Customer Reviews

Jennifer Hudson

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(33)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

This cd is difficult to review. I made sure I listened to it many times before writing this. I am a huge Jennifer Hudson fan and don't necessarily agree that she so much had to prove she could sing with this cd as show she could be a competitive cohesive artist. We all know she can sing. American idol and DREAMGIRLS showed us that. (And we are reminded with the inclusion of AND I'M TELLING YOU I'M NOT GOING here.)

Studios and producers can take a person with minimal talent and produce a very appealing cd that showcases them well. Here we have a singer with amazing pipes and range who can carry an album by those qualities alone and what do we get? Total overproduction and songs that are just not up to the caliber she deserves.

The cd opens very promisingly with the single SPOTLIGHT with strong and emotive vocals. Then IF THIS ISN'T LOVE comes on and the quality of song definitely diminishes. It's very generic but Jennifer does get to show her strong vocals at the end. POCKETBOOK with Ludacris is just silly and WHAT'S WRONG(GO AWAY) with T-Pain is ridiculous. So unecessary and just does not work. The static effect used with T-Pain is irritating and Jennifer merely floats through. GIVING MYSELF is the first ballad and it is ok. The song quality just doesn't cut it though and it works adequately.

Halfway through the cd starts to come into its own. YOU PULLED ME THOUGH is a better soulful ballad and Jennifer again gets to showcase those pipes. She soars range wise and emotively in the duet with Fantasia I'M HIS ONLY WOMAN and CAN'T STOP THE RAIN and WE GON' FIGHT are both priceless - highlights of the cd. She soars on both and showcase her amazing abilities as an artist. Then INVISIBLE comes and it does just that. It's a rather forgetful song. Including AND I'M TELLING YOU doesn't really fit - it merely shows what Jennifer is capable of with the right material. Even the final gospel track is ok - excellent vocal performance of an adequate song.

I wish this had been so much more. Clive Davis gets so much credit for his talent but his producing skills here get a very low grade. He was given pure raw talent and he surrounded her with nonsense. Never are Jennifer Hudsons vocals not supreme and heavenly. This just won't be the cd to start the true music career she deserves and is capable of having. There are not enough songs here to be singles and the set lacks any true continuity. Noit to say I can't enjoy it. I really do for I just love Jennifer Hudson's voice and abilities. I just can't help but wish she had been dealt a better hand. Till the next cd I will enjoy this one. SPOTLIGHT, CAN'T STOP THE RAIN, WE GON' FIGHT and a few others will carry me through.

This 3 star review is certainly not a judgement of the talents of Jennifer Hudson. Those would receive a 5+, but rather an honest review of the material on the cd. I do recommend purchasing it. It is enjoyable and she will become a legendary talent in time. Enjoy this in the meantime.

Jennifer Hudson's cd is finally here and of course the question is was it worth the wait and hype? I can say yes for the most part. 'Jennifer Hudson' offers songs that fit this woman's voice - there are no odd selections that will leave you scratching your head or have her reaching far out of her genre. Most of the songs showcase her vocal range with her hitting notes and doing runs that will have you on your feet and applauding in the privacy of your home or car. Is it perfect? Of course not, there are a few things that make it a bit drab and predictable but the good points outweigh the weaknesses and flaws.

The Good: The variety of the songs is the strength of the album. There's variety BUT her voice is never 'off' or subdued. In each song or within each style, the producers and the artist both find ways to keep things interesting and fresh. Unlike many artists, you can tell Hudson actually connected with the music and lyrics, which results in some really moving songs and fun moments. Stand-out tracks for me is the Beyoncé-esque 'If This Isn't Love' which is Hudson at her best in this pop ballad. 'Pocketbook' is also a winner with Hudson bringing out her sassy-edge that makes her endearing. Other tracks that left an impression were 'We Gon' Fight,' and 'Invisible' which contain lyrics many can relate to on some level.

The Bad: A lot of the mid-tempo or slower songs simply blend into one another. While her voice is always on spot, these songs just seem a bit boring because they sound similar. I would have liked to have heard her experiment and take a few more chances as she does on the song 'Pocketbook' but still, these seem a bit too safe and expected or predictable. While I can understand the inclusion of her song 'All Dressed In Love' from Sex and the City: The Movie, I feel like everyone in the world has heard the Dreamgirls track 'And I'm Telling You' and would have rather seen a new track entirely or a remix of the song.

A little dull and unbalanced in parts but in all, it's a good debut album that doesn't seem to be getting the 'spotlight' attention I think it should be. Check it out, you probably won't be let down.

