*With 10 years under his belt since winning “American Idol’s” second season, Ruben Studdard shows no signs of slowing down.The Birmingham, Alabama native released his sixth album, “Unconditional Love” earlier this year. The 11-track opus features collaborations with Eric Benét, Lalah Hathaway, and producer-musician, David Foster. Although he has since carved his own niche since “American Idol,” Studdard is quick to acknowledge how much of an impact the show has had on his career.“For a boy from Alabama who had no idea of how to enter the music industry after getting no responses to the demos I was sending in, it was a great blessing,” the singer recently told Billboard. “It’s a six-month music industry crash course. But what you learn quickly after leaving the show is that the industry is and isn’t ‘American Idol.’ A.I. is a huge pop show, but the urban market is completely different. Still, the show was first class from the time I stepped off the plane.”
Studdard’s music career isn’t the only thing to come out of winning “Idol.” The entertainer is currently enjoying a new phase in his life after losing 112 pounds from competing on NBC’s hit reality show “The Biggest Loser.”
“I most definitely feel better than I did before,” Studdard confessed to Billboard. “I have much more energy. But I’ve always felt I was sexy [laughs]. Maybe that’s just the conceited side of me.
“My earlier weight loss in 2008 was for other people. This time it’s for me,” he continued while acknowledging the importance of maintaining a healthy balance in life. “I was fighting so hard to figure out how to get on top musically that I neglected to take care of myself. It was unfortunate, but the truth. And now I’m finding a way to fix that balance.”
