I'm left feeling like a proud, beaming mother thinking of Jennifer Hudson's success. Since her early days on American Idol, I was a fan. The girl lit up the stage each time she stepped on it, although it took a little time for others to catch on to her, including Simon Cowell.

Jennifer started singing in churches when she was a young girl, under the watchful eye of her grandmother, and spent her teenage years in musicals and talent shows, showing the world the big beautiful voice of hers. After starring in a local production of Big River, Jennifer was entertaining the masses on the Disney Wonder Cruise Ship. If those people on the cruise only knew they were being entertained by a future Oscar winner.

In 2004, Jennifer made it to the semi-final rounds of American Idol, yet didn't win the audience vote with her rendition of Imagine. Simon did not like her look at all. She wasn't voted through to the finals here, but then again the others in her group of ten included the future final two of season three, Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo. Luckily for her, judge Randy Jackson was a fan, and when the Wild Card round came up, Jennifer was back in it.

Jennifer didn't click with the viewers the first few weeks of the finals, appearing in the bottom three, but never being voted out. Just as it is with many of the talented contestants that fail early, it was coming down to song selection, and not her extreme talent, her powerful voice, or the fact that she at time seemed to be the nicest person there. Jennifer switched it all up, and began picking better songs, and steadily climbed back up with the votes.

The first big hit for Jennifer that had everyone on American Idol talking was Circle of Life from The Lion King. She brought down the house with it. The big problem here, was she wasn't the only female singer on the show with a big voice, as she was accompanied by LaToya London and Fantasia. They became known as the "Three Divas," as they were all delivering show-stopping performances each week. While Jennifer seemed to improve her choices each week, the Three Divas were essentially splitting their vote, as people were bound to prefer one or the other, not all three.

On a night that stunned many, Jennifer was voted out after singing Weekend in New England by Barry Manilow. Barry had been a guest on the show that week, and joined Jennifer on Ryan Seacrest's talk show the next day, Barry and Jennifer joined up for a little collaboration. It was clear even then that America had made a mistake giving this girl the boot. Also up in arms over her dismissal was Elton John, as Jennifer had impressed him a few weeks earlier when she had sung his song, Circle of Life. He found her ouster to be a bit of racism, especially considering the fact that also appearing with low votes every week were the remaining divas, LaToya and Fantasia. I can see why it would seem like that, but it really just appears that they were splitting the votes each week.

Jennifer's fans hoped she'd be back some day in a big way, and she was. She was up for the role of Effie in the film version of Dreamgirls, and has said it was a six month long process of being rejected, brought back, rejected again, etc. Ironically, another one fighting for the part was Fantasia. In 2005, it was announced Jennifer won the part, and she has said since she found out she'd been cast, and had to immediately fly out to Hollywood, and was told to be prepared to sing Effie's signature song, And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going. Having no other time to learn it,the others on the airplane got the treat of their life, as Jennifer sang the song in her seat, practicing throughout the flight.

It wasn't the first time Jennifer had heard the song, however; as she has said the very first time was watching an episode of Fresh Prince of Bel Air, with Will Smith lip synching to it. She learned it was by Jennifer Holliday, but knew nothing about the musical Dreamgirls until she was up for the part in 2005. It was the first she'd heard of Effie or the Broadway show.

The release of the movie Dreamgirls was much anticipated, as not only did it star Jennifer, but also Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, and Eddie Murphy. As expected, the film won rave reviews for the music, its stars, and mostly Jennifer Hudson. Any time she was mentioned, they talked about her amazing rendition of And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going, and they also mentioned with incredulity that she had actually been voted out from American Idol in seventh place.

Indeed, while there is spectacular talent all around to be found in this film, there is no denying Miss Jennifer Hudson, just like there is no denying Effie White. She took control of the screen throughout every moment she appeared on it. It's hard to imagine anyone pushing Beyonce into the background, but Jennifer did, and not only when she was singing, but when she was talking, or just standing. See my review of the movie at http://www.yuddy.com/articles/news/film-review-dreamgirls.html.

Now everyone was talking about Jennifer Hudson, not just American Idol fans. She was getting plenty of notice, winning countless awards, such as a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award. The question was if she would get "the" award, the one every singer/actress wants, an Academy Award. There was plenty of buildup over many of the Oscars, but at times it almost seemed that everyone was as sure that Jennifer would win for Best Supporting Actress.

Once Jennifer won the Oscar, it seemed she was the only one that didn't think she would win. She asked for a moment to take it all in, then said she didn't expect it, and we believed her. She also wished her grandmother could be there, as she was her biggest inspiration. Just before walking off the stage, she leaned in to the microphone and thanked Jennifer Holliday. Winning the Golden Globe award, she thanked Florence Ballard, who had been one of the original members of The Supremes, and supposedly the person that Effie White was modeled after.

No one seems to have been more proud of her than Simon Cowell, having sent her a congratulatory message to her through Oprah Winfrey's show. Has she become so big that even someone as important in the music business as Simon can't get close to her? It appears he's eating his words, and he should be. He is apparently not going to make the same mistakes again, as a singer from the show this year, Lakisha Jones, sang And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going on the first performance show, and literally brought the house down, reminding many of Jennifer. Simon told her she was in a different league than the others.

This was Jennifer's first movie, and I don't think she's piqued yet. I think it's just the beginning for the Chicago native. Last fall she signed a recording contract with Clive Davis, the man behind many of the American Idol contracts, and is to begin recording her first album in the spring. She appeared recently on the cover of Vogue, and is reportedly the first black singer to have done so, meaning it's something even her own idol, Whitney Houston hasn't done. At only 25 years old, Jennifer Hudson has a whole career ahead of her still.