It’s no secret that American Idol alumna Jennifer Hudson has credited music icon Whitney Houston as her musical idol. In 2008, she gave an emotional speech after receiving her first Grammy from the “I’m Every Woman” diva.
Now, all gussied up in old Hollywood glam, the “Spotlight” artist shares details in the latest issue of Net-A-Porter on why Houston passed over her torch.
“As a girl, I’d sit in my momma’s house and sing ‘I Will Always Love You.’ That’s why [singing in tribute] was so overwhelming,” said Hudson. “I’m just grateful I got to meet Whitney. She came backstage and was like ‘I turn my torch over to you; you are The One.’ I was like ‘Oh my God! Did anybody else hear that?’ Had she not given me her blessing, I would have never stepped on that stage.”
Along with talking about being the heir to Houston’s throne, she discussed why she took the role of Naima in the new film “Black Nativity.”
“I turned down I don’t know how many [musicals],” she says. “What drew me to this is that it’s a holiday film: I’m a holiday fanatic. It’s uplifting – we don’t have enough of that in the world.”
Read the complete interview here
