American Idol Finals - Live Thread!!

Fox ^ | May 21, 2003 | all of us

[fightinJAG]

I think this discussion just proves that the American music market encompasses many different styles and genres. It's great!

[OldFriend]

There was another black male singer there tonite. Looked almost like a thinner version of Ruben. He had the moves, the voice, and the charisma. For whatever reason, Ruben was the chosen one from early on and they were stuck with him. It is clear that he was not the most talented contestant.

Josh Gracen said on a TV show that Ruben was being hyped and Ruben was going to win......and that was weeks ago.

[ARA]

Thanks Shadow for your thoughts...

I'm in LA waiting for the riots that didn't come because Rueben won...(sarcasm off) And I am a total fan of the show... I watch it with my kids... I'm not a snob...

So there... (Tongue sticking out at you)

[Exit148]

Does Clay own a comb?

I've not been following any of this, altho I do know what's going on. I happened to hear Ruben one day, and it was his voice that made me look up from my computer. I'm glad he won. I hope he loses weight without hurting his voice and I wish him a wonderful future.

I also hope Clay does well, and I'm sure he will, from all I gather in this thread ----- but I wish that stupid hair style would go plunk sour.

[republicandiva]

An interesting aside..the lady that's the main vocal coach for AI was Barry Manilow's backup singer for most of his career. Saw part of an interview with her not too long ago.

But will disagree with you about Clay. His voice has the potential, and with a little fine tuning, could easily be a force in the pop world. Remember, with the exception of Elton John, Manilow and Mathis had hits that were totally "out of sync" with the pop culture of their time...and the name of the show is 'AMERICAN IDOL'...not 'POP IDOL.' Since when is American music only geared to the MTV crowd?

[Carolinamom]

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I can listen real well to Clay's CDs.

[Howlin]

Fox has been all Ruben for weeks.

Love your tagline. Love that movie.

[ewing]

[JustPiper]

IN any event, a talented lady that went way before her time.

Diva? Trying to find the response for this, whats this all about?

[OldFriend]

What will decide is who gets that platinum record.........want to bet it will be Clay!

[denco]

It all boiled down to the judges and fox wanted Rooooben and the guy with the best voice lost. Actually like I said before, Kimberly Locke and Clay should have been in finals if we were suspose to be finding the best voice. I just think the guy won because the judges and fox saw to it Too bad cause I think they hurt the show in the long run

[fightinJAG]

Yes, you can pre-order Clay's single (at least) on amazon.com. It's already at #1 there.

[Howlin]

And sings like the lover most will never have.

Did you actually HEAR him tonight? He has the same range as Prince, about four notes.

I'll pass.

[samantha]

Clay went from a dorky guy to superstar in a few months. His version of "BRIDGE" was chilling and electric,and everything else he sang on key and emotional,but relaxed. He will do broadway and CD's and 10 years from now he will still be around. Ruben is sweet,but cannot stay on key on different songs. He is morbidly obese,and loses his breath trying to hold notes. He will do recordings for awhile,but he does not have the talent for longevity. He has a beautiful face and he lights up the world with it. Everyone rooted for him because,he needed this win. We felt like he had the weight of the whole state of Alabama on his shoulders to win,and if he lost he would wither away. We knew Clay could handle this loss,and go on. Good luck to both of them. They are great guys,and I am proud of them.

[MississippiMan]

OH well, so sad. Clay will still be fine if he wants a performing career, but I do so loathe injustice. The producers got the one they picked as the winner from the very beginning, and the way they went about it was so grossly unfair.

As I mentioned in another thread, yesterday for the first time, I listened to both of them audio-only, without the coloration that comes from watching them. I was shocked at how much difference there is in their voices. Ruben has very little range, nowhere near the control. Not even close to Clay. And that's in pure vocal ability. He has no stage presence; he's not articulate.

Oh well, so much for my favorite show. After seeing how they did this, I don't know if I'll even watch it next season.

MM

[Howlin]

I knew that, but I still say that AI has been pushing Ruben since the beginning; and the past contestants say so, too.

[ShadowDancer]

American Idol is Pop Idol by virtue of the age limitations of the contestants. Good luck getting a Tony Bennet on there. Won't happen. Don't be so naive. It is for a pop recording contract. I'm only (and I repeat only, hahahaha) 34 and yet I'm far past the eligibilty requirements for this show. This is about a pop recording contract, period.

[cincinnati65]

"why is it racist to say that Ruben won because AI decided in the beginning that a black guy was going to win?"

I don't know. Maybe it's because it makes you sound like you think that Rueben is a talentless hack who only won the competition because of his affirmative action demographic.

By centering on race, you ignore the numerous other factors that played into the voting, and belittle the fact that Rueben was a talented young man, who was just as capable of winning this competition as Clay.

[OldFriend]

Yup, you can pre order Clay on Amazon.com.......he's already at the top of the list and Ruben was way way down on the list the other day.

[Howlin]

Kimberly has been GREAT the last two nights she's been on. It's like after she got voted off, she just let go!