Jennifer Hudson’s debut album is not worth the wait
Now, after an inexplicable and unconscionable delay in this accelerated era of five-second attention spans, Hudson finally has delivered her self-titled major-label debut, which arrives in stores today. Sad to say, not only is it not worth the wait, but in typical “American Idol†fashion, it’s an overworked, overwrought, shamelessly pandering piece of pop product unworthy of her considerable talents and largely devoid of the personality that made us love her in the first place.
Kellie Pickler
Things kick off with the mighty message song, Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful, in which Pickler bolsters the self-esteem of young girls to stand up against the pressures of their peers and designer labels (more on that later). It’s a home run, catchy and positive. Pickler channels Dolly Parton, not so much in sound as in style. She thrives at those crossroads between funny and sexy, charmingly naive, not dumb, and wraps it up with real singing talent. No wonder even Simon liked her.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Jennifer Hudson gets back to music with debut CD
The disc is meant to bridge the gap between both sides of her career, recast the movie starlet as a hip R&B diva with pop-crossover potential.
The transition largely works, thanks to a stable of A-list collaborators — StarGate, Timbaland, the Underdogs, Robin Thicke, Diane Warren — who surround the singer with silky beats that showcase her soaring voice. First single Spotlight (written by Ne-Yo) is a glossy, elegant introduction hooked on a jangly, galloping beat and its infectious “Is that you? Is that you?” chorus.
It’s obvious that Hudson’s church-honed pipes, which can shake rafters at full tilt, are being reined in here for mass consumption. But Hudson’s voice is so rich, so capable of expressing joy and pain, that it makes even the lesser material (My Heart, Can’t Stop the Rain, Invisible) worthy of a listen.
Jennifer Hudson’s Prime Time
You blew it, America.
Four years ago, the democratic process went awry and you voted for the wrong candidate.
I refer, of course, to the third season of “American Idol,” during which you — the voting public — somehow didn’t see fit to promote the occasionally brilliant R&B singer Jennifer Hudson into the upper-echelon of the Top 12.
Oops on you.
“Spotlight” On Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson, the former “American Idol” contestant, rose to stardom in 2006 with her big-screen debut in the box office hit “Dreamgirls.”
The first-time actress Hudson won an Academy Award for her supporting role in the film. This summer, she appeared in the big-screen hit “Sex and the City” and she appears in the upcoming film “The Life of Bees.”
With a promising film career, Hudson’s singing career appeared to be on the back burner. But not anymore.
She is telling you she’s here to stay
But never mind that “Jennifer Hudson,” out today, is a sometimes illogical jumble that hopscotches from gritty urban soul to glossy adult contemporary pop to the song that clinched her the little gold statue - “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going.” Hudson ties it all together with her titanic vocal prowess and emotional conviction. The Chicago native owns the strong material and elevates the weak. And if she can’t save a dreadful duet with T-Pain, then blame the king of Auto-Tune, not the divine Miss H.
The message is definitely mixed
Pickler stretches out her sophomore effort (in stores today), co-writing half of the album’s 10 songs and, she says in the accompanying press materials, injecting more input into the song selection and arrangements than she had on 2006’s “Small Town Girl.”
There are individual moments of accomplishment, but the album is like a Whitman Sampler, with a sweet tidbit for listeners in pretty much any stage of a romantic relationship, leading to a fairly scattered emotional palette.
Music Review: Kellie Pickler comes of age as an artist on new self-titled CD
The blonde North Carolina native may not have the vocal range or force of fellow “American Idol” contestant (and eventual winner) Carrie Underwood. But Pickler’s down-home personality has made her a fan favorite, and her debut CD, “Small Town Girl,” went gold without any singles cracking the country Top 10.
Pickler co-wrote five of her new songs, including three of its best. “Rocks Instead Of Rice” crosses the sassy, spurned woman narratives of Loretta Lynn with the witty cattiness of the “Sex and the City” principles picking apart a rival across the room.
Carrie Underwood Music Made Into Lullabies
Ten of Carrie Underwood’s hits have been made into lullabies for the upcoming release of the next installment in the Hushabye Baby series. Lullaby Renditions of Carrie Underwood will be released on November 18th.
