The Return (Ruben Studdard album)

The Return is the third studio album by American R&B artist Ruben Studdard and was released on October 17, 2006, by J Records. The first single, "Change Me", was released on July 31, 2006. The album was met with mixed reviews from critics who complained about the production and Ruben's performance. The Return debuted and peaked at number 8 but sales were low and it was the last album that Ruben released under J Records.

The Return
Studio album by Ruben Studdard
Released	October 17, 2006 (2006-10-17)
Recorded	2005–06
Genre	R&B, soul
Length	50:19
Label	J, 19
Producer	Scott Storch Shea Taylor Stargate The Underdogs
Ruben Studdard chronology
I Need An Angel (2004) The Return (2006) Love Is (2009)

Controversy

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.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B[3]
People	[4]

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."[2] 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."[5] Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly was more positive, saying that "The production's bland, but his sweet singing carries the day."[3]

Commercial performance

The album debuted and peaked at number eight in the Billboard 200, with 71,000 copies sold in its first week of release.[6] The album sold only 237,000 copies in the U.S. It subsequently became his last album with J Records, having been dropped from their line-up in December 2007.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Return (Of the Velvet Teddy Bear)"	Harold Lilly Kevin Cates Kenneth Gamble Leon Huff	Lilly Cates	4:14
2.	"Change Me"	Harvey Mason, Jr. Damon Thomas Steve Russell Tank Antonio Dixon Luke Boyd	The Underdogs	3:50
3.	"Make Ya Feel Beautiful"	Shea Taylor Shaffer Smith	Taylor	3:27
4.	"Get U Loose"	Mason, Jr. Thomas Russell Boyd Tank	Russell	3:54
5.	"Our Story"	James Poyser Lilly	Poyser	3:50
6.	"One Side"	Lilly Mikkel S. Eriksen Tor Erik Hermansen	Stargate Lilly (co.)	3:55
7.	"What tha Business Is"	Scott Storch Jason Boyd	Storch Boyd (co.)	3:26
8.	"Rather Just Not Know"	Smith Nathan Perez Steve-O Valdez	Happy Perez	3:38
9.	"Ain't No Party"	Lilly Cainon Lamb	Lilly	3:40
10.	"Listen to Ya Heart"	Matthew McAllister Lilly Antoine Carraby Yomo Smith Eric Wright Mark Green Bryon McCane Charles Scruggs Anthony Henderson Steven Howse Stanley Howse	Vudu	3:35
11.	"I'm Not Happy"	Lilly Ruben Studdard James Scheffer Frank Romano Calvin Puckett	Jim Jonsin	4:09
12.	"To Da Crib"	Studdard Cates Johnathan Effinger	Cates	3:33
13.	"Blow Ya Mind"	Studdard Michael "Flyte" Stuckey	Stuckey	3:02
14.	"If Only for One Night" (Bonus Track)	Brenda Russell	Studdard	3:46

 • (co.) Co-producer

Notes

• Track 2, "Change Me", features additional background vocals by Steve Russell and Tank
• Track 4, "Get U Loose", features additional background vocals by Steve Russell and Tank
• Track 8, "Ain't No Party", features additional background vocals by Mocha

Sample credits

• "The Return (Of the Velvet Teddy Bear)", samples "You're The Reason Why", performed by The Ebonys, written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff
• "Listen to Ya Heart", contains a portion of "Foe tha Love of $", performed by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony featuring Eazy-E, written by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Eazy-E

Personnel

Adapted from The Return liner notes.[7]

• Larry Jackson: A&R
• Chris Gehringer: mastering (Sterling Sound, NYC)
• BGC2, Inc. and Cedric Evans: management
• Burton Goldstein & Company, LLC (Burt Goldstein, Jodi Persichetti): business management
• Howard Siegel (Pryor, Cashman, Sherman & Flynn): legal representation
• Anita Marisa Boriboon: art direction and design
• Christian Lantry: photographer
• Vincent "VJ" Lake: stylist
• Mylah Morales: grooming
• Chris LeBeau: photoshoot production
• Bre Scullark: cover model

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[8]	8
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[9]	2

References

1. "Counterfeit Chic". Counterfeit Chic. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
2. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Return - Ruben Studdard". AllMusic. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
3. Jody Rosen (October 20, 2006). "The Return Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
4. Chuck Arnold; Ralph Novak (November 6, 2006). "Picks and Pans Review: Ruben Studdard (The Return)". People. Time Inc. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
5. Mark Edward Nero. "Review: Ruben Studdard's 'The Return'". About.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2007. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
6. Katie Hasty (October 25, 2006). "Diddy Scores First No. 1 Album In Nine Years". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
7. The Return (booklet). Ruben Studdard. J Records. 2006.CS1 maint: others (link)
8. "Ruben Studdard Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
9. "Ruben Studdard Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2014.