Name -Ruben Studdard
Net Worth – $3 Million
Gender – Male
Height- 6 ft 3 inch
Profession- Actor, Singer
Origin- United States of America
Ruben Studdard is an R & B, gospel, and pop singer from America with a $3 million net worth. He is popular as a winner of the American Idol season two.
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Early Life:
The birth name of Ruben was Christopher Theodore Ruben Studdard. He was born on September 12, 1978, in Frankfurt. His father was in the Army and stationed in Germany, and completing his service, the family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where they started working as teachers.
Ruben was three years old when he sang at Rising Star Baptist Church, Birmingham, for the first time. He continued singing gospel in Church and even performed solos while his mother was a local choir.
Ruben got inspired listening to Donny Hathaway’s albums of his mother. He also played football and received scholarships to join Alabama A&M University. While he attended the university, Studdard became a part of the Omicron Delta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, which is a men’s music fraternity.
Ruben majored in voice studies and sang for Just A Few Cats, a popular R&B and Jazz group. A backup singer from the band once asked Ruben to accompany her for an American Idol audition in 2003 to Nashville.
American Idol:
Ruben performed “Ribbon in the Sky” for his audition, becoming the local finalist. His performance on American Idol wowed the audience, and he soon became a fan favorite which garnered him the nickname “Velvet Teddy Bear.”
While on the show, Ruben got plenty of praise from music legends like Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, and Lionel Richie. In the finale, Ruben beat Clay Aiken by getting 1,34,000 votes and became the American Idol season 2. The Alabama Governor declared March 11, 2003, as the Ruben Studdard Day.
Career:
Ruben’s first single was a cover song for Flying Without Wings by Westlife. He performed this on American Idol Finale. This single sold well and debuted as the No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
He got advance orders for his debut album “Soulful,” which hit the 1 million mark before releasing and was No.1 on Billboard’s top 200 in December 2003. His other single, “Sorry 2004,” received good airplay and was on the No.9 position of the Hot 100 and No.2 position of the R & B Billboard singles chart.
In 20013, Ruben was nominated for the Grammy “Best Male R&B Vocal Performance” for Superstar. In March 2004, Ruben Studdard was awarded the NAACP Outstanding New Artists award.
Studdard’s next release was the gospel album “I Need an Angel,” released on November 23, 2004. It sold over 95,000 copies in the first week and was No.1 on the gospel charts. This album received a Gold certification and hit the 2005 Billboard.
The third album, “The Return,” was released by Ruben in October 2006. The following year, he appeared on the American Idol season 6 finale. Due to poor album sales in 2007, he was dropped by his record company, J Records.
On May 19, 2009, he released a new album, “Love Is,” which received positive reviews. In 2010, Clay Aiken and Ruben went on tour together across Canada and USA. The duo performed various medleys together from the 1960s to ’90s and individual recordings.
In 2011, Ruben signed a contract with Shanachie Entertainment and released his 5th studio album named “Letters from Birmingham: which mostly received positive reviews. The album sold more than 22,000 copies, and his song “Im Single” was on Billboard’s top 20.
Later he released his sixth album, “Unconditional Love,” under a new label, Verve Records 2015. This album was #46 on Billboard’s top 200 and ranked #7 on the Billboard R&B Album chart. It was one of the best works of Ruben’s music career. In support of teh album, he went on a tour with his collaborator and daughter of Donny Hathway, Lalah Hathway.
Other Ventures:
Ruben Studdard is not only leading a successful music career but also appeared in various TV shows like “Life on a Stick,” “Simple Rules,” “Eve,” and “All of Us.” He also did a cameo in the movie: Scooby-Doo 2″.
Studdard toured with Robin Givens in a comedy-drama named “Heaven I Need A Hug” and accepted the role of Fats Waller in the national tour of “Ain’t Misbehavin” in 2008.
Ruben Studdard made a Broadway debut in December 2018 by reuniting with Clay Aiken. In 2013 he participated in “The Biggest Loser” season 15, a competitive weight-loss show. Studdard had the highest initial weight on the BMI index weighing 462 pounds. In the show’s end, he had lost 119 pounds.
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Personal Life:
Ruben received an honorary degree in Masters of Arts from Alabama A&M University in December 2015. He is a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity.
In 2006 he met Surata Zuri McCants at a CD signing event held at the Wal-Mart Atlanta. They got married in June 2008 and got a divorce in 2012.
