Ruben Studdard

Ruben Studdard
Contestant
Season	Season 2
Age	24
Contestant #	8336
Placed	Winner
Personal
Hometown	Birmingham, Alabama
Gender	Male

Christopher Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) was a contestant in Season 2 of American Idol.

For more about his life, see Ruben Studdard/Personal.

Audition

Ruben auditioned in Nashville. He sang "Ribbon in the Sky" by Stevie Wonder. All three judges voted "yes", sending him to the next round.

Hollywood Round

Ruben was shown in the first part of Hollywood Round. He was later shown in a group with Rickey Smith. He did manage to land a spot in the judges' final forty-eight, and eventually landed a spot in the Top 32.

Top 32

Ruben performed in Group 2 and sang "Superstar" by Delaney and Bonnie. He received enough votes to land him in the Top 12.

Top 12

Ruben sang "Baby I Need Your Loving" by The Four Tops. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.

Top 11

Ruben sang "A Whole New World" by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.

Top 10

Ruben sang "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.

Top 8 (Week 1)

Ruben sang "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" by Barry White. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.

Top 8 (Week 2)

Ruben sang "Kiss and Say Goodbye" by The Manhattans. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.

Top 7

Ruben sang "Just the Way You Are" by Billy Joel. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.

Top 6

Ruben sang "Music of My Heart" by *NSYNC and Gloria Estefan. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.

Top 5

Ruben sang "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by The Temptations and "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" by Neil Sedaka. He was placed in the Bottom 2 for that week.

Top 4

Ruben sang "Nights on Broadway" and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" both by The Bee Gees. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.

Top 3

Ruben sang "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" by Stevie Wonder, "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin (per request of Simon Cowell) and "If Ever You're in My Arms Again" by Peabo Bryson. He received enough votes to advance to the Finale.

Season 2 Finale

For the Finale, Ruben sang "A House Is Not a Home" by Dionne Warwick, "Imagine" by John Lennon, and "Flying Without Wings". He received more votes than Clay Aiken and became the second American Idol

Season 18

Ruben appeared in the Season 18 Finale.

Trivia

• During his Top 32 performance, the contestant marquee misspelled his hometown as "Burmingham, AL".
• Ruben became the first male and African-American winner of the show.
• He and Taylor Hicks are the only American Idol winners born in the 1970s.

Performances

Week	Theme	Song	Original Artist	Result
Top 32	Contestant's choice	"Superstar"	Delaney & Bonnie	Advanced
Top 12	Motown	"Baby I Need Your Loving"	Four Tops	Safe
Top 11	Movie Soundtracks	"A Whole New World" - Aladdin	Brad Kane & Lea Salonga	Safe
Top 10	Country rock	"Sweet Home Alabama"	Lynyrd Skynyrd	Safe
Top 8	Disco	"Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe"	Barry White	Safe
Top 8	Billboard Number Ones	"Kiss and Say Goodbye"	The Manhattans	Safe
Top 7	Billy Joel	"Just the Way You Are"	Billy Joel	Safe
Top 6	Diane Warren	"Music of My Heart"	'N Sync and Gloria Estefan	Safe
Top 5	1960s	"Ain't Too Proud to Beg"	The Temptations	Bottom 2
	Neil Sedaka	"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"	Neil Sedaka
Top 4	Bee Gees	"Nights on Broadway"	Bee Gees	Safe
		"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"	Bee Gees
Top 3	Random	"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"	Stevie Wonder	Safe
	Judges' Choice	"Smile" - Simon Cowell	Charlie Chaplin
	Idol's Choice	"If Ever You're in My Arms Again"	Peabo Bryson
Top 2	Finale	"A House Is Not a Home"	Dionne Warwick	Winner
		"Imagine"	John Lennon
		"Flying Without Wings"	Westlife

Gallery

Season 18