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Sister 2 Sister magazine publisher, Jamie Foster Brown, caught up with 
American Idol season 2 winner, Ruben Studdard, and took the opportunity to ask him about his new album, as well as clear up some rumors.
He talked about his upcoming album (due out the day before Mother’s Day) on which he had the chance to work with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis who, in case you aren’t familiar with them, have an incredible track record in the industry. I’m really looking forward to hearing what they came up with! When Jamie asked what fans can expect from the album, Ruben said: “It’s just a lot of great, classic songs. I got a chance to do a record with some guys that I looked up to in my adolescence, and that’s Boyz II Men. Yeah, I did a song with them, a Bryan Adams record, “Heaven.” I did a song with Kenny G, “Careless Whispers.” It’s just a lot of great music. Terry kept saying that he wanted us to pick songs that people can really see the Ruben that they voted for [in] and not somebody that let people pick the songs. They just wanted to hear I could really, really sing.
Ruben also explained why his album The Return, released in October 2006, was pulled from the shelves: “Man, the record company (J Records) designed my cover, my inserts… You know Louis Vuitton? They kind of got upset about it. Yeah, that’s what happened. Me, I got sued. Britney Spears, DaBrat, Alicia Keys—we all got sued for using their logo as a part of our product.”
In the end, J Records’ “parent company, Sony BMG, was sued for trademark infringement by LVMH. All of the label’s music that featured Louis Vuitton’s toile monogram and multi-colored logo had to be removed from stores, and the label had to pay LVMH 100,000 euros.”
Fortunately, the album is being repackaged so fans will be able to get it along with the new one that is coming out this spring.
Ruben also tells Sister 2 Sister about how he ended up changing labels, the current status of his relationship with his godfather who has been missing since he stole money from the Idol champ and more. Pick up the March issue to read it all – it’s on newsstands now!
If you need a little more Ruben in the meantime, here’s a cute video of Ruben explaining how he wanted to propose to his wife, Zuri, and how he eventually did it, after his first two plans were ruined.
image and quotes used with permission