ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An “American Idol” winner is coming to Miller Symphony Hall for a holiday concert.
And he’ll appear with a singer and pianist who had two No. 1 Adult Contemporary singles in the early 2000s and is among the best-selling pianists of recent times.
Ruben Studdard, who won the second season of “American Idol” in 2003 and followed up with two chart-topping albums that went gold and platinum, will perform at Symphony Hall as the “Special Guest Star” of singer/pianist Jim Brickman’s Comfort and Joy Holiday Celebration, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 23.
Tickets, at $25-$85, are available at the Miller Symphony Hall website.Miller Symphony Hall
Tickets, at $25-$85, are available at the Miller Symphony Hall website.
Brickman had chart-topping singles with 2001’s “Simple Things” with Rebecca Lynn Howard and 2003’s “Sending You a Little Christmas” with Kristy Starling.
Studdard beat out Clay Aikens for the “American Idol” title and his debut single, “Flying Without Wings,” hit No. 2.
Studdard’s debut album, “Soulful,” in 2003 hit No. 1 on the overall Albums chart and sold platinum. It produced a No. 2 R&B chart hit, “Superstar,” and was nominated for a Grammy Award, and the No. 1 R&B Adult chart hit “Sorry 2004.”
His sophomore album, 2004’s “I Need an Angel,” hit No. 1 on the gospel chart and sold gold. His third album, 2006’s “The Return,” peaked at No. 2 on the R&B chart and produced the No. 1 Adult R&B hit “Change Me.”
His most recent album was “The Way I Remember It,” released a year ago.
In all, Studdard has had 10 songs that hit the Top 25 on various charts, the most recent of which was “Love Love Love,” which hit No. 25 on the Adult R&B chart in 2014.
Brickman's successful career
Brickman received Grammy Award nominations for Best Instrumental for his 2003 disc “Peace” and Best New Age Album for 2009’s “Faith.” Four of his albums have reached gold sales.
Brickman also had the 1997 song “Valentine” with Martina McBride, which also was a Top 10 Country hit, and the song “Never Alone” with Lady Antebellum in 2007.
Forty-three of his albums have hit the Top 10 on the New Age chart, with the most recent being 2019’s “Pure Carpenters.” Twenty-two of those hit No. 1, most recently in 2018’s “Soothe, Vol. 4: Subzero — Sounds That Spark the Senses.”
Twenty-nine of his singles have hit the Top 30 on the Adult Contemporary chart, most recently 2019’s “Feliz Navidad" (featuring Kathy Phillips).”
Brickman has played holiday concerts at Symphony Hall several times previously.
