New Music: Ruben Studdard - "Rock Witcha"

Since the 2009 release of his fourth studio album, Love Is, Ruben Studdard, aka The Velvet Teddy Bear, aka the winner of the second season of "American Idol" has kept busy. Various things, including acting, touring -- and unfortunately, getting a divorce -- have taken up his time. But there's good news for his fans: Ruben's fifth album, Letters From Birmingham, is due out next year, and he's just released the first single. The song is a remake of Bobby Brown's 1989 hit "Rock Wit'cha." In the past, yours truly has been critical of some of Ruben's work which, quite frankly, has been bland and lackluster. But in my humble opinion, this is one of the better post-"American Idol" efforts of his career. It's one of those rare remakes that's actually better than the original. If most of the songs on his new album offer as emotion and passion as this one, it'll definitely be worth hearing. Letters From Birmingham is due out March 11, 2012 via the Shanachie label, but for now, you can stream "Rock Wit'cha" to your heart's content via the link below.

• "Rock Wit'cha" audio stream (via soundcloud.com)

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