Archive through May 21, 2003
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TV ClubHouse: Archive: American Idol (FOX): Tonight's Showdown: May 20, 2003: Archive through May 21, 2003

Snee

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 10:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
well...i might be persuaded to buy the c.d. of the show! (but i wouldn't listen to it in the car. it would go with my 'joseph' soundtrack.)

Twinkie

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 10:48 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Clay has all the makings of a star. Half the time I can't even understand Ruben when he talks cause he mumbles. They are both great singers but IMHO Clay has star quality. But I would buy both of their CDs.

Beachcomber88

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 11:14 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I am in agreeance with a lot of you in saying that tonight's show was a total letdown. This was supposed to be Ali versus Frazier! What we got was William "The Refrigerator" Perry versus Manute Bol. Completely not entertaining and did not live up to the expectations built up over the past week. Last season's finale show was so much more emotional and captured the essence of the show.

I thought they were both off. I'm not sure why everyone thinks Clay's BOTW was so wonderful. Ruben has lost steam week after week. But then again, my view is skewed because I don't really care anymore because Kim is gone.

Can't wait for Fox's "surprise" ending tomorrow night.

Nanarobin

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 11:26 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
THE LATEST ARTICLE ON TUESDAY AI
-------------------------------------
Viewers to Decide 'American Idol' Winner
May 20, 2003 08:38 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES - Will it be redheaded string bean Clay Aiken, possessed of a startlingly powerful voice? Or will Ruben Studdard, 350 pounds of stage presence and soulful style, become the vocalist of note?

Television viewers have already decided which of the 24-year-old Southern singers will claim the title of "American Idol." But the results won't be declared until Wednesday's two-hour season finale, beginning at 8 p.m. EDT on Fox.

On Tuesday's edition of "American Idol," the two performers gave the audience a final chance to listen, then weigh in.

"Head-to-head, the showdown tonight!" host Ryan Seacrest said at the top of the show.

Studdard crooned the Burt Bacharach song "A House is Not a Home," John Lennon's "Imagine" and Westlife's "Flying Without Wings."

Aiken belted out an original song called "This Is the Night," Paul McCartney's "Here, There and Everywhere" and Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

"How will you decide?" Seacrest asked viewers, who had three hours after the show's sign-off to cast their votes.

Both Aiken and Studdard shrug off the question of who will win. Crowned or not, they have a serious shot at a career because of "American Idol," which has received 18 million to 20 million telephone votes in past weeks.

"There's stars out there who would die to have this much exposure," Aiken, of Raleigh, N.C., told The Associated Press in an interview last week, on the day US magazine came out with a cover featuring him, Studdard and third-place finisher Kimberly Locke. Another cover story in People and a lengthy Newsweek piece followed.

"Everybody in this competition is a winner," said Studdard, of Birmingham, Ala. "I don't think there's too much difference."

Even Locke felt no pain when she was voted off. "I'm just happy that we all got this far," said the Nashville, Tenn., native after the TV audience's decision. "It's a great jump-start for my career."

That's been proven by last year's "American Idol" and the original British series, "Pop Idol."

Kelly Clarkson, winner of the first "American Idol" competition last year, was signed by RCA Records and saw her album, "Thankful," debut at No. 1 last month.

Runner-up Justin Guarini is right by her side. He signed a record deal with RCA as well and is co-starring with Clarkson in an upcoming film. He even gets top billing, of a sort: The movie is titled "From Justin to Kelly."

Other first-season finalists working on albums include R.J. Helton (who just signed with Kirk Franklin's Gospocentric label), A.J. Gil and Tamyra Gray. Gray also launched her acting career with a role on the Fox drama "Boston Public." Even Frenchie Davis, booted because she once worked for an adult-oriented Web site, was cast in the Broadway production of "Rent."

"In England, the top five kids have had No. 1 records. The whole of the pop record industry there has been changed around by 'Pop Idol,'" said Ken Warwick of Freemantle Media, a co-producer of both the British and U.S. versions of the show.

Fox is diligent in keeping both first- and second-season finalists in front of the public, liberally scattering them throughout the current series. There also are group tours with contestants.

How long the whirlwind will last is anybody's guess.

Aiken said his personal goal was simply to make it to the top three. He speculates that neither he nor Studdard would have even made the initial cut in the contest's first season.