I purchased the new Jennifer Hudson CD, and am not feeling it. Maybe it
will grow on me, but right now it seems like Clive Davis used the same
formula he employed on Fantasia's debut a few years ago. There are a FEW
nice songs, but I expected so much more. The BEST song on 'Jennifer Hudson' is titled 'Stand Up', which is only available on CDs sold @ Target. 'Spolight' is nice, and I skip over the songs featuring T-Pain & Ludacris....CRAP!! The song with Fantasia....nice idea, but I heard it all before! 'And I'm Telling You...' is great, but WHY is it on this CD ??? 'Leaving Tonight' by Ne-Yo & Jennifer would've been a better choice (I remastered the CD and included it....HA!). All n all, 'Jennifer Hudson' sounds like producer driven crap that floods urban & pop radio for the most part, while there are tracks that aren't well suited to Hudson's voice. Personally, I think this CD was a bad attempt to reach every possible demographic. Bad move Jennifer...next time, insist on recording a CD with more 'focus'!! Too bad today's legitimate artists (like Ms.Hudson) aren't allowed to show integrity on CDs while obvious attempts at getting 'hits' takes center stage. Oh well, let's see how the upcoming Re-Release of 'Jennifer Hudson' fares....you KNOW Arista is gonna add some extra tracks next time for more loot! Seriously...;~)
In closing, this could've been in the same league of CLASSIC debuts by Whitney, Mariah and Toni, but this effort isn't even close!

This album is something buy. IMO I really don't see anything wrong with how the production of this album went. I think Jennifer & her producers put out great tracks. Jennifer didn't imitate anyone on this album. A lot of people wanted to hear a Whitney sound or a Aretha sound but your not gonna get that your gonna get Jennifer Hudson. Listeners should want to hear Jennifer and not Whitney or Aretha. This album has her own style and own stamp of what R&B is all about. This album is not about duplicating what we get from Whitney when she first came to the scene or Aretha. It's Jennifer Hudson as her own and before you write it off as bad you really need to hear the album looking for Jennifer not other music legends.

Key songs like "Invisible" & "Giving Myself" are real listen too's and should not be skipped when listening. Emotion comes out from Jennifer in these songs and I've been blown away."We Gon Fight" is another example of something we really don't get from current R&B. She brings something different to the table that I haven't heard in a long time from anyone. And "Pocketbook" gives off that sassiness that I've seen in Jennifer since she was on AI. For me definitely a club banger or a morning work-out song. And the duet with Fantasia "I'm His Only Woman" for me injects thats same flavor into music that we got from the collab of Brandy/Monica but it's majority captures the essence of the song "Woman to Woman" which is also something that many fans of that song will love. For me the only song that could have been left out was the duet with T-Pain, other than that it a great debut for the Oscar winner. I bought two copies. For you to enjoy this album you really need to sit down and listen to the whole thing like I did and I was blown away.

SO again don't expect a imitation of Whitney's first album or Aretha because you're gonna get Jennifer and that is who your focus should be on.

I went out like a little teenager to buy this CD as soon as it came out. I would've paid regular price for this CD but lucky for me someone had already made the decision of paying less and maybe for a reason. I love Jennifer Hudson but c'mon. These songs could've been better written and such a fabulous voice even the arrangement for the familiar "And I am telling you" was off lacked emotion. I mean, I liked her cover song...of course. But, the song with Ludacris and the song with Tpain. My God, what a waste of studio time. Even the song with Fantasia is a little teenie bopper dumb for such a gorgeous voice and style of a singer. I mean, c'mon people. Why can't well written songs be available for the Diva? I know putting an album together full of good songs is hard but at least make an 1st entrance with being proud of this material. I don't think Jennifer's 1st album will last once the real music reviewers get a hold of it. You just wait. I mean, it's going to go next to Fantasia's albums and Jennifer is going to look back at her dream going down the tubes. I won't say this album is a total waste because song #2 and the very last song is very good so I guess in total there's about 4 songs that are good. I'm sad for this release because I thought enough time had gone into it since it took so much time to put this out plus I know Jennifer now knows more people in the "business" like Beyonce. I will say that there's one track where I noticed Beyonce's style of singing coming out in Jeniffer. I don't know if anyone will agree with me here. Wow!! what a disappointment. I hope I'm the only person who feels the same way. I'm glad I din't pay $13.99. Sorry Jennifer.

