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Vocal effects, T-Pain, and Ludacris have their place -- pop-oriented R&B singles fronted by life-like automatons with limited range, for instance -- but beyond cynical sales interests, they make zero sense on a Jennifer Hudson album. Anyone who has heard Hudson sing, whether through American Idol, Dreamgirls, or even that baffling duet on Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell III, would know she is capable of carrying an album without trendy gimmickry and guest MCs. Few vocalists as young as Hudson have a voice that is as versatile and expressive, proficient enough to pull off a multi-dimensional set of R&B songs, yet her debut is as tricked out as that of an artist with a small fraction of the talent. Neither the treatments nor the accessories were necessary. She got them anyway. Lead single "Spotlight," released four months prior to the album, was both promising and satisfying, nearly a dead-center bull's-eye -- dramatic but not over the top, powerful but not a gratuitous fireworks display, a melancholy but striking midtempo track with a gently thumping four-four pulse. It's also the first song on the album and sets up a sequence of wild swings between direct hits and flailing misses. The latter is more common than the former. Hudson's voice is smoothed out through the fluttery "If This Isn't Love" (not to mention spiked with grating male grunts of "Hey!"), nearly unrecognizable until the point where she belts. During "Pocketbook," Hudson is in top attitudinal form, but she is washed out by Timbaland's overstuffed beatbox-driven production and Ludacris' outlandish freakishness. "What's Wrong (Go Away)," a ballad written and produced by T-Pain, who also guests, would be just fine without the auto-tune that is streaked across it. Excepting "Giving Myself" -- as in "Spotlight," she triggers flashbacks to the late, great Phyllis Hyman -- the slower material that allows her to stretch out tends to be dry; only so much life can be breathed into Diane Warren's "You Pulled Me Through," while "Invisible" is low-wattage self-upliftment suited for a vocal competition. Album number two will hopefully make drastic reductions in moments like these, as well as the guest spots -- unless, of course, Fantasia is onboard for a sequel to the old-school-flavored duet "I'm His Only Woman."
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist, Recording Engineer - Shaffer Smith, Composer, Lyricist - Tor Erik Hermansen, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist - StarGate, Producer - Ne-Yo, Co-Producer - Phil Tan, Mixing Engineer - Josh Houghkirk, Assistant Engineer
(P) 2008 Arista Records LLC
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Brian Seals, Composer, Lyricist - Terry Thomas, Composer, Lyricist - Theron Thomas, Composer, Lyricist - Brian Kennedy, Producer - Harvey Mason, Jr., Mixing Engineer, Producer - Andrew Hey, Recording Engineer - Dabling Harward, Recording Engineer - David Boyd, Engineer
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Ludacris, Associated Performer, Featured Artist - Jennifer Hudson featuring Ludacris, Associated Performer - James Washington, Composer, Lyricist - Candice Nelson, Composer, Lyricist - Timothy Mosley, Composer, Lyricist - Christopher Bridges, Composer, Lyricist - Hannon Lane, Composer, Keyboards, Lyricist, Percussion - Jim Beanz, Percussion, Producer, Recording Engineer - Timbaland, Producer - Tim Weidner, Recording Engineer - Kurt Read, Assistant Engineer, Recording Engineer - Richard Purkiss, Assistant Engineer - Sam Cross, Assistant Engineer - Chris Waugh, Assistant Engineer - Demacio Castellon, Recording Engineer - RON TAYLOR, Editor - Vadim Chislov, Assistant Engineer
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Robin Thicke, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Pro-Jay, Drums, Producer - Larry Cox, Organ - Tony Reyes, Guitar - Bill Molina, Recording Engineer - Rich Travali, Mixing Engineer
(P) 2008 Arista Records LLC
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - T-Pain, Associated Performer, Composer, Featured Artist, Lyricist, Producer - Jennifer Hudson featuring T-Pain, Associated Performer - James "Scrappy" Stassen, Recording Engineer - Fabian Marascuillo, Mixing Engineer
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Johntá Austin, Composer, Lyricist - Jamal Jones, Composer, Lyricist - Brian Kennedy, Composer, Lyricist - Jason Perry, Composer, Lyricist - Polow Da Don, Producer - Harvey Mason, Jr., Producer - Dabling Harward, Recording Engineer - Fabian Marascuillo, Mixing Engineer
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Diane Warren, Composer, Lyricist - Harvey Mason, Jr., Mixing Engineer, Producer - Brian Kennedy, Producer - Andrew Hey, Recording Engineer - Dabling Howard, Recording Engineer - Neo Tanusakdi, Assistant Engineer - David Boyd, Engineer
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Fantasia, Associated Performer, Featured Artist - Jennifer Hudson feat. Fantasia, Associated Performer - Jack Splash, Arranger, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Missy Elliott, Co-Producer, Composer, Lyricist - Jazmine Sullivan, Composer, Lyricist - The Love Life Orchestra, Associated Performer - James Wisner, Recording Engineer - Paul J. Falcone, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Scott Berger-Felder, Assistant Engineer - Brandon Parks, Assistant Engineer
