Ruben Won ‘American Idol,’ So Why Is Clay Mr. Popularity?
Julie Hinds of the Detroit Free Press profiled how the post ‘American Idol’ reaction has been to the show’s winner Clay Aiken receiving more attention and achieving higher singles sales than the show’s winner, Ruben Studdard. Clay had a few early advantages in this matchup. Physically, he is closer to the boy-band pop star mold than Ruben. “He’s spiky-haired, cute, looks like Ryan Seacrest,” says WKQI’s Buck Head. “Ruben’s a little bigger. He’s not selling sex appeal.”
Clay Aiken’s ‘Night’ Video Says ‘This Is The Soul’
July 20, 2003 - MTV News caught up with photographer Matthew Rolston, who not only snapped Clay for the cover of Rolling Stone, but is directing his debut video for his first single ‘This Is the Night’. “It’s a little bit like if you could be behind the scenes at one of my photo shoots,” Rolston said of the video. “There’s a few different scenes, different backgrounds, changes of clothes - it’s very simple. First and foremost it’s Clay performing, which he does very well.” Read more.
Clay Aiken And Kimberley Locke An Item?
July 17, 2003 - Contributed anonymously: I interviewed Clay, and when I asked him if there was something going on with him and Kimberley, his answer was, “Friends now… nothing more yet.”
Idol Ruben To Shoot Rolling Stone Cover
July 17, 2003 - Contributed by Jerseline: Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith say that Ruben Studdard will take a short break from the American Idol tour, to shoot for his Rolling Stone cover. They also have quotes from him about how he feels about less free time, and the fact runner-up Clay Aiken got the coveted cover first.
Simon Cowell Says ‘Idol’ Negotiations Weren’t Complicated
July 10, 2003 - After months of playing coy about his future with ‘American Idol’, Simon Cowell says he will return to his hit reality show, ‘American Idol.’ He tells Extra, “It wasn’t a complicated negotiation. It was over in a couple of days.” Reports put Simon’s new paycheck around $150,000 per episode. That’s roughly $5.7 million a year for ‘Idol’ alone. Simon says, “It’s not how much money you get, but how much you get back.”
Simon Cowell Signs 3-Year ‘Idol’ Deal
July 10, 2003 - The Associated Press reports ‘American Idol’ judge Simon Cowell has signed a contract to judge the Fox television contest for another three years, the network said Monday. The new season is set to start in January 2004.
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2 thoughts on “Ruben Won ‘American Idol,’ So Why Is Clay Mr. Popularity?”
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Clay and Rueben are very talented singers. The reason why Clay is getting more popularity than Reuben to me is probably because Clay can easily become a “heart throb” more than Reuben, since he doesn’t exactly have a Justin Timberlake figure. But why should it matter? Reuben truly has a voice that sounds like Luther Vandross. And c’mon, he’s a sweet guy. Who cares if he can hit high notes, make girls scream, wear size 0 clothes, or whatever, he’s truly a heart-throb in the voice. His smile is magnetic, and truly has a magic that makes you smile with him. I don’t think it’s fair that the media isn’t giving him the “Idol” attention like Kelly Clarkson had. Right away, as soon as she was announced the American idol, already they had a biography of her on Vh1’s Driven, and posted her on lots of magazines and interviews. Few months later for Reuben, he is on the cover of Rollingstone. That isn’t fair. I believe that with all this hype about the votes being incorrect according to the mistake people made on Clay’s #, the media has forgotten to shine the light on him, and instead, making him seem like he should be discarded to the #2 spot, leaving clay to be the American Idol. Either way, they are both good singers and both of them are gonna probably be in this business for awhile. I don’t expect them to become pop icons or anything. They will get their few minutes of fame. Eventually it will die down. But I hope they will both get the fame that they deserve. They both have touching lives and a beautiful character to shine themselves through our hearts.
Okay I am not going to get into this racist issue because I believe that race has nothing to do with it. I am more disturbed by how people are completely forgetting that TALENT is what made people vote in the first place. I bet half of people in America that actually voted for clay, Reuben, or any other person in AI2, probably voted because he/she caught their eye with their voice, look, and personality. American Idol seems to be so disfigured sometimes. At first, we fall in love or feel sorry for these normal people that attempt to catch a dream. The ones that are good are the ones we vote for. What’s cool about it is that we have a choice. They sing songs with ambition, in hope that the light of luck will shine on them for a new day, successfully. We watch them grow from their auditions. Love is created by their maturity. They have their taste of fame and freedom. They have their taste of bliss. Then the winner is opened to new doors, where suddenly, people don’t look at them with that same love and affection. It then becomes an array of jealousy because someone thinks that the one who didn’t win should have became the Idol. At the end, people still see these people of American Idol as a competition. That’s all there is. How can we ever enjoy and be happy for the success of each American Idol when we are gonna have a hate or jealousy for another? How can we ever look at them as singers? Will we ever see them as being “artists? Will we respect this newfound shape that they will have a few years from now? Will we take them seriously at all as serious artists that are truly making a dream happen? Or will we still see Justin and Kelly, and Clay and Reuben as competitors? It should all be about their dreams, their happiness, and their ambitions. They didn’t come this far to be pushed and moved aside like a product. They are real people chosen to live a dream by the people. Each one of them has their own popularity. This popularity shouldn’t be turned to excuses for rude judgements.
Oh yeah….that was funny when Clay was trying to dance and thrust to the song, This Is The Night. He is a good singer, but seeing him trying to dance was just completely AWFUL and EMBARRASSING!