Ruben Studdard

Ruben Studdard would be the first to agree that the past three years have been amazing, rewarding and challenging. Think about it: Until the Spring of 2003, Studdard had been expressing his lifelong love for music by singing with local gospel groups and his R&B, jazz band in virtual obscurity in Birmingham, Alabama. Life changed forever when he became a household name, winning American Idol (the highest rated show on television) and captivating the country with his soulful, powerhouse vocal style.

In short order, Studdard recorded his first J Records album SOULFUL while watching his debut single, Flying Without Wings/Superstar achieve gold status within weeks of its release in late 2003; by the middle of 2004, SOULFUL which sold over 400,000 copies during its first week on sale – was certified platinum. He was the recipient of a coveted NAACP 2004 Image Award and earned his first Grammy nomination in 2004 (for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male) for his emotive reading of Superstar (one of the most played cuts on urban radio during the last six months of 2003); as 2004 came to a close, J Records released Rubens gospel album, I NEED AN ANGEL, achieving gold status within weeks and garnering him a BET 2005 nomination for Best Gospel Album.

By the end of 2004, Ruben the winner of the 2003 Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Reality/Variety Star – Male – had been nominated an amazing three Teen Choice Awards (for Love Song and R&B Track for the charted single, Sorry 2004 and for Breakout Artist), a Soul Train Award (for Best New Artist), two Billboard Music Awards (for Best New Artist, Male and Best New R&B/Hip Hop Artist) and one Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Awards (for Best New Artist R&B/Hip Hop), while winning the Billboards Top R&B/Hip Hop Single Sales Award for Superstar.
Ruben devoted much of 2005 to working on his own foundation, the Ruben Studdard Foundation for the Advancement of Children in Music Arts (which gives grants and scholarships to music students, summer camps and after school programs) and being at home with his family in Birmingham while preparing for his new record, THE RETURN. While his first two albums were recorded while he was on the road touring, this time around Ruben took time off to record, working with hit-making producers The Underdogs, Scott Storch, Ne-Yo, Harold Lilly, Bryan-Michael Cox, Dre & Vidal and others. The result is a record that will not only prove satisfying to the loyal audience Ruben has created over the past few years but is likely to expand his reach to new listeners who will appreciate the undeniable creative and vocal growth Ruben brings to the album. I think people will notice the maturity in my voice and that the subject matter on the songs is more grown, more adult. That reflects all that Ive been through in the past few years, personally and professionally More actively involved with this album than with either of his two previous best-selling CDs from a writing standpoint, Ruben penned the standout tracks, To Tha Crib, Im Not Happy and Blow Your Mind.

The title for the album is derived from the catchy cut, The Return (of the Velvet Teddy Bear),” which was produced by Harold Lilly and Khao. Says Ruben, Khao knows me from Birmingham from before I was on Idol and Harold worked with me on my first album. We really became good friends outside the business: he wrote the song for me and it signifies my return to mainstream music after doing the gospel album. A lot of people outside the gospel field didnt know Id released I Need An Angel so theyd come up and ask me where Id been for the last two years! With THE RETURN, Im saying, Im back singing these love songs just for you!

The truth-telling first single, Change Me (produced by The Underdogs, who co-wrote the track with Tank and others) is a song the fellas are going to love! It doesnt pertain that much to my life, explains Ruben, but I have friends in serious relationships who tell me about how theyve had the experience of having ladies who start dating them and then want to change them. Ruben also has some friendly advice for his homeboys, expressed in the song Go Home To Ya Girl which he says is about being faithful. My question to the guys is, How would you feel if your girl was at the club and left with another guy while youre sitting at home waiting for her? I admit that sometimes, us guys do some stupid stuff. Thats what Im talking about on the song Listen To Ya Heart, which Harold Lilly wrote and Khao produced. Its what I call a hood ballad!

Produced by Happy Perez and written by noted artist-songwriter Ne-Yo, the midtempo cut Rather Just Not Know also deals with fidelity: Thats a dont ask, dont tell song, says Ruben. There are some things I just dont need to know… Like tell me another lie, tell me its all in my mind Make me believe Im trippin when your cell phone rings at 3:00am in the morning And in keeping with the lyrical maturity found on many of the tracks on THE RETURN, Ruben offers another trio of songs that address the real, day-to-day issues of relationships. Im Not Happy, a song Ruben co-wrote with Lilly (and one of the three he contributed to the album as a songwriter) is a straight-up revelation of a personal situation: I was in Miami working and I started thinking about this girl I had been dating a year prior when I was there. It was like, Im at the club and its jumpin. The girls are loving my music but this one girl that I had dated is not here with me. True story, man, true story.
The standout, Make Ya Feel Beautiful, also written by Ne-Yo and produced by Shea Taylor, is all about the mental and emotional aspect of getting to know a woman. Im saying, Im not interested in the sexual aspect of getting together to begin with like Im not trying to get in her jeans just yet! Ruben says, with a sly grin. Then, Our Story – produced by James Poyser is one of the albums quality slow jams, written by Harold Lilly based on a conversation he had with Ruben: I was telling Harold about one of my high school girlfriends and in the song he wrote, the couple ends up getting married and although that isnt what ended up happening in real life, it does follow the progression of the relationship. I think its the most beautiful song on the album and one of my best ballads.

