# American Idol 5/13 -- Final 3! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083 "2003-05-13T23:19:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/41 "2003-05-14T21:14:05Z")
Just thought I’d post an example of how Ruben skates by with the easy, 10-word, repeatitive songs, whereas Clay either gets stuck with, or takes his own chances with, much more challenging songs. Here are the lyrics\*, as they were sung, for Ruben and Clay’s “random” songs from last night… **Signed, Sealed, Delivered** _As sung by Ruben Studdard_ Like a fool I went and stayed too long Now I’m wondering if my love’s still strong Oooo baby, here I am Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours Yeaaaaah Ooo Eee, baby y’set my soul on fire Now I wonder if you’re my one and only (unintelligible) Oooo baby, here I am Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours Yeaaaaah Oooh, here I am baby Here I am Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours Yeaaaaah I did a lot of foolish things that I really didn’t mean I could be a broken man, but here I am baby Here I am Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours Yeaaaaah Here I am baby Here I am Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours **Vincent** _As sung by Clay Aiken_ [sub][sup](Missed lyrics are in [brackets])[/sup][/sub] Starry, starry night Paint your palette blue and grey Look out on a summer day With eyes that know the darkness in my soul Shadows on the hills Sketch the trees and daffodils Catch the breeze and winter chills And colors on the snowy linen land [Now I understand] What you tried to say to me And how you suffered for your sanity And how you tried to set them free They could not listen, they did not know how Perhaps they’ll listen now [For they could not love you But still, your love was true] And when no hope was left inside On that starry, starry night You took your life as lovers often do I could’ve told you, Vincent This life was never meant for one as beautiful as you Starry, starry night ```auto As far as I'm concerned, there's just no comparison with regard to who had the more difficult job last night. I just hope tonight's results reflect that. *Moderators: these are very incomplete lyrics, so they shouldn't violate copyrights, I don't believe. ``` ---
**Author:** ![okielady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/fbc32d/32.png) [@okielady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/okielady)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/42 "2003-05-15T00:02:32Z")
I bet my boss 5 bucks that Ruben was gone tonight. She thinks it’ll be Clay. I guess if Kimberly goes, neither of us win… ---
**Author:** ![Jurhael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@Jurhael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurhael)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/43 "2003-05-15T00:29:30Z")
No way it’s going to be Clay. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/44 "2003-05-15T00:57:00Z")
Clay cannot possibly get voted off. No freakin’ way. He’s the only one who has never been in the bottom. I’d love it if Ruben got the boot. That would mean Clay has it for sure. One thing I do like and yet dislike about Ruben: his non-singing face. He looks like a 3 year old hoping not to get in trouble, way cute, and yet annoying as well. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/45 "2003-05-15T01:28:16Z")
Well, we now know one thing: If it were between Justin and Clay, Clay would win hands down. Too bad about Kimberley, but I am glad it is Ruben and Clay in the final two. Was anyone else surprised to hear how close it was? ---
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/46 "2003-05-15T01:29:41Z")
I’m at work. What happened? ---
**Author:** ![CuriousCanuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@CuriousCanuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CuriousCanuck)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/47 "2003-05-15T01:30:13Z")
I was surprised at how close it was. And though I was rooting for Ruben and Clay, I was so happy to see how professionally Kim took it, and how wonderful she sang at the end. Good for her. I am sorry to see her go. I am interested in what the songs that the producers get them both to sing next week are… ---
**Author:** ![Jurhael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@Jurhael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurhael)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/48 "2003-05-15T01:31:45Z")
Kimberly was eliminated. But the difference between the three of them was 4%. So, it’s a Cuben final. ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/49 "2003-05-15T01:33:20Z")
Shayna, cripes. We get it, okay. Judges are unfair. Ruben sucks. Clay is manna from heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Vixenation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/278dde/32.png) [@Vixenation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vixenation)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/50 "2003-05-15T01:33:51Z")
I suspect Clay takes it next week. He’s just a better performer, and seems to have a bigger fan base where it counts - adolescent girls. It was relieving if not a little sad to see Kimberley go, but I think this is finally the first time that all of the finalists actually deserve to be there. No more Joshes, Carmens, or Julias. Just talent. ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/51 "2003-05-15T01:34:29Z")
Sorry, I should amend that to say **I** get it. I shouldn’t speak for anyone else here. ---
**Author:** ![annieclaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/52 "2003-05-15T03:48:38Z")
So, are we supposed to believe the votes came in this way: 35% for either Clay or Ruben 34% for either Ruben or Clay 31% for Kimberley? I can’t come up with another way to reach 100% with a 4% differentiation. And if this is right, the difference between Clay’s and Ruben’s votes is statistically insignificant. (1% of 19 million is 190,000. . . hardly an insignificant number of votes.) Next Tuesday’s voting could be a real horserace! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/53 "2003-05-15T03:57:44Z")
