The Rubin Brothers Bring Circus Spectacle to American Idol Berklee alum Colescott Rubin and his brother, current student A.J., rode unicycles and sang about love and peanut butter during their memorable audition for season 22 of the long-running talent show.
By
Bryan Parys
February 26, 2024
The Rubin Brothers, Colescott (left) and A.J. (right), during their American Idol audition.
Image courtesy of Disney/Eric McCandless
It's a tale as old as time: You ride to your American Idol audition on a unicycle while playing an upright bass, sing a song about peanut butter with your brother on trumpet, and have musical legends singing along by the end.
Colescott Rubin somehow riding a unicycle while holding an upright bass and a tuba with the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus.
Image by Ryan Shinji
While this was certainly a first for American Idol, the performance was fairly typical for Colescott Rubin B.M. 20 and his brother A.J., who perform as the Rubin Brothers, one of many eclectic projects the two musicians have going. Colescott is an accompanist in the Ensemble Department, as well as a circus musician, multi-instrumentalist, and educator. He has performed with esperanza spalding B.M. '05, John Legend '20H, and Patrice Rushen 05H, among others. He also leads the swing band Colescott & His Red Hots, and the Rubin Brothers Brass Band-currently the house band for the Free Jacks, New England's professional rugby team.
A.J. Rubin is currently studying trumpet and arranging at Berklee, but is also a multi-instrumentalist with a background in classical and jazz. An entertainer in many ways, he also performs as a clown and works in mixed media sculpture.
The brothers may have not made it past the audition, but they succeeded in charming all three celebrity judges, with Lionel Richie '17H ad-libbing vocals and country artist Luke Bryan appearing to, well, dump macadamia nuts on Katy Perry. At the end of the audition, Perry sent the brothers on their merry way, saying It's a no for Idol; a yes for life.
Watch Colescott and A.J. Rubin perform My Peanut Butter Baby on American Idol:
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Laufey B.M. 21
Image by Gemma Warren
Whos Laufey Now Just two years after graduating, the alumna breaks record for the biggest debut of a jazz album on Spotify.
Latest
Image courtesy of the artist
Student Spotlight: Mehrpouya Daneshvar The clarinetist from Iran talks about discovering a love for Iranian classical music and how coming to Berklee has allowed him to expand his style by exploring jazz and Latin music.
Arturo Sandoval will receive an American Master Award from Berklee on March 8.
Image courtesy of the artist
Berklee to Present American Master Award to Arturo Sandoval Berklee will recognize the Cuban-American legend's legacy and impact on jazz and Latin music.
Shivaraj Natraj
Image by Mason Davis
Student Spotlight: Shivaraj Natraj The vocalist, konnakol beatboxer, and percussionist reflects on his musical journey from Oman to India and beyond, and how he's working to bridge Western and South Asian musical styles.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
07/01/2026
SVG Summit 2025: All General Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYThe SVG Summit celebrated its 20th edition with a loaded agendaBy Brandon Costa, Directo...
07/01/2026
NBCU's Brings Rinkside Live' and Courtside Live' Features to Peaco...
07/01/2026
Spotify is launching a week-long celebration spotlighting creators at the center...
07/01/2026
We know people use Spotify not just to listen, but to share the songs, podcasts, and audiobooks they love with their friends and family. When we launched Messag...
07/01/2026
This week, all eyes are on the podcast industry as the Golden Globes recognizes ...
07/01/2026
Podcasts are stepping onto a new stage this week as the Golden Globes recognize the medium for the first time. To mark this milestone moment, we're hosting ...
07/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), in collaboration with a distributor, is commissioning new micro-budget fiction feature films and invites eligible...
07/01/2026
NASA's Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launches on the Artemis I flight test, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, from Launch Complex 39B at ...
07/01/2026
For the first time ever, new C' variants allow international users to interoperate with U.S. personnel via NSA-certified cryptography....
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Abu Dhabi, UAE 7, January 2026 - Abu Dhabi Police and Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), ...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
The Trailer of Paparazzi King: The 5-Episode Docuseries Coming...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Supports Warner Bros. Discovery Board's Commitment...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
What Next? Netflix Reveals Series, Films and Games Coming in 2026
Entertainment
07 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download ...
07/01/2026
AI has transformed retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) operations, enhancin...
06/01/2026
Peacock Bringing Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos to Live Sports ContentPeacock is the first streamer to embrace Dolbys full suite of advanced picture/sound innovat...
06/01/2026
SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the sounds of powder and ice at Milano Cortina wi...
06/01/2026
Quintar Meta Spatial SDK Integration Promises Next-Level XR ExperiencesBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 - 9:41 am
Print This...
06/01/2026
Milano Cortina 2026: BBC Sport Previews Broadcast Ops, Studio Setup, Social Medi...
06/01/2026
Dolby's Jason Power on Elevating Live Sports Through Immersive Audio and HDR...
06/01/2026
DAZN's Global CRO Walker Jacobs on the Streamer's Breakout Year in the U...
06/01/2026
California Dreamin': LA28's SVP of Media Jim Bell Previews the Olympic a...
06/01/2026
One Month Out From Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony, NBC Sports in Final Prep fo...
06/01/2026
Advanced HDR by Technicolor and Zinwell Integrated onto ATSC 3.0 Conversion Boxe...
06/01/2026
Fox Sports President and COO Mark Silverman Shifts to Consulting RoleBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 - 2:37 pm
Print This S...
06/01/2026
Spotify is launching a week-long celebration spotlighting creators at the center...
06/01/2026
Lorde. A$AP Rocky. JENNIE. Baby Keem. KATSEYE. That's just a taste of who...
06/01/2026
In a live broadcast, L3Harris CFO and Missile Solutions President Ken Bedingfield joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Bedingfield discussed...
06/01/2026
First-of-its-kind SSP capability delivers program-level insight and brand suitab...
06/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
The Rubin Brothers Bring Circus Spectacle to American Idol Berklee alum Colescott Rubin and his brother, current student A.J., rode unicycles and sang about love and peanut butter during their memorable audition for season 22 of the long-running talent show.
