Jennifer Hudson

Spotlight
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Jennifer came out with a solid song for the masses to eat up. The lyrics aren't too shabby and pull you in if you are a female. Not to say that males can't dig in too but mostly females will be really feelin' this song.

Vocals are pretty good too. The chorus is kinda typical though.

3.5 stars.

Dreamgirls: Music From The Motion Picture [2-CD Deluxe Edition]
$15.93
Disappointment. I enjoyed the movie but something was somehow lost whilst listening to the music without the accompanying visual material. Maybe the energy of the performers? The movie was a much better buy.

Spotlight
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Jennifer Hudson
$9.99
I fell in love with J-Hud's voice while she was a contestant on American Idol. She along with Fantasia & Latoya London made up the so-called "Three Divas" - they are all talented young women and of the three I felt that Jen was the most talented BUT that Fantasia had an undeniable "it" factor while in comparison Jen needed more seasoning as a performer. It sure would've been fun to see a Fantasia vs J-Hud finale but it's water under the bridge at this point since both a living their dreams now.

I've had to sit with this album for a while and give the songs a chance to "marinate" before giving my opinion. As debuts go I think it's ok - the problem for Jen is that fans have heard her and gotten to fall in love with her voice before this album was released and were expecting magic but the songs selected didn't really help her cross over to the wider pop chart audience.

I think that once again, Clive Davis was trying to throw a little bit of everything at the listening audience to see which tracks would "hit", Jen's powerful voice was toned down on a lot of the tracks and some of the tracks seem like throw-aways - not designed to show those who are unfamiliar with Jen exactly who she is as an artist. I didn't mind that a couple of the tracks are gospel oriented because if Aretha Franklin can successfully give us r&b, pop & gospel so can this young woman!

My favorite tracks are:

GIVING MYSELF - Jen's restrained vocals power this track, there is an alternate sweetness & power to her voice that makes this track interesting

SPOTLIGHT - catchy song

YOU PULLED ME THROUGH - great power ballad

IF THIS ISN'T LOVE - a synth-pop sounding track that's taken some time to grow on me

I'M HIS ONLY WOMAN f/ Fantasia - love the pairing of their voices, both unique and distinctive

CAN'T STOP THE RAIN - melodic track with great lyrics

JESUS PROMISED ME A HOME OVER THERE - touching

Another song of note is WHAT'S WRONG (GO AWAY) - this song could've been a great duet IF a real male singer had been paired with Jen (someone like Anthony Hamilton or Tyrese). This is an example of trying to pair her with someone who is "hot at the moment" like T-Pain whose vocals ruin this track.

Overall I'm happy that Jen was finally able to get a shot in this business and hope that with her next album, there is a thought out focus so that better singles can be selected to really showcase her as the gifted vocalist that she is.