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''Soulful'' is the debut studio album from second-season ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...
'' winner Ruben Studdard, released on December 9, 2003 by
J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...
. The record received mixed reviews from critics divided over the quality of the track listing and Ruben's vocal performance. ''Soulful'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and spawned two singles: " Sorry 2004" and "What If".


Critical reception

''Soulful'' garnered mixed reviews from
music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mu ...
s divided over the track listing and Studdard's vocal performance. A writer for ''
People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
'' said that ''Soulful'' does "a good job of translating to record the cuddly Velvet Teddy Bear charm that won over ''Idol'' fans, resulting in a likable if unspectacular set." David Browne, writing for ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'', commended the "penthouse R&B and mild hip-hop" tracks by Swizz Beatz and Irv Gotti for providing versatility in Studdard's performance but found his vocals on the ballads to be "raw and unpolished," filled with mediocrity whenever he "either strains or sings flat." '' The A.V. Club''s Keith Phipps said that the show favorite ballads were the highlights compared to more uptempo tracks like "No Ruben" and "What Is Sexy", concluding that following in this direction shows that "even the most obviously talented contestant to walk the ''Idol'' stage seems fated to be forever a glorified karaoke champ." Sal Cinquemani of ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...
'' also found the ballads Studdard performed on the show showcase his strengths more than tracks like "Don't Quit On Me" and "Take the Shot" that are "insufferably repetitive and tuneless", calling the overall record "a painfully predictable mix of traditional R&B glop and comparatively forced contemporary hip-hop." Barry Walters from ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' heavily criticized the songwriters and producers for crafting material that sounds like "Broadway ripoffs of hip-hop-inspired R&B", concluding that "Studdard does the best he can, but the people behind him and the other Idols simply aren't trying."


Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling over 417,000 copies in its first week, and was certified
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by the RIAA in January 2004. In the U.S. the album sold an estimated 1,779,000 copies.


Track listing


Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic. * Kamel Abdo – engineer * Kwaku Alston – photography * June Ambrose – stylist * Maxi Anderson – background vocals * David Ashton –
Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...
, vocal engineer * Elena Barere – concert master, violin * Davis A. Barnett – viola * Bob Becker – viola * Eric Bell – background vocals * Cecilia Bereal-Powell – background vocals * Joseph Jr. Bereal – background vocals * Latanya Bereal – vocal contractor, background vocals * Melissa Bereal – background vocals * Charlie Bisharat – violin * Jim Bottari – engineer, string engineer * Paul Boutin – engineer * Joel Bowers – background vocals * Felecia Bowles – choir/chorus, group member * Leslie Brathwaite – mixing * Chandler Bridges – Pro Tools * Jacqueline Bridges – choir/chorus, group member * Jamie Brown – choir/chorus, group member * David Campbell – arranger, string arrangements * Terrence Cash – assistant engineer * Rob Chiarelli – mixing * Steve Churchyard – engineer * Tanisha J. Cidel – choir/chorus, group member * Melvin Coleman – producer * Steve Conover – engineer * Larry Corbett – cello * Cenovia Cummins – violin * Ashley Davis – background vocals * Clive Davis – producer * Kevin KD Davis – mixing * Mike Davis – assistant * Vidal Davis – instrumentation, mixing, producer * Eric Dawkins – vocal director, background vocals * Andrea Derby – production coordination * Joel Derouin – concert master * Vincent Dilorenzo – engineer * Jonathan Dinklage – violin * PamKenyon Donald – production manager * Crystal Drummer – background vocals * Nathan East – bass * Fat Joe – featured artist, guest artist, primary artist * Lawrence Feldman – flute * Steve Ferrera – drums * Barry Finclair – violin * Angela Fisher – background vocals * Steve Fisher – assistant * Ghislaine Fleischmann – violin * Bruce Fraser – engineer * John Frye – mixing * Simon Fuller – management * Armen Garabedian – violin * Berj Garabedian – violin * Chris Gehringer – mastering * Serban Ghenea – mixing * Larry Gold – conductor, string arrangements * Peter Gordon – French horn * Gordon Goss – assistant engineer * Irv Gotti – producer * Hart Gunther – assistant engineer * Noel Hall – keyboards * Fred Hammond – drum programming, featured artist, guest artist, mixing, primary artist, vocals, background vocals * Ray Hammond – mixing engineer * Kevin Hanson – guitar * Andre Harris – instrumentation, mixing, producer * Dabling Harward – editing, engineer * Al Hemberger – engineer, mixing * Dino Hermann – Pro Tools * Kevin Hicks – producer * Larry Jackson – A&R * Mark Jaimes – guitar * Jazze Pha – producer * Suzie Katayama – cello * Rich Keller – mixing * Andrew Kennedy – background vocals * Eric King – background vocals * Olga Konopelsky – violin * Emma Kummrow – violin * Charlene Kwas – violin * Edward Lawson – background vocals * Ricky Lawson – drums * Chris LeBeau – artwork * Lil Ronnie – instrumentation, producer * Harold Lilly – producer, vocal producer, background vocals * Vince Lionti – viola * Richard Locker – cello * Jennie Lorenzo – cello * Kev Mahoney – assistant engineer * Harvey Mason Jr. – group member, producer * John McGlinchey – assistant * James McMillan – arranger, producer * Kevin Milburn – background vocals * David Earl Miller – choir/chorus, group member * Cindy Mizelle – guest artist, background vocals * Rob Mounsey – conductor, guest artist, keyboards, piano, string arrangements * Peter Murray – keyboards, piano * Peter Nocella – viola * Sid Page – violin * Alyssa Park – violin * Bob Peterson – violin * Greg Phillinganes – keyboards * Malcolm Pollack – engineer * Postmaster – programming * James Poyser – piano * Karie Prescott – viola * Pretty Tony – featured artist, guest artist, primary artist * Alex Reverberi – engineer * Michele Richards – violin * Tim Roberts – assistant * Mark Robertson – violin * Evan Rogers – producer * Jonn Savannah – Pro Tools * Jon Smeltz – mixing * Dan Smith – cello * Richard Sortomme – violin * Brian Springer – engineer * Ruben Studdard – primary artist, vocals, background vocals * Carl Sturken – guitar, keyboards, producer * Swizz Beatz – producer * Igor Szwec – violin * Damon Thomas – group member, producer * Gerard Thomas – producer * Michael Thompson – guitar * Tribe Called Judah – choir/chorus, group * The Underdogs – group, instrumentation, producer * Josefina Vergara – violin * Alonzo Vargas – assistant engineer * Tommie Walker – drum programming * Doc Wiley – engineer * Anthony Wilkins – background vocals * Evan Wilson – viola * Kevin Wilson – assistant engineer, engineer * Mike "Hitman" Wilson – engineer * John Wittenberg – violin * Joey Woolfalk – guitar * A.J. Wright – choir/chorus * Gavyn Wright – orchestra leader * Alexis Yraola – art direction, design * Helen Zeigler – choir/chorus, group member


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts


Certifications


Year-end charts


See also

*
List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2003 The highest-selling albums and EPs in the United States are ranked in the ''Billboard'' 200, published by ''Billboard'' magazine. The data are compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly discrete and download sales. Chart history ...
* List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 2004


References

{{Authority control 2003 debut albums Ruben Studdard albums 19 Recordings albums J Records albums Albums produced by Irv Gotti Albums produced by Swizz Beatz Albums produced by Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers Albums produced by Dre & Vidal Albums produced by the Underdogs (production team)