Introduction
Inside the Timeless Voices That Taught a GRAMMY Winner How to Sing With Soul
The Songs That Built Jennifer Hudson: Inside the Timeless Voices That Taught a GRAMMY Winner How to Sing With Soul
Long before Jennifer Hudson became a GRAMMY winner, an Academy Award-winning actress, and one of the most commanding vocalists of her generation, she was a young girl in Chicago being shaped by records that seemed larger than life. Her story is not simply the story of fame. It is the story of listening — carefully, emotionally, and completely — to the great voices that came before her. In the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inspirations series, Hudson looked back at six unforgettable recordings that helped form her artistic spirit, and what emerges is a portrait of a singer who understands that music is not only performed. It is inherited.
For older and more thoughtful listeners, this kind of reflection matters. Today’s music world often celebrates speed: fast success, fast attention, fast headlines. But Jennifer Hudson’s influences remind us that real artistry is usually built slowly, through memory, family, faith, discipline, and deep admiration. Before the bright stages of American Idol, before the triumph of Dreamgirls, and before her own self-titled debut earned Best R&B Album at the 51st GRAMMY Awards, Hudson was absorbing the emotional language of singers who could make a room fall silent.
One of the earliest sparks came from Cheryl Lynn’s “Got To Be Real.” For Hudson, that song was not just a dance record; it was a doorway. It made her imagine herself on a stage, holding a hairbrush like a microphone, feeling for the first time that music could become her future. Many great artists have a moment like that — a private moment in childhood when a song seems to point directly at them and say, “This is who you are.” For Hudson, that moment carried energy, joy, and possibility.
But her foundation was also deeply rooted in gospel music. She grew up surrounded by church singing and a family filled with voices. That background helps explain why Hudson’s singing often feels so full-bodied and emotionally direct. She does not merely hit notes; she testifies through them. Her connection to “Oh Happy Day” by the Edwin Hawkins Singers reveals that joyful, communal side of her musical education — the feeling of being lifted by voices around you, not as entertainment alone, but as shared spirit.
Then there is Whitney Houston, whose debut album made a profound impression on Hudson. Songs such as “Greatest Love Of All,” “How Will I Know,” and “Saving All My Love For You” represented more than vocal brilliance. They showed Hudson how a voice could be powerful and soothing at the same time. Whitney’s influence can be heard in Hudson’s own ability to command attention without losing tenderness. She learned that some songs make people move, while others make them stop and listen.
Hudson’s admiration for Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” shows another side of her musical understanding. She recognizes timelessness. She hears not only melody, but meaning. The song’s message of comfort and loyalty speaks across generations, which is why Hudson places it among the recordings that continue to inspire her. It is the kind of song that reminds listeners why certain music never grows old: because human need never changes.
Her reflections on Barbra Streisand, especially “People” and “The Way We Were,” reveal respect for technical mastery and emotional control. Hudson understood the weight of singing Streisand’s signature songs in front of Streisand herself — a moment that would humble almost any performer. Yet that humility is part of what makes Hudson so compelling. She is a star who still listens like a student.
In the end, these GRAMMY Hall Of Fame recordings tell us something essential about Jennifer Hudson. Her voice may be her own, but her artistry stands on a foundation built by Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Edwin Hawkins Singers, Simon & Garfunkel, LaBelle, and the classic records that first taught her how music could feel. Her journey proves that great singers are not only born with talent. They are shaped by the songs they love, the voices they honor, and the memories they carry every time they step toward the microphone.