American Idol Fans - Here are some Interesting Thoughts | Golden Skate

American Idol Fans - Here are some Interesting Thoughts

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Ladskater

Guest
American Idol Fans - Here are some Interesting Thoughts

Someone was talking about the voting. Here is some interesting info.

Should the 'Idol' Votes Be Audited?

Anyone who cares knows that Ruben beat Clay. Anyone who cares knows Ruben Studdard is the new "American Idol." And anyone who was cheering for Clay Aiken is now wondering about the very close results, especially because it's not exactly clear how close the tally was. And we can thank the show itself for this confusion that harks back to the days of hanging chads.

In the first hour of the Wednesday night finale that was a ratings bonanza for FOX, host Ryan Seacrest teased the audience, revealing there was just a 13,000 vote difference out of 24 million votes cast by fans. Then as the big moment came and the winner was announced, Seacrest said the difference was just 1,335 votes. Huh? After the show, the producers gave a new number: 134,000 separated Ruben from Clay. Which number is right? That question has prompted some to call for an audit of the results, and a FOX network source told The Drudge Report the vote count will be reviewed internally.

Reporter Matt Drudge writes: "But now serious questions are being raised about the integrity of the final 'Idol' vote, and the entire franchise may be at risk." That may or may not be true, but the ever-changing vote count is confusing to fans who had their hearts set on one or the other contestant. The FOX source told Drudge that the network stands by the vote count, saying, "As far as we are concerned, the votes are not in dispute. We are looking at how the bad math got on the air."

LadskaterI
 
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Norlite1

Guest
Votes

Yeah, I knew something was wrong when Ryan was talking about the difference in the votes.

No way does 1,335 votes out of 24 million translate into 50.28% against 49.72%.

I'm too lazy right now to do the math, but 135,000 sounds better.
 
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goveggie

Guest
Re: Votes

Yep, as I said before, sounds like Clay "lost" the way Al Gore "lost." :x

goveggie
 
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HamiltonBrowningFan

Guest
Re: Votes

there's talk of an investigation going to take place

I feel so sorry for Ruben and Clay... neither one needs an scandal in their career... especially since this could end up costing them their friendship
 
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mathman444

Guest
Re: Votes

If 24,000,000 is the exact total, then 50.28% to 49.72% represents a difference of 134,400 votes.

Ryan Seacrest read it wrong, or the guy who writes on the cue cards wrote it wrong. I can't really see how that's an issue.

MM
 
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Skate Sandee

Guest
Re: Votes

ITA - what is the issue? If it were Carmen against Clay, and Carmen won - I'd understand the uproar. You'd think that Rueben was SO MUCH worse than Clay. I think they are comparable in terms of talent - just different styles.

Some small tiny part of me wonders if there's any race issue about this (not here - but in the people that are so vehemently calling for an intense investigation). In the absence of any glaring difference in talent between the two , I'm forced to wonder if this outcry would be the same if it was two white boys. There are parts of the country where racism still exists.
 
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cianni

Guest
idol

Sludge Drudge is at it again. The King of Trash Tabloid. This thing needs to get a real job.
 
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HamiltonBrowningFan

Guest
Re: Votes

while I agree both men are of equal talent I don't agree with the judges saying that Ruben was consistant each week since his audition... when he began there was not a flat note to be found... however Flying Without Wings was flat all over the place. Granted some of it is strain... but Clay is just as tired and he just nailed it every week....

Clay improved dramatically from audition to finish... and he just wasn't awarded for his efforts


but he will be when the time comes for the singles to come out... he'll sell just as many as Ruben if not more so.
 
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Lcp88

Guest
Re: Votes

I thought the single they gave (made?) for Rueben, "Flying without Wings" was much much better than the one Clay has.
Clay's doesn' wok for his voice.
I wonder if that will affect anything.
Laura
 
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maxell1313

Guest
Re: Votes

I dunno...I actually liked the first song Clay did. If it's true that Diane Warren wrote it, it's typical Warren sugary-sweet mush, but I thought Clay sang it very well. I'd buy it.

