Jennifer Hudson is excited to write new music again.
The 45-year-old singer, actress and talk-show host is looking forward to reconnecting with her songwriting and performing roots as her son, David Otunga Jr., now 17, is growing up.
She described it as a new chapter focused on prioritizing herself. Approaching the empty-nester milestone, she found herself thinking, “With so much time returning to me, how will I fill it? how do I invest it in me?” She has kept a strict discipline, checked every box, and now wonders what it would feel like to claim more room for her own presence.
I only create when there is a message I truly want to convey, and this is my moment to have a voice. Carole King and Aretha Franklin both urged me to “Use your voice.” That advice never left me. And this time, when I raise my voice, it will be expressed in words.
Hudson—motivated by her budding musician son David and her partner, Grammy-winning artist Common—has committed to staying genuine through this new chapter of her career.
She added that sincerity reaches the listener: “What comes from the heart reaches the heart. What’s real resonates. If you don’t attach meaning to it, it’s just a demonstration of the right notes.”
Besides fresh material, she has been revisiting earlier tracks, including a recent rendition of “Invisible” from her 2008 self-titled debut, during the closing stop of her 16-city summer tour with Josh Groban.
In the chorus, Hudson declares, “And now I’m gonna live my life for me, ’cause this ain’t how it’s supposed to be. No more standing in the back of the line, ’cause I’m invisible for the last time.”
Discussing the powerful moment, she explained: “I got emotional in the midst of it. The song is nearly 20 years old, but it hit different, as the younger generation says. And I can’t wait to sing it again.”
