Letters from Birmingham

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Letters from Birmingham
Studio album by
Ruben Studdard
ReleasedMarch 13, 2012
GenreR&B[1]
Length45:44
LabelShanachie
Producer
  • BlacElvis
  • Patrick "Guitar Boy" Hayes
  • Harold Lilly
  • Doramus Roberts
Ruben Studdard chronology
Playlist: The Very Best of Ruben Studdard
(2010) 		Letters from Birmingham
(2012) 		Unconditional Love
(2014)
Singles from Letters from Birmingham
  1. "June 28th (I'm Single)"
    Released: January 24, 2012

Letters from Birmingham is the fifth

Elvis "BlacElvis" Williams, and Harold Lilly on most of the project. The album takes its title from Letter from Birmingham Jail, an open letter in response to "A Call for Unity" during the Birmingham campaign, penned on April 16, 1963 by Martin Luther King Jr. after he had been arrested in Alabama.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com
[2]
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]

Mark Edward Nero from

About.com called Letters from Birmingham the "most well-rounded and personal project of his career." He found that "the combination of being freed from the image management of American Idol and the creative freedom allowed by one of the best independent music labels around, Shanachie Entertainment, has given Ruben the boost he needed to revive his career and remain a relevant and successful artist."[2] SoulTracks critic Melody Charles felt that the album "does offer illuminating glimpses into the life-and-death cycle of a relationship (more likely factual than fiction).[4]

adult contemporary R&B [...] There is almost enough shifting to fill a season's worth of American Idol performances, and it detracts from the fact that this clearly is Studdard's most personal set of songs to date."[1]

Billboard found that "reminiscent of Marvin Gaye's musical forays on Let's Get It On, Studdard sends listeners everything from smooth soul and funky/jazzy dancefloor grooves to movie-theme pop and gospel. That's a tall order. But he delivers, shifting seamlessly from raw funkster to angelic falsetto and back to contemporary crooner [...] The 2003 American Idol champ still has the chops."[5] Allison Stewart described Letters from Birmingham as "an awkwardly executed concept album about relationships told, at least theoretically, through a series of romantic letters."[6]

Commercial performance

Letters from Birmingham debuted and peaked at number 73 on US Billboard 200.[7]

Track listing

Letters from Birmingham track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Letter #1"  0:35
2."Turn You Out"
  • Kenneth Edmonds
  • BlacElvis
  • Lilly
4:00
12."All About U"
  • Doramus Roberts
  • E. Williams
  • Roberts
  • BlacElvis
3:51
13."Letter #4"  0:34
14."Her 4 U"
  • E. Williams
  • Lilly
  • Hayes
  • BlacElvis
  • Lilly
4:03
15."What's the Reason"
  • E. Williams
  • Lilly
  • Hayes
  • J. Williams
  • BlacElvis
  • Lilly
  • Hayes
3:37
16."June 28th (I'm Single)"
  • Studdard
  • E. Williams
  • Lilly
  • Hayes
  • BlacElvis
  • Lilly
3:21
Best Buy bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
17."Loving You Is Killing Me" 
18."For Both of Us I'll Be Concerned" 
19."What a Day" 
20."Leading Lady" 

Charts

Weekly chart performance for Letters from Birmingham
Chart (2012) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[7] 73
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[8] 18
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[9] 12

References

  1. ^ a b c AllMusic review
  2. ^
    About.com. Archived from the original
    on November 19, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  3. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  4. ^ Charles, Melody. "Ruben Studdard – Letters from Birmingham". SoulTracks. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  5. ^ "Album Review: Ruben Studdard, 'Letters From Birmingham'". Billboard. March 31, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  6. ^ "Music". The Washington Post. March 9, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Ruben Studdard Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  8. ^ "Ruben Studdard Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  9. ^ "Ruben Studdard Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2023.



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