‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’: Who did Jenny McCartney kiss for 2013?

There are a number of traditions that unfold every year on “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” but there is one that has become almost as interesting over the past couple of years: seeing just who show co-host Jenny McCarthy chooses to kiss at the stroke of midnight.

This year, Jenny actually came up with an interesting new tradition: allowing America to vote on it for her. They had three choices (a military man, a fireman, or an “average Joe”), and the winner would of course get one on the lips from the woman who has become almost synonymous with this show on ABC (though not to the same extent as Ryan Seacrest or the legendary Dick Clark).

So who did America vote for? Judging from the fact that she was spotted immediately kissing a member of the military just seconds after the ball dropped at the stroke of midnight, it’s pretty clear that we had our answer. (Did anyone else think that the guy looked a little bit like Jerry Seinfeld?)

This moment capped off a pretty entertaining night for the show, as they made a smooth transition into the post-Clark era following his death earlier this year. Seacrest led the countdown, and gleefully exclaimed “Happy New Year” at the stroke of midnight while the crowd celebrated along with many of the performers who were on the roster for the night. The group included everyone from Psy to Taylor Swift to Carly Rae Jepsen and Neon Trees. As great a night as they had, though, we have a feeling here that the real winner still is the man who got the kiss (or not, based on some of the crazy reaction we’re seeing to this moment already via social media).

Do you think that McCarthy made the right choice here? If you want to check out our review of some of the top “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” performances, you can do so over at the link here.

Update: We’ve added a video below, and in it you can hear him say that his name is Benjamin Moore, which, as one commenter noted below, is also a brand of paint.

Photo: ABC