Ruben Studdard was born Christopher Ruben Studdard in 1978 in Frankfurt, Germany while his father was stationed there with the U.S. Army. His parents were teachers when they returned to the states to Birmingham, Alabama, and Ruben sang at age three at the Rising Star Baptist Church. He continued to sing gospel in church, often performing solos. He played football at Huffman High School and received a scholarship to Alabama A & M University.

Growing up listening to Donny Hathaway and Fred Hammond as well as gospel music, Studdard decided to major in voice studies in college, graduating in 2000. After college he sang with a jazz and R & B group called Just a Few Cats. A backup singer from the band asked Ruben to go with her to Nashville to audition for American Idol in 2003.

After singing “Ribbon in the Sky” by Stevie Wonder at the audition, Studdard made the local finals. During the televised competition, he became known as “Velvet Teddy Bear” and was noted for wearing shirts printed with “205” on them, which was the area code of his hometown Birmingham. He gained viewer following for his performances of such music legends as Lionel Richie, Neil Sedaka, and Luther Vandross. Studdard won the second season title of American Idol over Clay Aiken by only 134,000 votes out of over 24 million cast. Studdard was the only male winner until season five.

After Idol, Studdard released his first single, “Flying Without Wings” and it debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Advance orders for his debut album, Soulful, topped the 1 million mark before it was released and it debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Studdard received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R & B Vocal Performance. In March 2004, Ruben won the NAACP Outstanding New Artist award. In 2004, Studdard released the gospel album I Need an Angel and sold over 96,000 copies in its first week. It entered the Gospel charts at #1, #20 on the Billboard 200, and was #1 on the 2005 Billboard Year-End Gospel Albums Chart.

In addition to singing, Studdard has made television appearances, including the series 8 Simple Rules, Life on a Stick, All of Us, and Eve. He also made a cameo in the film Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Between his second and third albums, Studdard began a diet and fitness program to deal with his weight, out of concern for a family history of diabetes and high blood pressure. He lost over 70 pounds on a vegetarian diet.

Studdard’s third album, The Return – a return to his R & B roots – was released in October 2006 to sales of 71,000 its first week and #8 on the Billboard 200 chart, but then sales declined rapidly. He had success with a couple of the single on the album and continued to tour. Ruben appeared in the season six finale of American Idol and is scheduled to make an appearance on the show again in 2008. He is scheduled to take on the role of Fats Waller in the national tour of Ain’t Misbehavin’ in 2008 as well.