In the years following Idol, Studdard has released four studio albums, including his most recent disc, 2009's Love Is.
Partway through the second American Idol competition in early 2003, guest judge Gladys Knight christened corpulent crooner Ruben Studdard a "velvet teddy bear," a nod to his smooth, Luther Vandross-styled voice and his Barry White-sized girth. The nickname stuck, since it captured the persona of the 25-year-old native of Birmingham, Alabama, who had unexpectedly become the front-runner in the televised talent show. Surrounded by skinny kids emulating Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini, the two singers who had dominated the previous American Idol season in 2002, Studdard stood out with his massive frame, winning smile, mellow voice, and trademark jerseys bearing the number 205, the area code of his hometown.
That hometown looms large in Ruben's background. The son of two teachers, Studdard was born in Birmingham on July 14, 1978. He sang at his parents' Baptist church as a child, but it wasn't until college that he seriously pursued music. Abandoning a promising career in football that would lead to an athletic scholarship at Alabama A&M University, he decided to switch his major and study voice at the school, eventually graduating with a degree in 2000. He then launched his professional career as a singer for Just a Few Cats, a Birmingham-based jazz and soul band. During 2002, Ruben joined one of the group's backup singers at an audition for the second American Idol, making the first round of cuts at his local audition, then winning himself a slot on the national television program.
Studdard made a big impression from the start. Where most of his competitors were pop star wannabes hungry to win the competition, Ruben was quiet and exceedingly laid-back, impressing audiences and judges alike with his large voice and easy confidence. He soon climbed to the top of the pack and stayed there throughout the show, only once being voted into an elimination round. By that point, American Idol 2003 had turned into a horse race between Studdard and Clay Aiken, a skinny, geeky kid from the South whose appearance and taste were perhaps the polar opposite of Ruben's. Like many horse races, this one ended in a photo finish, with Ruben beating Clay by a few thousand votes in May 2003.
Within a month of the show's completion, Ruben's first single, "Flying Without Wings," was released concurrently with Clay's "This Is the Night," a clever release scheme designed to keep the competition alive. Aiken beat Studdard to the top of the charts, and shortly afterward, it was announced that the proposed joint release of their debut albums would be delayed, with each album released separately instead. As Aiken rode a wave of popularity that eclipsed Studdard's, Ruben worked frenetically -- recording his debut, touring with his American Idol cohorts, filming a cameo for Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, and suing 205 Flava Inc., the company that made the jerseys he famously wore on American Idol, claiming that the clothes makers illegally profited from his image. 205 Flava Inc. countered that they paid the singer $1,000 to wear the jerseys on the show during the competition, and presented checks written to Ruben's brother and manager on MTV News to support their claim.
As Ruben worked, his album's release date kept getting pushed back; originally slated for an August release, the album was first rescheduled for October, and then postponed to November. Studdard's recording sessions boasted a variety of producers and collaborators, including Fat Joe, Missy Elliott, and R. Kelly, whose names were leaked to the press during the studio process in an effort to shore up Ruben's hip-hop and R&B credentials. When the finished product, Soulful, was finally released on December 9, 2003, it didn't boast either the highly touted Missy or Kelly tracks (though Fat Joe made the cut), but it did display a distinct hip-hop-flavored R&B bent, which stood in contrast to the pop-oriented efforts by such American Idol contestants as Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, and Justin Guarini. Sporting two Top Ten hits, the album quickly went platinum.
The gospel album I Need an Angel followed one year later, featuring collaborations with contemporary gospel icons such as Bill Gaither and Walter Hawkins. Although the album sales failed to approach those of Studdard's debut, I Need an Angel did fare well on the gospel charts. Even so, Studdard returned to his urban roots in 2006 with an aptly named third album, The Return, which featured such contributors as Scott Storch and Ne-Yo. Lead-off single "Change Me" topped the urban contemporary charts that same year, but The Return proved to be the slowest selling album of the singer's career, prompting J Records to cancel his contract in 2007.
