CAN SOMEBODY POST THE PHONE NUMBERS?????

Here we are for tonight!

I suddenly have a craving for some popcorn. ;)

Im ready...busy night..AI and 24...no phone calls, please!

oh, btw.....GO CLAY!!!

POPCORN,,,,,extra butter, please....I forgot...I got a bag of Buster Bars from DQ...

Dang, somehow I dropped you!

Here's the number......not sure whether Clay will be 01 or 02

1-866-43657

The local channel 5 this morning was promoting Ruben. Acting as if Ruben WILL win. No mention at all of Clay, just showing pics of Ruben. They even played a clip of Simon Cowell saying that he considered Ruben the star!

Read that the lines will be open tonite for an extra hour, but probably will be best to try in the second hour.

A little light reading while we wait:

Rooting for Ruben or Clay?
By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — Marlayna and Michael Brown are sister and brother, both hailing from Riverside, Calif. As zealous American Idol fans, they arrived at the set of the Fox talent show at 5:30 a.m. last Tuesday, 12 hours before the live performance, hoping to get a couple of the hottest tickets in Hollywood.
Clay and Ruben compete for 'Idol' status this week.

But one significant difference separates them: Marlayna, 21, is part of Clay Nation, while her 17-year-old brother represents Ruben's world.

From the start of the Fox hit's final rounds, Clay and Ruben — now single-name entities in the popular culture — have been the favorites to meet in tonight's final competition, with the winner being named Wednesday (both nights, 8 ET/PT). The two also have sported the biggest, loudest and most passionate fans of any of the 12 Idol finalists. Some of Clay's fans even refer to their devotion as an obsession.

"They've been the top two from the beginning. They have the most awesome voices," Marlayna says.

Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard are at least partly responsible for putting the Tuesday and Wednesday Idol shows in the Nielsen top 10 for the season, with each averaging more than 20 million viewers. Those numbers are millions higher than Idol's initial outing, in the lower-rated summer months. They're certain to jump higher this week with a marquee matchup of the sort many believe the first Idol missed. (Tamyra Gray was eliminated two weeks before Kelly Clarkson won, beating Justin Guarini.)

Indications of fan ardor for Studdard and Aiken seem to be everywhere:

* The signs at the show. "I am the Potter, U R My Clay" is one of the seemingly endless plays on Aiken's first and last names. Three Studdard fans who traveled overnight from the Bay Area — sisters Nicole and Natalie Antes, 22 and 16, of San Ramon, and Beth Rogers, 23, of Sonora — favor texture over wordplay, sporting signs made from carpet remnants.
* Fan-made souvenirs. Three women at last week's show sported black-and-hot-pink Claymates T-shirts that feature a silhouette of their favorite; in an earlier round, Studdard fans banged plastic thundersticks that said, "Ruben is the American Idol."
* Clothing sales. Orders at 205 Flava of Birmingham, Ala., have skyrocketed since hometown hero Studdard started sporting its area-code apparel. Sales have "boosted, boosted, boosted. Man, it's unbelievable," says CEO Willie Jenkins.
* Clayisms. The Claymates group provides new members a lexicon that includes AmerAiken, a fan from the USA, as opposed to a Claynadian; Clay/December romance, referring to his appeal to older women; and Clayniac, the type of fan who might feel infatuaAiken.
* Online support. Aiken is the Idol king, with four times as many Internet searches as Studdard and 10 times the number of any finalist during last season's show, says Aaron Schatz of Lycos, an Internet search company. Studdard comes in No. 2.

Internet buzz boosted

Idol overall is a bigger hit on the Internet in its second season, perhaps fueled by Clay/Ruben fan rivalry. It ranked fourth last week on the Lycos 50, a measure of the most popular searches, and has been on the list 17 weeks, Schatz says. Last time, the show peaked at No. 8, with eight weeks in the top 50.

Fans of both singers profess online allegiance around the clock, with one exception: "No chatting during voting time. If they're chatting, they can't vote," says Julie Lowes, 27, of Powell, Ohio, co-owner of the Claymates' Yahoo group.

Idol host and radio DJ Ryan Seacrest is dazzled by how fan passion has turned Aiken and Studdard into household names. "I was in New York (Friday) standing in front of my hotel. People drove by, opened their windows and yelled, 'It's gonna be Clay.' Or 'It's gonna be Ruben,' " he says. "I don't often see the pop artists we play become as big with fans as quickly."

The two finalists accept the fanatical support with characteristic modesty.

"I'm glad I've got people enjoying what I'm doing," says the 25-year-old Studdard.

"It's more than flattering," Aiken, 24, says of the fan clubs and the newfound fame. "It's absolutely amazing. I'm just a normal person who sings."

In the only tally that counts, the Idol elimination vote, Aiken and Studdard were just 2% apart last week, making it hard to determine whether the slender, big-voiced Aiken or the big-bodied, smooth-singing Studdard has more supporters. It's difficult to characterize such large fan bases, but each singer's following has some noticeable traits, according to fans, music experts and others who follow the show.

