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Clay and Ruben: Does It Matter Who Won?by David Bloomberg -- 05/22/2003
View Printable version of this article Now that all the votes have been counted, now that Ryan Seacrest has clarified on the morning shows that indeed the vote difference was around 130,000, not 1300, now that we’ve all had a bit of time to digest the results, we find ourselves with a question: Does it really matter who won? Ruben is the American Idol. Clay came in second by a statistically tiny number after a phone line fiasco. We’ve already asked the question, Was Clay Robbed?. But earlier this morning, I was interviewed on WRVA radio in Richmond, and was asked if it really matters. The answer is up in the air. There are certainly some good things that come with officially being named the American Idol. Look at last night for some examples. American Idol Kelly Clarkson was on stage for two songs, then she had a platinum record given to her by Clive Davis! Where was runner-up Justin Guarini? He was in the audience, his album not even released yet. However, it can also be said that last year was different than this year. Last year the voting was decisive. Kelly won and there was never any doubt – no conspiracies, no question about phone lines, nothing at all like this. Certainly Justin has his fans, and quite a lot of them, but Kelly was clearly the American Idol. This year, it could have been called a statistical tie – though that would likely have meant two upset fan camps instead of one. There are many questions about the voting and many people who are quite upset. If Clay is treated in the almost second-class fashion that we’ve seen with Justin, there will be a large number of very annoyed Claymates! But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Simon announced that their albums would be released the same week. This morning I have seen reports that Ruben’s single will actually be released a week ahead of Clay’s but their full albums will be released on the same day in December. If this turns out to be true (I won’t believe it ‘til I see it, considering how many times the release date for Kelly’s first album, the Kelly & Justin movie, etc. were changed), then it doesn’t matter nearly as much who really won. It also gives Clay and Ruben fans the opportunity to “prove” just who really won – which will also stimulate additional sales. Last year, some fans of Tamyra and Justin tried to console themselves by saying that the “American Idol” label might actually stifle the singers’ careers. Obviously, we won’t know that for years to come, but the same claims have not been made nearly as much yet this year – perhaps because we have seen how Kelly’s career went through the roof, at least for her first album. It is safe to say that neither Ruben’s nor Clay’s career would have been “stifled” by winning this competition. And in the end, a competition is what it was, and that may be a large part of the pain Clay fans are feeling. When you have put so much support, so much effort, and in some cases even money (for those who e-mailed to tell me they went out to buy the AT&T text messaging package so they could vote) behind your favorite, you are emotionally invested. Clay fans wanted Clay to win, to be the American Idol. Some wanted him to have the platform to use in service of good causes (such as Peggy Keller discussed regarding his work with autistic children). Some wanted him to win simply because they thought he was the better singer. No matter what, the key is that they wanted him to win. Ruben fans, meanwhile, are jubilant. Their idol won! Would they have been upset by a loss? Of course. Would Ruben? That’s hard to say, just as it’s hard to say what Clay is thinking right now. So getting back to the question in the title – does it matter who won? No and yes. It will probably not hurt Clay’s career because he came in second by a relatively few votes. Similarly, winning will probably have a negligible effect on Ruben’s career because both men received pretty much the same exposure (at least so far). So in that regard, it won’t matter who won. But that likely won’t soothe the emotions of Clay fans, and to them it will continue to matter that Ruben won and Clay lost. David Bloomberg is the Editor of Foxes On Idol, and can be reached at rno@pobox.com. Be sure to sign up for the RealityNewsOnline/FoxesOnIdol e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on both sites! For all of the RealityNewsOnline articles about this show, check out the American Idol page. For more news about reality TV, be sure to check SirLinksALot! View Printable version of this article
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