Songoftheday 3/25/24 -Everybody's looking for that something, one thing that makes it all complete...

 

 

"Flying Without Wings"/"Superstar" - Ruben Studdard

from the album Soulful (2003)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 5

 

Today's song comes from the man who beat Friday's SOTD artist, Clay Aiken, in the second season of television singing contest American Idol. Ruben Studdard, born an "army brat" in Germany, grew up singing in church in Alabama. Like Clay, Ruben appeared on the American Idol: The All American Love Songs album, which spun off the top ten charity single cover of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless The U.S.A.". It would be a tight race for the pair, but while Studdard grabbed the trophy, it was Clay whose fanbase gobbled up the single just a little more. For Ruben, his "winner's single" wasn't an original, but rather a remake of a #1 hit in the United Kingdom for Irish boy-band Westlife in 1999. "Flying Without Wings", written by Steve Mac (who coincidentally produced Aiken's single) and Wayne Hector, the lyrics have the same vague inspirational bent as Aiken's "This Is The Night", but leans more heavily into the romantic side (as his stature as "The Velvet Teddy Bear" allowed) with Ruben clearly singing "for me it's waking up beside you, to watch the sunlight on your face". The production from the Underdogs (Harvey Mason and Damon Thomas) is watered down Boyz II Men fodder, but Studdard's voice carries is without having to go in the histrionics that his rival did. The music video did merge some Idol footage with an set-up "concert" in the park...

"Flying Without Wings" spent two weeks in the runner-up position on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in June of 2003. On the radio, the song peaked at #27 on the Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") chart. The song would be a "bonus cut" on Ruben's debut album Soulful on Clive Davis' J Records, which came out in December of that year. The album would spend a week at #1 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, as well as topping the R&B Albums list for two weeks, going on to sell over a million copies. 

The "B"-side of the "Flying Without Wings" single was the song Studdard performed on the top-32 show of American Idol. It was a cover of the song "Superstar" by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell, which was immortalized in the version done by the Carpenters in 1971 which went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. While it wasn't listed first in the Hot 100 listing, it must have gotten much more airplay, since it climbed to #2 for a week on Billboard's R&B Singles chart, while peaking at #37 on the Mainstream R&B airplay chart and #6 on the older-skewing Adult R&B format. The studio version, produced by James McMillan, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, losing for Luther Vandross for his "Dance With My Father" (Luther had also had a top ten hit with a cover of "Superstar" in 1983). 

Both Ruben and the Soulful album will be back to the series.

"Flying Without Wings" - (5/10)

"Superstar" - (6/10)

(Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's the original version of "Flying Without Wing" performed by Westlife which topped the British chart in 1999...

Next up, Ruben's performance on the Idol finale...

and lastly, Studdard singing "Superstar" live...

Up tomorrow: this short-change rapper spells out his employment oppurtunities.