American Idol sensation Kelly Clarkson will make her State College debut tonight, and country singing prodigy Reba McEntire will join her at the Bryce Jordan Center after an eight-year hiatus.
McEntire made her last stop at the BJC in February of 2000 and made three previous stops in '96, '97 and '98. Clarkson however, will be stepping on the stage for the first time for this stop of the 20,000-mile "2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour 2008."
"You have two performers who could tour on their own, but they are paired together. The legendary performer teamed with the new face of the music industry. ... It's pretty cool when you think about it," said Bernie Punt, director of sales and marketing for the BJC.
The two decided to tour together in the spring of 2008, following the release of Duets, Reba's latest album, which incorporates a series of duet numbers with various artists of different genres, said Mary Gellott, promoter for the "2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour 2008" and director of entertainment marketing at Moore Entertainment Group at AEG Live Nashville. On the album, Kelly and Reba recorded "Because of You," which became a huge hit.
Gellott added the decision to tour together was made not only because their voices work well together, but also because they enjoy each other's company. This was so successful they decided to do it again in the fall, Gellott said.
"This is a rare opportunity to see these two together, and it is not likely to happen again," Gellott said.
Tonight, Reba will focus on straight-up vocals, a change from her normal performance routine that includes numerous costume changes and background dancers, Gellott said.
"This show is all about the music, especially with Reba's dynamic stage presence," Punt said. "Fans are going to be entertained by one of the most crowd-friendly performers on tour today, and Kelly Clarkson live is icing on the cake."
In light of the performers' contrasting music styles, the gig will attract audience members from the age of 18 to those in their late to mid-50s, Gellott said.
"This is really a coming together of two different demographics -- Reba is iconic in country music and is legendary, whereas Kelly has been known for only a few years and is bringing the pop crowd and that younger demographic to the audience," Gellott said.
Punt said there were concerns about ticket sales with the concert taking place during a widely celebrated nighttime holiday.
"About 3 percent of the house will be Penn State students, which is a little lower than we were anticipating, especially with the pairing of Kelly Clarkson," Punt said. "But we also understand that the concert falls on Halloween, so I am predicting that most of the student body will be letting off some steam somewhere in a costume."
Clarkson fanatic Sarah Woodruff (senior-secondary education in English) said people can still go out to celebrate after the show.
"I would have camped out to get tickets if I had to," she said.
Seventy percent of the audience will be from outside of Centre County, with the majority of the audience being middle-aged couples, Punt said.
Despite the holiday, the venue should be filled, with around 5,000 in its seats, he added.