In 2008, Ruben Studdard took a well-received foray into theater by portraying Fats Waller in a revival tour of Ain't Misbehavin'. Following the show's completion in May 2009, he returned to his studio career with another album, Love IS, whose subject matter honored the singer's recent marriage to Surata Zuri McCants. The two divorced in late 2011. In 2012, Studdard released Letters from Birmingham, his first album for the Shanachie label. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
Close The Door
Ruben Studdard Lyrics
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Let me give you what you've been waiting for
Baby, I got so much love to give
And I wanna give it all to you
Close the door
No need to worry no more
Let's bring this day to a pleasant end
I've waited all day long
Just to hold you in my arms
And it's exactly like I thought it would be
Me loving you, and you loving me
Close the door
Let me rub your back where you say it's sore
Come on get closer and closer, so close to me
Let's get lost in each other, come here baby
I've waited all day long
Just to hold you in my arms
And it's exactly like I thought it would be
Me loving you, and you loving me
Close the door baby
And let me know you're mine
Plenty good lovin' all through the night
And then again-and then again when the morning comes
Come here, woman
Come here baby, let me blow your mind
Let me do what I want to you
Let me do what I want to you
Nothin' makes me love to you baby
You baby, oh baby, so good, baby
So good, so good, so good, baby
You'll do it to me, I'll do it to you
Come here baby, lay you head next to mine
So good, sweet woman
I like the way you make me feel
I like the way you make me feel
So good, so good, so good, so good, baby
Let me do what I wanna do
All I wanna do is make love to you
Let me do what I wanna do
All I wanna do is make love to you
Let me do, do, do, do, do, do, do
The lyrics to Ruben Studdard's song "Close The Door" are a declaration of love, desire, and intimacy between two people. The song has a very sensual and passionate vibe as the singer asks the woman to close the door so that they can share what they've been waiting for. Studdard's use of repetition in the lyrics adds to the sensuality of the song as he repeatedly asks the woman to come closer to him, to let him make love to her, and to blow her mind. The lyrics are rich in imagery describing the physical contact between the two people, as the singer wants to rub her back, hold her in his arms, and get lost in each other's bodies.
The song is an ode to the power of physical love and the desire to be close to someone that you care about. The lyrics describe a level of trust and comfort that two people can have with each other where they can be fully vulnerable and share their deepest desires. The repeated use of "so good" in the lyrics is an indication of the sheer pleasure and satisfaction that the singer feels when he is with his partner.
Overall, the lyrics to "Close The Door" are a beautiful expression of intimacy and the depth of human connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Close the door
Shut the door because it's just us now
Let me give you what you've been waiting for
I want to satisfy you in every way possible
Baby, I got so much love to give
I have a lot of love to share with you
And I wanna give it all to you
I only want to give my love to you
No need to worry no more
You can relax and let me take care of you
Let's bring this day to a pleasant end
Let's end the day on a good note together
Girl, it's me and you now
We are the only ones that matter right now
I've waited all day long
I've been longing to be with you all day
Just to hold you in my arms
I want to embrace you and feel your warmth
And it's exactly like I thought it would be
Being with you is exactly how I imagined it would feel
Me loving you, and you loving me
We both have strong feelings for each other
Let me rub your back where you say it's sore
I want to relieve your stress and make you feel better
Come on get closer and closer, so close to me
Let's get as close as possible and enjoy each other's company
Let's get lost in each other, come here baby
Let's forget about the world around us and focus on our love for each other
And let me know you're mine
I want to feel like you belong to me
Plenty good lovin' all through the night
We'll have a lot of fun together all night long
And then again-and then again when the morning comes
We can continue our fun when the sun rises
Come here, woman
I want you to come to me because I need you
Come here baby, let me blow your mind
I want to give you an intense, pleasurable experience
Let me do what I want to you
Let me love and treat you the way I want to
Nothin' makes me love to you baby
There's nothing that could stop me from loving you
You baby, oh baby, so good, baby
You are amazing and I can't get enough of you
You'll do it to me, I'll do it to you
We'll give and receive pleasure equally
Come here baby, lay you head next to mine
I want to be close to you and feel your warmth
So good, sweet woman
You are an incredible, kind-hearted person
I like the way you make me feel
You bring joy and happiness into my life
Let me do, do, do, do, do, do, do
I want to continue loving and pleasing you
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KENNETH GAMBLE, KENNY GAMBLE, LEON HUFF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind