• May 19, 2003

Before this week's American Idol showdown between Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, New Media Strategies has announced the results of a recent online survey of American Idol viewers: It's Clay. NMS found that a majority of American Idol viewers (56%) believe that Raleigh, N.C., native Clay Aiken will capture the "Idol" title later this week over Birmingham, Alabama's singer Ruben Studdard. In addition to his edge in the NMS survey, Clay Aiken shows early signs of recording success; his CD single, which has not yet been released, is currently the top seller on Amazon.com. While "Idol" viewers are pleased with the face-off between the two and are excited about this week's finale, a slim majority (53%) said they thought "Idol 1" was tops in talent when asked if the first cast was more talented than this year's crew. "The 'Idol' franchise remains incredibly strong, and though viewers are nearly split on who they think will win, one thing is almost unanimous: More than anyone since J.R. Ewing, Simon Cowell takes the title of the man America loves to hate."