Victoria Theatre | Dayton, OH
Luther would be PROUD!
I don’t think anyone could say that Ruben Studdard aka the “velvet teddy bear” did not do Luther Vandross justice! Ruben’s smooth voice, class, and style showcased what Luther himself was all about. Not to take away from the individuality of Ruben, he is an amazing vocalist on his own merits but it’s no wonder why he has always been compared to Luther.
There was no opening act, just “Ruben sings Luther”. From the moment he stepped on stage, we all felt Luther’s presence in the house! Ruben did not take a break, he delivered from beginning to end. His two backup singers were beautiful, the band was on point. Of course, he doesn’t sound exactly like Luther, but he has a voice that can pull off his sound effortlessly. He shared tidbits of his life in between songs about growing up and mainly about his mom, which was really sweet. She chose the set-list for this tour, so if we were disappointed about not hearing a certain song …” tell my mama” Ruben forewarned LOL
This was my first time seeing him and truly enjoyed the show. The journey he vocally took us on made me remember how impactful and how much one of R&B’s best is truly missed to this day. Luther had so many hits and fan favorites, of course isn’t feasible to expect Ruben to perform them all, but it sure would have been nice 🙂
However, the show was too short (about 75min), we wanted MORE, he was that good!! So good that throughout the set, I heard a few audience members actually call out Luther’s name! LOL Referencing his album by the same title “Ruben Sings Luther” I personally expected to hear the entire album at very least. But 2 of them were not performed…at least not for the Dayton, OH show. All in all, it was a wonderful evening of Luther, achieved so well by Ruben Studdard.
Setlist Included:
Give Me the Reason, Stop to Love, Here and Now, Still in Love, Always and Forever, Bad Boy/Having a Party, Power of Love, So Amazing, ‘Til My Baby Comes Home, Superstar, Never Too Much