"Last year, the judges approached the whole competition differently, I think," Aiken said. "Simon (Cowell), especially, put people in because they had some talent and looked good. He was much bigger on image last year. (Now) he admittedly has allowed the public to decide what's more important, talent or image."

Wardrobe makeovers have made the two finalists look slicker, and Aiken has a new spiky haircut and contact lenses. But neither approaches Guarini's darling boy-band look.

For Aiken, that's something to savor.

"It's sweet justice that two people (Cowell) probably wouldn't have voted for last year are in the top two this year."

Maris

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 03:42 am EditMoveDeleteIP
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,453384~3~0~hereswhyclaywill,00.html

Feat of Clay


Here's why Clay will win -- In the winner-take-all finale, Clay shines while Ruben falters for the first time. Jessica Shaw was there live, and she explains what happened

Okay, that was so not the finale I was expecting. And not just because I thought Paul Anka was dead. (Little did we know he’s been hiding away penning Bar Mitzvah-style lyrics to classic songs!) Didn’t you sort of think Ruben would come in tonight and rock the house with his little velvet teddy bear moves and Grand Canyon-sized smile? And didn’t it seem like Clay would be all show-tuney and maybe forget a line or two along the way?

Well, as far as I could tell (that would be from row D, seat 3 in section 18, thank you very much. Yes, I officially have the best job on the planet), Clay owned the night. You heard it here first: Clay is the next American Idol.

Considering how steady and flawless Ruben has been all competition, it shocked the hell out of me that he choked on the last night. Lord only knows why he chose to sing ''House Is Not a Home,'' a song that in American ''Idol''-land now officially belongs to Tamyra Gray. His rendition was fine, but hardly a goosebump-inducing situation. Only Simon was willing to make the call that it wasn’t ''the best performance we’ve heard.''

From that point on, you could see Ruben’s nerves continuously dripping right down his face. Frankly, I was sort of worried he was going to slip and wipe out in a pool of his own sweat. Simon had never spoken badly of big Ru before that moment.

''Imagine'' was a little better, though Ruben’s face registered such serious pain, I thought Ryan was going to have to attempt CPR on live TV. Plus, it was sort of an easy song. (And Randy called ''Here, There, Everywhere'' -- with all those ridiculously high notes -- ''safe''? I think not!). What can I say about ''Flying Without Wings,'' big Ru’s big finale? He sounded great, the choir rocked, but Kimberley could have belted out that song just as well, if not better. Still, the judges seemed to love that performance. Randy gave the ol’ standing ovation. ''It’s the church of Ruben!'' Paula said, meaning to give a compliment. And Simon, who’s been Ruben’s No. 1 supporter all along gushed ''That was fantastic. You saved the best for last.''

I sort of wish Ruben and Clay had to sing the same songs, like Kelly and Justin had to last year. Even though it was abundantly clear that Kelly was the greater talent, you didn’t know just how superior she was until you heard her rendition of ''A Moment Like This'' next to his. What would Ruben have sounded like singing ''This Is the Night''? We’ll never know.

Even though the judges seemed to hate Clay’s original, I thought it was pretty damn genius. (I’m almost sure Paula may have agreed with me. ''You found a matrix of a song,'' she said. Was that some weird cross-Fox promotion? Will she ever make sense?) Clay could have used a little less David Copperfield backlighting, but his voice blew everyone in section 18 away. And we had some serious Ruben fans at the beginning.

When Ryan said Clay would be doing a Sir Paul song, I was sort of hoping it would be ''Blackbird'' or ''Hey Jude.'' ''Here, There, Everywhere'' was, as Simon said, ''very pretty,'' but the entire audience spent that song terrified that Clay’s voice would crack everytime he went falsetto.

But all five songs before Clay’s finale didn’t mean a thing. ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'' was by far the song of the season. ''I think that performance could win you the competition,'' Simon, who has clearly been championing Ruben, begrudgingly said. And you might hate Simon, but let’s face it, the guy is always right.

