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Ruben Studdard Bio
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Ruben Studdard
Christopher Ruben Studdard was born on September 12, 1978 in Birmingham, Alabama. Both of his parents are teachers. Studdard began his singing career at the age of three at the Rising Star Baptist Church. He continued to sing with the choir and often performed solos. Growing up he would often listen to Donny Hathaway albums.
Studdard attended Huffman high school where he played on the football team. After graduating high school, he was offered a football scholarship at Alabama A&M University. He graduated with a bachelor’s in voice studies in 2000.
After graduating college, Ruben decided to pursue a career in the music industry. He started out by singing back up for a local jazz and R&B band, Just a Few Cats. A friend then talked Studdard into auditioning with her for the show American Idol, in Nashville, Tennessee.
For his audition, Studdard sang Ribbon in the Sky originally sang by Stevie Wonder. The judges, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Simon Cowell, loved his performance and he became a local finalist. On the show, Studdard received much praise from well-established musical legends such as Lionel Richie and Luther Vandross.
Studdard was known as the “Velvety Teddy Bear” on American Idol and sang songs like, Superstar by the Carpenters and For All We Know by Donny Hathaway. He was also known for wearing the area code of his hometown, 205, printed on his shirts.
Studdard won the American Idol competition, beating out Clay Aiken with an additional 134,000 votes in 2006. Studdard was the first male performer ever to win the competition. After the show ended, Studdard’s fame became overshadowed by Clay Aiken, who went on to become the most successful singer of that season.
Studdard released his first single, Flying without Wings in December of 2003. His debut album, Soulful debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart and sales were over 1 million before the album even hit stores. The first week the album was available in-stores it sold 400,000 copies. In 2003, he earned a Grammy nomination for best R&B male vocal performance. In 2004, Studdard won the NAACP Best New Artist award.
Following his debut album, Studdard came out with a gospel album in 2004. The album entered the gospel charts at number one and sold close to 100,000 copies in its first week. To date, Studdard’s albums have sold over 2 million copies in the United States.
In 2005, Ruben entered into a legal battle with his godfather/business advisor, Ronald Edwards, who reportedly spent $156,000 from Ruben’s credit cards and stole over $90,000 out of his godson’s checking account. The damage done to Studdard’s credit has made it hard for the star to even buy a house. In June of 2006, the suit was settled when Studdard was awarded $1.5 million in punitive damages and another $500,000 for personal loss.
Studdard’s third album is scheduled to come out in October of 2006 and will be called, The Return. Ruben has worked with several well known producers on this album including Scott Storch, Ne-Yo, and Bryan-Michael Cox. |
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| Facts: |
Ruben Studdard - Clay Aiken was runner up behind Ruben Studdard in American Idol.
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Ruben Studdard - Paula Abdul was a judge when Ruben Studdard starred on 'American Idol.'
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Ruben Studdard - Randy Jackson was a judge when Ruben Studdard starred on 'American Idol.'
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Ruben Studdard - Simon Cowell was a judge when Ruben Studdard starred on 'American Idol.'
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Yuddy top celebrities
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