Jennifer Hudson

Oscar winner. American Idol finalist. Movie star. Glamazon. Those impressive accolades festoon the resume of Jennifer Hudson—the good girl singer with a voice so soulful and emotional she can bring torrents of tears to your eyes even if you took your meds this morning.

Hudson is probably the most successful and most recognized of the Idols. Even though she didn't win the top prize on the show, she went on to score the more esteemed Academy Award. Hudson's a modern day "Renaissance Woman," who gingerly dips her toes in several different pools of the entertainment business without ever risking overexposure. Hudson does right by herself and her career. She also ensures longevity in a fickle, here-today-and-gone-tomorrow industry by accomplishing select things in an incredible fashion, rather than tackling too many things in a shoddy, rushed manner.

Hudson is definitely on her way to earning "America's Sweetheart" status with Jennifer Hudson, her debut album, which features a distinct mix of R&B, soul and pop music. Hudson's voice is her most profitable asset, and she's able to conjure up legends like Billie Holliday with her come hell or high water croon. Hudson's debut is essentially her recorded coming out party. One thing is for certain: this girl can sing for her supper in a way that rivals Whitney Huston. "What's Wrong" and "If This Isn't Love" are warm, slow-tempo, R&B ballads that will melt the ice from even the chilliest hearts, while "Pocketbook" is a sassy, girly anthem where Hudson sharpens her hip-hop chops to a point.

Hudson allows rapper Young Jeezy to drop science all over the hit single, "Spotlight." The juxtaposition of Hudson's soaring yin to Jeezy's throaty yang in this hoppin' duet works. Her bring-the-house-down rendition of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from her star-making turn in Dreamgirls is also included, and it's fitting, since the song has become associated with Hudson and her inimitable pipes. Indeed, Jennifer Hudson has arrived.

— Amy Sciarretto
10.02.08

Vocal effects, T-Pain, and Ludacris have their place -- pop-oriented R&B singles fronted by life-like automatons with limited range, for instance -- but beyond cynical sales interests, they make zero sense on a Jennifer Hudson album. Anyone who has heard Hudson sing, whether through American Idol, Dreamgirls, or even that baffling duet on Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell III, would know she is capable of carrying an album without trendy gimmickry and guest MCs. Few vocalists as young as Hudson have a voice that is as versatile and expressive, proficient enough to pull off a multi-dimensional set of R&B songs, yet her debut is as tricked out as that of an artist with a small fraction of the talent. Neither the treatments nor the accessories were necessary. She got them anyway. Lead single "Spotlight," released four months prior to the album, was both promising and satisfying, nearly a dead-center bull's-eye -- dramatic but not over the top, powerful but not a gratuitous fireworks display, a melancholy but striking midtempo track with a gently thumping four-four pulse. It's also the first song on the album and sets up a sequence of wild swings between direct hits and flailing misses. The latter is more common than the former. Hudson's voice is smoothed out through the fluttery "If This Isn't Love" (not to mention spiked with grating male grunts of "Hey!"), nearly unrecognizable until the point where she belts. During "Pocketbook," Hudson is in top attitudinal form, but she is washed out by Timbaland's overstuffed beatbox-driven production and Ludacris' outlandish freakishness. "What's Wrong (Go Away)," a ballad written and produced by T-Pain, who also guests, would be just fine without the auto-tune that is streaked across it. Excepting "Giving Myself" -- as in "Spotlight," she triggers flashbacks to the late, great Phyllis Hyman -- the slower material that allows her to stretch out tends to be dry; only so much life can be breathed into Diane Warren's "You Pulled Me Through," while "Invisible" is low-wattage self-upliftment suited for a vocal competition. Album number two will hopefully make drastic reductions in moments like these, as well as the guest spots -- unless, of course, Fantasia is onboard for a sequel to the old-school-flavored duet "I'm His Only Woman." ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide