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American Idol finalist and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson is a woman of many talents.. Her October 2008 debut UK hit 'Spotlight' was written and co produced by the winning combination of Ne-Yo and Stargate.Slightly unfortunate juxtaposition here, since at the time when Now 71 was released, Jennifer Hudson had withdrawn from the public eye due to the murder of several members of her family by her estranged brother-in-law, a sad reminder of how real a problem domestic violence is. It's an unfortunate coincidence as well that her first major hit (she'd snuck into the Top 75 with a track from the Sex & The City movie) is a song about an overly attentive boyfriend. Presumably it's not intended to have quite the same emotional weight as a true story would, and it flounders a little because, although her singing is very good the song is just a bit dull. The lyrics are well-written, the chorus is decent enough in isolation but the trouble is that the verse is too similar, the production too slick and the whole thing just too uneventful. Pretty much what you'd expect from Ne-Yo I suppose but there's a bit of a wasted opportunity here.
Although she did return to recording and release a second album, this remains her only Top 30 single as she seems to have concentrated on musical theatre and films where things actually happen. Earlier this week she received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
Available on: Jennifer Hudson
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