American Idol Alums Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard Are Reuniting for 20th Anniversary Tour

Glamour - Is it 2003 again? Low-rise skirts are back, Katie Holmes wore a minidress over baggy jeans, and Clay Aiken is going on tour with season two American Idol victor Ruben Studdard.

This spring Aiken and Studdard are reuniting for a series of performances celebrating the 20th anniversary of their American Idol season, including a cancer benefit concert in Cary, North Carolina, on April 29. The tour is aptly named Twenty the Tour.

Back in 2003, Studdard beat out Aiken during their season of American Idol, though runner-up didn’t work out so badly for Kelly Clarkson, who lost to Justin Guarini the year prior. In fact, the season-two alums stayed close friends over the years, even launching their Timeless US tour in 2010. In April 2021, Studdard joined Aiken for a North Carolina concert while the “Invisible” singer was running to represent the state’s 4th Congressional District. Aiken ultimately lost the Democratic primary to Representative Valerie Foushee. (He’s used to it.)

Earlier this month Clay Aiken celebrated their decades-long friendship with an extremely earnest Instagram post. “We don’t get to choose our family. Most family is predetermined by blood; some are predestined by God to come into our lives,” he wrote, in part. “I’ve got one brother who was born into my family and one brother who the good Lord introduced me to in 2003.”