Ruben Studdard

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Ruben Studdard

Soulful  Hear it Now

RS: 1of 5 Stars

2003

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Each American Idol cd has been worse than the one before it, which makes the debut album of last season's winner, Ruben Studdard, very poor indeed. This has little to do with Studdard himself, although, like the other Idols, he's essentially an imitative singer; he hasn't learned how to fill his pretty tenor pipes with convincing emotion, something painfully clear on his ill-advised cover of the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." The greater problem lies with the people writing, picking, producing and playing the songs. Whereas the earlier Idol albums sound like Broadway approximations of pop music, Studdard's suggests Broadway ripoffs of hip-hop-inspired R&B. Shame on Swizz Beatz and Irv Gotti, whose "Take the Shot" and "What Is Sexy" (guest starring Fat Joe) are just as corny as the stuff from the generic hacks on the other songs. Studdard does the best he can, but the people behind him and the other Idols simply aren't trying.

BARRY WALTERS
(RS 940, January 22, 2004)



(Posted: Jan 7, 2004)

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