Now that the voting is over (including the Florida recounts ?) and Ruben has been declared the No. 1 new American idol, the REAL test is now underway.

I read an item in today's newspaper (or it may have been online) that Clay's new CD single is outselling Ruben's by about 4 to 1.

It's fairly easy to vote with the phone, but are people voting with their dollars?

Personally (as some of you know), I enjoyed Clay's rendition of "Bridge..." better than Ruben's "Flying..."; however, I'll probably not buy either. I have some CD's and lots of tapes, but I'm still a bit partial to VINYL LP's and frequently browse the bins at thrift stores for classical LP's. Surprisingly, many of these are in good condition. I guess because most people who buy classicals tend to handle them carefully.

Pax.

-- Anonymous, June 06, 2003

Answers

Larry:

Perhaps the huge disparity in CD sales is Clay's Comeuppance to those who did not vote him the American Idol. As the young folks are fond of saying, "it's all about the Benjamins". QED

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2003

Did anyone hear Rubens mother in an interview say that she voted for Ruben 200 times that night? Perhaps that is the problem. Maybe Clay fans only voted once and Ruben fans voted multiple times. That really isn't fair if you can vote more than once.

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2003

I ENJOYED THE THE MUSIC OF CLAY MORE, IT IS SO ROMANTIC.

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2003

Personally, I feel Ruben is the man and his voice is awesome! And the hole votong more than once thing, I voted more than once. I voted for Ruben more times than his mother did!! Clay fans could have did the same thing, so i don't see what the big deal is. I'm glad Ruben won. Both he and clay will both do well in the music industry, and people need to realize that.............

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2003

Clay was robbed and he was and is the best. HE is on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, that says it all. I believe the title is just one thing, the talent is what counts!

I tried to vote for 3 hours and could not get through and I was there for the actual shows in L.A. and it was great! Clay all the way!

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2003

THROUGH THE WHOLE SHOW RUBEN WAS CONSISTENT WITH HIS SINGING.EVER SINCE THE BEGINNING ALL THE JUDGES LIKED HIM...THATS WHY I WANTED HIM TO WIN! CLAY STARTED GETTING BETTER TOWARDS THE END AND STARTING CHANGING HIS APPEARANCE AT THE END SO EVERYONE STARTED LIKING HIM. IM SOO GLAD RUBEN WON..HE DESREVED IT!

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2003

I am sick of people saying Ruben was consistently good whereas Clay was not....it is a crock. Don't get me wrong, Ruben is a good singer, but he did stick to one basic style....it got very mondane. Clay at least spiced it up....and personally I thought he was great everytime. I happen to be a very critical person, especially when it comes to my favorite songs....which most of the songs that Clay sang were favorites of mine.

-- Anonymous, June 16, 2003

Clay is an exceptional singer. Clay has real talent and I compare his singing to Celine Dion. It is so powerful and gives me goosebumps. Go Clay Go!!

-- Anonymous, June 17, 2003

I had a difficult time deciding between the two, but over all - I like Clay better. He seems to have a wider range, his songs are much more diverse, Ruben only sings one style. Clay I say.

-- Anonymous, June 18, 2003

I voted for Ruben! I love his really deep voice. It reminds me of the 70's music love songs. I also began to love Clay as well in the end. I thought Clay was a geek at first. Sorry! Ruben was consistent with his singing and Clay had some bad nights. Why do we have to compare the two? Can't we just like them both and leave it at that. They BOTH deserve it!! They both have record deals. You just gotta love them both!

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2003

Clay is the most amazing singer I have ever heard in my life. When he sings, I get goosebumps. Don't get me wrong, I think Ruben has a good voice too but it doesn't even compare to Clay's power and range. Clay got jipped but ever since the contest got over Clay has beat Ruben in everything so that just proves it. And the voting percentage was 50.28% to 49.72% so they pretty much tied anyway. Lindsay

-- Anonymous, July 28, 2003

clay has to be the greatest singer i have ever heard...he appeals to all ages and types of people...i don`t think he ever had a bad night on american idol...when u have clay`s voice it`s kinda impossible to have a bad night...he definitely deserved to win...not only does he have amazing talent...he is an actual idol...people can look up to him and that`s wat being an american idol is all about...he has to be the nicest person ever...and he is s0o0o cute and it just makes every one love him...ruben wasn`t a bad singer...and he was a nice guy...clay was just wAaAyYy better, and he was the most compassionate caring person i have seen in a LONG time...but i don`t think clay got robbed...he is doing better than ruben now any ways...so i`m glad the way things are working out... i LoVe ShAkIn` AiKeN!!! =] *

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2003

Clay's CD is awesome. I can't put it down. I cant wait to see him in concert. I love him

-- Anonymous, October 27, 2003