In 2013, Studdard appeared as a contestant on the fifteenth season of weight-loss competition show The Biggest Loser. He later signed to Verve Records and collaborated with the label's chairman, David Foster, on Studdard's sixth studio album, Unconditional Love, in 2014.[3] That album received strong reviews as a return-to-form[4][5] and included a tour with Lalah Hathaway. In 2018, Studdard, who has long been compared to R&B singer Luther Vandross, released a cover album called Ruben Sings Luther and launched his Always & Forever national tour.[6]
Unconditional Love is Studdard's sixth studio album and first with his new label, Verve Records. Foster, who has won 16 Grammy Awards, was the executive producer of the disc, which primarily consists of covers of love songs along with two originals, including "Meant to Be". Studdard has called it "the album that everybody expected from me when I won American Idol."[26] The album features collaborations with Stevie Wonder, Lalah Hathaway, and Eric Benet, and includes covers of songs originally performed by artists such as Paul McCartney, Donny Hathaway, Bonnie Raitt, Marvin Gaye, and Peabo Bryson. Since its release, the album has received some of Studdard's best reviews of his career. According to critics, the album "finds Studdard at the top of his game vocally"[27] and he hits his stride, "exuding grace, confidence and class" as he successfully positions himself as a "stylish crooner".[28] Unconditional Love debuted at #46 on the Billboard 200 and #7 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.
Ruben Studdard, The Return full album zip
Both the album and tour received strong reviews, with Variety noting that "Studdard truly took wing and made the music of Vandross his own" on tour[32] and The Philadelphia Inquirer calling the album a "full-on lush-and-funky tribute".[33] 2ff7e9595c
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