American Idol Alum LaKisha Jones to Wed
Jones, 28, plans to wear an Alfred Angelo strapless gown, Neil Lane diamond earrings, bracelet and necklace, on loan from The Platinum Guild, and Stuart Weitzman shoes adorned with the couple’s initials in Swarovski crystals, the site reports.
The wedding theme is Old Hollywood — so both bride and groom will wear white and the bridal party will be dressed in black.
Hollywood stars still struggle with coming out
When asked if he had heard the news about Aiken’s announcement, Bryan Batt replied, “What news?†An openly gay actor who plays the closeted gay character Salvatore Romano on the Emmy-winning “Mad Men,†Batt was indicating that he doesn’t believe in Santa, either.
“In this country,†he said, “too many people worry about other people’s private lives.â€
Batt said that being out and gay has not affected his career. “Not that I know of,†he said. “I was never really very closeted as a professional actor. It’s such a non-issue with me, my sexuality.
VIDEO: Idol Alum Constantine Really Wants to Act
Former Idol Constantine Maroulias tells Erin Fox that he’s working on a new play called Rock of Ages. But, more importantly, which David did he support? Cook or Archuleta?
CollegeOTR Exclusive: American Idol Runner-Up Blake Lewis Sits Down to Chat Before His Upcoming Tour
Now the beat-boxing Washington native is hustling for a comeback, kicking off a tour October 5th in New York City. Now associated with a new label and creating an album with a more cohesive musical sound, Lewis is ready to propel his career forward as an artist and producer.
With musical influences like Duran Duran, George Michael, BT, and Depeche Mode, Lewis describes the record he is currently working on as “synth-pop†and said in an exclusive CollegeOTR interview, “Dance music is fun, and it’s finally becoming more respected.†The remix of his single, “How Many Words,†peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart.
Bucky Covington and Chuck Wicks Announce CMA Broadcast Awards Finalists
When Bucky Covington and Chuck Wicks, two of Country Music’s brightest young stars, are assigned to announce the CMA Broadcast Award nominees, one thing is sure: Their performance will entertain as much as it informs.
Seconds after taking their positions behind two microphone stands at the Suite Level Club in the Sommet Center in Nashville during the CMA Awards nominees press conference Sept. 10, Wicks crouched down slightly to ask, over the speakers set up throughout the room, “Uh, Bucky? Why is your stand higher than mine?”
Covington laughed as he answered, “I think they’re trying to tell you something.”
Ending on a high note: Fair’s final act brings home the good times
Hillsdale, Mich. —
Country music singers Tracy Lawrence and Bucky Covington rocked the Grandstand Saturday night to 2,360 cheering fans during their concert at the Hillsdale County Fair.
With an energetic opening, former American Idol contestant Covington revved up crowds during his 45-minute show.
The country singer joked that the best thing about traveling around the country was finding out, “there are rednecks everywhere!â€
Michael Johns tries luck as independent artist after Idol
Australian singer Michael Johns is carving out a career for himself as an independent artist after his elimination from American Idol.
The Perth-born 29-year-old, who is back in Australia for a brief visit, said he had spent just seven days at home since leaving the star-making US show in April.
Rather than being disappointed not to make it to the Idol grand final, Johns has been making the most of his exposure on the show.
“I went on that show not necessarily to win it but to absolutely get a career and find my fan base and I’ve done that,†Johns told AAP.
Wal-Mart upgrades could sting some music consumers
This morning, Boing Boing got hold of an e-mail from Wal-Mart that said the company was no longer going to support files with digital rights management (DRM), meaning any DRM-encoded files purchased from the Wal-Mart digital store would no longer be supported by the company. According to the e-mail obtained by Boing Boing, Wal-Mart states that it had been offering DRM-free music since February of this year. Any recent purchases are thereby safe (David Cook fans just let out a sigh of relief).
‘Dancing With the Stars’: Beginners’ Lack
Paso night. Already?! Usually I need a few weeks to mentally and emotionally prepare for the high-quality HD pleasure of seeing half the Dancing With the Stars contestants sheathed in spangly pleather. I consider a lengthy list of factors, including but not limited to butt size, general stage presence, and those mysterious things the judges call ”lines.” I don’t even have to know what lines are to know that they’re important to the paso. I’m kidding. I know what lines are. You better not cross ‘em! (What?)
