BY: Alexis Eichelberger

The breathtaking Jennifer Hudson dazzles audiences with her performances. Next month she will do so again when she stars in Respect as the legendary soul singer Aretha  Franklin.

Hudson was made for the role. Her voice has the same kind of power and strength as Franklin did. Franklin also believed that Hudson was suitable for the part, too. So, before she died in 2018, Franklin chose Hudson to portray her in the biopic.

“I just sit back and think about how much of a blueprint that she’s been in my life and in my career, and so many others,” Hudson said when asked about playing Franklin during a virtual press conference earlier this year. “I felt as though that’s been a part of it, in portraying her, but it wasn’t until being in the thick of things that I got to even understand her that much more for myself, as a person and not necessarily as Aretha Franklin, the icon, or the voice, or this or that song. So I was able to learn of the individual while developing the character.”

To celebrate Hudson’s next stunning performance, we’ve put together a list of our favorite songs. Here are Jennifer Hudson’s five hottest songs, ranked.

 

#5: SPOTLIGHT

We begin our list with Hudson’s most commercially successful song. “Spotlight” is the pinnacle of early 2000s R&B. This unapologetic anthem received two Grammy Award nominations at the 2009 awards for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

 

#4: IF THIS ISN’T LOVE

Also from Hudson’s self-titled debut album comes “If This Isn’t Love,” another stellar mix of R&B and pop. Hudson sings about the kind of love that drives you crazy and sends your head spinning. What’s more romantic than a silky smooth love song sung by one of the best voices of our generation?

 

#3: I AM CHANGING

At number 3 is our first selection from the powerful soundtrack to the movie version of Dreamgirls. Hudson won her Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, and “I Am Changing” is undoubtedly one of many reasons why. She belts out this ballad during her time of trial and tribulation and inspires us all to keep going.

 

 

#2: LOVE YOU I DO

Number two is another Dreamgirls selection. This track was one of four songs that did not appear in the original Broadway production, inspired by trail-blazing women of soul like Aretha Franklin. In 2008, “Love You I Do” won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media.

 

#1: AND I AM TELLING YOU

And, at the top of our list is “And I Am Telling You.” This showstopper is the most memorable song from Dreamgirls and still Hudson’s most awe-inspiring work. It is both cinematic and timeless, uplifting and heartbreaking. It is the kind of musical number that will continue to carry us through the good days and bad for years to come.