Jennifer Kate Hudson
Hudson auditioned for the third season of American Idol in Atlanta, Georgia. She was a member of the first group of semifinalists. She was not voted through to the final round, although she was brought back on the wildcard round and put through as a finalist by contest judge Randy Jackson.
Hudson struggled to gain popularity in the early stages of the live shows, receiving the second lowest number of votes in two of the first three shows. However, after a change in song choices, she soon became a favorite to win, receiving the highest number of votes on one occasion. Among Hudson's performances on the show was her rendition of Elton John's "Circle of Life" on April 6, 2004. American Idol judge Simon Cowell commented that she "finally proved why she was among the Top 12" and referred to the performance a week later as "sensational".
On April 21, 2004, Hudson became the seventh of the 12 finalists to be voted off the show. Her departure sparked controversy - especially since the bottom three that week were all African-American females, including Latoya London and Fantasia Barrino (who later went on to win). Guest judge Elton John called them the "divas", believing them to be the best singers of the season, and suggesting that their placement in the bottom three was "racist". Others speculated that the "divas" simply split the same demographic, or that some fans assumed the three girls were not in danger and therefore did not vote. A power outage in Hudson's hometown of Chicago may also have cost her votes.
Regardless of the reason, guest judge Barry Manilow, who prepared Hudson for her performance of his hit song "Weekend In New England", was shocked that she did not advance. To show his support for her, he performed a duet with her on national television the day after she was voted off.
Hudson told Essence magazine that she doesn't have pleasant memories of her American Idol days.
"Imagine" (John Lennon, 1971) (Semifinals; February 10, 2004)
"I Believe in You and Me" (The Four Tops, 1982; Whitney Houston, 1996) (Wild card; March 9, 2004)
"Baby I Love You" (Aretha Franklin, 1967) (Soul week; March 16, 2004) (Bottom 2)
"No One Else on Earth" (Country; March 23, 2004)
"(Love is Like a) Heat Wave" (Motown, Martha and the Vandellas; March 30, 2004) (Bottom 2)
"Circle of Life" (Elton John, 1994) (Elton John songs; April 6, 2004) (Highest number of votes.)
"I Have Nothing" (The Bodyguard, Whitney Houston, 1992) (Movie songs week; April 14, 2004).
"Weekend in New England" (Barry Manilow, 1976) (Barry Manilow songs; April 20, 2004) (Bottom 2; voted off)
In November 2005, Hudson was cast in the prized role of Effie White in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls, beating out hundreds of professional singers and actresses for the role including, ironically, Fantasia Barrino who had beaten Hudson in American Idol. Hudson had to gain 20 pounds in order to play the role. Filming of Dreamgirls began on January 09, 2006, and the film went into limited release on December 25, 2006 and national release on January 12, 2007.
Hudson has particularly won praise for her onscreen performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". The New York Observer described her performance of that song as "five mellifluous, molto vibrato minutes that have suddenly catapulted Ms. Hudson... into the position of front-runner for the best supporting actress Oscar." Newsweek said that when moviegoers hear Hudson sing the song, she "is going to raise goose bumps across the land." New York Daily News proclaimed, "When she sings 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' -- one of the most heartfelt cries of pain ever written for a musical -- Hudson inscribes her name on an Oscar." Variety wrote that Hudson's performance "calls to mind debuts like Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl or Bette Midler in The Rose, with a voice like the young Aretha."
As Effie White, Hudson has garnered more than two dozen awards and nominations from film critics as Best Supporting Actress and Breakthrough Performer of 2006.
She won a Golden Globe Award as Best Actress in a Supporting Role, dedicating the award to Florence Ballard (upon whom her Dreamgirls character was based), as well as friends Jasmine Trias, Fantasia Barrino, and the rest of the American Idol Season 3 finalists. She is only the third African American actress to win a Golden Globe Award in the Motion Picture Categories (since Whoopi Goldberg and Angela Bassett). In addition, she has been named Best Supporting Actress by the Broadcast Film Critics Association and also by the Screen Actors Guild. On February 7, 2007, Hudson was named Best Supporting Actress and Best Breakthrough Performance by the Black Reel Awards, awarded by the Foundation For The Advancement Of African-Americans In Film.
She earned a nomination for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress, and is also nominated for a BAFTA in the Best Supporting Actress category.
Hudson's version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the January 13, 2007 issue, and has since risen to number 73. "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" looks set to become Hudson's first legitimate Top 10 hit, as the track registers Airpower status in a 23-15 jump on the Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart as of February 10, 2007; the track also registered a new peak on the Hot R&B/HipHop Songs chart, rising 26-23.
Hudson recorded her own version of the soul classic "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)", originally by Gladys Knight & the Pips, for American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics—the official American Idol album for the 3rd season. She is featured on a song called "The Future Ain't What it Used to Be" on the Meat Loaf album Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose and performs the song "Easy To Be Hard" on a tribute album to the musical Hair.
In September, Hudson performed the song "Over It" live on Fox Chicago Morning News. In the interview she stated the song would be included on her debut album. She also stated it would be released in early-2007. On the Oprah Show, Hudson announced plans to enter the studio in March 2007.
In November 2006, Hudson signed a record deal with Clive Davis's label, Arista Records. Davis has guided the careers of such legendary artists as Aretha Franklin , Whitney Houston, and Monica, now Hudson's labelmates. Hudson's vocal range, as stated on her website, is four octaves.
2007 "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture
ShoWest Female Star of Tomorrow Won
Satellite Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role Won
National Board of Review Best Female Breakthrough Performance Won (tied with Rinko Kikuchi)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress Runner-Up
New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actress Won
New York Film Critics Online Best Supporting Actress Won (tied with Catherine O'Hara)
Breakthrough Performer Won
Hollywood Life Awards Breakthrough of the Year Won
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress Won
Washington, DC Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress Won
Best Breakthrough Performance Won
African-American Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress Won
Palm Springs International Film Festival Breakthrough Performance Award Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress Won
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards Pauline Kael Breakout Award Won
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Award Breakout Performance Won
2007 The National Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actress Runner Up
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actress Won
Austin Film Critics Association Breakout Artist Won
Broadcast Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actress Won
Golden Globes Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Won
Academy Awards Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Best Supporting Actress Won
NAACP Image Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Movie Nominated
BAFTA Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated
Ohio Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actress Won
Black Reel Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated
Google Blog Search Results: 318,756 results for jennifer hudson - showing 1 through 10
Keeping up with Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson, the only Academy Award-winning Idol alum, has found a home on the silver screen since placing seventh on the show's third season. After playing the role of Effie White in the critically-acclaimed film Dreamgirls ...
Jennifer Hudson Departs LAX Airport
Hi guys~ I have added about 11 high quality candids of Jennifer & her crew departing LAX Airport over at J-Hudson.com. These candids were taken on May 17th, 2007 - almost a year ago! Nonetheless, Jennifer looks absolutley flawless & she ...
Jennifer Hudson news and blogs - May 12, 2008
Jennifer Hudson Stays Busy, New Single ?Spotlight? Drops This Month -- from Singersroom.com Entertainment News ? Friday Finisher: It?s Not in The Way That I Blog All Week Long -- by Chris from east village idiot ...
Judging Manuscripts 101
Over the years I?ve entered and judged many contests. Some are very helpful with extensive feedback with great suggestions on how to improve my writing. Others leave a lot to be desired. Yes, contests are subjective, but at what point ...
Jennifer Hudson - "All Dressed Up In Love" from Sex and the City ...
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