Jennifer Hudson: I Remember Me

"The challenge for Jennifer Hudson — a pure singer who is not yet a real songwriter — is to find material that measures up to that massive voice. For her second album, which improves upon 2008's Grammy-winning self-titled debut, she has the best songwriters and producers that money can buy. And with Whitney Houston still as the model, they deliver the diva goods. While the R. Kelly ballad 'Where You At' may be somewhat underwhelming as a first single, there are much better contributions from Stargate (the you-go-girl anthem 'I Got This'), Ne-Yo (the old-school slow jam 'Why Is It So Hard') and Alicia Keys (the piano- and snare-drum-lifted 'Angel'). The latter also kicks in two soul-disco throwbacks, 'Everybody Needs Love' and 'Don't Look Down,' that allow the sometimes stiff Hudson to cut loose and have some fun. Hey, a girl's got to shake that hot new bod!" (Chuck Arnold, "Music," People, 4/4/11, p. 53).
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