For a start, at the studio performances, their fans sound different. During a commercial break before Kimberley Locke's elimination, Aiken partisans chanted "Clay Must Stay" to the accompaniment of high-pitched shrieks; when they stopped, the low rumble of "Rooo-ben, Rooo-ben" served as the Studdard side's response.

R&B vs. pop

Musically, Studdard's fans are more likely to enjoy R&B. Aiken draws followers who admire traditional pop stylings that have been a staple over the decades.

Both have large numbers of young female fans, Idol's viewing core.

Studdard probably has a greater percentage of male fans, says Lon Thompson, whose Elitestv.com Web site keeps tabs on the most popular reality and alternative shows.

Beyond the teenybopper following, Aiken enjoys big support from women in their 30s, 40s and 50s, many of whom say Aiken is the first singer they ever swooned over. Lowes knows of a 93-year-old woman who calls in multiple votes each week from her nursing home. There's even a Lecherous Broads for Clay Aiken Web site.

For passionate intensity, including numerous complaints whenever a slight is perceived, nobody matches the Aiken brigades, Thompson says.

"I don't think I've ever seen one person in a reality show have such a hard-core, fanatical following as Clay," says Thompson, who surmises that Studdard partisans may share a little of the laid-back nature of their singer.

The tenacity of Idol fans isn't surprising, says Clay Calvert, a Penn State professor and author of Voyeur Nation: Media, Privacy and Peering in Modern Culture.

The allegiance brings to mind sports fans.

Idol is "like a sports contest in the realm of (performing) talent," Calvert says. "Many people can relate to somebody from an average background who rises to be a star."

But why such strong devotion to these two singers: Aiken, who has been praised for learning from judges' criticism and going from "geek to chic," as fan Marlayna Brown says, and Studdard, a consistent performer dubbed the "velvet teddy bear" by Gladys Knight?

Hooked by sound, charisma

For some, it starts and ends with the voice. For others, the attraction goes far beyond. They see their favorite as an admirable person — idol as role model — and the praise at times can sound similar.

"I believe that Clay's fans are attracted to him because he is a good human being. He is mature, intelligent, funny and caring," says Elisa Crossman, 22, of San Diego, who arranged a face-to-face meeting with two friends from her "That's the Clay" message board at last Wednesday's show. The trio wore Claymates T-shirts.

Tamera Mathus, 24, of Oakland, who co-moderates the Ruben Studdard Fans Yahoo group, says, "The humbleness that Ruben possesses is simply amazing. I love the fact that he remains true to himself, no matter what and (proves) this year is honestly about the vocal talent, not just the image."

Partisans don't want to hear criticism, such as comments that Aiken's style is too Broadway or Studdard is too large. A tagline on Claymates messages says, "Don't love Clay anymore? Don't tell us!"

But as fiercely as each side campaigns for its singer — and message boards have been buzzing with get-out-the-vote strategies for tonight's expanded, three-hour call-in window — there is not as much sniping aimed directly at the opposing performer as one might expect. (Aiken faithful, however, complain that media coverage favors Studdard, and some Studdard advocates think Aiken fans are visiting their message boards to monitor voting strategies.)

Many fans point out that the two finalists are friends and wouldn't want any fighting.

"I don't sense (fan) animosity," Seacrest says. "It's more a matter of such passion for one or the other."

Everything I've seen, except for the local channels, are pushing Ruben.

They flipped a coin last night.

Ruben is #1
Clay is #2 (Clay's choice, he wanted to sing second)

...not sure whether Clay will be 01 or 02

On last night's show at the very end they had a coin toss and Ruben got to call it. He called "heads" and it landed "tails". Clay picked to go second (I was yelling "go second!" here, hehe).

It airs in a little over 2 hours here, but I don't mind reading comments before seeing it myself.

I'm here. This is soooo exciting!!!!!

Anyone know if there is a 'theme' tonight?

Clay is 02. Ruben is 01.

Yep. Everyone is pretty much pushing Ruben. I love Ruben, but I don't think it's fair to push him before the competition tonight. Oh well. Clay will make us proud I'm sure.

Anyone know if there is a 'theme' tonight?

I don't know, but I do remember at the first AI finals Justin and Kelly had to sing two original songs and I think they also sung a song of their own choice. The original songs were written specifically to become the winner's first single, "a" and "b" sides. Will that be the case again? We'll see!

I do not think there's a theme. Usually they announce it if there is one.

Even Fox News Channel this morning was plugging Ruben. That's the second time I've seen them say Ruben was their guy. It took me an hour and a half to vote last time and I only voted once. This time I'm going to vote as many times as they will let me thru. I'm voting for Clay for two reasons. First, he is easily the best singer and second I don't like it when they try to push one over the other.

I don't blame Ruben himself for the favortism. He's such a sweetie just like Clay. I love them both but I think this should be a fair competition.

I'm giving a big "me too" to every word in your post.

Live thread for comments on the American Idol finals Tuesday night, May 20, 2003!!!!

CAN SOMEBODY POST THE PHONE NUMBERS?????

**Live thread for comments on the American Idol finals Tuesday night, May 20, 2003!!!!**