ÍøÆغÚÁÏ

Straddling the line between pop and new age, Jim Brickman's mellow piano compositions evoke romance, hope, and quiet inspiration. Brickman first made his name in the mid-'90s as a Windham Hill artist -- he's one of the few solo instrumentalists to break into the Top 40 of the pop albums chart -- and branched out from there with pop and country collaborations (including the Top Ten country hit "Valentine" with Martina McBride), Christmas recordings, and two albums of classic Disney covers. Throughout his decades-long career, Brickman has earned two Grammy nominations and a Dove Award and has seen over 20 of his albums reach number one on the Billboard new age chart.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Brickman enrolled in the Cleveland Institute of Music in his late teens. The focus was on classical music, but he could not escape the lure of mainstream music, and at age 19 began writing commercial jingles. This led him to compose music for such major outfits the Gap, Isuzu, Sprint, and Kellogg's as well as with Jim Henson and Henson Associates. During his association with Henson, Brickman composed for the Muppets and for projects on Sesame Street. He also assisted on some of Henson's Disney projects.

Brickman recorded his debut album, No Words, on Windham Hill in 1994. The following year, he released By Heart on the same label, and in 1997 issued Picture This as well as The Gift, a collection of seasonal favorites. Visions of Love followed a year later, and in early 1999 Brickman returned with Destiny. A classy live effort, My Romance: An Evening with Jim Brickman, appeared in 2000. Two years later, Brickman crafted a beautiful children's album called Love Songs and Lullabies. Efforts such as Grace, Peace, and The Disney Songbook followed in the relaxing yet elegant vein of his earlier work; 2003's Peace earned a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.

In 2006, Brickman left longtime label Windham Hill and released Escape on Savoy Jazz. In 2007, Hope was released by Compass, followed by the holiday-themed Homecoming. Brickman continued recording for Savoy in 2008 with Unspoken, followed by a whopping four albums and a DVD in 2009: Beautiful World was the audio component to a DVD performance of the album with special guests; From the Heart found him revisiting some of his best-known compositions backed by a 75-piece orchestra; and two new holiday-themed recordings were released in The Hymns & Carols of Christmas and Joy. The ever industrious Brickman issued Love, Home, and Never Alone (which featured Lady Antebellum, Marc Antoine, Jake Simpson, Carnie Wilson, and Gerald Levert) in 2010. He found inspiration in Italian song for 2011's Romanza, which was followed that year by All Is Calm: Peaceful Christmas Hymns and Yesterday Once More: A Tribute to the Music of the Carpenters.

Piano Lullabies: Baby's Bedtime Favorites came in 2012, as did the hymn collection Blessings and the covers album Romance. The next year brought Love 2 and The Magic of Christmas, which were followed in 2014 by an album of a few original songs mixed with classic covers like "Moon River" titled Timeless, as well as Pure Worship: A Soothing Collection of Contemporary Worship Melodies on Piano, the also religious Piano Inspirations, and the guest-loaded benefit album On a Winter's Night: The Songs and Spirit of Christmas. Just in time for Valentine's Day 2015 was Pure Romance, which was soon followed by Pure Piano and Comfort & Joy: The Sweet Sounds of Christmas. Brickman released three more albums in 2016, starting with renditions of favorite film themes in March's Pure Cinema; solo piano versions of patriotic American songs on June's Freedom Rings; and Soothe, Vol. 2: Sleep (Music for Tranquil Slumber) in September. He issued another trio of albums in 2017: Wedding Songs, Soothe, Vol. 3: Music for Peaceful Relaxation, and A Joyful Christmas.

Brickman returned to holiday music in 2019 with the release of Celebration of Christmas. Piano Tributes: Songs of Carole King appeared in 2020, followed by Brickman on Broadway in 2021. The next year, Brickman issued Disney on Piano, Vol. 2, a sequel to his popular 2005 Disney songbook collection. ~ Sandra Brennan & Marcy Donelson

American singer Ruben Studdard first broke into the mainstream in the early 2000s as the winner of the second season of American Idol and was able to navigate the choppy waters of the music industry, releasing R&B and gospel records as well as making a splash on theater stage. His post-Idol coronation single "Flying Without Wings" soared to number two on Billboard's Hot 100 in 2003 and Studdard capitalized on its success with "Sorry 2004" and its parent album Soulful. After releasing the gospel album I Need an Angel in 2004, Studdard settled into a career as an R&B crooner in the vein of his idol Luther Vandross -- he cut an album-length tribute to the singer in 2018 -- steadily touring and releasing the occasional new studio album, like 2023's The Way I Remember It.