‘Dancing with the Stars’: Bad singing, decent dancing
The judges were a little grumpy on tonight’s Dancing with the Stars. Maybe it’s because to fill the two hours we had to endure much longer interview segments with Samantha Harris and the couples. *shudder*
We’re told that tackling the Paso Doble and the Rumba this early on in the competition makes things super-duper difficult for our celebrities. Plus they only had three days to learn their routines which were told over and over and over and over ad infinitum. (Note: I couldn’t catch all the songs the first time through so I’ll add them later.)
Dancing With The Stars: Week 2
We’re back to the ballroom for week two, without Jeffrey Ross or Ted McGinley. Because of the extended opening week, the couples only had four days to learn either the rumba, or the paso doble. Asked what he was looking for, Len said that learning a new dance in four days is really tough. So, he was fearing the worst, but hoping for the best.
New Video: Inside Cody and Julianne’s Rehearsal!
All new video: What do dance partners Cody Linley and Julianne Hough have up their sleeves for Monday night’s episode of “Dancing with the Stars”? We’re taking you inside the “Hannah Montana” star and the two-time “Dancing” champ’s practice to find out!
Click to find out how Cody and Julianne are overcoming their pre-performance jitters and what they think about having to learn their routine in just three days!
I already posted this ling in the Idols Blogs thread, Fans of David, made an interview with the sister of Eva Cassidy, some of you seem to know her and like her, so I will leave the link here
Jennifer Hudson blogged today (in all caps, no less):
^^ Bless her, hope her album do well, why people have to write all in capital letter… well good luck…
Thanks Gwendolyn! That was so touching! The best of luck to her! I liked what I heard!
I won’t be buying Kellie’s cd because I’m not much of a country fan but it sounds really interesting. Good luck to her also.
Umm the capture of Constantine in his little crocheted beanie made my day! Bahahahaha!
I am not sure if I am posting this in the right right area, but I wanted to comment on Jenifer Hudson’s review from the Suntimes. I haven’t heard it, so I can’t speak about the album, but it seems to me that critics in general seem to judge former Idol contestants by a different and much harsher standard than other artists. To me it seems that it is oftentimes infused with more bashing than objectivity. Maybe I’m wrong here about that, but reading reviews lately about some of these former contestants leaves me with the impression that you almost have to prove yourself even more if you came up through the ranks of AI, whether you are the artist or producer.
I’ve got both Kellie’s and Jennifer’s cd on their way to me, as I type. I’ve listened to both and although they aren’t perfect (what is?), I think they are both above average. It really is gratifying to be able to support these kids that we’ve seen develop before our very eyes. Even better is I like both of the records! LOL!
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I just saw an Oprah ad for the show coming up (later this week?) with J-Hud, Sophie Okoneda, Alicia Keys, Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah, (mostly) about “The Secret Life of Bees.” I still can’t believe how fabulous that cast is. Anyway, excellent timing for Jennifer to push her album (and talk about the new engagement). She was wearing the same gray and black dress I think she had on on The View.
(Meanwhile, today’s Oprah is about breast cancer and I have already teared up three or four times.)
Not exactly a headline, but cool nonetheless. Taken from DC=42 board, who got it from AI boards.
Next seasons AI audition backdrop featuring our newest American Idol :D
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9523/aicook1df5.png
Crush was added to 2 stations today according to All Access:
^^ Actually Crush was added to almost 15 radio station in AC, and 3 in HAC…. but the biggest Archie news today:
CRUSH is being played in radiostation in Honduras, is the first time I heard a Idol in Honduras since Kelly Clarkson and No Air… This is awesome… since MTv Latin America still isn´t playing the video I though it will be a while but… :) :) I´m happy… Go Archie Go Crush..
That’s really awesome. I haven’t been listening to top 40 radio very much anymore, and I got to hear Crush tonight for the first time on my station. :)
Thanks for that update! I listen to KKHH-FM Houston. I’ve been waiting for the longest time to hear Crush on the radio. This past weekend was the first time ever I heard it on the radio. It was so exciting. They were doing the Top 30 countdown.
