'Idol' winner will perform Saturday in Plymouth
Ruben Studdard, who went from gospel singer to pop star after winning Fox network's ''American Idol" competition two years ago, will perform at Plymouth's Memorial Hall Saturday.
Studdard's show is part of this year's series of popular music concerts produced by Loretta Laroche Productions in Plymouth's restored 1924 auditorium. Comedian Christine Hurleyof Plymouth will open for Studdard.
She was a finalist earlier this year on the ''Nick at Nite's Search for America's Funniest Mom!" TV show and filmed a TV special for Nick at Nite that aired in May.
Following Studdard, the Plymouth venue will host shows by Dickey Betts and Great Southern on Aug. 26, The Charlie Daniels Band on Sept. 2, and Rick Springfield on Oct. 2.
Studdard's ''American Idol" success had a modest start. ''Initially I was just a tag-along" at the audition, he said.
But after spending ''a night on the floor" outside Nashville while his friend, a backup gospel singer, waited for her audition date, he decided to try his luck as well. The result, Studdard, 27, said in an interview last week, was ''fate."
The Alabama native had walked away from a college education after three years because the dream of a professional singing career became too strong to resist. His parents -- his father teaches auto body collision technology, his mother teaches second grade -- were ''strict with me with my education" and encouraged him to go to college. When he told them his plans, ''my mother gave me five years to make it," he said. ''I was on the third when 'American Idol' came along."
After winning the competition in May of 2003, Studdard released ''Soulful," a rhythm and blues album that was a double platinum success. His second album ''I Need an Angel" harkened back to his roots in inspirational music.
Studdard is currently working on a new album to be called ''The Return of the Velvet Teddy Bear." The producers of his Plymouth concert hope Studdard's performance will lead to good things, too. After Plymouth spent millions to restore the old hall, dedicated to the town's veterans, town officials said Memorial Hall would have to pay for its own upkeep as a performance space. Successful concerts help put money back in the town's coffers. Tickets are $35-$45 and are available through ticketweb.com, by calling 866-468-7619, or the Memorial Hall box office at 508-747-1340.
Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com. 
