Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken Almost Forgot They Were on ‘The Masked Singer’

The Masked Singer has delivered plenty of showstopping reveals over the years, but few have topped the double unmasking of American Idol legends Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken.

Aiken and Studdard, both 45, competed as the Beets on season 11 of the Fox reality competition series, bringing a smile to everyone who’s been rooting for their friendship since they appeared on season 2 of Idol back in 2003.

“It just made all the sense in the world for us to be in that space with each other,” Aiken exclusively told Us Weekly after the Beets were unmasked during the Wednesday, May 1, episode. “We both get asked all the time to sing at this thing or that thing, and we base our yeses or nos on a whole bunch of different factors. For something like this, you are never going to get asked to do something this ridiculous again. It’s a chance that when it happens, even if you think it might be tough or stupid or ridiculous or anything, it’s one of those things where you still say yes just because you want to say you tried that nonsense.”

Studdard, for his part, said that he was “definitely” a Masked Singer fan prior to his stint as a Beet.

“I enjoy all kinds of singing competition shows,” he explained, speaking like a true Idol vet. “I watched them all. Anything that is somebody on stage either trying to make a fool of themselves or sounding good.”

Studdard and Aiken are showbiz veterans, but they were still thrown slightly off by the unique conditions performers face on The Masked Singer. In addition to having to sing while dressed as enormous vegetables, the duo had to hide their participation from friends and family — and couldn’t promote their appearance.

“We both forgot that our episode was airing, because it was [filmed] so long ago and we’re getting old,” Aiken joked. “I think I even texted it to you, Ruben, and said, ‘We sound good.’ And you said, ‘Huh?’ I said, ‘You don’t remember our show aired last night?’ And you’re like, ‘Oh, crap.’”

'The Masked Singer' Winners Through the Years: Where Are They Now?

While the pair were positioned as rivals on Idol — Studdard won season 2 over Aiken by a narrow margin — they’ve since remained super close, touring together last year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first go-round on reality TV. It’s hard to maintain friendships as an adult even when you’re not keeping busy touring, recording and filming The Masked Singer, but it comes so easy to Studdard that he has a hard time explaining how he and Aiken have kept up their connection.

“You just be friends,” he explained. “The people that I’ve called my friend over my lifetime, we’ve just remained friends. … We actively reach out, see how the other person’s doing, because that’s what friends do.”

Aiken, meanwhile, credits his friend for doing a lot of the legwork.

“Ruben is incredible at keeping that connection,” he told Us. “He’s very loyal. There are not many people who I can be in a bad mood around, be upset or sad around — like, we both are willing to be ourselves, and that’s grown beyond him making the conscious effort. We’re so connected now. In fact, he’s texting me as we’re talking to tell me what’s going on in his house. That’s kind of how we operate.”

The Masked Singer airs on Fox Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.