Jennifer Hudson | 
| Manufacturer: Arista
Buy New: $9.99
Rating:  101 reviews
Sales Rank: 316
Genre: pop-music
Media: MP3 Download
Running Time: 0 Minutes
ASIN: B001GNRNQE
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 96 more reviews...
Review of 'Jennifer Hudson' September 30, 2008
Antoine D. Reid (Durham, NC United States)
28 out of 33 found this review helpful
Jennifer Hudson's cd is finally here and of course the question is was it worth the wait and hype? I can say yes for the most part. 'Jennifer Hudson' offers songs that fit this woman's voice - there are no odd selections that will leave you scratching your head or have her reaching far out of her genre. Most of the songs showcase her vocal range with her hitting notes and doing runs that will have you on your feet and applauding in the privacy of your home or car. Is it perfect? Of course not, there are a few things that make it a bit drab and predictable but the good points outweigh the weaknesses and flaws.
The Good: The variety of the songs is the strength of the album. There's variety BUT her voice is never 'off' or subdued. In each song or within each style, the producers and the artist both find ways to keep things interesting and fresh. Unlike many artists, you can tell Hudson actually connected with the music and lyrics, which results in some really moving songs and fun moments. Stand-out tracks for me is the Beyonce-esque 'If This Isn't Love' which is Hudson at her best in this pop ballad. 'Pocketbook' is also a winner with Hudson bringing out her sassy-edge that makes her endearing. Other tracks that left an impression were 'We Gon' Fight,' and 'Invisible' which contain lyrics many can relate to on some level.
The Bad: A lot of the mid-tempo or slower songs simply blend into one another. While her voice is always on spot, these songs just seem a bit boring because they sound similar. I would have liked to have heard her experiment and take a few more chances as she does on the song 'Pocketbook' but still, these seem a bit too safe and expected or predictable. While I can understand the inclusion of her song 'All Dressed In Love' from Sex and the City: The Movie, I feel like everyone in the world has heard the Dreamgirls track 'And I'm Telling You' and would have rather seen a new track entirely or a remix of the song.
A little dull and unbalanced in parts but in all, it's a good debut album that doesn't seem to be getting the 'spotlight' attention I think it should be. Check it out, you probably won't be let down.
 OK Debut from a Super Talent October 4, 2008
barry (Boston, MA United States)
27 out of 29 found this review helpful
This cd is difficult to review. I made sure I listened to it many times before writing this. I am a huge Jennifer Hudson fan and don't necessarily agree that she so much had to prove she could sing with this cd as show she could be a competitive cohesive artist. We all know she can sing. American idol and DREAMGIRLS showed us that. (And we are reminded with the inclusion of AND I'M TELLING YOU I'M NOT GOING here.)
Studios and producers can take a person with minimal talent and produce a very appealing cd that showcases them well. Here we have a singer with amazing pipes and range who can carry an album by those qualities alone and what do we get? Total overproduction and songs that are just not up to the caliber she deserves.
The cd opens very promisingly with the single SPOTLIGHT with strong and emotive vocals. Then IF THIS ISN'T LOVE comes on and the quality of song definitely diminishes. It's very generic but Jennifer does get to show her strong vocals at the end. POCKETBOOK with Ludacris is just silly and WHAT'S WRONG(GO AWAY) with T-Pain is ridiculous. So unecessary and just does not work. The static effect used with T-Pain is irritating and Jennifer merely floats through. GIVING MYSELF is the first ballad and it is ok. The song quality just doesn't cut it though and it works adequately.
Halfway through the cd starts to come into its own. YOU PULLED ME THOUGH is a better soulful ballad and Jennifer again gets to showcase those pipes. She soars range wise and emotively in the duet with Fantasia I'M HIS ONLY WOMAN and CAN'T STOP THE RAIN and WE GON' FIGHT are both priceless - highlights of the cd. She soars on both and showcase her amazing abilities as an artist. Then INVISIBLE comes and it does just that. It's a rather forgetful song. Including AND I'M TELLING YOU doesn't really fit - it merely shows what Jennifer is capable of with the right material. Even the final gospel track is ok - excellent vocal performance of an adequate song.
I wish this had been so much more. Clive Davis gets so much credit for his talent but his producing skills here get a very low grade. He was given pure raw talent and he surrounded her with nonsense. Never are Jennifer Hudsons vocals not supreme and heavenly. This just won't be the cd to start the true music career she deserves and is capable of having. There are not enough songs here to be singles and the set lacks any true continuity. Noit to say I can't enjoy it. I really do for I just love Jennifer Hudson's voice and abilities. I just can't help but wish she had been dealt a better hand. Till the next cd I will enjoy this one. SPOTLIGHT, CAN'T STOP THE RAIN, WE GON' FIGHT and a few others will carry me through.
This 3 star review is certainly not a judgement of the talents of Jennifer Hudson. Those would receive a 5+, but rather an honest review of the material on the cd. I do recommend purchasing it. It is enjoyable and she will become a legendary talent in time. Enjoy this in the meantime.
