Twenty years ago, “American Idol” was on its way to becoming the biggest show in America, bigger than “C.S.I.,” bigger than “Friends,” bigger than “ER.” It was one of the final broadcast shows that cut across generations, before social media atomized TV viewership.
And that spring of 2003, two very different 24-year-old men — Ruben Studdard of Birmingham, Alabama, and Clay Aiken of Raleigh, North Carolina — found themselves at the center of the pop culture universe, landing on magazine covers, awards shows and late-night talk shows.
Aiken, a gawky teacher with an enchanting voice, made quite the visual counterpoint to Studdard, the cuddly R&B singer who picked up the nickname “Velvet Teddy Bear.” In the end, Studdard beat Aiken in a controversial finale where Aiken’s “Claymates” complained that jammed phone lines had cost their man the title. (Yes, it was so long ago, voting could only be done by calling.)
Credit: FOX PUBLICITY
Credit: FOX PUBLICITY
Two decades later, the pair decided to hit the road to celebrate that magical time period by reprising many of the classic tunes they did on the show. At the tail end of their tour, they are coming to Atlanta’s Buckhead Theatre on Wednesday, Jan. 24. Tickets are still available at livenation.com from $43 to $97.50.
Studdard has toured and recorded music regularly over the past 20 years. Aiken did the same for much of the first decade before embarking on a career in politics and raising his son. Studdard is the one who came up with the idea for this reunion tour.
“I put a gun to Clay’s head,” Studdard joked in a Zoom interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“It was the only way he could get me out of the house,” said Aiken, an admitted “hermit.”
While Aiken was campaigning for a House seat in North Carolina in 2014 and 2022, Studdard would support him but say, “One of these days, you’re going to get tired of this and get back on stage.” Aiken would reply, “Okay, sure, sure.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“Lo and behold,” Aiken said, “after the last campaign, I said, ‘Yup! You’re right! I’m ready!”
The setlist includes a mix of solo covers and duets from legends who showed up on “Idol” that season, like Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier and pop superstar Barry Manilow. They also tell the audience stories from their time on the show.
“I remember Lamont Dozier because I’m a music nerd that way,” Studdard said.
“I remember all the arguments because I’m a drama queen!” Aiken said, chuckling.
Good news for fans who may not have heard either of them in awhile live: they believe their voices sound better than ever. For Aiken, going on tour was a bit scary because, except for a short stint on Broadway with Studdard in 2018, he hasn’t sung much the past decade.
“I can hit high notes better than I used to,” Aiken said. “That last note on ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ has been in the past a cross-your-fingers moment, though I always got it. Now it’s just easier. The high notes are there. My range has gone up.”
Overall, he said, “this tour we’ve been in fighting form the whole time.”
Studdard said the fans have been a delight though “every single night, there is someone who wants to dictate how our show goes or tells us our story as we tell it on the stage.”
One fan at a recent concert was actually helpful. Studdard had come on stage and forgotten to zip his pants. So the woman came to the front of the stage and quietly showed Studdard her phone. “I thought she was showing him a picture of Ruben with her,” Aiken said. But instead, she had written in big letters “ZIPPER.” Studdard appreciated the discretion.
“A few months ago, my zipper was down the whole act and nobody said anything until I got offstage!” Aiken said.
The Atlanta date will be a homecoming of sorts for Studdard, who has plenty of family and friends in the area and comes here often. He recorded his last album at a studio in Dunwoody. Aiken said Atlanta is where he auditioned for “Idol” in 2002 so “it will always have a special place in my heart.”
While on “Idol” in 2003, they said they became quick friends. “We both realized we were barbecue aficionados,” Studdard said.
“Except he likes the wrong kind,” Aiken shot back.
More seriously, Aiken said he loves their differences. “We are brothers and all the good that comes with that,” he said. “We are just enough alike that we have things to talk about. But I don’t expect him to know who is going to win the Tony for best musical this year. And he doesn’t expect me to know about whatever sports ballgame is on tonight.”
They bonded even more after “Idol” was over once they absorbed the intense fandom during the “Idol” tour. Aiken’s Claymates were so rabid, he felt the need to have security whenever he left the house for about seven years.
But neither has regrets. Studdard felt the show came at the right time after 9/11 and as a war brewed. “We needed the comfort,” he said. “‘Idol’ was a break from what was going on in the real world.”
“‘Idol’ seasons one to five were the last time everybody in the country watched the same show,” Aiken said. “We are now just fractured media wise.”
Aiken has no desire to get back into politics. Even between his losing 2014 and 2022 campaigns, he saw the divisions between people grow to untenable levels.
“I refuse to lie about somebody,” Aiken said. “I refuse to slander somebody because I want to win. I didn’t want it that bad.”
And his own inherent shyness meant the social interactions politicians have to do took a lot out of him. When these concerts end, Aiken will scurry off the stage, jump on the tour bus and change into his pajamas before the last fan is out the door. In comparison, Studdard will be happy to hang out in the lobby and schmooze with departing fans.
“He is so laid back and casual,” Aiken said. “He’d take the shirt off his back if someone wanted it.”
IF YOU GO
Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken
8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24, $43-$97.50. Buckhead Theatre, 3110 Roswell Road NE, Atlanta. livenation.com
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