20th anniversary ‘American Idol’ reunion tour

With the early 2000s trending again, it’s an apt time for “American Idol” stars, Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, to kick off their 20th anniversary tour this month. The de facto duo will be performing “Twenty | The Tour,” at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, on April 20.

“It feels amazing. I really can’t believe that it doesn’t really feel like 20 years until we start talking about it, and you start reminiscing about the things that we were experiencing together, and we’re in rehearsal and going over stories that we probably want to tell the fans about our experience, but that’s what really puts it into perspective that, man, this actually has been 20 years,” said Studdard, who is affectionately referred to as the “Velvet Teddy Bear” by fans of the soulful singer.

Aiken and Studdard most recently starred on Broadway in “Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show,” at the Imperial Theater. The New York Times deemed the production “a Christmas miracle.” This came a decade after Aiken’s critically acclaimed Broadway debut in Monty Python’s “Spamalot.”  Rising to fame on the sophomore season of the pop-culture phenomenon “American Idol,” along with Studdard (who won in the close race, while Aiken came in second), he became the first “Idol” alum in history to have his first single debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and to have a single certified triple platinum.

As a concert artist, Aiken has played at some of the most iconic venues in North America, including on the 2003 Independent Tour, which the “Idol” runner-up co-headlined with Season 1 “American Idol” winner, Kelly Clarkson. Aiken’s album, “Measure of a Man,” also debuted at No. 1, with the highest first week sales by a debut artist. Among other accomplishments, He served nine years as a UNICEF ambassador, and in 2003, he co-founded a national inclusion project to advocate and increase opportunities for children with disabilities.

Studdard rose to fame as the winner of the second season of “American Idol” and went on to receive a Grammy Award nomination, in December 2003, for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “Superstar.” He most recently went back to his TV roots and appeared on the 15th season of “The Biggest Loser.” The album “Ruben Sings Luther” (a tribute to Luther Vandross) was re-released on Oct. 23, 2019, and included a new song.

“We’re all family on the show. God really blessed us both to have the opportunity to do a job that we both love that, thankfully, we’ve been given another opportunity to do that, with the show we’ve toured together in the past, and that was 10, 11 years ago, and now it’s the perfect time for us to get back together and tell the stories about the show, tell the stories about the experience singing the songs, and touch our fans again,” Studdard said.

“Twenty | The Tour” will highlight the music that made the unlikely pair “American Idol” favorites and household names. From Aiken’s heartfelt rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” to Ruben’s smooth single “Sorry,” audiences will be treated to an unforgettable evening of music and behind-the-scenes anecdotal treasures from “Idol.”

“It wouldn’t be a 20th anniversary, or reunion, whatever we want to call it, without giving people little gems and nuggets of things that were going on behind the scenes,” assured Studdard.

The two formed a lifelong, brotherly bond through the unique shared experience of being contestants on one of the most significant and pioneering TV series in American history. More than 38 million viewers tuned in to hear the results of more than 124 million votes cast during their finale, making it the most-watched “Idol” episode in history and the highest-rated regularly scheduled, live, non-sporting television episode of the 21st century.

“We both also went on our own career path obviously, so we recognize the wisdom behind it. There has never been a season, I don’t think, where the two finalists were joined together because of the show because it was so, so big at the time. It was a close race the entire time, for folks, I think,” recalled Aiken.

“It’s great that we have an opportunity to do something that will make people happy as a country, as a world, that’s been through so much in the past couple of years—for us to have the opportunity to just make people smile and give them a trip down memory lane to when times were simpler,” remarked Studdard

Aiken and Studdard are both now fathers to a son each. Aiken’s son is 14, and his touring partner’s son is 2 years old.

“The whole show was kind of put together and plotted out with Ruben and I sitting down and talking about our memories from ‘Idol,’ and he would have a story that I had totally forgotten, or I would have a story that he had totally forgotten about, and as we talked about it, we’d say, we should tell that story, and then we should sing the song that goes with that,” Aiken explained adding, “It came together in this very organic way, and it was just a chance for people to look back, to take a trip back to a time that’s simpler. There’s nothing about this show that is heavy. There’s nothing about this show that is stressful. We don’t compete with each other. It’s just about remembering something that was pivotal in our lives.”

Studdard has a new album coming out after the tour, in the fall, and he is also hopeful that he and Aiken will continue to work on more projects together.

“This tour, we’ve had so much demand for the ‘20 Tour’ that we plan on continuing this through May, and then we’re picking it up again in October and November, and possibly even into the first month or so of 2024,” Aiken said. “So many people are thirsty for this reminiscing and this nostalgia, so we’re excited about that, and then once that’s done, it’s very easy and comfortable to work together, so I’m down for continuing Ruben and Clay stuff, too. It is brotherly. At the end of the day, I’m going to be next to this guy until the day I die, and we both know that about each other. It’s lightning in a bottle.”