Jennifer Hudson, the former American Idol contestant and the Oscar-winning “Effie” in the 2006 production of Dreamgirls, hit the store racks on September 30, 2008 with her self-entitled album on Arista Records. With the latest release, I was looking to see if Hudson could break away from the movie soundtrack sound and mold her strong voice into her own unique sound. Hudson gained many fans from her role in Dreamgirls, but this album would make or break her in the industry as an R&B soul artist.

Hudson’s first single from the album, “Spotlight,” has a very light and smooth upbeat tempo. It reminds me of Dreamgirls but Hudson did a good job making the sound more modern. Hudson also features other artists on her album including Ludacris, T-Pain, and Fantasia Barrino. Hudson’s song with Fantasia, “I’m His Only Woman,” reminds me of Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy is Mine.”

The album truly embraces its soulful roots with most of her songs having a slow ballad style. Hudson features T-Pain on her song “What’s Wrong,” which was quite interesting to me. The track manages to blend Hudson’s powerful voice with the unique tone of T-Pain’s voice. The combination creates the perfect love dilemma song for the album.

My favorite song from the album is “We Gon’ Fight,” which has such a relatable message and sophisticated sound. It’s the perfect love song that everyone enjoys when they fall into a deep love mood.

Overall I believe that Jennifer Hudson did a good job presenting herself as a serious R&B artist. She transitioned from the movie scene into the R&B scene pretty well, and should receive even more fans because of the album. The self-entitled album was a pretty good start and I give her a “B”.

• Ashley Reid