I believe the official add numbers for Crush are 10 AC stations, 5 Hot AC stations, and 2 Top 40 stations.
AC:
WRRM-FM Cincinnati (#29)
KSNE-FM Las Vegas (#33)
KMGL-FM Oklahoma City (#48)
WMGV-FM Greenville, NC (#89)
WMGN-FM Madison, WI (#99)
WARM-FM York, PA (#103)
WSLQ-FM Roanoke, VA (#115)
WEBE-FM Bridgeport, CT (#122)
WMXS-FM Montgomery, AL (#153)
WMJY-FM Biloxi (#154)
Hot AC:
WTMX-FM Chicago (#3)
KIMN-FM Denver (#22)
KYIS-FM Oklahoma City (#48)
WJLK-FM Monmouth-Ocean (#51)
WTSS-FM Buffalo (#52)
And the Top 40 ones are listed above by Pam. Obviously, I’m most excited about the Houston station KKHH (Houston’s KRBE also plays Crush) and the Chicago Hot AC station because they’re big markets.
That’s awesome! If the rumor is true that he’s going to record Crush is Spanish, maybe he’ll actually record a Spanish version of the video that MTV Latin America would play. You never know.
I heard that there may be at least one Spanish language song on this album to mix it up a bit and to show off Archie’s versatility. If so, that would really help propel his growing international popularity into even greater heights. I’m so excited for his album.
Forgive me if this has been covered a million times, but what do the numbers in parentheses mean?
If I´m being honest, I don´t want a spanish version of Crush, most of the time the songs that are translate lost his meaning and don´t go according to the music…For example the spanish version of Angels, that Robbie Williams did, don´t have the same meaning of the spanish version…I love the englihs version, but hate the spanish one…
MTvLatin America don´t have a problem with english videos, they are playing Simple Plan, Panic! at the Disco (this guys are really popular in AL right now) Duffy, Mika, Usher… We even have a MTV awards nomination for english speaking artist exclusive like:
Mejor Artista Pop Internacional (Best International Pop Artist)
Mejor Artista Rock Internacional (Best International Rock Artist)
Mejor Artista Nuevo Internacional (Best International New Artist)
And english song can be nominated to best song and best video… The point is, if the video is popular in US thee is a great chance that MTvLA will play it…
Here is the link for the MtvLa Awards, you can go there to see the music that is being nominated (sadly the Jonas Brothers are there)
If I´m stand correct Crush is also being play in Brazil, that is a really big market…
I agree with you totally, cruzceleste. If David does have a Spanish song on that album, I hope it’s a totally new song, not a translation of what we’ve already heard before. Maybe something with a hot Latin beat? LOL!
I’m a tad late to this conversation, but there are a couple of things I’d like address.
I don’t think Jim DeRogatis would give Jennifer Hudson a bad review or judge her more harshly for having been on AI. He may snark about AI (and why not?), but I’ve been listening to his radio show* for awhile and he’s very honest in his reviews. I’ve heard him give bad reviews to artists who he admires if their album isn’t up to snuff. I haven’t heard Hudson’s album yet, so I’m not sure whether I agree with him about it, but he’s judging music on more than having a good hook and whether it will sell. Just check out his Top picks of 2007 and you’ll see a lot of artists/bands that aren’t on the top of the sales brackets, but some who are.
On the other hand, I think being on AI certainly lowers one’s perception as an “artist” in certain crowds. I know this because a lot of people I know perceive it that way. How much that affects the contestants’ post idol careers is debatable. It carries a certain stigma, but in most cases the opportunities seem to outweigh that.
*The radio show is Sound Opinions with Greg Kot (of the Tribune). It started locally on WXRT, but is now available via NPR across the nation. I don’t catch it every week, but I love it. You can also get it on podcast. I’ve discovered lots of cool music thanks to Greg and Jim. Their rating system is Trash it, Burn it or Buy it. They usually have some pretty interesting interviews as well.
ETA: Not sure about the Sun Times as a whole, but I’m pretty sure this is the first AI album that Jim has actually reviewed. JHud should be complimented that he actually took a listen. :)