Ruben Studdard is a singer who rose to fame as winner of the second season of the American Idol television competition. In the singing competition, Studdard impressed viewers with his performances of the Leon Russell/Bonnie Bramlett song "Superstar" and the Peabo Bryson/Regina Belle duet "A Whole New World"; during his time on the show, Studdard received praise from music legends such as Lionel Richie, Neil Sedaka, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, Luther Vandross, and Gladys Knight and gained the nickname "Velvet Teddy Bear" and was noted for his shirts printed with "205", the telephone area code of his hometown of Birmingham.
Ruben won the contest over runner-up Clay Aiken by only 134,000 votes out of 24,000,000 cast in the May 2003 finale, becoming the second American Idol winner and the first and only male to hold that title until 2006, when fellow Birmingham native Taylor Hicks won Idol's season five.
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