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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

 • (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]

• Chris Gehringer: mastering (Sterling Sound, NYC)
• 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

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