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Studdard's post Idol fame has been somewhat diminished by the fact that he has been considerably overshadowed by the runner-up Clay Aiken. Despite not winning the formal contest, Aiken has gone on to be the most successful artist associated with the second season of American Idol.
Studdard released his first single album with the hit song "Flying Without Wings" produced by the Underdogs and Face a month later. In December 2003, advance orders for his album Soulful topped the 1 million mark before it was released into stores. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart that month, selling over 400,000 copies in its first week and attaining the highest first-week sales of any American Idol winner. The single "Sorry 2004" from this album reached #9 in the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Studdard received a Grammy Award nomination in December 2003 for best R&B male vocal performance for "Superstar", nominated with his idol Luther Vandross (Vandross won that category). In March 2004, Ruben won the NAACP Best New Artist award.
Studdard then released the gospel album I Need An Angel on November 23, 2004. The title track was a cover of a 2002 single performed by R&B singer Daniel DeBourg and written by R. Kelly. The album sold over 96,000 copies in its first week, it also entered the Gospel charts at #1, opened at #20 on the Billboard 200 chart, it since has sold over 500,000 copies. It was also #1 on the 2005 Billboard Year-End Gospel Albums Chart. As of July 2005, Studdard is the fourth-best selling American Idol performer with more than 2 million albums sold in the U.S. |
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