And after reading a post on the AI newsgroup today, I tend to agree with the person who said that Ruben winning was probably best all the way around. J Records and RCA know how to market Ruben for an R&B audience, but Clay is a whole other story. At least this way, Clay can prove himself on the strength of his natural talent and not under the heavy mantle of the "American Idol Winner".

Ruben's a big guy...he can handle that mantle. :)
 
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HamiltonBrowningFan

Guest
Re: Votes

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>I thought the single they gave (made?) for Rueben, "Flying without Wings" was much much better than the one Clay has.[/quote]

it wasn't written for Ruben... it's an original from some not well known boyband...

it's a good song... and perfect for American Idol...

but Clay's song IS an original BY Dianne Warren FOR HIM... Ruben doesn't have that to say about any of his ;)

I agree they know how to market Ruben... he's easy... but I think Clay will be the bigger money maker...
 
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rgirl181

Guest
Re: Votes

Re marketing: In an interview, Kim Locke said she thought Simon wanted Ruben to win because Simon knows how to market Ruben and doesn't know how to market Simon. So I think there is a lot to what Maxell is saying.

Also, re racism: It certainly does exist and in places you might not expect. I traveled a lot with two different jobs, one a "bohemian" kind of modern dance company with two black male dancers who happened to be flamboyantly gay; the other was for a very conservative, very corporate sports medicine company. The things you hear when people have a few drinks in them. Anyway, I have no doubt race played a part in this--I think it plays a part in virtually every public situation--but some of it may have been in Ruben's favor, such as the R&B marketing. I was reading some of the AOL AI message board, which has about 20,000 messages total in about six different categories, and just skimming through, you see some pretty ugly things--and these messages are supposedly censored for such comments. OTOH, a lot people though Clay was gay and made ugly comments along those lines. As Todd Haynes, the director of "Far From Heaven" said, he wanted to make a film about the two issues that were still pervasive in the country since the '50s and he came up with race and homosexuality. I tend to agree with him.
Rgirl
 
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Skate Sandee

Guest
Re: Votes

And don't forget a different kind of prejudice - fat people! Over at FSU someone posted that people shouldn't tag someone as fat as Reuben as any kind of idol and that someone so "fat and disgusting" never should have one! And other posters agreed! Not that I think that is what is causing the outcry for an audit. But it amazed me how many posters agreed that Reuben's weight should have been counted against him because he promotes a negative lifestyle.

At least one poster astutely pointed out that the size-0 glamour "idols" in the music and acting world promote negative lifestyles all the time - causing young women to harm themselves to reach an unattainable look and causing eating disorders. Never mind the countless rockers worshipped even though they openly abuse drugs and alcohol.

OK - I'm done veering of course....please continue
 
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mathman444

Guest
Re: Votes

I continue to wonder if the only reason Carmen and Kim Caldwell were selected as the wild cards, over singers of greater talent, was that otherwise the top ten would have been too black.

Mathman
 
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mathman444

Guest
Re: Votes

"I have 130,000 people to beat up" :rollin:

Thanks for the link, Realtorgal. Interesting news about all the other Idolers.

MM
 
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Kara Bear

Guest
Re: Votes

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>I continue to wonder if the only reason Carmen and Kim Caldwell were selected as the wild cards, over singers of greater talent, was that otherwise the top ten would have been too black.[/quote]

I've been wondering that too. I also thought they may have been selected because of their looks. They both have the look of a pretty blonde pop star, whereas most of the rest of the group didn't. Not to be mean to the other contestants, they are no means ugly, but a lot of the business that goes into selling a cd is related to image.
 
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Show 42

Guest
Re: Votes

Thanks for the link, RGal.......it's good to know that you didn't have to win the "contest";) to be successful............

As to the comparison made that both Ruben and Clay's voices are comparible, to me it's like the old "comparing apples to oranges". Everyone has their preference. While I find Ruben's voice "pleasant", I don't place it on the same level as Clay's. To me one has a nicely tutored voice and can certainly perform a song, but the other has a "born with" talent and is naturally gifted. I hope both boys will be a successful....42
 
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