Of course, he might have meant there was no more than 4% difference between any two contestants, e.g. Clay 37.3% Ruben 33.3% Kimberley 31.3% That would actually be a fairly substantial difference. Not insurmountable. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/54 "2003-05-15T03:58:47Z")
Of course, that also adds up to 102%. But you get the idea. It should have read Clay 37.3% Ruben 33.3% Kimberley 29.3% ---
**Author:** ![okielady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/fbc32d/32.png) [@okielady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/okielady)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/55 "2003-05-15T04:04:02Z")
I thought I heard Ryan say at the end (after they announced that Kimberly had been eliminated) that there was less than 2% difference between the top 2, Ruben and Clay. I could be wrong but I swear I heard him say that. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/56 "2003-05-15T04:07:50Z")
Oh yeah, and the Justin and Tamyra appearances. I know a huge number of people think Tamyra should have won last year, but now I see why she was voted off. That was, hands down, the absolute worst rendition of “Over the Rainbow” I have ever heard. It was just dreadful. She has a naturally powerful and clear voice and she can hit and hold a note beautifully, but she’s totally clueless as to how to deliver a song. There wasn’t ANY discernible melody there; it was just 1990’s Whitney Houston Singing Tricks For Windows '98 all the way through. Putting your own spin on a song is one thing; just inventing the melody as you go and singing everything as a “soul diva” vocal trick is irritating and forgettable. 50,000 young black women out there are doing the same little pop-diva vocal cliches trying to sound like better singers than they are. It was cool once. We don’t need them all to release albums. Justin Guarini would not be one of the three best singers in my apartment; I believe that is the literal truth. (Not my building. My apartment.) I won’t even bother dissecting his attempt at singing. Paging Justin Guarini; You’re on Minute #14, pal. Save your money. ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/57 "2003-05-15T04:51:42Z")
Ryan said there was a 2% difference separating Clay and Ruben. ---
**Author:** ![b0y\_br3ak3r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@b0y\_br3ak3r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/b0y_br3ak3r)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/58 "2003-05-15T04:52:52Z")
i am rooting for clay ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/59 "2003-05-15T05:11:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Knighted Vorpal Sword \* > \*\*I’m at work. What happened? \*\* You can watch the last 5 minutes of the show, including the announcement, [here](http://www.americanidol2.com/index2.html). **annieclause** and **RickJay** are correct. Ryan said there was less than 4% separating all 3 of them – less than 2% separating Clay and Ruben. So, for instance, there could’ve been, say, a 1.7% difference between Ruben and Clay and a 3.6% difference overall, like this: 35.1% Clay or Ruben 33.4% Ruben or Clay 31.5% Kimberly Now, given how close they apparently were, I wonder if anyone’s going to complain to Fox about the phone lines being OPEN the morning OF the competition, before the show even aired. According to [someone at TWop](http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/ijsbb/forum.cgi?a=list&f=475&d=10&t=2557715&n=208,6#n) (scroll to the last post on that page), they had their cell phone programmed on speed dial from the previous week and realized when they accidentally pressed it that the lines were open and votes were being recorded. Because they posted that, others started calling in early and someone [admits to phoning 350 times](http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/ijsbb/forum.cgi?a=list&f=475&d=10&t=2557715&n=208,7#n) for “contestant 2” in the hopes that it would be Kim. Well, it turns out to have been for Ruben! Hmmmm. I wonder if they reset everything to zero just before the official voting? But, back to tonight’s show… I’d like to know what on earth they were trying to prove by having 2 of last year’s contestants come on and sing songs performed by 2 of this year’s top 3. I didn’t see last year’s show until the final 3, so I missed Tamyra. But I’ve been watching her on Boston Public and have been amazed that that hag, Nikki, beat her to #3, or that she didn’t even go on to win the whole thing. Based on that, I thought I could understand the whole “being Tamyra’d” thing. That is until I heard that crapass performance of hers tonight. She had nearly as much vibrato as Baah Baah Blacksheep Carmen! Holy Smokes – if she sang like that in the competition, no wonder she lost. Ick! And Justin is a damn fool for even thinking he could try to outsing Clay on Unchained Melody. It was just like watching Josh try to sing the same song as Clay had a few weeks ago. There is such a stark difference in the quality of their voices! Justin and Tamyra both ought to be thanking their lucky stars they were in last season’s competition, because they might not have even made it to the top 10 against this year’s contestants. I’m sorry to see Kimberley go tonight. I think she deserved it more than Ruben, who hasn’t worked nearly as hard or taken as many risks with his performances. But she’ll do well in her career, I’m sure. And I am, of course, THRILLED that Clay could end up taking it all. Go Clay! ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083/60 "2003-05-15T12:53:50Z")
I was not at all surprised by the outcome, but you can include me among those who thought Kimberley worked harder. I hope the show promotes her the same way they are promoting Tamyra and Justin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-5-13-final-3/175083.md?page=4)