So what to do now? A full 24 hours until we find out. It all comes down to who’s going to inherit Kimberley’s fans. Fans of plus-sized performers will go Ruben, but all those who dug Kimmy’s major vocal range might hang with Clay. Some voters might feel sorry for Ruben’s subpar showing tonight and do the whole moral-support dial-up. And there’s got to be at least a few hundred people turned off by Clay’s odd wiggly finger move urging the audience to vote for contestant 2. For sure, it’s going to be close. I think we’re headed for a serious Red State/Blue State situation. They’ll split the South. Coasts may go Ruben, but heartland is all Clay. I’m hating Florida already.

Scribe

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 04:25 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Clay may not win but he should and he RULES. I thought Ruben was monatone and I registered no goosebumps - contrary to many I actually loved Clay's first song and was surprised to do so because I disliked Ruben's first song in particular so I thought wow these songs are going to be bad . Never like it when Clay sits and sings - don't know why he does that - but his first and last song were outstanding - I think Kim's voterss will go with Ruben but Clay was the best.

Crazydog

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 05:52 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Beach, can't tell if you're making fun of Fox (and deservedly so) or if there really is supposed to be a surprise ending. Maybe the surprise is that both of them get signed by Simon's company. Not much of a surprise, IMO.

Rissa

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 06:44 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I fast-fowarded through the show last night, hubby was giving our 14 year old her first driving lesson in our back field and I just had to keep peeking. LOLOL

Impressions were that a very large, scary looking man with an automatic weapon was sitting in the front row and pointing that gun at Reuben's mom's temple. Goodness!!! He (Reuben, not the armed guy) looked terrified! And his voice kept breaking up which I have never heard from him before. I was so distracted by his fear level that I didn't pay much attention to the songs.

Clay? First song I missed, 2nd left me cold, third.... awesome. Made more awesome because it was the only above average performance of the night by both of them.

In addition I have been reading comments about the lighting. Have to admit to a teeny, tiny conspiracy theory.... that being that it was intentional as it helped cover up Clay's little facial thingies that have annoyed some.

I like both these guys and since Kim L. is gone, I really don't care which wins (not in a snarky way, it's just pretty even for me).

Questions: Was anything said about WHY they weren't required to sing what WILL BE their first single or at least the SAME song such as last year? My guesses..... ain't no song that both men COULD sing, and since the competition is too close to call... or....... <conspiracy theory coming>........

2 hour finale tonight!!! How about if singing this single is part of the choice process? There have been rumours about the judges getting veto power over the public, could it be their votes after hearing the single will add to the publics in some way?

Hobbs

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 07:20 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Those original songs are going to be the single(s). The are listed on amazon.com with cover art. Clay's is listed as #1.

Iscreamer1

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 07:22 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Just heard about an internet poll while watching my local FOX station. They said the poll has CLAY as the winner 68% to 32%! Can this be accurate?

Hermione69

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 07:23 am EditMoveDeleteIP
ET's online poll about who has more star power was 64% Clay to 36% Ruben last I looked (about 30 minutes ago). That is similar to the Fox numbers, but I think it will be closer than that.

Iscreamer1

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 07:27 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I got through once in 2 1/2 hours of trying. First one cordless lost battery then the other just quit dialing. Don't know if the battery went or I broke it! Either way if you read this board it's Clay all the way. I think I've only read one person that said they voted for Ruben and if you look at posts per fan club thread then ET numbers could be right!

Crazydog

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 07:30 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks Hobbs for the info. I just checked Amazon.com, they have Clay's single "This is the Night" packaged with "On the Wings of Love" at #1 in sales rank, and Ruben's "Flying Without Wings" packaged with "Superstar" at #22.

It says that the winner has his single released on June 3 and the runner-up has his released on June 10. Interesting that they are giving both a release. Maybe that's why they had them sing different songs, because two songs = twice as much money for record producers who love money.

Texannie

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 07:31 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Confused..why did Clay sing an original song and not Rueben? Is this the AI song like Moment in Time? And, why didn't they sing the same song like last year??

Peepinagain

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 07:47 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Yeah, I was disappointed that they didn't sing an AI song written for the winner. But Clay has been a favorite of mine from the beginning as well as Rueben but Clay I'm a little more partial to. Being a musical theatre performer myself I think made me partial to Clay, he reminds me of one. I never thought he would get this far because he didn't quite fit the mold but am happy he could possibly be the winner! They both are winners really, they will be offered contracts regardless of who wins and isn't that what their there for?

