A beautiful surprise.
That’s how Jennifer Hudson describes her meteoric rise to superstar status since her early exit from the American Idol stage back in 2004.
“Talk about Jesus throwing me some curveballs,” she told WE Magazine. “I didn’t expect this. I knew things would happen but I never knew it would have been to this extent.”
Recently launching her second album, I Remember Me, which showcases the slimmer songstress, Hudson also proves she is no one-album wonder. With the first single Where You At climbing Billboard charts, Jennifer is banking that her sophomore album will be just as successful as her first. I Remember Me debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 165 000 copies in its first week.
In many ways the song I Remember Me could be touted as Hudson’s anthem, with the soulful diva saying there’s little left of the woman she was ten years ago except her voice and a scar on her hand. Thanks to a strict Weight Watchers regimen, Hudson has shed 80 pounds and can be seen as a woman transformed in body, soul and spirit. Her new album, it seems, reflects Hudson’s new lease on life.
“I feel like I’ve had so many different chapters in my life and so I feel like sometimes I need to hold on to myself and that’s how I came up with the name for the album,” she revealed.
For Hudson, the chapters of her life up to this point have been a mixture of joy, pain and very difficult life lessons. In many ways Hudson could never have scripted her journey to stardom. While she initially longed for the accolades and glory of an American Idol win, being voted off was the best thing that ever happened to her.
“Coming from a show like American Idol, you get boxed in or typecast and it’s kind of hard to get out of that. Then you’re left in a very awkward position because the world knows you, but on the other side of the fence you’re still trying to make it,” she said candidly.
Perhaps that’s why after last week’s surprise dismissal of American Idol contestant Pia Toscano, Jennifer empathized and tweeted her support for Toscano; she too had walked in her shoes.
“I was like, how could you let talent like that go,” Jennifer said of Toscano’s early exit. “But as long as she walks away with her talent, she will be alright.”
Not only did Hudson walk away with her talent, she showed the world the depth and scope of it. When she made her film debut in 2006 with Dreamgirls, her stirring performance of “Effie” earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe Award, an NAACP Image Award and a Screen Actor’s Guild Award.
Before audiences got too accustomed to seeing her on the big screen, Jennifer released her debut album, Jennifer Hudson, in 2008, lest people forgot about her big, beautiful voice. Soon after its release, the album was certified gold for selling 800 000 copies in the United States and over one million copies worldwide. Just like the hit single Spotlight, Jennifer had cemented a place for herself there.
Hudson’s personal life is just as packed, with her upcoming wedding to fiancé David Otunga and being a mother to 20-month-old David Otunga Jr, whom she describes as a “musical child”.
Ever the hands-on mother, she takes David everywhere she goes. At her recent show at Holders House, David even joined his mom onstage, with microphone in hand.
“He’s musical himself, and I see so much of myself in him,” Hudson said, beaming. “He’s really teaching me about myself. He’s amazing.”
What’s amazing is how Hudson has bounced back from the horrific family tragedy that she suffered back in 2008, when her mother, brother, and nephew Julian King were murdered. In a situation that could have caused some to buckle, Hudson, after taking a three-month sabbatical, returned to the scene in 2009 in top form.
To her credit, Hudson has used that tragedy as a way to help families affected by violent crime. She started the Jennifer Hudson Foundation in her hometown, Chicago, where she distributes toys to needy children in honour of her late nephew.
So what’s next for the multi-talented Hudson? She’ll be hitting the big screen once more, playing Winnie Mandela, former wife of Nelson Mandela, in the upcoming biopic Winnie along with actor Terrence Howard.
But for now Jennifer is enjoying her moment in the spotlight.
“I don’t ever what to pick between them,” she says of her acting and singing careers. “I love them both and I hope I never have to choose.”
