Jennifer Hudson, recovering after the tragic events in her life, expressed gratitude Thursday for her four Grammy nominations. She said it was a childhood dream of hers to release an album. And now this dream has come true. In addition, the fact that she received four Grammy nominations was truly a blessing.

“I’m extremely honoured and humbled by the nominations,” she said in a statement.

Called “Jennifer Hudson,” the album features many household names in the music industry including Ne-Yo, who wrote “Spotlight,” the first single, Timbaland (with whom she collaborated on the „Pocketbook” track), Missy Elliott, Diane Warren, Christopher “Tricky” Stewart, Robin Thicke and Harvey Mason.

Hudson was nominated for best R&B album, best female R&B vocal performance, best R&B song for “Spotlight” and best R&B performance by a duo group with vocals for her duet with Fantasia, called “I’m His Only Woman.” The first single that was released from Hudson’s self-titled album, “Spotlight,” debuted in the Top 20 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The good news came on the same day her estranged brother-in-law, who was arrested and charged with the triple murders of Hudson’s family, was ordered held without bail in the murder case. William Balfour had been formally charged on Tuesday with three counts of first degree murder and one count of home invasion. Judge Raymond Myles rejected William Balfour’s request for bail on Wednesday and scheduled his next court date for December 30.

As an American Idol contestant, Jennifer Hudson placed seventh in FOX’s “American Idol” reality-show’s third season, which premiered on January 19, 2004. That season’s winner was Fantasia Monique Barrino, the 19-year-old (at that time) contestant defeating Diana DeGarmo by 1.3 million votes.