I posted an item in yesterday’s headlines about Jennifer Hudson’s album cover, but I thought I’d post a photo out front. The big controversy now seems to be whether it is photo shopped or not. So what? Who isn’t photo shopped these days?
For those interested in the music, here are some of the rumored collaborations on the album: Akon, R. Kelly, John Legend, Jack Splash, Christopher “Tricky†Stewart, Robin Thicke, Timbaland, T-Pain, The Underdogs and Diane Warren.
I’m sure it’s photoshopped, but she looks darn good!!
I saw a plug for her new video on MTV this morning. She looked very similiar to her photo on the cover there. Maybe, not quite as “thin” but it was a short clip and not whole body shots of her.
I think, like you said, EVERYONE is photoshopped these days. If its not the body then its the face.
Or maybe she has pulled a Janet Jackson and lost a lot of weight and toned up very quickly. Either way, its her business.
I read somewhere that she said she’s lost 15 lbs. That looks like more than 15 to me, though.
I think the “so what?” over the cover isn’t whether or not she is Photoshopped, but what it says about our culture that a beautiful, voluptuous woman like Jennifer NEEDS to be Photoshopped in order to sell albums. Not only is it insulting to Jennifer Hudson, but it’s insulting to the rest of us. A lot of people saw Sex and the City and saw the photos of her at the showings. She didn’t look like that. If that’s truly her and she’s lost weight and is healthy and feels beautiful, then more power to her. But if some moron in the PR department with a very narrow vision of female beauty deemed her unmarketable without Photoshop, then it’s disgusting. I’m not naive; I know this goes on all the time. But it’s still disgusting.
I like that haircut on her. The one negative that I remember about her on AI was that she never really looked put together so it was hard to see that star potential in her.
I can’t wait to hear the album. I love Spotlight. Ne-Yo sure knows how to write some great songs.
it is most definitely photoshopped. the raised arm is a favorite photo pose because it allows easy access to trim the full side of the body. Plus the arm by her mouth is using a shadow technique to make the arm look more defined. all publicity photos are photoshopped. the smoothness of her skin and the accentuation of highlights and strong shadows on her face indicate ps work. subtle retouching can really make an image more memorable. if u go overboard, it just looks fake. from the small image here, she looks beautiful.
Photoshopped? That’s an understatement! Where is the rest of her? I think she’s gorgeous the way she is. I can see airbrushing a few zits or shooting at an advantageous angle…but this is a little ridiculous. Look at her neck! Too bad that everyone has to look the same.
Amen sister.
I don’t mind the photoshoting usually, it’s just that it’s so excessive. In so many of her inteviews she always extols the beauty of her curves, and to now have this fake photo represent her means that those representing her don’t think that she’s good enough to be portrayed more realistically. Jen’s a beautiful woman, she doesn’t need to fake it.
According to one of her sites jhudonline it’s not photo shopped. I don’t know if I believe that since as a HUGE Hudson fan I try to find out as much as I can and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look like that (and I’ve seen her in person.) After a year of waiting for this album I don’t care I’m so excited to finally get a Jennifer Hudson solo disc and am so proud of her for everything that has happened. I also love the list of names attached to it and have heard that they plan on releasing it on the last day of Grammy Consideration.
I would think either her or her management team would have to had approved the final image. Jennifer does have some clout in the show business industry these days,even if its her first CD. She’s a member of several unions by now. It is a beautiful photo and doesn’t detract from her known image. It still shows off a couple of her curves to their best advantage.
She’s a gorgeous lady and I’m so pleased for her success. I’m not pleased that she can’t be herself, for the same reasons Kat noted in her post. There is no way I’d ever believe this wasn’t ps’d, I don’t care what her fan site says.
Well yes, we can be disappointed but is it any more wrong than taking out a few extra lines on the face or changing hair color or eye color? It does happen all the time and unfortunately, mankind in general and the western world in particular, is attacted to a certain standard of beauty. It has been proven in several studies over the years that the younger, thinner, more attractive person gets the job, the better place to live, the more desirable place in society. Fair? No! Tragic? Yes ! True? Absolutely! Does Jennifer want to sell the most copies she can? I am sure she does.
And what image of Jennifer would be more likely to attract people who doesn’t know her or her work to her CD? The prettiest one possible. Look at it this way, it is already creating quite a bit of buzz about Ms. Hudson and it hasn’t even hit the shelves yet! This is a good thing.
I think talking about whether it is photoshopped or not makes for some interesting observations as shown above. I liked the fact that this beautiful talented singer was NOT trying to be an anorexic stick and then a photo comes up of her looking half her size and that is a little discouraging to some people. I completely understand the photoshopping, a touch here and there but when they remove half your body then that is definitely sending out the message that maybe it isnt ok for Jennifer to be the size she is? She looked wonderful the way she was or should I say is, because I do not believe this is even close to what her size actually is no matter what her site says either.
Either way though this pic is a pic of a very beautiful young lady.
I’m more concerned about who is on her album. Between R.Kelly and Akon, she lost my respect. Add in the fake image and I’m totally disgusted.
