Idolwire.com would like to congratulate Jennifer Hudson on her receipt of the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in Dreamgirls. With this win Hudson has secured her place as the ultimate American Idol contestant even though she didn’t win her season. She can now place her Oscar award on her shelf next to her Golden Globe and SAG (Screen Actors Guild) awards for the same role.
Jennifer Hudson just keeps on climbing the ladder; her latest step is as Vogue’s cover model for the March 2007 Power Issue. Hudson is only the third African-American female to grace Vogue’s cover in over four years; Halle Barry was the cover model in December 2002 and Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede took that spot in May 2005. Come on Vogue, get with the times. Hudson was interviewed by editor-at-large Andre’ Leon Talley; Vogue has a special video interview with Talley on Hudson - watch it now.
Hudson was photographed by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. Leibovitz is probably most known for her Rolling Stone cover photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono taken on the morning of the day on which Lennon was shot and murdered. I tell you, Hudson has really done American Idol proud – no one could have predicted the heights she has reached. I don’t think she’s done climbing though, I foresee Hudson a regular in blockbuster hits for years to come.
Idolwire.com would like to congratulate Jennifer Hudson for yet another Best Actress in a Supporting Role award – the latest being a SAG Award. The Screen Actors Guild Award is a highly-respected award as the voting body is made up of the nominee’s peers. Upon acceptance of her award Hudson said, “Thank you so much, what a welcome, wow” then went on with the remainder of her acceptance speech.
Perla Meneses’ performance in Minneapolis is still getting a lot of attention, but the reviews are hot and cold. The general consensus is her heavily-accented rendition of Blondie’s “Call Me” was average, at best. Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly went so far as to say “Worst of all, though, was Perla Meneses. Okay, her hips may not lie, but they also do not mask one of the weakest voices to make it to Hollywood in the last few seasons. Unless, of course, you dig cut-rate Shakira impersonations.” Now in Meneses’ defense I’d like to say that she purposely chose not to sing a Shakira song in hopes of avoiding the comparison. Unfortunately that idea went down the drain as soon as Randy Jackson asked her to perform a bit of her favorite Shakira song. Now the comparison is inevitable, both have long curly locks, hips that don’t lie and hail from Colombia.
Jon Peter Lewis (American Idol season 3 finalist) is standing in as a resident AI expert for Rolling Stone Magazine and giving his opinion on this year’s crop of hopefuls. Perla Meneses was on his good list. Not being one to hold back what he thought, Lewis said “She’s from Colombia and can sing ‘Hips Don’t Lie,’ so she’ll be known as ‘the Latin girl.’ She seems to have the right T and A; the survival story…and her voice isn’t bad. She sounds like Shakira, and Simon seemed to like her.” So my question is does Lewis mean that Simon likes her voice or her T and A? I’ll let you decide that one for yourself.
The staff at Idolwire.com would like to congratulate Jennifer Hudson on her Oscar Nomination for her role in “Dreamgirls”. The Oscar Nominations were just announced live on CNN. She is up against Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi (Babel), Cate Blanchett (Notes on A Scandal), and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine). The 79th Annual Oscars will be awarded live on February 25, 2007 at 8pm ET on ABC. Good luck Jennifer Hudson, you’ve come a long way from American Idol. Girl, welcome to the BIG TIME!
For those living under a rock, Jennifer Hudson (season 3 finalist) had a breakout performance in the smash hit “Dreamgirls” and went on to win a Golden Globe award for Best Actress In A Supporting Role. Entertainment sites across the country are filled with anticipation over tomorrow morning’s Oscar nomination ceremony (5:30 am PT); will Jennifer Hudson receive a nomination? The consensus is yes. The step from American Idol to Golden Globe winner is huge but with Oscar looming on the horizon Hudson fans are ecstatic.
In addition to her Golden Globe win, Hudson was also nominated for a SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Award. The SAG Awards ceremony will be broadcast live on Sunday, January 28, 2007 on TNT and TBS. Idolwire would like to wish Hudson the best of luck with the Oscar nominations tomorrow as well as the SAG Awards on Sunday.
Have I mentioned recently that I adore Entertainment Weekly? For all of you holiday procrastinators, it makes an absolutely fabulous gift – I think I’ve given an EW gift subscription to someone for the past five years. They never fail to have the best interviews – and I’ve read a zillion of them from Fantasia over the past few weeks – and not surprisingly, this is my favorite. I tried to pick out some of the best excerpts to print here, but I ended up with the entire article, so here is the EW link. Better still, why don’t you pick up the issue and take care of some Christmas shopping while you’re at it? I promise, you won’t be sorry…
The interview takes place in Fantasia’s hotel suite in New York city and the conversation runs the gamut: Her new boyfriend, her father’s lawsuit, her new album, her upcoming tour, losing “Dreamgirls”, her struggles with anxiety and fame, and her new puppy, King. It’s mind-boggling when you realize she is only 22-years-old – I can’t wait to see how her career plays out. She’s got miles and miles to go, and if her newest CD is any indication, I’d say we can look for “Life Really Is A Fairy Tale” on store shelves very soon.
