After a “Dreamgirls” performance that won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson has finally released her major-label debut album.

Called “Jennifer Hudson,” the latter features many household names in the music industry such as 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. The latter two are an American Grammy Award winning R&B singer and one of the best-known session drummers, respectively.

Hudson, 27, 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, the show’s runner-up, by 1.3 million votes.

In November 2005, Jennifer Hudson was cast in the role of Effie White for the the film adaptation of the musical „Dreamgirls,” winning the part over hundreds of other actresses, including the aforementioned Fantasia Barrino.

Her breathtaking rendition of the hit song "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" earned her much critical acclaim and, as stated before, an Oscar for best supporting actress.
Two years later, in September, she began work for her appearance in the hit TV series „Sex and the City,” in which she portrayed lead-character Carrie Bradshaw’s personal assistant Louise.

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.