Slightly underwhelming debut album from a great talent. October 1, 2008
W. E. Phillips (USA)
12 out of 16 found this review helpful
Ever since the release of the ultra-successful The Emancipation of MiMi, by Mariah Carey, it seems as though record labels are constantly overthinking things in order to get hits, especially when they have an artist who is truly talented on their hands, like Jennifer Hudson. That would probably explain why the best song Jennifer Hudson has ever recorded, the lovely "Stand Up," is nowhere to be found here. Quite honestly, this is not the classic album I was expecting from such a talented woman. Still, there are some nice songs. "Spotlight" is probably the best thing on here; it's light, but forceful, and its sparse production leaves ample room for Jennifer's powerful and emtional vocal delivery. The Timbaland-produced "Pocketbook" is pretty much the only moment on the album where she doesn't take herself so seriously, which makes it refreshing. It's sassy and silly ("don't make me hit you with my pocketbook"), but the track is almost ruined by Ludacris' unnecessarily nasty rap. The Robin Thicke-penned "Giving Myself," a simple and beautiful ballad, was a nice choice. The piano-laden "My Heart" is very catchy and an overall nice mid-tempo. "I'm His Only Woman," a duet with Fantasia, pays homage to Stax-era soul. "We Gon' Fight" is standard Tank fare, but it's enjoyable. And the closer, a rendition of the gospel traditional "Jesus Promised Me A Home Over There," shows her vocals at their best. The rest of the songs, I'm afraid, are anything but satisfying and many of them are extremely trendy, meaning that there are songs all across the radio that sound similar. Luckily, Hudson's voice elevates all of these from being embarrassingly bad, except on the biggest monstrosity: the duet with... T-Pain, "What's Wrong (Go Away)." 'Nuff said, it's inexcusible. "If This Isn't Love" is a bit too pop for my tastes. I can't believe artists are still calling up Diane Warren for songs, because in my opinion, she was finished almost a decade ago. Anyways, her addition, "You Pulled me Through" is pretty uninspiring. "Can't Stop the Rain" has a generally nice melody and has touching lyrics, but the production is very stale. "Invisible" isn't very exciting, either, and the chorus is too dramatic. And the inclusion of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" was pretty unnecessary in my eyes, especially since I--and probably the rest of America--had grown tired of it by the time the Academy Awards came around. Contrary to what other reviewers are saying, "All Dressed Up In Love" is not included as a bonus track on the standard edition. As I said before, all this material is made better due to the simple fact that it's Jennifer Hudson singing, and there are six or seven good tracks. But there are just as many songs that should've been left off, and with over 40 tracks recorded for this album, you'd think Hudson and Clive Davis could've formulated a great tracklist. If you want an excellent new female R&B album, buy Jazmine Sullivan's Fearless, because this just isn't cutting it for me. Maybe next time.
I Expected Much More From Jennifer October 2, 2008
chakasworld (Atlanta, GA United States)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I purchased the new Jennifer Hudson CD, and am not feeling it. Maybe it
will grow on me, but right now it seems like Clive Davis used the same
formula he employed on Fantasia's debut a few years ago. There are a FEW
nice songs, but I expected so much more. The BEST song on 'Jennifer Hudson' is titled 'Stand Up', which is only available on CDs sold @ Target. 'Spolight' is nice, and I skip over the songs featuring T-Pain & Ludacris....CRAP!! The song with Fantasia....nice idea, but I heard it all before! 'And I'm Telling You...' is great, but WHY is it on this CD ??? 'Leaving Tonight' by Ne-Yo & Jennifer would've been a better choice (I remastered the CD and included it....HA!). All n all, 'Jennifer Hudson' sounds like producer driven crap that floods urban & pop radio for the most part, while there are tracks that aren't well suited to Hudson's voice. Personally, I think this CD was a bad attempt to reach every possible demographic. Bad move Jennifer...next time, insist on recording a CD with more 'focus'!! Too bad today's legitimate artists (like Ms.Hudson) aren't allowed to show integrity on CDs while obvious attempts at getting 'hits' takes center stage. Oh well, let's see how the upcoming Re-Release of 'Jennifer Hudson' fares....you KNOW Arista is gonna add some extra tracks next time for more loot! Seriously...;~)
In closing, this could've been in the same league of CLASSIC debuts by Whitney, Mariah and Toni, but this effort isn't even close!
 I love you Jennifer, but... September 30, 2008
D. Patterson (Chicago)
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
I am an avid admirer of J-Hud, for her singing and acting. And she represents the Chi(cago) well!! But if I'm going to be honest, and getting pass the hype: THIS ALBUM SUCKS!! It has nothing to do with J-Hud's voice, yet everything to do with it. Jennifer Hudson has a more traditional soul/gospel singing voice that is in the vein of a Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight or recent divas such as Ledisi, Conya Doss and Lela Hathaway. Or even Angie Stone. Having won an Oscar, J-Hud should have asked for and demanded more creative control. But it doesn't seem like she did here. What we have here are songs with Ludicris and (CRINGE!!) T-PAIN singing background on the tracks. Come on! That's not Jennifer Hudson. Quit forcing diamond-shape artists into square holes. The music should've been more organic too and not so canned. I would rather J-Hud do an all gospel album if they were going to take her away from the soulful r&b side of her voice. She's a soul artist, not a hip-hop pop artist!!
This album sucks!! But I still love you J-Hud, bad decisions and all.
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