Ruben Studdard has revealed the track list and cover art for his upcoming album. Also in today’s Roundup, is Clay Aiken considering a run for Congress? And the latest season 13 promo has been released featuring review quotes on the new season and judging panel.

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Ruben Studdard’s Unconditional Love Track List and Cover Art

Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard has been eliminated from the current season of The Biggest Loser twice so far, and he has a chance to re-enter the game yet again in a new twist. But outside of his journey to lose weight and become healthier, he is also preparing to release a new album, executive produced by David Foster.

Unconditional Love, consisting of mostly cover songs and a couple originals, will hit stores on February 4. Bryan Todd, one of the producers on the record, unveiled the track list and cover art on Instagram, which you can check out below.

Track List:

1. The Nearness of You

2. Close the Door

3. Love, Look What You’ve Done to Me

4. I Can’t Make You Love Me

5. Hello Again

6. Love, Love, Love

7. They Long to Be (Close to You)

8. If This World Were Mine

9. My Love

10. Unconditional

11. Meant to Be

RubenStuddard-UnconditionalLoveCover.jpg

The first single off the album, “Meant to Be,” is available to buy now from iTunes.

Is Clay Aiken Considering a Run for Congress? 

We all fell in love with season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken because of his beautiful voice. But singing isn’t his only passion. He has taken on a more politically active role in recent years, including co-founding the National Inclusion Project and being a UNICEF ambassador, and he might expand his involvement even more in 2014. Washington Blade is reporting that he is “actively considering” a run for Congress — in North Carolina’s 2nd district, to be exact.

A source told Blade that Aiken has “talked to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and has been talking with figures in Raleigh, NC” about possibly running, and that he’s “sounding and acting like a candidate.” A second source is saying that the Idol star met up with Hart Research Associates in Washington, DC, recently to talk about polling data.

Aiken himself hasn’t commented publicly on this report, but he has until February 28 to file the necessary paperwork needed to run in the primary contest, which is on May 6.

A run for Congress by Aiken in this particular district may be a long-shot. Even though many Democrats have held this congressional seat in years’ past, Republican Renee Ellmers currently holds the seat, and gerrymandering (which involves changing district boundaries to make it harder for an opposing political party to win) may be a huge barrier for the singer or whoever the Democratic nominee ends up being.

However, Aiken is a well-known figure, which he could use to his advantage. And an anonymous House Democratic aide has said this district is a “winnable seat” for the Democratic Party. At this point, we’ll have to wait and see if Aiken runs and, if he does, whether he’s able to use his celebrity and political/policy positions to land a win.

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New Season 13 Promo: “Fan-Freaking-Tastic”

Ever since Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick, Jr. were announced as season 13 judges, American Idol has been making sure (in both interviews and promos) that everyone knows the judging panel has a ton of chemistry, alluding to the fact that having Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj at the table last season turned many fans and viewers off from watching.

The latest promo features quotes by members of the media who received an early look at the new season. These quotes include “Focusing on its original roots,” “The most entertained we’ve been with Idol” and “The judges’ chemistry is evident.” Watch the entire video below:

American Idol season 13 premieres Wednesday, January 15 at 8pm on FOX.

(Images courtesy of WENN)

Jeff Dodge

Staff Writer, BuddyTV

Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.