Ever since the release of the ultra-successful The Emancipation of MiMi, by Mariah Carey, it seems as though record labels are constantly overthinking things in order to get hits, especially when they have an artist who is truly talented on their hands, like Jennifer Hudson. That would probably explain why the best song Jennifer Hudson has ever recorded, the lovely "Stand Up," is nowhere to be found here. Quite honestly, this is not the classic album I was expecting from such a talented woman. Still, there are some nice songs. "Spotlight" is probably the best thing on here; it's light, but forceful, and its sparse production leaves ample room for Jennifer's powerful and emtional vocal delivery. The Timbaland-produced "Pocketbook" is pretty much the only moment on the album where she doesn't take herself so seriously, which makes it refreshing. It's sassy and silly ("don't make me hit you with my pocketbook"), but the track is almost ruined by Ludacris' unnecessarily nasty rap. The Robin Thicke-penned "Giving Myself," a simple and beautiful ballad, was a nice choice. The piano-laden "My Heart" is very catchy and an overall nice mid-tempo. "I'm His Only Woman," a duet with Fantasia, pays homage to Stax-era soul. "We Gon' Fight" is standard Tank fare, but it's enjoyable. And the closer, a rendition of the gospel traditional "Jesus Promised Me A Home Over There," shows her vocals at their best. The rest of the songs, I'm afraid, are anything but satisfying and many of them are extremely trendy, meaning that there are songs all across the radio that sound similar. Luckily, Hudson's voice elevates all of these from being embarrassingly bad, except on the biggest monstrosity: the duet with... T-Pain, "What's Wrong (Go Away)." 'Nuff said, it's inexcusible. "If This Isn't Love" is a bit too pop for my tastes. I can't believe artists are still calling up Diane Warren for songs, because in my opinion, she was finished almost a decade ago. Anyways, her addition, "You Pulled me Through" is pretty uninspiring. "Can't Stop the Rain" has a generally nice melody and has touching lyrics, but the production is very stale. "Invisible" isn't very exciting, either, and the chorus is too dramatic. And the inclusion of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" was pretty unnecessary in my eyes, especially since I--and probably the rest of America--had grown tired of it by the time the Academy Awards came around. Contrary to what other reviewers are saying, "All Dressed Up In Love" is not included as a bonus track on the standard edition. As I said before, all this material is made better due to the simple fact that it's Jennifer Hudson singing, and there are six or seven good tracks. But there are just as many songs that should've been left off, and with over 40 tracks recorded for this album, you'd think Hudson and Clive Davis could've formulated a great tracklist. If you want an excellent new female R&B album, buy Jazmine Sullivan's Fearless, because this just isn't cutting it for me. Maybe next time.

this is true r&b.from the first whisp of her breathe"ooh hoo-ooh hoo"it's an amazaing disc from an amazing talent,she shines captivates and mesmerizes...from "spotlight" through "jesus promised me a place over there".i got the deluxe target edition and the original.she rocks people.she is the soul truth in r& b.tracks 2,4,and 8 are going to kill the game,trust me.thank u jenny we needed you truly.

Wonderful job from a real singer. I love singers that can belt out a song and Jennifer can do that as well Aretha, Pattie, Whitney. I don't know why ppl are picking this cd apart I loved absolutly every song.
After the poptarts, the lip syncers, the rebel without a cause pretend angry singers this is a real, real treat. Songs with passion, sung with emotions and real talent. Heck the woman could sing the alphabet song and it would sound good, but she didn't and the songs on this cd are great. Well worth the wait.

Jennifer Hudson is a talented singer. I really like her debut album. My favorite tune on this disc is "Giving Myself Over To You". The piano playing is beautiful on this song and throughout this disc. Jennifer's vocals blew me away on "Giving Myself Over To You" "Spotlight" is the another highlight on this disc. This song is very upbeat and enjoyable to listen to. The beat box on the track "Pocketbook is tight. I like Ludacris' accompanying vocals too. She shows the power in her voice on the track "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". I love this song. "I'm His Only Woman" is a soulful duet with Fantasia Barrino. "Jesus Promised Me A Home Over There" is a very good gospel song. This is a very good disc and a strong debut.

I was so excited when Jen's CD came out in September. I purchased 5 copies at first, and a few more after that (as Christmas presents). While I do have my favorites on the CD, I think that overall, this is a great first release. I was hoping for more mid-tempo songs like Spotlight or What's Wrong, but thought that Pocketbook was definitely a surprise (a welcomed one). I probably have listed to "Invisible" at least a 200 times, that would definitely have to be my favorite and I absolutely love "If This Is Isn't Love", and recently been listening to "My Heart" a lot more recently as well. So those are my top 3 right now. I like that she blows on all of her songs, but I definitely wouldn't change a thing. I hope everyone who has followed her since American Idol will go out and support her.

Steph P.
(Washington, DC)