The son of two teachers, Studdard was born in Frankfurt, Germany on September 12, 1978, and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. He sang at his parents' Baptist church as a child, but it wasn't until college that he seriously pursued music. Abandoning a promising career in football that would lead to an athletic scholarship at Alabama A&M University, he decided to switch his major and study voice at the school, eventually graduating with a degree in 2000. He then launched his professional career as a singer for Just a Few Cats, a Birmingham-based jazz and soul band. During 2002, Studdard joined one of the group's backup singers at an audition for the second season of American Idol, making the first round of cuts at his local audition, then winning himself a slot on the national television program.

Studdard made a big impression from the start. Where most of his competitors were hopeful pop stars hungry to win the competition, Studdard was quiet and laid-back, impressing audiences and judges alike with his large voice and easy confidence. Partway through the competition, guest judge Gladys Knight christened him a "velvet teddy bear," a nod to his smooth, Luther Vandross-styled voice and warm stage presence. The nickname stuck and Studdard's popularity grew. By that point, the competition had turned into a horse race between Studdard and Clay Aiken. Like many horse races, this one ended in a photo finish, with Studdard beating Aiken by a few thousand votes in May 2003.

Crowned the latest American Idol, Studdard kicked off his solo career with his first single, the triple-platinum "Flying Without Wings," which was released concurrently with Aiken's "This Is the Night," a clever release scheme designed to keep the competition alive. Aiken beat Studdard to the top of the charts, and shortly afterward, it was announced that the proposed joint release of their debut albums would be delayed, with each album released separately instead. As Aiken rode an initial wave of popularity that eclipsed Studdard's, the soulful crooner worked frenetically: recording his debut, touring with his American Idol cohorts, and filming a cameo for Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. As Studdard continued working in the studio, his album's release date kept getting pushed back; originally slated for an August release, the album was first rescheduled for October, and then postponed to November.

The sessions boasted a variety of producers and collaborators, including Fat Joe, Missy Elliott, and R. Kelly, whose names were leaked to the press during the studio process in an effort to shore up Studdard's hip-hop and R&B credentials. When the finished product, Soulful, was finally released on December 9, 2003, it didn't boast either the highly touted Missy or Kelly tracks (though Fat Joe made the cut), but it did display a distinct hip-hop-flavored R&B bent, which stood in contrast to the pop-oriented efforts by such American Idol contestants as Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, and Justin Guarini. Sporting two Top Ten hits -- including "Sorry 2004" -- the album quickly went platinum. It also garnered Studdard a Grammy nomination for Favorite Male R&B Vocal Performance for his cover of the Bonnie Bramlett/Leon Russell classic "Superstar."

The gospel album I Need an Angel followed one year later, featuring collaborations with contemporary gospel icons such as Bill Gaither and Walter Hawkins. Although the album sales failed to approach those of Studdard's debut, I Need an Angel fared well on the gospel charts. Even so, Studdard returned to his R&B roots in 2006 with an aptly named third album, The Return, which featured such contributors as Scott Storch and Ne-Yo. Lead-off single "Change Me" topped the urban contemporary chart that same year, but The Return proved to be the slowest-selling album of the singer's career, prompting J Records to cancel his contract in 2007.

In 2008, Studdard took a well-received foray into theater by portraying Fats Waller in a revival tour of Ain't Misbehavin', which received a Grammy nomination for its soundtrack. Following the show's completion in May 2009, he returned to his studio career with another album, Love Is (Hickory Records), whose subject matter honored the singer's then-recent marriage (though the two would divorce in late 2011). Featuring production by Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Teddy Riley, Ne-Yo, and Stargate, the set peaked inside the Billboard Top 40 and included the singles "Together" and "Don't Make 'Em Like U No More," as well as covers of Extreme's "More Than Words," the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road," and Michael Jackson's "I Can't Help It." To promote the album, Studdard and Aiken teamed up for a North American tour that they dubbed "Timeless."

In 2012, Studdard released Letters from Birmingham, his first album for the Shanachie label. In addition to covers of Bobby Brown's "Rock Wit'cha" and the Willy Wonka classic "Pure Imagination," Letters also included "June 28th (I'm Single)." The following year, he took another step outside of the music world and competed on the 2013 season of the reality TV show The Biggest Loser. After successfully shedding 120 pounds, Studdard capped his stint on the show with the release of his sixth album, Unconditional Love, which was released on Verve in February 2014. Produced by David Foster, it was highlighted by a duet with Lalah Hathaway on an update of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's 1967 Top 30 R&B single "If This World Were Mine." The next year, he received an honorary Master of Arts degree from his alma mater, Alabama A&M.

In 2018, Studdard paid homage to his idol, the late Luther Vandross, with Ruben Sings Luther. The album featured Studdard's handpicked Vandross favorites, including songs like "Here and Now," "Always and Forever," and "A House Is Not a Home." Studdard toured Ruben Sings Luther through 2023, announcing a new contract with SoNo Recording Group that very year. In October, Studdard released The Way I Remember It, his first album of original material in nearly a decade. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Neil Z. Yeung