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist, Recording Engineer - Shaffer Smith, Composer, Lyricist - Tor Erik Hermansen, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist - Espen Lind, Composer, Lyricist - Amund Björklund, Composer, Lyricist - StarGate, Producer - Ne-Yo, Co-Producer - Phil Tan, Mixing Engineer - Josh Houghkirk, Assistant Engineer
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Durrell "Tank" Babbs, Composer, Lyricist - Antonio Dixon, Composer, Lyricist - Tank, Associated Performer, Producer - Dave Russell, Mixing Engineer
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Harvey Mason, Jr., Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Damon Thomas, Composer, Lyricist - Steven Russell, Composer, Lyricist - Tiffany Fred, Composer, Lyricist - The Underdogs, Associated Performer, Mixing Engineer, Producer - Kenya Ivey - Tavia Ivey - Aaron Renner, Recording Engineer - Andrew Hey, Recording Engineer - Dabling Harward, Assistant Engineer - Riley Mackin, Assistant Engineer - David Wright - Angela Golightly
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Performed by Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Dreamgirls (Motion Picture Soundtrack), Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Paul Smith, Assistant Engineer - Henry Krieger, Composer, Lyricist - Aaron Walk, Assistant Engineer - Tom Eyen, Composer, Lyricist - Bryan Walk, Assistant Engineer - Kevin Mills, Assistant Engineer - Sheldon Yellowhair, Assistant Engineer - Manny Marroquin, Mixing Engineer - Aaron Renner, Mixing Engineer - Riley Mackin, Mixing Engineer - Chris Spilfogel, Recording Engineer - Dabling Harward, Recording Engineer
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Traditional, Composer, Lyricist - Warryn Campbell, Arranger - Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell, Associated Performer, Producer - Eddie Brown, Keyboards - Bruce Buechner, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Sean Cooper - Sandra Campbell
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Jack Splash, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Cee-Lo Green, Composer, Lyricist - Salaam Remi, Composer, Lyricist - SalaamRemi.com, Producer - Franklin Emmanuel Socorro, Recording Engineer - Manny Marroquin, Mixing Engineer - Christian Plata, Assistant Engineer
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist, Main Artist, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist - Earl Powell, Composer, Lyricist, Mixing Engineer, Producer, Recording Engineer - Bill Grainer, Composer, Lyricist - Walter English III, Composer, Lyricist - Jerman Little III, Arranger - Patrick Hayes, Arranger, Guitar - Herman Little III, Keyboards - Mel Brown, Bass Guitar - Roney Jones, Strings - Denton Harris, Organ - Darryl Abernathy, Drums - Steve Kovacs, Recording Engineer - Larry Sturm, Mixing Engineer
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
Vocal effects, T-Pain, and Ludacris have their place -- pop-oriented R&B singles fronted by life-like automatons with limited range, for instance -- but beyond cynical sales interests, they make zero sense on a Jennifer Hudson album. Anyone who has heard Hudson sing, whether through American Idol, Dreamgirls, or even that baffling duet on Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell III, would know she is capable of carrying an album without trendy gimmickry and guest MCs. Few vocalists as young as Hudson have a voice that is as versatile and expressive, proficient enough to pull off a multi-dimensional set of R&B songs, yet her debut is as tricked out as that of an artist with a small fraction of the talent. Neither the treatments nor the accessories were necessary. She got them anyway. Lead single "Spotlight," released four months prior to the album, was both promising and satisfying, nearly a dead-center bull's-eye -- dramatic but not over the top, powerful but not a gratuitous fireworks display, a melancholy but striking midtempo track with a gently thumping four-four pulse. It's also the first song on the album and sets up a sequence of wild swings between direct hits and flailing misses. The latter is more common than the former. Hudson's voice is smoothed out through the fluttery "If This Isn't Love" (not to mention spiked with grating male grunts of "Hey!"), nearly unrecognizable until the point where she belts. During "Pocketbook," Hudson is in top attitudinal form, but she is washed out by Timbaland's overstuffed beatbox-driven production and Ludacris' outlandish freakishness. "What's Wrong (Go Away)," a ballad written and produced by T-Pain, who also guests, would be just fine without the auto-tune that is streaked across it. Excepting "Giving Myself" -- as in "Spotlight," she triggers flashbacks to the late, great Phyllis Hyman -- the slower material that allows her to stretch out tends to be dry; only so much life can be breathed into Diane Warren's "You Pulled Me Through," while "Invisible" is low-wattage self-upliftment suited for a vocal competition. Album number two will hopefully make drastic reductions in moments like these, as well as the guest spots -- unless, of course, Fantasia is onboard for a sequel to the old-school-flavored duet "I'm His Only Woman."
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 00:59:34
- Main artists: Jennifer Hudson
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Arista
- Genre: Soul/Funk/R&B R&B
(P) 2008 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
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