Sadiesmom

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 07:49 am EditMoveDeleteIP
When I got my dial tone back, I voted for Ruben. I felt that he was not given the best material to work with this time and the judge comments seemed totally irrelevant (as they seemed for him, nothing to get grounded by) seemed unfair. I think a lot of things they did with him was unfair and was not his fault to be manipulated for so long, he is a very nice person and it was nice to see him in a suit. I would have preferred Kim be there, but hey. Wierd, I know, but some people have to go against the crowd.

I think singing outside may have really affected the boys, the temperature must have been very warm as so many seemed to be in short sleeves. I wondered about The terror factor from the crowd also seemed to have done it's work. They have been so used to playing for their equally divided audiences of a few hundred, was this 5000 people? They were a very enthusiastic crowd.

Peepinagain

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 07:59 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Didn't they pick their on their own what songs they sang last night?

Speaking of unfair comments. It bothered me that when Clay sang Vincent, the comments they made. Clay picked that song from a jar, he even said himself he would've never picked to sing that song himself because he didn't feel it was right for his voice. But the judges said it was a bad song for him - duh! - He didn't want to do it - He HAD to.

Hobbs

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 08:07 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Sadiesmom, I belive it was inside last night.

Peepin, I think both songs, "On the Wings of Love" and "Flying Without Wings" were originals for the show. I guess that they didn't want to have everyone to do the same song like they did last year. "A Moment like This" was not for Justin. I think the top six or so recorded AMLT not knowing who the winner was going to be, and then only released Kellys. Crazy dog is right. Two songs, two releases, more money.

Texannie

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 08:15 am EditMoveDeleteIP
On the Wings of Love isn't an original song for AI..Jeffrey Osborne sang it in the 70's..Jessie sang it to Angie on All My Children! LOL

Djgirl5235

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 08:20 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hobbs hon, the original by Clay was "This is the Night" (On the Wings is his "B" side for the CD single)...

Hobbs

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 08:27 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hangin out at TVCH is an educational experience! Thanks for the info.

Denecee

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 08:48 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I haven't read the above posts, but I will.
IMO, tonights show was not very good.
Imagine is one of my all time favorite songs and I didn't like that rendition(sp) of it. The same with Bridge over Troubled Waters.
I like both these guys and want them both to win.
So, I didn't vote this week.

Seamonkey

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 08:50 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Well hmm, maybe the Ruben fans were busy voting and not posting in his thread?

Singing outside?? Where was that? Universal Amphitheatre was inside last time I was there.

I did think what I saw of the show last night was disappointing but bottom line is both Clay and Ruben are very talented.

One of the articles above was also in my paper this morning and I was pretty shocked that EJ and AJ have contracts.. but if that is true then KIM simply must be signed by someone.

I'd hope in the future that maybe they would back off a bit on all the promotional appearanced for these kids so that their voices don't suffer toward the end. Don't singers have to protect their voices?

Marysafan

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 09:47 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Well, I watched the show for the very first time last night (no hockey game) and was somewhat disappointed. If these two guys were the best...then how bad were the others?

The most miserable performance of the night went to Reuben and his rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine". If you are going to pick a classic that has a lot of meaning for a lot of folks...then don't mess with it. Reuben messed with it and in the process ...messed it up. I saw Scott Bacula sing it in my favorite "Quantum Leap" episode...so I know that it can be done...Reuben just didn't do it...and for me...lost the competion on that one song.

Clay however followed up by slaughtering Paul McCartney's "Here, There, and Everywhere". Okay, I'll admit it I am a hopeless boomer...but I got that album (remember that word?) for my 16th birthday from my boyfriend...that song has meaning...don't mess with it...if you are going to mess it up....Clay messed it up!

So now they are even in my book ...and that is not a good thing....I remained umimpressed. Then Clay chooses "Bridge over Troubled Water". I am thinking..."He has already messed up the Beatles...now he is going after Simon and Garfunkle's greatest hit...has this boy no shame!!!"

He start out a little rough...but by the end...he had won me over. I have to agree with Simon (God forbid!)...he may have won the competition with that last song.

Crazydog

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 09:52 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Kimberley Locke would have been stunning in all three of her songs. And I still don't "get" Clay's "Bridge Over Troubled Water". If he wins the competition on the basis of that song, wouldn't it be unfair that he got live backup singers instead of the horrible ones that are on the arrangements?