The Late Show with Stephen Colbert / YouTube Jennifer Hudson on "The Late Show"
“American Idol” finalist and EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson stopped by “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” to talk about winning her Tony for producing “A Strange Loop” on Broadway and catch up about her new daytime talk show, “The Jennifer Hudson Show”.
See the interview below, where Colbert puts Hudson on the spot to sing some gospel music for him and his audience.
Jennifer Hudson Sings for Stephen Colbert
After talking with Hudson about her newly-earned EGOT and joking about “introducing” the awards to one another once Hudson brought them all home, Colbert asked the “Dreamgirls” star how her new daytime talk show was going, and how the adjustment to this new hosting role has been going.
Hudson tells Colbert that it has been very fun, but there have been some aspects of working on television production that she is still getting used to, like some of the terminology.
“I’m an actress, so I’m used to ‘action’ and ‘cut’, so when I hear ‘area’, what does that mean?” Hudson says. Colbert clarifies for the audience that “area” refers to the topic of conversation with a guest.
“You know, if I’m in the studio they hit the button and say record, if I’m acting it’ll say ‘action'”, Hudson say, but on her new show, “they just [point at me] and I’ll be like ‘Oh, I’m supposed to talk now?’ I’m getting used to that.”
Colbert then plays a viral clip from Hudson’s show, in which she sings gospel with an audience member. Hudson shares that the audience member Marilyn had just turned 82, and Hudson happily obliged in a performance that moved multiple audience members to tears.
After watching this moment, Colbert decided to ask if Hudson would give him and his audience an impromptu gospel performance as well, and Hudson gave them a rendition of the same song she sang for Marilyn, “Jesus Promised Me a Home Over There”. Colbert said hearing Hudson sing from that close made him feel like his skeleton was rattling in his body.
Jennifer Hudson Uses a New Mug in Every Episode
After singing gospel, Jennifer Hudson and Stephen Colbert talk more about her roots in the church choir, and Hudson reveals that she didn’t sing with her eyes open until she was 19 years old, as she suffered from stage fright for so long. She said the fear was finally broken when one day she looked up to see the audience giving her a standing ovation, so she finally realized that she was a talented singer.
“I don’t consider myself as a performer, I’m a singer,” Hudson says, clarifying that singing is more internal for oneself, and performing is more external, and inviting people in.
The interview ends with Hudson explaining to Colbert why she uses a different mug each day on her show. The singer explains that each mug has a different saying or affirmation on it, and that she grabs the one she resonates most with on any given day.
“Whatever I feel I need, ‘I need a cup of peace’, ‘I need a cup of love’, ‘I need a cup of…’ whatever it is I need, and I pick that cup,” Hudson says, giving herself inspiration to carry with her throughout the day.
“The Jennifer Hudson Show” airs every weekday. For more information, please check your local listings.
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