How losing helped Hudson soar

JENNIFER HUDSON was delivering thunderous performances on the reality show "American Idol."

As the competition intensified, it became clear that the young singer from Chicago was a front-runner; after one showstopping performance, judge Simon Cowell told her she'd turned the competition into the "Battle of the Divas." The same week, Hudson got the boot.

Viewers were shocked, and the theories ranged from racial bias to a thunderstorm that knocked out power in her hometown, which blocked some fan votes.

Of course, Fantasia Barrino went on to win the third season of "Idol" and got a record deal for a prize. She's become one of the most recognizable names in contemporary R&B, she guest-starred on "The Simpsons" and she'll be at the Hampton Jazz Festival this summer.

But if the victor got the spoils, this loser got the actual kingdom.

 Hudson, 27, landed a part in the movie musical "Dreamgirls" alongside marquee names Eddie Murphy, Beyonce and Jamie Foxx. Hudson proved a great enough first-time actress, but it was her bring-down-the-house rendition of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" that made her into something like an entertainment force of nature.

Melted down, her awards for her performance as "Effie" in the film might be enough to stock a jewelry store. There are more than 20, including a Golden Globe, a New York Film Critics Circle Award, an NAACP Image Award and, of course, the Oscar.

It's enough to make a girl say, "American who?"

In a March phone interview, Hudson said she learned that "it's not the end of the world if you don't get this or get that."

"There are many things that don't work out, but everything prepares you for something to come. I knew I still had what it takes. It's not like I had to leave my voice behind and go on. If you just keep going for it, it has no choice but to give in, so you should never give up."

Hudson has been such a fixture in the entertainment world since her debut - she appeared as Carrie Bradshaw's assistant in the 2008 film "Sex and the City" and then in "The Secret Life of Bees" with Queen Latifah and Alicia Keys - that it's almost hard to believe she has only one album to her credit, last year's "Jennifer Hudson."

Much has happened since then, too: Of course, there was the slaying of her mother, brother and nephew, which she's declined to speak about. But there was also her phenomenal rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at this year's Super Bowl, her single "Spotlight" spending two weeks on top of the Billboard 100, her engagement to a reality TV star and winning a Grammy in February. It's easy to forget that her tour with singer Robin Thicke, which stops at Chrysler Hall on Sunday, is her first one.

Perhaps because she's gotten used to performing and stardom, she doesn't seem worried about how she'll prepare.

"I got my feet a little wet - OK, maybe my toes - with the Idols, but I always feel like a student or a sponge, and I'm just trying to learn and absorb, and I'm going to have to just sit back and learn from Robin and everybody else and find my way in the groove of things."

She's bringing some of the comforts of home with her on the 19-city tour. "I want my whole bus to be purple, which is my favorite color, and I want to have my dogs here with me." (She has three: Oscar, Grammy and Dreamgirl.)

Though Hudson is a relative newcomer, she is perhaps on equal star footing with Thicke, 32, who has been writing for artists since he was a teenager and is a celebrated musician in his own right. So while he and Hudson are hesitant to spill exactly how their show works, they hinted that they'll share the bill.

"I guess we don't want to give away too many surprises," Thicke said. They're reportedly including a horn section, and early reviews suggest Hudson is going to close the show with - what else? - "And I Am Telling You."

With so much behind her and so much in her future, you have to wonder whether this "American Idol" alum ever looks back on the stage that introduced her to the world. Does she still tune in to "Idol"?

"I do. If I'm not home to watch it, I have to pre-tape it. You never know where you're going unless you know where you came from. I was just watching my elimination not too long ago, and I was like, 'Wow, I'm the same person, and that was me, and this is me now.' "

Malcolm Venable, (757) 446-2662, malcolm.venable@pilotonline.com