Comments on: Ruben Studdard: New Album Drops May 19, Listen to the Single “Together”

By: shell29

shell29 — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:15:58 +0000

Sounds like a nice fit for Ruben at Hickory. I wish him the best!

By: jpfan

jpfan — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:55:32 +0000

There’s an interesting interview with the President of Sony/ATV where he talks about the Hickory label on HDD.

http://hitsdailydouble.com/news/newsPage.cgi?news07463m01

“With Hickory Records, youÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve started a label. Will music publishers continue to get more involved in artist development?
WeÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re doing it because we recognize plenty of opportunities for us to distribute records through companies like RED. We were very successful with Elliott Yamin. We sold nearly 700k albums. WeÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re now about to work with Ruben Studdard. We have to pick and choose the artists we want to be involved with. ItÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all about someone whoÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s recognized and can sing great songs. We donÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need to sell millions of albums because we own all the songs. ItÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a win-win for us as well as the artist. The deal model makes them a full partner. We split the profits after recouping”

By: ShariG

ShariG — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 02:53:33 +0000

I’ve always loved Ruben’s voice. I wish he would go back to the more gospel type song when his voice can really soar. He just isn’t a hip hop artist to me. But, I really wish him well. I want more Flying Without Wings sound.

By: huckleberryfriend

huckleberryfriend — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:58:00 +0000

Ruben is capable of so much better than this.

By: Bobbi

Bobbi — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:50:21 +0000

Not my cuppa, but I like Ruben and really hope he does well with this!

By: LaRue

LaRue — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:37:37 +0000

I like it. As abbysee mentioned, this is a depature from trying to cater to the hip-hop masses, which isn’t Ruben’s strong suit.

A lot of R&B artists–Ne-Yo, John Legend, Jaszmin Sullivan–have created songs with a similiar palette. Ruben is going with the current trend that’s being played on radio today. He should fit in well with current modern soul songs that sometimes break into the AC/Top 40 market.

I think the song has what it takes to compete. At the least, it seems that Ruben’s record company/PR team is looking the song a strong push. So here’s wishing Ruben the best with the new album!

By: abbysee

abbysee — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:35:56 +0000

I like it. But I am biased. I love Ruben and his voice. His stuff has always been radio friendly. He’s had no problem with radio. This is a more grown up Ruben, he’s not trying to play the hip-hop game and for me, that’s just smart. That is not why people voted for him.

By: tinawina

tinawina — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:48:22 +0000

Its pretty I guess. I will not be buying it though. Good luck to him!

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:39:36 +0000

Okay–I do not like it. However, with that mind-numbingly overpowering base track and the short notes and all the runs, I can imagine it on the radio. And–you know–if Jennifer Hudson’s CD Spotlight is really the best R&B album in 2008, this is definitely a competitive sound in that type of music.

To me, it seems like Ruben’s trying something that he likes but with more of a radio friendliness. Fair enough.

Very interesting about the company affiliations there. 19 and Hickory in cooperation. Maybe good for Elliott too.