The former 'American Idol' champion will compete on the weight loss show this fall.
- Jul 2, 2013
AceShowbiz - "American Idol" season 2 winner Ruben Studdard has signed up for another reality competition show. Unlike the FOX singing competition on which he had to show off his vocal prowess, the "Velvet Teddy Bear" will have to exercise hard and may sweat a lot to win the title of "The Biggest Loser".
The 34-year-old singer will compete in the 15th installment of the NBC weight loss show, which will air this fall, a spokeswoman for the network confirms. Other contestants for the next installment of the show have not been announced yet.
Studdard once told Billboard magazine, "I've never had an issue with my weight. [But] my family has a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart-related issues - things I didn't have to deal with yet because I'm young. But I don't want to be worried at 40, and if I don't fix things now, I will be."
He tried to lose weight with an intense workout regimen in 2006, but stopped after losing just 12 lbs. "I was losing weight, but I was exhausted. It was making me sick," he explained. He later lost more than 70 lbs. by combining vegetarianism and exercise. He, however, began putting weight back on after getting divorced with Surata Zuri McCants in 2012 after three years of marriage.