Listeners will agree that Rubens reading of Brenda Russells classic If Only For One Night is equally stunning. Produced by Ruben with his longtime musical director Alvin Garrett, the track is the soulful stylists way of paying homage to Vandross, one of his primary vocal influences. I felt it necessary to do my own tribute to Luther, says Ruben. I heard the song a couple of times and my gut feeling is that it would work. We spent the longest time working on the track to make sure we got it right and Im so proud that Cindy Mizelle, who was one of Luthers background singers, was on the session.

Rubens remake of the song is particularly fitting given the success of 2003s Superstar (another classic song closely associated with Vandross) and promises to continue the love affair that hes had with audiences everywhere since winning American Idol. But it seems that music lovers have been showing that same kind of appreciation for the singer, born Christopher Ruben Studdard (and known to his family as Chris) since he expressed his natural talent at age three. My mother was in the local choir. I went to pre-school church and it was a teacher there who first heard me sing. I was doing solos at a young age and I continued singing in church and in school. I listened to all kind of music at home, he recalls. My mom and dad had a lot of albums. I remember my mom particularly loved Donny Hathaway songs like For All We Know and A Song For You. I heard a lot of gospel music too: I used to listen to the group Commissioned and of course, Fred Hammond.

Although Ruben went to Alabama A&M University on a football scholarship, it was music that constantly called to him. Both parents being teachers, they were really into me getting my education. My mom knew that I loved music, of course, so shed say I know you can be a wonderful music teacher! But I just knew that I wanted a career in music: I was a voice major in college and after I left in the spring of 2000, I gave myself five years to make it as a singer
In addition to being part of a local gospel group, Gods Gift, Ruben also sang in and around Birmingham with the jazz and R&B band Just A Few Cats. We did local clubs, concertsthe whole nine. We were the most popular and sought after group in the city, Ruben says. We hadnt recorded a demo but we were planning to Fate stepped in when one of the groups background singers, Sherita Duff asked Ruben to go with her to an audition for the second season of American Idol in Nashville: She just wanted me to come along so she wouldnt be there by herself, he remembers. Figuring he had nothing to lose, Ruben auditioned.

Rubens home state declared March 11, 2003 Ruben Studdard Day and as he told JET magazine, Im from Alabama and its hard for us to get Hollywood. If you are who you say you are and youre real, it should be hard to change your personality overnight. He appeared on virtually every major U.S. television show, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Today Show and The View, promoting SOULFUL.

Recording I NEED AN ANGEL, Ruben declared, Was going back to my roots, noting that he had only been singing non-spiritual material for about three or four years. Gospel music was all I sang before that, so doing an inspirational record was a natural thing for me.” Working with such heavyweight producers as R. Kelly, Warryn Campbell, Eric Dawkins and Fred Hammond, Ruben crafted an album that won immediate praise among the gospel community. The albums gold status was particularly gratifying for Ruben given how difficult it can be for an artist to have a gold record with their first album in the gospel field. I was very happy with it and the acceptance it received.

2005 was also a year of challenge and change: I learned a lot of lessons as far as the business was concerned, Ruben states, referencing legal action he took against a former business manager which resulted in victory for the artist. I had plenty of tests and people dont realize that in just six months after winning American Idol, I went through what it takes some artists years to experience. I feel really good about all the extensive lessons Ive learned.

Encouraged by a recent weight loss, Ruben an avid reader and a self-confessed college football addict (I have to stop whatever Im doing for the college games!) says he went to a dieting and fitness center in 2006 to learn about the importance of the choice of foods we eat. Im definitely feeling happy about being more fit and conscious of my health. Certainly, feeling great mentally and physically has Ruben poised to present THE RETURN to the music-buying public. Im blessed: it feels really good to have my third album out, he says.

With standout slow jams like Nothin But Love (written by Johnta Austin and produced by Dre & Vidal) and prime upbeat cuts like Get U Loose (produced by The Underdogs) and What Tha Business Is (produced by Scott Storch) which he describes as a party song, one of the hottest tracks on the album, Ruben Studdard intends to take THE RETURN to his loyal fansand beyond: I put a lot of love into making this album and my audience is going to feel that…”