Jennifer Hudson gets solo album

It used to be that there seemed to be no escaping the fact that she was given the boot on American Idol. Aside from her extraordinary pipes, it was all that people seemed to remember about her. But thanks to her impressive turn in the musical Dream Girls, Jennifer Hudson was able to prove the voters wrong. The description American Idol finalist is now rarely found in articles or items about her. Instead there are those words that every actor dreams would precede his name, Academy Award winner.

All very well and good. But it looks like Jennifer does have this knack for getting herself in a rut. And this new one is what I call the Dream Girls rut. Now her show-stopping rendition of And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going in the picture is believed to have led to her getting the Oscar. In fact, it was so good that you heard it everywhere last year. 

Nobody would want to deprive himself of something so good. So it was decided to include the song in Hudson’s debut album because it is what people expect to hear from Jennifer and should help sell the CD. That was absolutely unnecessary and this is just the beginning. We can now expect And I Am telling You I’m Not Going to keep turning up in compilations year after year after year whenever a Hudson song is needed. That is, until she comes up with an even bigger, more unforgettable hit.

Because of this, every cut in the CD is now being measured against that ubiquitous Dream Girls song. This is fine if the comparison is with the inspirational Jesus Promised Me a Home Over There, where her vocals is truly at its best. But most unfair when it is with the engaging Pocketbook which features Ludacris. This cut shows that Hudson can rein in her vocal calisthenics while staying young and funny. The same can be said about the upbeat My Heart, which is very pop and is the most commercial of the lot.

But of course, because this CD is Jennifer Hudson by Jennifer Hudson, I do not think any of those two cuts would be chosen as a single. Again because of And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going, the logical choice should be something with powerful vocals. And the winning song for her first single is Spotlight. Although not of the same Broadway variety, it still gives Hudson enough room to show off while staying in a light pop groove.

The CD is now in the stores and you can now expect Spotlight to start turning up in singing contests where aspiring divas have been primed, prodded and maybe evened terrorized to get into their best Jennifer Hudson mold. Other cuts they might want to consider are If This Isn’t Love; Giving Myself; What’s Wrong Go Away featuring T-Pain; You Pulled Me Through; I’m His Only Woman feat. Fantasia; Can’t Stop the Rain; We Gon’ Fight; Invisible; and a bonus track, All Dressed in Love, her song from the soundtrack of the movie Sex & the City.

50 Cent in town

It is hip-hop season hereabouts. Controversial rapper 50 Cent is in town. Also set to visit next month are the enchanting Rihanna and the sexy Chris Brown. So to cue you in on what rap and hip-hop tunes are selling abroad here are the latest Billboard listings.

The Top 10 albums are Fearless by Jazmine Sullivan; Year of the Gentleman by Ne-Yo; Joe Thomas, New Man by Joe; The Recession by Young Jeezy; Tha Carter III by Lil Wayne; LAX by The Game; Brass Knuckles by Nelly; We Global by DJ Khaled; Love and Life by Eric Benet; and The Way I See It by Raphael Saadig.

The Top 20 songs are Whatever You Like by T.I.; Can’t Believe It by T-Pain featuring Lil Wayne; Spotlight by Jennifer Hudson; Need You Bad by Jazmine Sullivan; Mrs. Officer by Lil Wayne feat. Bobby Valentino and Kidd Kidd; Miss Independent by Ne-Yo; Got Money by Lil Wayne feat. T-Pain; Please Excuse My Hands by Plies feat. Jamie Foxx and The Dream; Magic by Robin Thicke; and Put On by Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West.