You Say Tomayto, I Say Tomahto: The Clay Conspiracy

Conspiracy. It’s such an ugly word.

It conjures up images of men in fedoras, sneaking around foggy back alleys while cradling briefcases full of payola and incriminating photographs.

And yet, as many of my readers claim, this is exactly what’s happening on American Idol, and Clay Aiken is the victim. It’s a conspiracy by The Powers That Be to make him lose the competition.

A brief recap of the complaints of Clay Nation:

1. Since the beginning, Ruben has been hyped to the press as the obvious winner. The judges have never given him anything less than stellar praise, even on nights when he wasn’t up to par. Every interview given by the judges to outside media have praised Ruben as the rightful winner of American Idol.
   


2. Last week’s competition saw Kim draw “Band of Gold” as her “random” song. This is a song she actually auditioned with. Ruben drew “Signed Sealed Delivered,” an easy-going Stevie Wonder song. Clay drew “Vincent,” an epic song-poem written by folksinger Don McLean. Twenty-five minutes before show time, it is rumored that the producers asked Clay to change the arrangement around so as to add another verse. This is the point where Clay paused in the singing, and Paula later accused him of “forgetting” the words.
   
   Supposedly, it was announced to the live audience what Clay had been asked to do, but this news never was made available to the television audience, except through message board announcements and chatroom visits by Clay’s close friends. (However, this turn of events was reported in Clay’s hometown newspaper).
   
   While all this would not sway the avid Clay admirer, his fan base is concerned how the casual viewer will be influenced.
   


3. This clip of Clay not singing has been shown over and over on various TV entertainment shows, with no explanation about how the producers changed the song at the last minute.
   


4. Thursday evening, May 15, Entertainment Tonight ran a puff piece on Ruben, interviewing his mother and his fans back home in Alabama. Kim was shown briefly, and the audience was promised they’d get to hear her sing Friday night. Clay was never mentioned.
   


5. There is insufficient phone capacity on the receiving end of the vote lines, resulting in a high number of busy signals for the average Clay voter, thus making the total of votes counted artificially low, and bringing the final numbers for the contestants closer than what they really are.

Personally, I believe that there is some validity to several of these complaints. For instance, it’s always been obvious the producers wanted Ruben to win. However, the only thing that’s really changed in the last week is the lengths the network and 19 Entertainment are going to in ensuring this outcome. But that’s not what’s bugging me at the moment.

What I’m wondering now is if “conspiracy” is the right word. Probably not, for the simple reason that conspiracy implies secrecy. And what’s happening to Clay and Ruben this last week of competition is the farthest thing from secret. It’s out there in the open for everyone to see.

So, I suggest we all refer to this situation as a Business Decision instead.

Let’s recap: Fox and 19 Entertainment have made a Business Decision that Ruben Studdard will be more marketable, more profitable, and fit with their stable of performers better than Clay Aiken. It’s nothing personal against Clay, it’s just a Business Decision. Clay will still get an album produced, and everyone will reassess their marketing plans for him when they get a peek at the sales figures.

There’s just one problem with this particular business decision. Before it can take effect, it’s got to get by the voters on Tuesday night.

As I said in my last column, Clay will win in a landslide if the producers are on the up and up. But maybe I was wrong. Perhaps there’s a chance Clay can win despite nasty shenanigans, business decision or no.

We’ll find out this week.

Andrea Shuman covers a variety of topics for RealityNewsOnline and FoxesOnIdol. You can reach her at ABostonGal@yahoo.com.

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