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Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12th, 1981) was a contestant on Season 3 of American Idol.

Audition[]

Jennifer auditioned in Atlanta. She sang "Share Your Love with Me" by Aretha Franklin. All three judges voted "yes", sending her to the next round.

Hollywood Round[]

Jennifer's time in Hollywood was not fully televised, but she was shown on the final day of Hollywood Week and although she was not shown singing, Simon was shown comparing her dress to aluminum foil. Despite this, she did enough to advance to the Top 32.

Top 32[]

Jennifer was shown in Group 1. She sang "Imagine" by John Lennon. Although she did not initially receive enough votes to make the Top 2 for her group, she was selected to compete in the Wild-Card round.

Wild-Card[]

Jennifer sang "I Believe in You and Me" by Four Tops. She was selected by Randy Jackson to compete as a Top 12 finalist.

Top 12[]

Jennifer sang "Baby I Love You" by Aretha Franklin. She was placed in the Bottom 2 for that week.

Top 11[]

Jennifer sang "No One Else on Earth" by Wynonna Judd. She received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.

Top 10[]

Jennifer sang "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave" by Martha and the Vandellas. She was placed in the Bottom 2 for that week.

Top 9[]

Jennifer sang "Circle of Life" by Elton John. She received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.

Top 8[]

Jennifer sang "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston from the film The Bodyguard. She received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.

Top 7[]

Jennifer sang "Weekend in New England" by Barry Manilow. She received the lowest number of votes for that week, eliminating her from the competition.

After the Show[]

Jennifer achieved a great deal of success. Her feature film debut Dreamgirls earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the only American Idol alum to have an Oscar. Her 2008 debut album, Jennifer Hudson debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA, selling over one million copies worldwide. It also earned her four Grammy nominations, winning one for Best R&B Album. Her second album I Remember Me also debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA again. Her third album JHUD peaked in the top ten and featured the Grammy-nominated track "It's Your World". She also the primary singer of The Color Purple musical album, which earned a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.

In 2018, Clive Davis announced that Aretha Franklin handpicked Jennifer to portray her in a Aretha Franklin biopic. The film, titled Respect, came out in 2021 and received positive reviews from critics.

In 2021, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Media for a Daytime Program for her work on the show Baba Yaga.

In 2022, Jennifer became the 17th person (and youngest female) to achieve EGOT status as the producer of the Tony Award-winning musical A Strange Loop. The same year, she launched her own daytime talk show The Jennifer Hudson Show to positive reviews and earned a People's Choice Award nomination for "Daytime Talk Show of 2022". In January 2023, it was announced that the show was renewed for another season.

Trivia[]

  • Jennifer's elimination was considered one of the most shocking eliminations the show's ever had. All three members of the Bottom 3 the week she was eliminated (Fantasia, Jennifer and LaToya) all had highly praised performances and were generally referred to as the three best singers in the competition. This elimination sparked much controversy. Elton John had called the voting verdict 'incredibly racist'.
  • In 2022, Jennifer became the seventeenth person, fifth woman, and first American Idol alum to receive an Academy Award, Tony Award, Emmy Award and Grammy Award (collectively called "EGOT").
Season 3
Finalists
Fantasia Barrino  ยท Diana DeGarmo  ยท Jasmine Trias  ยท LaToya London  ยท George Huff  ยท John Stevens  ยท Jennifer Hudson  ยท Jon Peter Lewis  ยท Camile Velasco  ยท Amy Adams  ยท Matthew Rogers  ยท Leah LaBelle
Semifinalists
Elizabeth LeTendre  ยท Matthew Metzger  ยท Suzy Vulaca  ยท Katie Webber  ยท Heather Piccinini  ยท John Preator  ยท Tiara Purifoy  ยท Lisa Wilson  ยท Charly Lowry  ยท Jonah Moananu  ยท Eric Yoder  ยท Lisa Leuschner  ยท Marisa Joy  ยท Kara Master  ยท Briana Ramirez-Rial  ยท Jesus Roman  ยท Noel Roman  ยท Marque Lynche  ยท Ashley Thomas  ยท Erskine Walcott
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