Top 20 'Idol' Contestants of All Time - 15: Ruben Studdard
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- January
- 12
It always helps to have Gladys Knight anoint you with a nickname that sticks, so when the pop diva dubbed Ruuuuuuuuben Studdard the “Velvet Teddy Bear,” the Season 2 champ seemed destined to launch a career comparable to his “American Idol” predecessor, Kelly Clarkson.
It didn’t exactly pan out that way.
Representing the 205 with class, the soft-spoken Stud upset the Manilow-esque Clay Aiken in the final. Unlike the previous year, when Clarkson was pretty much expected to defeat Justin Guarini, the show had its first controversy involving the voting for the final two contestants.
Studdard released three albums for J Records, each follow-up faring worse than the previous album. “Soulful” in 2003 went platinum; 2004’s “I Need an Angel” went gold; and 2006’s “The Return,” uh, might have gone aluminum. That was enough for J Records and Studdard to see other people.
After Studdard barely made a blip on the music radar with “Sorry 2004,” the years that followed—from a professional standpoint—could be described as “Sorrier 2005″ and “Sorriest 2006.” (Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Sorry.) Perhaps it was backlash from the Claymates, poor marketing or mismatched songwriting, but whatever the reason, it seemed that Studdard’s newsmaking was limited to stories involving lawsuits and lost weight.
Don’t count out Studdard just yet, though. He’ll be touring with fellow “Idol” alum Frenchie Davis in a 30th anniversary touring company of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” starting this November.
Also see:
– Top 20 ‘Idol’ Contestants of All Time – Epilogue-No. 1: Kelly Clarkson
-No. 2: Carrie Underwood
-No. 3: Chris Daughtry
-No. 4: Jennifer Hudson
-No. 5: Sanjaya Malakar
-No. 6: William Hung
-No. 7: Clay Aiken
-No. 8: Fantasia Barrino
-No. 9: Blake Lewis
-No. 10: Tamyra Gray
-No. 11: Jordin Sparks
-No. 12: Melinda Doolittle
-No. 13: Bo Bice
-No. 14: Elliott Yamin
-No. 16: Katharine McPhee
-No. 17: Taylor Hicks
-No. 18: Diana DeGarmo
-No. 19: Frenchie Davis
-No. 20: Lisa Leuschner
-Top 20 intro and criteria/Honorable Mentions (Nos. 21-31)
(Photo courtesy of FOX.)
This entry was posted
on Saturday, January 12th, 2008 at 11:30 am by Chris Serico.
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Personally I think that Justin Guarini deserves to be in the top of your poll. His charm, personality, incredible performances,gorgeousness and Star quality kept viewers interested and involved that very first season.
I have no doubt that Justin's performances on Idol kept the audience excited to keep watching the show.
Remember please that Millions of people voted for him each and every week, and to the finale, and his fans still love him.
No one in the history of Idol got as screwed by the Idol machine as Justin did, yet he continues to persevere, create beautiful music, appear on movies and on tv, do a lot of charity work and he is still beloved by his fans.
Justin Guarini. My forever #1 Idol. www.justinguarini.com
I think Ruben was mismanaged y his record label. Also I am a clay Aiken fan ( not a claymate) and i like both Ruben & clay. I also know other fans that feel the same way. Good luck to Ruben on his next CD.