Ruben Studdard

Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor.

The title track and first single "I Need an Angel" was a cover of 2002 single performed by R&B singer Daniel DeBourg and written by R. Kelly.

The album sold over 96,000 copies in its first week, entering the Gospel charts at number one and number twenty on the Billboard 200 chart.

It since has sold over 500,000 copies, securing Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.

He rose to fame as the winner of the second season of American Idol and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of "Superstar".

In the years following Idol, Studdard has released seven studio albums, including his platinum-selling debut, Soulful, and the top-selling gospel follow-up, I Need an Angel.

A backup singer from Just a Few Cats asked him to accompany her to Nashville, Tennessee for an audition on the 2003 second season of American Idol.

When auditioning, Studdard sang Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon in the Sky".

On American Idol, he impressed viewers with his performances of the Leon Russell/Bonnie Bramlett song "Superstar" and the Peabo Bryson/Regina Belle duet "A Whole New World".

During his time on the show, Studdard received praise from music legends such as Lionel Richie, Neil Sedaka, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, Luther Vandross, and Gladys Knight.

During the televised competition, Studdard gained the nickname "Velvet Teddy Bear" and was noted for his shirts printed with "205," the telephone area code of his hometown of Birmingham.

He won the contest over runner-up Clay Aiken by only 134,000 votes out of 24,000,000 cast in the May 2003 finale, becoming the second American Idol winner.

Alabama Governor Bob Riley declared March 11, 2003, as "Ruben Studdard Day".

Studdard released his first single, a cover of Westlife's "Flying Without Wings" (which he had sung on the American Idol finale), produced by The Underdogs and Babyface.

Fueled largely by sales, it debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

In December 2003, advance orders for his album Soulful topped the one million mark before it was released in stores.

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart that month, selling over 400,000 copies in its first week and attaining the second highest first-week sales of any American Idol winner.

Studdard received a Grammy Award nomination in December 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Superstar", nominated alongside his idol Luther Vandross, who ultimately won the category.

He is most well known for his recording career, which has produced hits including "Flying Without Wings", "Sorry 2004", and "Change Me", but he has also segued into television and stage work.

Most notably, he starred as Fats Waller in a national tour revival of Ain't Misbehavin', which spawned a Grammy-nominated soundtrack.

The single "Sorry 2004" from this album found substantial airplay, reaching number nine in the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

In March 2004, Ruben won the NAACP Outstanding New Artist award.

Studdard released the gospel album I Need an Angel on November 23, 2004.

It was also number one on the 2005 Billboard Year-End Gospel Albums Chart.

In March 2005, Studdard filed a lawsuit against his godfather and business advisor Ronald Edwards.

The suit alleges that Edwards ran up $156,000 on Studdard's credit cards and stole $90,000 from his checking account.

In 2013, Studdard appeared as a contestant on the fifteenth season of weight-loss competition show The Biggest Loser.

He later signed to Verve Records and collaborated with the label's chairman, David Foster, on Studdard's sixth studio album, Unconditional Love, in 2014.

That album received strong reviews as a return-to-form and included a tour with Lalah Hathaway.

In 2018, Studdard, who has long been compared to R&B singer Luther Vandross, released a cover album called Ruben Sings Luther and launched his Always & Forever national tour.

He made his Broadway theater debut with his Idol runner-up Clay Aiken in December 2018 in Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show (aka Ruben & Clay’s Christmas Show) at the Imperial Theatre.

In 2023, Studdard and Aiken reunited for Twenty The Tour, a joint nationwide tour in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of their American Idol debut. Studdard also continues to tour the United States in support of his Ruben Sings Luther album, and in 2023, launched his eighth studio album, The Way I Remember It.

Studdard was born in Frankfurt, West Germany, to American parents, while his father was stationed there with the U.S. Army, and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama.

The youngest son of two teachers, at the age of three, he sang for the first time at the Rising Star Baptist Church in his hometown of Birmingham.

He continued singing gospel in church, performing solos as a child while his mother sang in the local choir.

While at Huffman High School, he played football for which he received a scholarship to Alabama A&M University.

While at Alabama A&M, he joined the Omicron Delta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the men's music fraternity of America.

After growing up listening to his mother's Donny Hathaway albums, Fred Hammond, and gospel music, Studdard began to pursue a career in the music industry, majoring in voice studies at Alabama A&M.

He sang with Just a Few Cats, a popular local Birmingham jazz and R&B band founded by members of Ray Reach's UAB Jazz Ensemble, along with other local musicians.

Years later, Studdard stated: "A lot of people don't realize how hard I was trying to get into the business before American Idol. I was making demos and just working so hard."