Record audience for Colbert finale

The population of Colbert Nation was growing until the very end.

Thursday's finale of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report set a series record with 2.5 million viewers. It tops the previous high, 2.4 million, which came in an October 2008 episode that followed an appearance by then-Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on Colbert's lead-in program, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Ratings for the finale, which featured a touching goodbye from host Stephen Colbert and a dazzling, multi-celebrity sing-along, nearly doubled the show's viewer average for last week, which itself was boosted by a visit from President Obama.

The final episode also topped Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings Daily Top Five list for Thursday. According to Nielsen, 2.2 million people saw one or more of the 88,000 tweets sent about the Colbert finale.

Colbert, who is leaving the show after nine years, will take over CBS' Late Show next year after host David Letterman's retirement.