20 Years After Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken Faced Off on ‘American Idol,’ the Two Reunite for ‘Nostalgia’ Tour, Season 21 Finale
variety.comFred Bronson On May 21, 2003, 38.1 million viewers watched Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken battle it out to become the winner of season two of “American Idol.” When Ryan Seacrest opened the envelope, he proclaimed, “After 24 million votes, the winner of ‘American Idol’ 2003 is… Ruben Studdard!” Aiken was not surprised — he saw the name on the card before Seacrest read it out loud.
Studdard and Aiken went on to have successful careers, starting with their debut albums, which both topped the Billboard album chart.
Twenty years to the day of the season two finale, Studdard and Aiken will return to the “Idol” stage for the season 21 finale to perform one of the songs they are singing every night on stage for their 20th anniversary tour.
The two “Idol” stars sat down backstage while on tour to talk to Variety about their time on the series, their enduring friendship and this shared milestone. Do you remember the very first time that you met?Clay Aiken: We remember; just differently.Ruben Studdard: My memory is that we were at the Glendale Hilton.
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