I am so proud of this record”, commented Ruben. It was a thrilling experience selecting the songs from his different albums and putting my own interpretation on them. But people always asked when I was going to do an album of Luther’s songs.

“My goal was to not only to pay tribute to Luther but to add my own passion on top of Luther’s brilliant songs… I recorded ‘Superstar’ awhile back which was Grammy nominated and sang different Luther songs during my live shows. Studdard officially confirmed that he will be releasing 'Ruben Sings Luther' to his musical hero Luther Vandross on March 16th and will be launching a 25-city ‘Always and Forever Tour’ starting in Sacramento, Calif., on April 8. He has recorded six studio albums, appears frequently on tv, toured extensively and has sold over two million albums worldwide. in downtown Aurora.NEWTON - Ruben Studdard, the Grammy-nominated R&B, gospel and pop singer was the winner of American Idol’s second season. WHAT: 'Ruben Studdard Sings Luther Vandross'

That's pretty much where I am focusing my energy outside of doing my tours and stuff like that. Studdard: I really want to do things to help young people in my community and live out their dreams. Schelkopf: Do you have any dream projects or collaborations? Studdard: I definitely would, but I'd probably be teaching music.

Schelkopf: If you hadn't won the second season, do you think you'd still be involved in music? It definitely was a wonderful experience. I mean I definitely had the opportunity to watch a dream come true. Schelkopf: What was it like winning 'American Idol'? Winning was the icing on the cake for me. Studdard: I don't think either one of us really thought about where we would place. Schelkopf: Because, of course, he finished second behind you on the second season of 'American Idol.' Out of all the contestants, did you think you would win the competition and that he would come in second? We're family, so it's always great to work with family. It just took both of us sitting down and taking the time to come up with the concept for the show. And we talked about doing a Broadway show.

Studdard: Well, you know, Clay and I had done a show together before, about five years previously. You were in a limited Broadway show with Clay Aiken, 'Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show.' Aiken finished second behind you in the second season of “American Idol.” What was it like reuniting with him? Schelkopf: You had a busy year last year.

Ruben studdard 2019