Ruben Studdard during a performance last year, I am still dumbfounded on how this guy could owe almost 200k in taxes AND his career doesn’t seem entirely hopping. It is really sad considering he has an amazing voice and its a lost talent to not see him so much!

American Idol winner Ruben Studdard owes nearly $200,000 for unpaid income taxes. According to court filings, the federal government and the state of Alabama have placed liens on all of Studdard’s property for unpaid income taxes in 2003 and 2005. Byron Perkins, a Birmingham lawyer for Studdard, told the Birmingham News that his client is in good shape financially and can afford to pay the bill. Developer John Elkington said he’s checking to find out if the liens on Studdard’s property will affect the singer’s promised six-figure investment in a planned downtown Birmingham club bearing Studdard’s name. The 29-year-old Alabama native known as the “Velvet Teddy Bear” was married in Birmingham in June. He is set to release a new album later this year and is launching a national tour in the fall.

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American Idol Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard at the opening of the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky.