Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So many of the season two Idols have resurfaced recently, I figured it was time to find out what’s up with that year’s Idol champ.

I mean, we’ve had a new album from Kimberly Caldwell, a new EP from Kimberley Locke, a new single from Josh Gracin and a Sunday night TV appearance by Clay Aiken.

Turns out there’s news in the world of Ruben, too. As in Ruben Studdard.

Ruben has signed a record deal with Shanachie Entertainment, the company announced earlier this month.  And a new album, Ruben’s fifth, is set for release sometime this fall.

Our last new album from Ruben came in 2009 with “Love Is,” a collection of love songs. Released under the Hickory Records label, it peaked at number 36 on the Billboard 200 and number eight on the Billboard R&B chart.

But it also continued a trend of declining album sales for each release from the guy nicknamed the Velvet Teddy Bear on Idol.

Singersroom.com quotes Shanachie General Manager Randall Grass as calling Ruben “an undervalued artist.”

As for Ruben …

“I’ve been waiting a really long time for my fans to finally hear the real Ruben. This will be the first time that one producer and one writer will be working on my entire album to create one sound,” he said.

Coincidentally, Ruben is also a featured vocalist on the latest single from Shanachie Entertainment artist Keke Wyatt. Two versions of their song, “Saturday Love,” are available on iTunes.

The song is featured on Keke’s new album, “Unbelievable” (released June 14).

And, yes, that’s Ruben’s teddy bear charm in the opening of the video for “Saturday Love,” which you can watch below.