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Rhune
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"American Idol" Showdown Avoided
« on: Jul 1^st, 2003, 4:36pm »

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"American Idol" Showdown Avoided

by Lia Haberman
Jul 1, 2003, 1:00 PM PT

American Idol fans hoping for a record-store rematch when Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken release their debut albums next month will be disappointed.

RCA has scrapped its original plan to release the amateur singers' albums simultaneously on August 19.

"They are not going to come out on the same day," an RCA spokesperson tells E! News Live. Instead, the label plans on releasing them "spaced apart."

The turnaround nixes a so-far successful strategy of pitting the velvet crooner against the geek-to-chic singer, first as they vied for votes on Fox's Idol and then as they went toe-to-tapping-toe on the singles charts.

RCA and American Idol producers had hoped to cash in on the continued conflict in round three of Ruben vs. Clay: the record store.

Judge Simon Cowell initially trumpeted the showdown gimmick moments after the finale of the second American Idol and RCA execs latched on to the idea.

"We saw the releases as a way for consumers to vote with their money," RCA music group's director of sales Karen Lieberman said recently.

A quick recap: Some 34 million tuned in to watch Studdard win the first showdown against Aiken on Idol's May 21 finale.

However, the scrawny red head made a comeback in the next round with his chart-topping single "Bridge Over Troubled Water," which pushed Studdard's "Flying Without Wings" to second place on Billboard's Hot 100 chart 393,000 copies to 286,000 copies. (Both singles were released June 10.) Incidentally, both fellas beat first season winner Kelly Clarkson, whose debut single "A Moment Like This" moved 236,000 copies.

Aiken's victory continued to fuel conspiracy theories that the North Carolina-born contestant had been defeated in the TV talent show due to jammed phone lines and not Studdard's stellar performance.

Aiken fans were undoubtedly hoping for another victory next month to prove their guy was the rightful owner of the Idol title.

Now, RCA says the albums won't be released (separately) until sometime in September. "There's still recording that needs to be done," a label spokersperson told TV Guide Online.

Sources speculate that the label could be worried about the albums potentially siphoning sales from each other and damaging the franchise, especially in the wake of Justin Guarini's disappointing sales from his self-titled debut album and the tanking of From Justin to Kelly in theaters.

Guarini sold a pitiful 57,000 copies when his album debuted last month while his big screen beach-blanket romp with Clarkson was a wash-out with a mere $2.7 million in ticket sales rung up on its opening weekend two weeks ago and just $625,000 last weekend, for a not-so-grand total of $4.6 million. Expect it on your video store shelves by the end of next month.

RCA does have a precendent for delaying an Idol release. The label held up Clarkson's solo debut, Thankful, for several months, and the disc has been a Top 10 mainstay ever since its April release, moving more than 1 million copies.

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MzWings
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Re: "American Idol" Showdown Avoided
« Reply #1 on: Jul 1^st, 2003, 8:27pm »

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Very verrrrrrrry interesting statistics here. BUT....the winner truly (however) is Studdard with Aiken bringing up the rear. I wish so much that they'd leave that alone. I'm fine with the sales of the cd's - who has what and who doesn't.

Justin and Kelley's sales were pretty low and the movie basically is a flop. None of that surprised me or others.

But I wish they'd leave Ruben and Clay alone as to who won. Clay was my fav but....it's over....really really over.

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"Senility Prayer"...God grant me...
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Re: "American Idol" Showdown Avoided
« Reply #2 on: Jul 2^nd, 2003, 12:35pm »

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HELLO EVERYBODY!!

Rhune
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Re: "American Idol" Showdown Avoided
« Reply #3 on: Jul 2^nd, 2003, 6:03pm »

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Behind the Scenes of Clay's Cool Album Shoot

July 02, 2003
It ain't necessarily true that when you're No. 2, you have to try harder. CLAY AIKEN may have come in second in the "American Idol" competition, but his "Bridge Over Troubled Water" single beat out winner RUBEN STUDDARD's in sales.

Now the runner-up is slated to release his first album, as yet untitled, in late August or early September, and he couldn't be more excited.

"Now it's in the hands of the mixers," he said during a break from shooting the 40 rolls of film from which his album cover will be culled. "I might have to go back and finish one or two things after everything gets mixed and comes together. So now I am just looking forward to the end of the album-making process, so that is why this shoot is neat. This is a big part of what I worked toward."

ET dropped by the photo studio of hot new photographer KEVIN HEES as the "American Idol" runner-up posed for the camera. Tune in tonight as we catch up with Clay and get a behind-the-scenes look at the cool album shoot!

"I think I broke three cameras today," laughs the ever-modest new pop star.

Music legend CLIVE DAVIS is the executive producer of the LP, which was recorded in Miami, Los Angeles, London and New York, with songwriter/producers including STEVE MAC, DESMOND CHILD, CLIFF MAGNESS, STEVE MORALES and RICK NOWELES.

"This is a big part of what I worked toward," Clay admits. "The album is supposed to be released pretty soon, so this is the icing to let me know it is going to happen. The picture is going to be on the album. It makes it real. It makes it all come together."

Prior to this photo shoot, though, Clay shot the cover of the current newsstand issue of Rolling Stone.

"Ruben is the person who told me how big it was," Clay says. "The management company came to me and said Rolling Stone wants you to be on the cover. We had done magazine covers with the show before. I said, 'Okay, that will be kind of cool.'"

Fans who can't wait for the new album can catch Clay live when the "American Idol" 39-city tour kicks off in St. Louis on July 8.

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MzWings
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Re: "American Idol" Showdown Avoided
« Reply #4 on: Jul 2^nd, 2003, 6:44pm »

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Just a minute ago, I saw the shooting of Clay's on ET. What a cutie patootie. He was at a signing and held up a copy of Rolling Stones with his pix on the front and said "how crazy is that?" I'm so taken with his graciousness.

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"Senility Prayer"...God grant me...
The senility to forget the people I never liked
The good fortune to run into the ones that I do
And the eyesight to tell the difference."

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