I am currently signed up for approximately 90 Google alerts - all American Idol related. When I signed on this morning, I had 205 emails - about 150 of those were trash - and most of the rest were for Jennifer Hudson. The amount of press she is receiving is astonishing - I can’t remember the last time someone received THIS MUCH BUZZ for a debut film role. As a matter of fact, I can’t think of the last time there’s been this much buzz about ANY film role. I’m sure someone will email me or comment and tell me who Oscar’s last paramour was, and I’m sure it will be someone totally obvious, and I’m also sure I’ll feel like a big idiot for not remembering. I’m kinda used to feeling like an idiot, so please help me out and let me know.
In this latest JHud interview from Newsday, author Gene Seymour paints a glowing picture of a confident, composed, and secure rising star. Jennifer is supposed to be in the limelight - right here and right now. You know how you feel when something is just right? You just feel it in your bones - there is no fear, no doubt, not even overwhelming excitement. It’s just a calm knowing - it’s the most wonderful experience! I love it when it happens to me and I am thrilled it is happening for Jennifer.
It’s going to be a busy few months for Fantasia. Her sophomore album drops on Tuesday, December 12th, and the promotion campaign has already started. Fantasia performed ‘When I See U’ on the Today show recently. Rumored to be her second single (the first single is ‘Hood Boy’) it’s definitely my favorite song from the CD and it was a great performance. The entire CD is surprisingly good – I say surprisingly because for me, Fantasia tends to get a bit screechy. I didn’t expect to like it – especially after I had listened to Taylor’s CD three times in a row – but I did.
I’m not the only one either. In the December 14th issue, Rolling Stone magazine gives ‘Fantasia’ 3 ½ stars and reviewer Evan Serpick claims: “Fantasia expands her range, adds some attitude and comes up with some genuine R&B gems.” Among his favorites: ‘Hood Boy’, ‘Not The Way That I Do’, and ‘Bore Me (Yawn)’ Serpick’s calls ‘Baby Makin’ Hips’ “ferocious” and claims it is “…Fantasia’s best song to date, a potential shout-along classic on par with Mary J.’s “No More Drama” and Kelis’ “Caught Out There.” Can’t get much better than that!
Fantasia will also be opening for Jamie Foxx on several dates on his 12-date tour beginning the day after Dreamgirls hits theatres. Foxx’s show will be a combination of songs and standup comedy. For ticket/tour information, visit http://tour.jamiefoxx.com.
The world has gone completely insane. Before I started writing for Idolwire, when I would see stories like these, I would simply change the channel, close the page, etc. Unfortunately, I had to change my address from “Happy, Oblivion” to “What the Hell?, Real World” in order to report the news - and I use that term very, very, loosely.
I was wondering how long it would take and what lengths people would go to mutate the “feel-good story” of the year - Jennifer Hudson’s Cinderella story from booted Idol to Oscar-worthy star - into a national scandal. You can read the story here, here, and here. I’m too disgusted to summarize for you.
It’s almost like we can’t stand to have anyone too happy for too long. “Jennifer Hudson steals the movie! She’s on her way to superstardom! Her performance is like a religious experience! Let’s rip the bitch to shreds! C’mon! Who’s with me!” It’s crazy - how does making Jennifer Hudson look bad make anyone else look good? How does making Jennifer Hudson feel sad, depressed, and hurt make anyone else feel better? I don’t get it.
It’s not just Jennifer, either. In just the past few weeks we’ve had such made up, twisted, and exaggerated stories as Taylor Hicks is ungrateful to Idol, a rehashing of the Kelly Clarkson didn’t thank Idol at the Grammy’s, Fantasia calling JHud a heiffer, and the Beyonce feud. The most disgusting display of this sickening “reporting” was Clay Aiken’s sour note at a Christmas concert. It was everywhere for days. I don’t always agree with the Claymates’ tactics when it comes to supporting Clay, but they were dead-on justified in their campaign to have those videos removed. In my opinion, posting that video wasn’t “good-natured, all in fun ribbing” - it was just plain mean. These celebrities are successful for a reason - they’ve earned it! Go earn your own damn success and stop trying to destroy theirs.
It’s not easy being the kinder, gentler American Idol site. I’m trying - really I am - but, boy am I homesick for Oblivion.
