Two years ago, the biggest question surrounding Jennifer Hudson's career was whether she could act.
Everyone knew she could sing; after all, it was her soaring, gospel-inflected voice that made her famous during her finalist run on "American Idol" in 2004. The question was whether her considerable talent extended to acting when she was cast in the drama-filled role of Effie in the movie adaptation of the musical "Dreamgirls."
An Oscar win for best supporting actress answered that handily, and roles in the summer blockbuster "Sex and the City" and the upcoming "The Secret Lives of Bees" have only reaffirmed her newfound gift. But as Hudson puts the focus back on her singing with her self-titled debut CD, she has to answer more questions – like whether winning an Academy Award last year has made it easier or harder for her to be seen as a singer.
"Harder!" she says with a laugh.
"The pressure is more on the music than on the film side, which is odd," Hudson says. "It's like everything is expected to be big coming from me and so it's like, 'OK, we know this is going to be huge too.' So it's magnified, and a lot of attention on it and from what I hear it's extremely anticipated – so it's like, (sighs) 'OK!' "
But Hudson is hardly harried about the release of "Jennifer Hudson," out this week. She's used to defying expectations.
"I don't believe in limits, so I wasn't allowing myself to be limited and I wanted to show other sides of me, and to say, 'Well, if you like this side of Jennifer, let me introduce you to another side,' " Hudson says. "I used to consider my voice a tree with many branches, and that's what to me this album displays, all these different sides of me."
So far, the first single from the CD, the midtempo "Spotlight," has been a solid hit for Hudson, peaking at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100 R&B/Hip Hop Chart.
With no movie projects firmly in place, Hudson says music will be her main focus again, with plans for a tour in the nearby future. But it won't be her sole focus – she recently became engaged to David Otunga, the reality star better known as "Punk" for his stint on the VH1 show "I Love New York."
While Hudson was sporting her gigantic engagement ring, the idea is new that she's still getting used to her future as a married woman, quickly correcting herself though giggles as she changes from "I" to "we" when talking about her upcoming nuptials.
"We don't have a date yet, but I guess that's part of my future plans!"
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