Twenty years ago, Jennifer Hudson had hit rock bottom. Like in the last three places on “American Idol”, where she was surprisingly almost eliminated in the third season of the singing competition along with her supposedly favorite companions Fantasia Barrino and LaToya London. After her powerful flutes accompanied her with covers of Aretha Franklin, Elton John and Whitney Houston, Hudson was the ousted vocalist that night that shook America.surprisingly finishing seventh in the 2004 season which Barrino eventually won.
“I feel like everything passes [for a reason]and I wouldn’t change any of that,” Hudson, 43, tells Alexa. “Each one has their own circuit and there can only be one winner at a time. And, you know, I think Fantasia deserved to have won, and I also deserve to have done everything I could do.”
In fact, that controversial elimination would prove to be “a gift” for the Chicago native who earned an Oscar-winning role in 2006’s “Dreamgirls” and a gold Grammy for her 2008 self-titled debut album. After winning a Daytime Emmy for his virtual reality project “Baba Yaga” in 2021, he would full EGOT status as producer of “A Strange Loop” when it won the Tony for Best Musical in 2022.
Not bad for someone who also participated in “American Idol.”
He wasn’t kidding when he told us the famous phrase: “And I’m telling you I’m not going.” While chatting with other stars on the third season of “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” she is also returning to her roots as a singer with a new Christmas album: “The Gift of Love.” While he clearly hasn’t gone anywhere, it’s been 10 years since Hudson’s last LP (2014’s “JHud”).
“I feel that it has not been [a decade] because I sing in everything I do,” says Hudson. “Through movies, commercials, different things, I have never stopped singing. So I didn’t realize I hadn’t had an official Jennifer Hudson album… But time flies, especially when you’re busy, and I’ve been a busy girl.”
As boisterous as her career has been, “The Gift of Love” was a labor of love. “What better way to come back than a Christmas album?” she says. “It has been a dream of mine throughout my career. “I’m a fan of vacations…so it makes sense.”
Hudson began recording the album after her talk show went on hiatus for the summer. “I remember riding my bike and listening to Christmas music on the beach,” he says. “And I thought, ‘We should probably listen to Christmas music more than during the holidays because it gives you peace and relaxation.’”
But her “summer of singing” still had its challenges as she ran through the sand instead of the snow.
“I love Christmas songs and…how can I narrow it down so I even know what to record?” says the singer. “But Christmas music, at least for me, is sentimental. “So, like ‘The Christmas Song,’ my grandmother loved this song, so it reminds me of my childhood and the songs that my grandmother loved or that she used to listen to at home during the holidays.”
For Hudson, Christmas goes back to church, where it all began for her, as reflected in “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” “Growing up in church, we used to march with the candles any Sunday before Christmas and have our Christmas programs,” he remembers. “My gospel roots had to be part of the album.”
But “The Gift of Love” begins with “Hallelujah,” a moving rendition of the Leonard Cohen classic. “I thought, ‘If ‘Hallelujah’ isn’t on it, then there’s no album,’” Hudson says. “Some may not see it as a Christmas song, but… I think it unifies everyone.”
Without a doubt, he has been uniting the masses, whether through music, film or television, since “American Idol.” She was ready to seize her moment when the opportunity came to play Effie White in the film version of “Dreamgirls.” “I thought, ‘I’m not going to let anything interrupt my faith or stop me,’” he recalls, “because to be able to have a second chance like that, I wasn’t going to miss it.”
After winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2007, the stakes suddenly increased for Hudson, who appeared in other films including 2008’s “Sex and the City,” 2013’s “Black Nativity” and 2019’s “Cats.” They gave him the “highest honor” when he was cast as Aretha Franklin in the 2021 Queen of Soul biopic “Respect.”
“I thought, ‘I’m not going to let anything interrupt my faith or stop me,’” he recalls, “because to be able to have a second chance like that, I wasn’t going to miss it.”
“It’s like, ‘Oh my God, Aretha Franklin… my dream is to play her!’” she says. “And then it’s like, ‘Oh my God, wait, I have to play Aretha Franklin!’ It is a blessing and exciting, but equally overwhelming. You know whose steps you are walking, the shoulders you are standing on.”
After that regal role, Hudson moved from the movies to the couch, launching her talk show in 2022.
“I come from a very communicative family with a lot of personality,” he says. “So if we’re not singing to you, we’re talking to you. When the opportunity came up to do the talk show… I said, ‘Wait a minute.’ You mean to tell me I’ll be able to sit on the couch and just talk? ‘Oh honey, turn the camera!’”
One of Hudson’s guests was Grammy-winning rapper Common, who made their romance official when he appeared with flowers for the host on a January 2024 episode. The two bonded over their shared Chicago roots.
“I think that’s how we initially connected,” she says, “because we were filming the movie ‘Breathe,’ and one day he was walking off the set and I walked in, and security was like, ‘You and Common are so good.’ nice and very kind to everyone. What’s that?’ That’s what caught our attention. We have a similar energy about ourselves that connects us. We are similar types of people in many ways. And I attribute that to being from Chicago. It feels familiar. It feels like home.”
Hudson, who has a 15-year-old son, David, from her previous relationship with former professional wrestler David Otunga, gushes about the special connection she found with Common. “It’s very beautiful, it really is,” he says. “It was different. There is nothing like it, that’s for sure.”
In fact, Common recently hinted that he might be ready to put a ring on it. “If I’m going to get married, it’s going to be with her,” he said in July on the radio show “The Breakfast Club.”
“Keep saying that,” Hudson responds with a chuckle. “That is a very strong statement.”
Common appears on “The Gift of Love,” rapping the original song “Almost Christmas.” And his fluidity and delicacy with words inspired a hip-hop version of “Jingle Bells.” “We were on the phone, just talking, and it was around Christmas,” Hudson says. “And I was like ‘It was the night before Christmas and all over the house…’ and he turned it around and started freestyling. And he never abandoned me.”
Hudson is taking his Christmas show on the road with an intimate tour that kicks off Nov. 24 at Brooklyn’s Kings Theater before hitting Chicago, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. “It will feel very festive, very familiar and very personal,” he says. “I’m looking forward to returning home to my musical family. That’s the reason I’m still here.”
Wherever she goes from here, Hudson won’t forget her “Day Ones,” those who have been with her since she first auditioned for “American Idol,” singing Franklin’s “Share Your Love With Me” in a prophetic moment.
“I can’t believe it’s been 20 years. That leaves me speechless when I look back,” he reflects. “I’m grateful for all of this: being in the industry for so long and having the support and love that I have. I don’t take it lightly. And that is why this album is a gift of love to everyone who has been with me.”
Editor: Serena French; Stylist: Ashley Pruit at The Only Agency; Photo editor: Jessica Hober; Talent Pool: Patty Adams Martínez; Hair: Albert Morrison of Mastermind Mgmt; Makeup: Shannon Pezzetta of A-Frame Agency using Dior Makeup; Manicure: Temeka Jackson at A-Frame Agency using The GelBottle; On-set fashion assistant: Devontaè Goodwin; Comfortable: Rebecca Moreno at The Only Agency
‘This article may contain information published by third parties, some details of this article were extracted from the following source: celebrity.land’
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