ldyjocelyn

MORE professional photographs in this Instagram series: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2X5yy1PDzI/?img_index=1 And in this series: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2X4zvfPS8l/?img_index=1

Some good Instagram links from last night, videos and some photos. Glad to see so many people are enjoying the show. https://www.instagram.com/the_real_melly_mels/ https://www.instagram.com/mickki03/ https://www.instagram.com/p/C2VGRVourKa/?img_index=2

More professional photographs. The lighting at that show was very…blue…but I’m really loving this photo. https://www.facebook.com/100075832154815/posts/pfbid0Z9BSdA3VUn4Q8grJYTKiSy8dVud4QLm1DeWkgvRvXpGiqVzqs1Xyv1fN1nzVftoil/?

ajc.com INTERVIEWS: Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken reunite on stage 20 years after ‘Idol’

Thank you beanerknits for finding the interviews! So much promo this time around, or at least it feels like it! jmh, I'm glad you were able to sell your tickets! Hope you find a home for all your "stuff!" Yes, I'm crazy busy -- too many meetings! And major things that need to be done by the end of March. AAAAAAGH!

Instagram Story, also done as a FB reel from Clay. https://www.instagram.com/p/C2Q0INyuTWZ/

They are really pushing the Bethesda show, aren't they?

Thanks beanerknits, will be listening now before my schedule gets incredibly busy. Good video of The Impossible Dream from last night, banter included. https://www.facebook.com/sherricl/videos/1335482240455969 And a great picture from nicki's public FB page.

Another new interview (scroll down a bit for it). https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2024/01/17/ruben-studdard-and-clay-aiken-bringing-reunion-tour-to-central-florida/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=wkmg6

New interview! https://bronx.news12.com/be-well-clay-aiken-and-ruben-studdard-perform-again

First day back to work this week. MLK day was Monday, and then it was so bitter cold yesterday that almost all the schools in the area went to either e-learning or a snow day. It was supposed to be our first day of school yesterday at my college, but I think they may have called it a no-work day because of all the other schools; many of our faculty/staff/students have children of their own and would have been scrambling for child care! Me? I made a pot of chili, made some hummus for lunches this week, cleaned out a drawer in my kitchen, read some of Patrick Stewart's memoir, and just relaxed. It was nice. My Clay stash is in a closet as well. I went through it several years ago and got rid of a lot of duplicates, and many of the things where Clay was only briefly mentioned in one article. Past that though...it's still a lot. Ugh. My niece will probably toss it all when I pass on (if I don't do it before then!).

jmh, I'll take the details of your post to CV and see if anyone can take you up on your offers. I'm sorry you're not going to be able to make it to the tour this time. I'll also try that with the post. It's TextWriter in the Mac contingent. Some pictures from nicki's public FB page -- she's finally having travel issues. She's actually lucky at this point!

newsday.com

beanerknits, I grabbed some of those too. Loved that. Newsday article; definitely behind a paywall, so I'm posting the entire thing here, thanks to a generous soul at CV. Note: for some reason, when I copy and paste from CV, the background stays there; when I copy it to a Google Document and then copy and paste it from there, it turns the entire article bold (see below); when I copy it to a Microsoft Word document and then copy and paste it to here, it makes it into a jpg attachment! jmh, do you know what's going on? Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken Team for "American Idol" Nostalgia Show at Westbury By David J. Criblez david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez January 12, 2024 5:00 am Back in 2003, singers Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard were presented as rivals on the second season of “American Idol.” But that was just on screen. The truth is these two southern gentlemen, winner Studdard and runner-up Aiken, have been the best of friends off-screen and they are currently celebrating their bond with the “Twenty Years / One Night Tour,” which comes to the NYCB Theatre at Westbury on Jan. 19. “The competition between Ruben and I was hyped up for the benefit of the viewing audience,” admits Aiken, 45. “I don’t think we felt competitive against each other at all. We played it up on stage for the benefit of the joke, but we never felt that way.” Studdard, 45, adds, “It couldn’t be further from the truth. Basically, everybody was competing with themselves. On ‘American Idol,’ your job was to be better than you were the day before.” SHOW HAS LI ROOTS Surprisingly, the seed for the current tour originated on Long Island in the venue the duo are about to headline. “In 2014, I semi-left performing and wanted to try other things. I stopped singing from 2014 to the beginning of 2018,” says Aiken. “Then in early 2018 I went to see Ruben perform his ‘Ruben Sings Luther’ show in Westbury. It was at that show that I realized I wanted to perform again but only if I can do it with Ruben.” Studdard says, “We have built a friendship on the show that we have continued over the years. When I say that I mean we are like family. Our current show is the 20th anniversary of our friendship. We want to share 20 years of great memories with the public, which is why we decided to go out on tour.” TURNING BACK THE CLOCK The current show is a nostalgia fest for “American Idol” fans featuring a revue of songs both Aiken and Studdard famously knocked out of the park on “Idol” combined with behind-the-scenes stories. “The show is broken down into sections and it’s about the people that inspired us,” says Studdard, who recently released his 8th album, “The Way I Remember It.” “We tell stories about the things we did, the people that we worked with and we have songs that coincide with the people that we are talking about.” Aiken adds, “Ruben sings by himself quite a bit and I sing by myself as well. We perform medleys together and reminisce. Our goal is to recreate the magic that was 2003 because it was a pivotal moment in our lives.” What made “American Idol” stand out from other talent shows was that it was the first time people at home got to vote. “This element created an ownership and competition among the viewers because they were devoting their own time to being on the phone after every episode trying to vote,” says Aiken. “I think that’s what made the show fun and created the 21st century variety show featuring a little bit of everything from country music to disco to Broadway to pop. Our tour celebrates all of that. We touch on every genre that we hit on ‘Idol.’ ” Highlights of the show include performances of Aiken’s version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” as well as Studdard belting out “Flying Without Wings.” “I love singing those big power ballads,” says Studdard. “It still makes the hair stand up on my arm when we sing those songs. I feel something special is happening.” Aiken adds, “Those are the moments when people are most pulled back to 2003. I find myself even making the same arm motions when I sing.” WHEN RUBEN MET CLAY Aiken and Studdard first met at the Hilton Hotel in Glendale, California during Hollywood Week on “Idol.” “I was holding court with a couple of people and in comes Clay,” recalls Studdard. “I saw he was the only guy around a whole bunch of girls. So I came over and introduced myself.” Aiken, who came out as gay in 2008, notes, “He thought I was a player!” (laughs) For Aiken being on “Idol” was quite an awakening because he had never been around people who shared the same musical interest as he did. “Nobody in my world sang at all,” says Aiken. “It was sort of like this interesting, cool summer camp club where everybody was into the same thing and we all had that in common to talk about.” 'IDOL' LESSONS Both men walked away from “Idol” learning some big life lessons that they still carry with them today. “It was not as easy to be proud of the skills I had or develop confidence in myself until ‘Idol.’ Being on the show taught me to like myself for who I am and celebrate the gifts God gave me,” says Aiken. “I think it does that for a lot of kids that are on the show now. That’s something that hasn’t changed in 20 plus years. It gives people a chance to shine and build confidence.” Studdard says, “The biggest lesson that I learned is that hard work and dedication pays off. The people that made it to the top 10 were extremely serious. We took pride in the work that we did and they made sure to get every ounce of energy out of us for sure.” Although Aiken and Studdard are simpatico that doesn’t mean their fans are fully on the same page. “Our fans were the ones that were competitive with one another and they continued that even after the show was over,” says Studdard. Aiken says, “There are still people who come to our shows that are primarily there for Ruben or me, but they know how much we love each other and that there’s no animosity between us. They now come and enjoy the show with both of us. We’ve all matured a little bit.” RUBEN STUDDARD & CLAY AIKEN WHEN/WHERE 8 p.m., Jan. 19; NYCB Theatre at Westbury, 960 Brush Hollow Road, Westbury INFO 516-247-5200, thetheatreatwestbury.com ADMISSION $29-$129.50

Lots of great professional pictures here. This leg of the tour seems to be bringing out the pro photographers! ETA: video clips too! https://dalelaut.smugmug.com/Special-Events/Ruben-Studdard-and-Clay-Aiken

mlive.comRuben and Clay do a throwback-style variety show with plenty of Motown in Motown

More cool professional photos. https://www.facebook.com/share/oG1fPu4kWFjvepJR/?mibextid=dD9HTC

That review is COOL! Thanks beanerknits!

Pictures from the FB links above.

From Meg Toohey's Instagram story. She's the current guitarist.

Pictures via the Robins Theater FB page. Also pictures from the M&G. https://www.facebook.com/robinstheatre/posts/pfbid02tRvb8BXoYrjjASP3zLnquit7gcusMCExqc5eB9kSqpmkT2dYJ7y3C55VE1EVY4Jil https://www.facebook.com/robinstheatre/posts/pfbid0VBcnVGURL8GzavsQ2r5EYvJfQD5gP6d15ipfSwMcxXFedCT6K5eMmoVbS3kM5vvcl And some good professional photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=100044418019231&set=a.958199659003959 I'll post some of the pictures on the thread later.

So…what’s the weather where you are at? We had about 4 inches of snow (which isn’t bad, as Iowa was dumped upon, and I think Chicago got a lot too), but there’s ice under the snow I think. Plus, the wind is blowing like crazy, which is making the wind chills drop to way below 0. It’s my husband’s birthday this weekend, so we are going out to pick up his birthday cake and something for dinner tomorrow night today, and then going out to dinner tonight. Hopefully we’ll make it safely! I told him next year we are celebrating his birthday in July!

Good clips from the show ladt night here. Note new jackets and white shirts now. https://www.instagram.com/p/C2Bw_vZNgxy/?igsh=MWVmNHo5Zmg0YWdpdw==

Cute Instagram reel from Ruben. Clay is a master at photobombing! https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2BJIHNpX0N/?igsh=MXRkeDBua3Z5OGZ5Nw==

Interview with backing singer Nashon Holloway. The Clay/Ruben part starts at about 11:30 mark. https://www.wmuk.org/wmuk-culture/2024-01-10/ruben-clay-tour-brings-nashon-holloway-home-to-perform?fbclid=IwAR0QI5GPhWiTxQhWQl0FcJcdrfN-das3-4S0P3gZBpF5VgWAtWVH7-3h0I4