Ruben Studdard

After he won the second season on ‘American Idol’, Alabama Governor, Bob Riley announced that 11th March, 2003 would be observed as ‘Ruben Studdard Day’.

Studdard has created his own music foundation for ‘Advancement of Children in the Music Arts’. The foundation seeks to expand the role of music in education for the development of students, mainly in Birmingham area.

He is also the spokesperson for the educational program ‘Be Sickle Smart’ that seeks to spread awareness of toxic iron levels in people living with a sickle-cell disease.

He was born Christopher Theodore Ruben Studdard on 12th September, 1978 while his father was posted at Frankfurt, Germany with the US Army. His mother, Emily is an elementary teacher while his father Kevin is a secondary teacher and entrepreneur.

He is the youngest of his siblings and grew up at Birmingham in Alabama. At the age of three he first began singing in the choir of a local Baptist Church along with his mother.

His mother encouraged him to sing and often made him participate in plays, choir competitions and musicals. He attended ‘Huffman High School’ and was a part of its football team.

After high school, he received a sports scholarship to Alabama A & M University. However, upon enrolling he changed his major to music studies and graduated from the university in 2000.

He began his career by singing with a local jazz band ‘Few Cats’. He frequently recorded demos for several music production houses, but never landed an album. Eventually, he heard of ‘American Idol’ from a companion and travelled to Nashville to audition for the reality show.

He claimed fame on the second season of ‘American Idol’, with his performance of ‘Superstar’ and ‘A Whole New World’ and was referred to as the ‘Velvet Teddy Bear’.

In May, 2003 he performed ‘A House Is Not a Home’, ‘Imagine’ and ‘Flying Without Wings’ on the show’s finale and went on to win the season with his competitor, Clay Aiken losing by 134,000 votes.

After the show, his first single ‘Flying Without Wings’ aired on radio. Soon after, his debut album ‘Soulful’ received a million pre orders and was ranked number one on the ‘Billboard 200 album chart’.

In 2004, he announced the release of his first gospel album ‘I Need an Angel’. The album claimed the number one position in the US Gospel charts. He also performed the song ‘Shining Star’ in the film ‘Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed’.

His debut album sold over four hundred thousand copies in the first week of its release. The album was certified platinum by RIAA. His single ‘Sorry 2004’ from the album placed second on the Billboard R&B singles chart and reached the ninth spot on ‘Billboard Hot 100’.

His album ‘Love Is’ placed at number 36 on the ‘Billboard 200 Music Album Chart’ within a week of its launch. It climbed up to fifth place on ‘Independent Albums’ and snuggled into the eight spot on US R&B/Hip-Hop Album Chart’.

The album ‘Unconditional Love’ also brought glory to him as it was considered an album of “exuding grace, confidence and class” by critics. It reached number seven on ‘Billboard R&B Albums Chart’ and settled at rank 46 on ‘Billboard 200’.