Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Hudson had already wowed audiences on American Idol and in theaters with her powerhouse voice. On her first album, she stakes out her territory in the late-’00s R&B landscape, declaring her independence on the forceful “Spotlight” and sparring with Ludacris on the giddy Timbaland production “Pocketbook.” She also doubles down on her diva status, offering a vocal master class on the grand ballad “Giving Myself” and reprising her showstopping Dreamgirls calling card “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.”