So what if neither of 'em resembles Justin Timberlake? Or even Justin Guarini? American Idol crooners Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard have earned their spots in the final two. For those just tuning in, Clay's the geeky, skinny Southerner, and Ruben's the, well, not-so-skinny Philly dude. And tonight (8 pm/ET on Fox), they'll wage a duel of talents, not hairdos. Isn't that how it ought to be?

"It's just sweet justice that I'm still here, in a way," Clay says. "It's justice that the top three of us were there, because last year, none of us would've made the top 32, based on the big image thing. Last year, they let people through based on how they looked."

Still, it must've burned Clay to have folks simultaneously praise his voice and slam his appearance. His reaction to those juxtaposed jeers and cheers? "'What in the world? This is mean!'" he recalls, laughing. "It doesn't really bother me that much. You've gotta be ready for criticism. Nobody came on this show thinking Simon would be nice to them all the time. And I've been called 'troll' and different things by the press. I'm just gonna go out, sing my songs, have fun and expect Simon to say something mean. That's just how he works, so you just get used to it."

Oddly, though Simon sneered at some plus-sized Idol kids, he didn't do Ruben that way. Was the British bulldog afraid to bite? "I doubt it," Ruben scoffs. "I don't know his reasoning behind never saying anything to me about my weight. I have no idea, man. It's cool being a big guy. I've never been ashamed of my size, and I want to show other people of a larger stature that they can be proud of themselves as well."

Still, it's not as if AI has never tried to change him. "One of the sponsors of the show was Herbal Essences, and they wanted to color my hair," the guy from 205 sighs. "I just wasn't feelin' that."