Yeah that!
As much as I hate R. Kelly (and I do) if he can write a song for Jennifer in the style of “I Belive I Can Fly†which would totally fit her then I’m fine with it on her disc. I think all of these people just wanted to work with her because she’s such a special talent.
Hello, newbie here :)
I have to say, if it was not for a name in the cover, I will not have recognize her (and I just saw the movie Dreamgirls tonight).
I also wanted to share this commercial for a soap product, a kind of before-after photoshop : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdUggibS7Iw
See you folks around…
Yes, that ad is very famous, and quite eye-opening. The original point I was making in my post was that EVERYONE is photo shopped, including MEN. Particularly on album covers, find me one that isn’t altered to look “prettier”. Even Taylor Hicks had his double-chin bushed away on his Idol debut. Why make a big deal out of Jen’s little makeover?
By the way, I love Jennifer. I think she’s really talented. “Spotlight” is catchy and fun, and I look forward to hearing her album in September. Her career is going fantastic. I think it’s awesome.
Because it is not just a LITTLE makeover, thats why. This same article showed her on 6/25 at an award show and you can see that half her body was removed in this little photoshop. Yes, her music and her talent is what is most important but this took the notice off of that just a little bit but of course we know she is more or less than just her figure. This article was with the pic
Jennifer Hudson’s Slim Chance
Posted Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:32pm PDT by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks
Is it just me, or does Jennifer Hudson look, um, DIFFERENT on her debut album’s cover?
Seriously, not since Ann Wilson was electronically compressed from a size 16 to a size 2 in one of Heart’s ’80s music videos have I seen such a glaring example of what appears to be some sort of digital diet. Because unless Jennifer has been on Beyonce’s pre-Dreamgirls lemon-and-cayenne-pepper fasting plan for the past six months, this album art does NOT accurately represent the real Hudson from the neck down.
So, this looks like one extreme Photoshop makeover. But why? Jennifer looks great the way she is. Do the suits at RCA Records really think she’ll shift more units with her head digitally decapitated and then Franksteined onto some skinny mystery body? And do they really think her fans are unobservant enough to overlook such a radical renovation of her famously full figure?
You know, Effie would not stand for this, and neither should Jennifer. Neither should her fans.
And if this really is Jennifer’s actual body, then someone please email me the name of her personal trainer, pronto.
And that’s the skinny, for now.
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3212 Comments
1. muziclvr57 - Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:16pm PDT
Whoa, i could understand if they wanted to shop just a little to be reasonable but this is too much.
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2. Stacey B - Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:25pm PDT
Wow is that really her, but I am not mad at her sometime peopel want a differnt look and for most full figure woman they want
Or maybe people could be attracted to her CD by her MUSIC. Novel concept. I know you can’t hear her music by looking at her CD cover, but if looking like a gorgeous sex kitten on your CD cover were all it took to sell albums, Katharine McPhee would be getting certified 10x platinum right now.
But add to that the fact that beauty isn’t a universal concept. The entertainment industry has a very, very narrow concept of female beauty; the rest of the world does not. Poll your male or lesbian friends; they’re all going to have different ideas of their dream woman. Some will want a long and lithe frame; others an athletic one; others want some serious junk in the drunk. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to appear attractive, but the media culture is stuck in this ridiculous rut that there is only one way for a woman to be beautiful, and frankly, it’s sickening. Maybe “that’s the way it is,” but “that’s the way it is” has historically been the defense used when…there simply is no other defense.
Please don’t post entire articles, and please don’t post articles without links.
Ha, there is nothing wrong being photoshopped these days. Especially for people in the entertainment business where your image matters, no matter how much we would like to believe/say/protest it shouldn’t. But what is really laughable in this case is this “source” insisting that Hudson’s body isn’t photoshopped. Um, how stupid do they think people are? Bwah!
“You know, Effie would not stand for this, and neither should Jennifer. Neither should her fans.”
You know I think all Effie would stand for is singing front and center and that’s what Jennifer is doing, fat, thin, photo shopped or real.
As I said I’m just happy that someone who I used to have to try to convince people that she had talent is finally getting the solo album that she has deserved. I think “Spotlight†is a great first single that not only I can’t get out of my head it’s also building on the R& B charts and “Effie’s†going to finally have her moment on the charts.
I have never posted a link and wasnt sure how, I didnt mean to put up all the comments also, the article was short, shorter than what most people write so I wasnt sure if it would be a problem. Sorry
No one had to convince me the lady had talent from the get go and photo shopping is a fact of life with everyone, star or not. This just got me going because of the extent of it. They took a beautiful voluptuous lady and pretty much cut her in half and by doing that implied, to me, that she was not so gorgeous the way she was and I thought she was. Thats all
She is quite hard to recognize on that cover. I see JH in the nose, mouth, and a small bit of the chin. Other than that, no sign of her. And only the one eye is exposed enough to see a feature. They really didn’t need to do all that imo.
One of Fantasia’s covers has the arms up, chin up, pose….that didn’t look like her either.