This was posted on Friday, September 8, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Drew and Jonathan Scott - best known as the "Property Brothers" - are the coolest twins in pop culture today. They're now HGTV staples branching out into books and live shows, including a "House Party" stop September 19 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. (Buy tickets here.)
"I'm calling it a bro-variety show," Drew said in a phone interview with his brother Wednesday. "Jonathan and I will sing some of our songs. Jonathan will do some magic. We'll do some 'Brother vs. Brother' games. They'll be audience participation. People will submit their ugliest rooms and we'll do a live digital makeover. We'll have prizes to give away. It's a fun night for people who have fun with our shows."
While the identical twins are genuine real estate and remodeling experts, Drew has been a long aspiring actor while Jonathan has wanted to be the next David Copperfield since he was a young kid. Neither achieved those dreams but they are doing just fine in the reality show world. Just this week, they came out with a dual autobiography "It Takes Two," which will be given to all concertgoers, and Drew was named to the cast of the 25th season of "Dancing With the Stars."
Drew and pro dancer Emma Slater will perform their first dance on Monday, September 18 but will fly together in time for the Atlanta show the next night.
"I'm stoked," Drew said, of the DWTS opportunity. "My nickname in college was 'Master of the Dance.' "
"Nobody ever called you that," Jonathan retorted. "I saw his prom dance. Nope."
While most of the celebrity dancers are prepping for the competition in one place, Drew is in the middle of this concert/book tour so he's had to practice wherever he can. "We're in a different city every single night before the premiere," he said. "Whether we're dancing on the bus, the airport or in a car, we'll find a way to win that mirror-ball trophy."
Jonathan concurs that Drew will not be a slacker in terms of preparation: "He's the most competitive man alive. He's been practicing and practicing. We expect Emma may end up making a surprise appearance on stage during our shows."
If anything, Drew has lost a lot of weight already. "I'm seeing muscles I haven't seen in 20 years," he said. His signatures suits are starting to look a little over-sized on him. "You know when you're a kid and you borrow your dad's blazer? That's what I feel like."
"Great!" Jonathan said. "I'll take them all!" In fact, Drew's closet is so packed with clothes, Jonathan says he doesn't have to buy much himself. "I just go shopping in his closet," he said. "He has like 800 shoes!"
Drew is not at all scared of sequins. "I don't take myself seriously," he said. "You can glitter me up with rhinestones. I'll take it!"
They were open to doing "Dancing With the Stars" at the same time but they needed one brother to hold the fort down given they have many HGTV shows to shoot. Besides, "if I get tired," Drew cracked, "Jonathan can just sub in for me." (They did trick folks many times as kids swapping roles.)
The book was fun to write, Jonathan said. But he said his memory is not iron clad: "We've been telling some of these same stories for so long, I started putting myself into things where it turned out I wasn't even there. But Drew was. Yes, they were actually stories about him!"
To capture the good-natured banter they have on their many HGTV shows (e.g. "Property Brothers," "Brother vs. Brother," "Buying & Selling"), each brother wrote a chapter and the other one inserted snarky comments.
There are some serious moments. Drew ended up in massive debt at one point pursuing his acting. Jonathan wrote about his painful divorce, which he said caused him to fall into a depression where he refused to socialize for many months. It took Drew to get him out of his funk.
Jonathan is now dating a new woman. Drew, in the meantime, is going to marry his long-time girlfriend Linda Phan soon. (HGTV is airing a November special featuring them building their "honeymoon" house in Los Angeles, giving an art-deco Hollywood glam feel to a restoration of a 1921 home.)
Both are looking forward to having kids.
"It will be a big part of our story," Jonathan said. "We're childish adults. I think I'll be a great dad. There's no rush for me. I've been dating my girl for a year and a half. Drew will probably be a dad first."
How popular are the brothers? People magazine has placed them on their cover twice this year. "It's nice to know with so much turmoil out there, people just want some good family fun," Drew said. "That's exactly what our shows are about. They're inspirational."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
They taped a season of "Property Brothers" in Atlanta in 2014 and Jonathan isn't stupid: he praised Atlanta homeowners: ""We had the most amazing home owners," he gushed. "They were so heartwarming. They made us feel like locals." And they do a lot of service for Atlanta-based Habitat for Humanity.
After shooting in Nashville this year because they love country music, they are considering returning to Atlanta. "Going back to previous cities helps us because we know some of the construction teams already," Drew said. "And if 'The Walking Dead' ever wants me on, I can be a singing zombie or dancing zombie!"
Drew said they hope HGTV viewers will keep them around for many years to come. They have a furniture brand at Lowe's and QVC. And they run their own production company so they can sell shows to other networks as well.
IN CONCERT
The Scott Brothers House Party
7:30 p.m., Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta
$39.75-$150
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