and pounded the jukebox to make it stop.

From there it was non-stop '50s classics such as Twistin' The Night Away, Let's Go To The Hop, The Great Pretender, etc., plus the obligatory Elvis tribute.

A wardrobe was also dragged on stage so that Aiken could literally change clothes with each new decade of songs -- the white polyester suit for the '70s, spandex for the '80s.

Maybe Aiken's just pandering to his wide-ranging audience, given the cross section of women of all ages, families and the occasional couple -- one was celebrating their 25th anniversary and let him know it -- in the seats.

When he did stop long enough to deliver a song in its entirety -- Unchained Melody, Love Me Tender (which he performed solo on piano), Suspicious Minds, Solitaire, Mandy, Bridge Over Troubled Water, When Doves Cry, I Can't Make You Love Me, and his own hit Invisible -- he had the vocal goods.

And some much needed soul was injected into the evening by his two astonishing female backup singers who took over lead vocals on such standouts as Midnight Train To Georgia, Rescue Me, Think, I Feel The Earth Move, and I Will Always Love You.

Naturally, this review will not go over well with Aiken's devoted fanbase, apparently not as healthy in Toronto given the low-turnout, estimated at around 5,000 people making for the smallest audience I have seen at the amphitheatre this summer.

But I'm sure I'll hear from all those Claymates (females) and Claydawgs (males) -- and even Claynadians -- who feel their beloved Aiken can do no wrong.

I just think he can do much better.