Every season of American Idol includes those tough results shows where talented contestants are sent packing long before the judges and the majority of viewers think they should be. Those singers only have to look to Jennifer Hudson’s meteoric post-Idol career to know there’s potential gold at the end of the rainbow, even if they finish in the bottom half of the Top Ten. The #2 debut on the U.S. Billboard 200 of her recently released sophomore album I Remember Me, which sold 165,000 copies its first week, is simply the latest in an impressive series of accolades Hudson has received since placing seventh in Season 3 (the year Fantasia won American Idol).
The Chicago born-and-raised singer and actress has become an award-winning multi-media star. The Best Supporting Actress Oscar she won for her role as Effie in the 2006 film Dreamgirls was the crowning achievement of an awards season in which she also received a Golden Globe, two BET Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a NAACP Image Award. Her gold-certified self-titled 2008 debut album won a Grammy for Best R&B Album and received four nominations. In 2009, she sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl. In 2010, after a dramatic weight loss and reimaging, she became the face of Weight Watchers. “Where You At,” the R. Kelly-penned debut single from I Remember Me, recently peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
In addition to Kelly, the 12 tracks on I Remember Me were written and produced by an all-star line-up of artists and behind-the-boards talents, including Alicia Keys, Ryan Tedder, Ne-Yo, Polow da Don, and Salaam Remi. Harvey Mason, Jr., who has worked with such singers as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Justin Timberlake, produced Hudson’s vocals throughout. The overall album producers are the legendary Clive Davis, and prominent A&R exec Larry Jackson.
Despite the success of her debut album, Hudson’s goal from the earliest sessions of I Remember Me was to take her artistry to the next level, and deliver a multi-faceted set that chronicles what she calls the process of “discovering the new me, getting to know myself again image-wise and musically.” Her goal was not simply to record great tracks but songs with meaning that would allow her to share the emotions and deeper thoughts running through her head at this stage of her life and career. Though she often says that she finds it difficult to express herself, the sales and critical acclaim I Remember Me has received show that she has once again made a powerful connection.
“The first album was all about finding out who I am, for me and for the listeners,” Hudson says. “This time, I’ve been able to be far more involved. We brought it up a notch and approached the album with a definite direction. I’m really proud that I could not be more content with it, or feel more present in it. I woke up one morning and I just started writing. I feel like in 29 years I’ve led four different lives, and the me today versus the me from 10 years ago, I can’t even recognize that person. The only way to identify myself is from my hands, my familiar face--sometimes that’s the only reminder I have of my own identity and who I used to be. So I took this paragraph that I wrote, and I thought that the only person who could help me finish this song was Ryan Tedder.”
Speaking of the title track he penned after soaking in Hudson’s personal reflections, Tedder (the OneRepublic frontman who has produced Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson and Leona Lewis) said, “This diary entry was about Jennifer looking in a mirror and seeing her reflection. The inspirational twist was that despite the tragedies, she still remembered who she was, and the one thing no one could take from her was a lifetime of memories and the love she holds for her family.”
Echoes of Hudson’s own history appear elsewhere on I Remember Me. “I come from a big singing background in my family,” she says. ”We all grew up in the choir, and that’s really where it kicked off. I knew at the age of seven what I wanted to do--that’s when I started going after that dream, and I never looked back.”
Jonathan Widran is a free-lance music/entertainment journalist who contributes regularly to Music Connection, Jazziz and All Music Guide. He can be reached at Few522@aol.com.
