'''Christopher Ruben Studdard''', also known as '''Ruben Studdard''', (born September 12, 1978) is a well-known American pop/R&B/gospel singer and character actor who rose to fame as winner of the second season of the ''
American Idol'' television program, beating out Clay Aiken. He was the first male and first African American to hold this title.
Early life
Studdard, the youngest son of two teachers, sang for the first time at the Rising Star Baptist Church in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama at the age of three. 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 and received a scholarship in that sport to Alabama A&M University.
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, graduating in 2000. A backup singer from Just A Few Cats, a popular local Birmingham jazz and R&B band with whom Studdard sang, asked him to accompany her to Nashville, Tennessee for an audition on the second season of Fox Broadcasting Company's ''
American Idol''.
American Idol
When auditioning, Studdard sang Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon In The Sky" and he ended up as one of the local finalists. On ''
American Idol'', he impressed viewers with his performances of "Superstar" (originally recorded by the Carpenters and later covered by Luther Vandross) 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. Studdard also did a cover version of "For All We Know", originally recorded by Donny Hathaway, whose music he grew up with.
He won the contest over runner-up Clay Aiken by just 134,000 votes out of 24,000,000 cast
[ http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA417981.html?display=Top+of+the+Week "American Idol Outrage: Your Vote Doesn't Count" by Deborah Starr Seibel, ''Broadcasting & Cable'', 5/17/2004, retrieved April 8, 2006], becoming the second ''
American Idol'' winner and the first and only male to hold that title until 2006, when fellow Birmingham native Taylor Hicks won season 5. Kimberley Locke came in 3rd. A third Birmingham native, Bo Bice, was runner-up to Carrie Underwood in season 4.
Post-Idol career
Studdard's post Idol fame has been
