Jennifer Hudson gets her first holiday special to-be-emotional
the Academy Award-winning singer and actress travels to Chicago to relive childhood Christmases.She said I'll Be Home for Christmas" special featuring duets with Michael Bublé in November. The special will air Monday
Jennifer Hudson doesn't wait for December to roll around to start celebrating the Christmas season. No, she goes way early.
"It's officially the holiday season come November 1st," Hudson says. "All my life, I started celebrating and playing my Christmas music and looking for my Christmas movies the day after Halloween. That's my thing. I like to get into the spirit."
This year, Hudson is in the holiday programming mix with "Jennifer Hudson: I'll Be Home for Christmas," airing Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC.
The special was shot a month ago in her hometown, Chicago. It includes Michael Bublé, who sings with Hudson.
"I had the best time doing it," she says. "It was like a dream for me. It was like being in my own holiday film in a way."
The idea for the special came from her management team. She then set out to select the songs.
"I must say that was the hardest thing," Hudson said. "I went online and I looked up Christmas songs. That was a hard thing to do."
What she came up with was "Silent Night," "The Christmas Song" and "O Holy Night" alone, and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and "Let It Snow" with Bublé.
The Christmas special is the latest in an incredible roller-coaster ride for Hudson. She became a national name in 2004 as a finalist on "American Idol." In 2006, she made her acting debut in "Dreamgirls," a role for which she won an Academy Award. She picked up a Grammy in 2008 for her debut CD.
Later in 2008, her world was rocked when her mother, brother and nephew were shot to death. These days, home for Hudson is a gated community in Florida, where, with her family, she's trying to get used to warm Christmases. In August, she gave birth to a boy, David Daniel Otunga Jr. Dad is pro wrestler David Otunga.
"I was just sitting here taking pictures of my baby with his little Santa Claus hat," she says.
And I am Telling You (Clive Grammy Party) by Jennifer Hudson:
"I was just sitting here taking pictures of my baby with his little Santa Claus hat," she says.
Growing up, Hudson says she loved going to nursing homes to sing Christmas songs for seniors. Now she gets the Christmas list of a less-fortunate child and buys everything on it.
"I was thinking of going to my neighbors and singing Christmas carols," Hudson says, laughing. "Hello, Jennifer Hudson is at your door."
As for the special, Hudson hopes it will become part of the holidays for viewers, the way others have for her.
"The only thing I can hope for, " she says, "and I don't know how realistic it is, but I would love for it to become someone else's tradition to watch my holiday special."
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