"Velvet teddy bear" Ruben Studdard won’t be eating his special meal of chicken wings and fried green tomatoes from Green Acres restaurant in Birmingham’s historic Civil Rights District anymore.
Studdard is now a vegetarian. He’s about 100 pounds lighter and ready to hit the road with a new show and new music. The 2003 "American Idol" winner has a new lifestyle to match his new CD, "The Return," which hits the stores today.
“I never dreamed how different I would feel after losing the weight,” Studdard told BlackAmericaWeb.com, while spending a few days last week in his hometown. “I’ve never had any health problems, but I wanted to lose the weight to prevent them in the future.”
Studdard is tackling his weight while still in his 20s. R&B balladeers Luther Vandross and Barry White -- both to whom Studdard has been widely compared -- struggled for years to manage their weight, but faced long-term illness.
"The Return" a mix of party music, ballads, and R&B, even includes a remake of Vandross' “Only For One Night,” a tribute to the man who showed generations of singers what to do with love songs.
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Ruben Studdard's The Return
Vandross died at the age of 54 in July 2005, never recovering from a stroke that sidelined him in 2003. White died in 2003 while suffering with kidney disease. He was 58 and awaiting a kidney transplant. Kidney disease and strokes are ailments often associated with people who are overweight, researchers say.
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Studdard, a high school football standout who went to Alabama A&M University on a football scholarship, at one time topped 400 pounds on the scale at 6’4”. But in June, the change began.
“I went to the Duke program and learned about eating healthy and changing my lifestyle,” he said.
The Duke Diet and Fitness Center has been around since 1969 and uses a program designed to help people change lifestyles, lose weight and keep it off once they return to their typical setting.
“We examine lifestyle, medical history and family history to come up with a program for the individual,” said Dina Lumia, client relations and admissions manager at the center.
She could not talk specifically about Studdard, but said several high profile clients have come to the center.
“We teach them here and prepare them to continue practicing what they have learned when they return home, regardless of their schedules. We tailor the plan for the individual,” Lumia told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “It’s important that they
continue with exercise, healthy nutrition and have a support system in place.”
When Studdard performed on the "American Idol" season in 2003, he wowed the studio and television audiences with his smile and his cuddly image, says Kelley Carter, music critic for The Detroit Free Press. “Though his weight was part of his character, it was his voice that really sold him,” Carter told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
Fans will appreciate him losing the weight for health reasons, “and as long as that voice stays the same, I don’t think anyone will complain,” she said.
Studdard said his change is here to stay and that his weight loss and vegetarian lifestyle will make a difference in his performance.
“The shows now will have a lot more energy. My shows will be more like rock concerts,” he said.
Beginning the first week in November, Studdard will make a short concert tour through six cities, Cedric Evans, Studdard’s road manager, told BlackAmericaWeb.com. The first site is Norfolk, Va., on Nov. 2. Other cities and venues include the Apollo Theater in New York, Uncasville, Conn., Bridgeport Conn., Verona, N.Y. and St. Louis, Mo., Evans said. A longer tour will be announced in 2007,
Studdard said. “We’re looking to start a full tour schedule in January,” Ruben said, hitting the major spots to continue promoting the record.
“In my first CD, I felt like they were showing me ropes. In this one, I had a chance to really be who I am,” he said. “I had a chance to work with some of the top producers on this one. It all came together.”
Studdard was absent from the pop and R&B charts for a while as he worked on his gospel CD, 'I Need an Angel." Teaming up with seasoned professionals like Rev. Fred Hammond, he released the gospel CD in 2004, selling 96,000 copies in its first week.
That CD did well on gospel charts, but those who don’t listen to gospel music may have missed him. Still, critic Carter says, Studdard is versatile.
“He can make headway in gospel and R&B,” Carter said. “He’s just a pure talent who happened to be discovered on a reality TV show.”
As for the restaurant that carried the Ruben Special of fried chicken wings and fried green tomatoes, Studdard said, “they’ve got vegetables too at Green Acres.”
