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The Return (Ruben Studdard album)

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 8 min
The Return
The cover features Studdard smiling with a woman next to him. Both the artist's name and album title are colored yellow and light brown respectively.
Studio album by
Ruben Studdard
ReleasedOctober 17, 2006 (2006-10-17)
GenreR&B[1]
Length50:19
Label
Producer
Ruben Studdard chronology
I Need An Angel
(2004) 		The Return
(2006) 		Love Is
(2009)

The Return is the third studio album by American R&B artist Ruben Studdard. It was released on October 17, 2006, by J Records. A return to the R&B sounds of his debut album Soulful (2003), following his 2004 release, the gospel album I Need an Angel, Studdard reteamed with production duo The Underdogs and producer Harold Lilly to work on the album, while additional production was provided by Jim Jonsin, James Poyser, Steve Russell, and Stargate, among others.

The album was met with mixed reviews from critics who complained about the production and Studdard's performance but enjoyed his voice. The Return debuted and peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 71,000 copies. It was preceded by lead single "Change Me", which was released on July 31, 2006 and became his second number one hit on the US Adult R&B Songs chart. The Return would become Studdard's final album with J Records, after departing the label in 2007.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[2]
AllMusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB[4]
People[1]

The album received mixed reviews from music critics. AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine found Studdard's performance throughout the album to be lazy with no melodies guiding him, concluding that "when combined with the dull productions, the results are deadly boring."[3] About.com's Mark Edward Nero was also critical of Studdard's voice, saying that it had "no potency much of the time and almost sounds as generic as the vocals that accompany elevator music."[2]

Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly was more positive, saying that "The production's bland, but his sweet singing carries the day."[4] Chuck Arnold and Ralph Novak from People found that the "plus-size smoothie brings the most emotional heft to slow jams that show off his sensitive side, such as the first single "Change Me" and the Luther-like "Rather Just Not Know." But the hip-hop-tinged tracks fail to keep pace, especially when Studdard tries to get studly on the pseudo-thuggish "To Da Crib." R. Kelly he's not."[1]

Commercial performance

[edit]

The album debuted and peaked at number eight in the Billboard 200, with 71,000 copies sold in its first week of release.[5] It also reached number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[6] In March 2009, Billboard reported that the album had sold 238,000 copies by then.[7]

Controversy

[edit]

Sony Music was accused of the unauthorized use of Louis Vuitton's copyrighted Toile as part of the disc's design. An undisclosed settlement was reached between Sony and LVMH, the parent company of Louis Vuitton.[8]

Track listing

[edit]
The Return track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Return (Of the Velvet Teddy Bear)"
  • Lilly
  • Cates
4:14
2."Change Me"
The Underdogs3:50
3."Make Ya Feel Beautiful"
Taylor3:27
4."Get U Loose"
  • Mason, Jr.
  • Thomas
  • Russell
  • Boyd
  • Tank
Russell3:54
5."Our Story"
Poyser3:50
6."One Side"
3:55
7."What tha Business Is"
3:26
8."Rather Just Not Know"
Happy Perez3:38
9."Ain't No Party"
Lilly3:40
10."Listen to Ya Heart"
Vudu3:35
11."I'm Not Happy"
Jim Jonsin4:09
12."To Da Crib"
  • Studdard
  • Cates
  • Johnathan Effinger
Cates3:33
13."Blow Ya Mind"
  • Studdard
  • Michael "Flyte" Stuckey
Stuckey3:02
Bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."If Only for One Night"Brenda RussellStuddard3:46

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • "Change Me", features additional background vocals by Steve Russell and Tank.
  • "Get U Loose", features additional background vocals by Steve Russell and Tank.
  • "Ain't No Party", features additional background vocals by Mocha.

Sample credits

Personnel

[edit]

Adapted from The Return liner notes.[9]

Charts

[edit]
Weekly chart performance for The Return
Chart (2006) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[10] 8
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[6] 2

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Arnold, Chuck; Novak, Ralph (November 6, 2006). "Picks and Pans Review: Ruben Studdard (The Return)". People. Time Inc. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Nero, Mark Edward. "Review: Ruben Studdard's 'The Return'". About.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Return - Ruben Studdard". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 24, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Rosen, Jody (October 20, 2006). "The Return Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Hasty, Katie (October 25, 2006). "Diddy Scores First No. 1 Album In Nine Years". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
  6. ^ a b "Ruben Studdard Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  7. ^ Mitchell, Gail (March 25, 2009). "Ruben Studdard Reconnects With 'Love Is'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  8. ^ "Counterfeit Chic". Counterfeit Chic. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  9. ^ The Return (booklet). Ruben Studdard. J Records. 2006.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ "Ruben Studdard Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_(Ruben_Studdard_album)
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