Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo in recording studio 2011
Background information
Birth name	Shaffer Chimere Smith
Also known as	Ne Yo
Born	(1979-10-18) 18 October 1979 (age 32) Camden, Arkansas, U.S.
Origin	Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Genres	R&B, pop, dance, soul, hip hop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Motown
Associated acts	Rihanna, Kanye West, Keri Hilson, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Beyoncé Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Fabolous, Rick Ross, Jadakiss, Pitbull,Chris Brown, Afrojack, Trey Songz, T-Pain, LL Cool J
Website	yearofthegentleman.com

Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. (born October 18, 1979),^[1] better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario. The single's successful release in the United States prompted an informal meeting between Ne-Yo and Def Jam's label head, and signing a recording contract.

In 2006, he released his debut album, In My Own Words, which contained the US number one hit "So Sick", as well as the top 10 hit "Sexy Love". Then in 2007, he released his second album, Because of You, which contained the US top 3 hit, "Because of You". In 2008, he released his third album, Year of the Gentleman, which contained the top 10 hits "Closer","Mad" and "Miss Independent". His fourth studio album, Libra Scale, was released on November 22, 2010.

In 2009, Billboard ranked him as the 57th Artist of the 2000s decade.^[2] In addition to a successful recording career, Ne-Yo has amassed a catalog of chart-topping songs that he has written for other artists.

Early life[link]

Ne-Yo was born in Camden, Arkansas, and baptized as Shaffer Chimere Smith. "Chimere" is a name originating from the Igbo language. His mother is a mix of African American and Chinese descent, and his father is African American. Both of his parents were musicians. As a young child, he was raised by his mother after she separated from his father.^[3] In hopes of better opportunity, his mother relocated the family to Las Vegas, Nevada. While in the Las Vegas Academy, Smith adopted the stage name "GoGo" and joined an R&B group called Envy.^[4] The group disbanded in 2000, and Smith continued to write songs for other artists before starting his solo career.

Music career[link]

1999–2005: career beginnings[link]

Ne-Yo performing in July 2005

Ne-Yo emerged on the recording industry scene as member of the Romford-based quartet Envy, which featured Chimna Orji as its leading woman.^[5] After the group disbanded in 2000, Columbia Records signed Ne-Yo, but the label dropped him before he could release his already-recorded first album.^[6] American singer Marques Houston happened to hear "That Girl", which Ne-Yo had planned to release as his debut single off his then-unreleased album. Houston re-recorded the song and released it as a single for his 2003 album MH.^[5] The release of the song led to Ne-Yo being recognized as a top songwriter.^[5]

For the next two years, Ne-Yo continued writing songs, some of which have not been officially released.^[5] He contributed songs to American singer Teedra Moses's 2004 album Complex Simplicity, Christina Milian's It's About Time, and the American boy band Youngstown,^[7] though all of which failed to give Ne-Yo much mainstream attention.^[5] Ne-Yo has also contributed songs to singers Mary J. Blige, B2K, Faith Evans and Musiq, among others.^[8]

A breakthrough came when Ne-Yo wrote "Let Me Love You" for American singer Mario. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and later stayed at the top spot for nine weeks.^[7] After the successful release, Tina Davis, former A&R representative for Def Jam Recordings, arranged an informal meeting with label head L.A. Reid.^[5] Despite not seeking a new contract at the time, then-CEO of Def Jam Jay-Z signed Ne-Yo to a new deal after he performed for the label's executives.^[6][8]

The stagename "Ne-Yo" was coined by Big D Evans, a producer with whom Ne-Yo once worked,^[9] because Evans claimed that Ne-Yo sees music as Neo sees the matrix.^[10] Though Evans started calling him this as a joke, the name stuck.^[3]

[edit] 2006–07: In My Own Words and Because of You

In early 2006, Ne-Yo released his debut album, In My Own Words, through Def Jam. Boosted by its popular second single, "So Sick", the album debuted at number one on Billboard 200, selling over 301,000 copies in the first week.^[11] During the same week, the single had reached number one on the |Billboard Hot 100.^[12] Later singles released were "When You're Mad" and "Sexy Love", which peaked at number 15 and number 7, respectively.^[13] The album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for a shipment of over one million units.^[14]

His second album, Because of You, was released on May 1, 2007, and, fueled by its lead single, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 251,000 copies in the United States; the feat gave Ne-Yo his second number-one album.^[15] The first single from the platinum-selling album was the title track, which peaked at the number-two spot.^[13] Despite the success of "Because of You", later singles released charted lower and were unable to reach the Top 20.^[13] The album has been certified platinum by RIAA for a shipment of over one million units.^[14] In December 2007, Ne-Yo and the Goo Goo Dolls performed at a fund-raising concert for the then presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama.^[16]

[edit] 2008–09: Year of the Gentleman and Greatest Hits

Ne-Yo's third album, Year of the Gentleman, was released internationally on August 5, 2008. Speaking to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, Ne-Yo explained the thinking behind its title: "To me 'Year Of The Gentleman' is all about a persona, a swag and a charm. I made an assessment of the music business. And, in my personal opinion, the essence of the gentleman is absent right now. Everybody kinda looks the same, everybody's kinda doing the same thing, everybody's kinda rude and full of themselves. Whereas a gentleman is calm, courteous, kind, charming... So that title basically represents me trying to lead by example, and showing these cats what it is to be a gentleman in this business still."^[17]

The album sold 250,000 copies in its first week in the United States, debuting on the Billboard 200 at number two.^[18] Reviews for the album were positive: in one of which, Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone magazine wrote that Year of the Gentleman is "actually a superb concept album about what a great boyfriend he [Ne-Yo] can be".^[19]

The first two singles, "Closer" and "Miss Independent", have peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album and Album of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards, "Closer" for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and "Miss Independent" for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song.^[20] Year of the Gentleman has been certified platinum by RIAA for a shipment of more than one million copies.^[14] The third single, "Mad", peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On September 2, 2009, Ne-Yo released greatest hits album Ne-Yo: The Collection in Japan.^[21] The album was also released with a limited edition CD+DVD edition complete with the music videos of singles.^[22] It debuted at number four on Japan Oricon weekly albums chart, selling 55,625 copies in the first week.^[23]

[edit] 2010–2011: Libra Scale

Ne-Yo released his fourth studio album, Libra Scale, on November 22, 2010.^[24] The first single, "Beautiful Monster", premiered on May 25, 2010 and was released as a digital download on June 8, 2010 and reached number one on UK singles chart.^[25] On October 8, 2010, Ne-Yo performed some of his songs from the new album at P.C. Richard & Son Theater in New York City that was hosted by iheartradio.^[26] Ne-Yo made an appearance at New York Comic Con to announce he was collaborating with Stan Lee for a Libra Scale comic.^[27] Ne-Yo also met with fans for pictures and autographs in the Cultyard of the comic con.^[28] The second and third singles released off of the album are "Champagne Life" and "One in a Million", respectively. Speaking of Libra Scale, Ne-Yo stated: "The album is based upon this short story which basically follows these three characters who are forced to choose between money-power-and-fame versus love. Which in turn is why I've called it 'Libra Scale'. You know, its whole concept is based on that question of morality – that, if you weight it all out on a libra scale, which one of those two options would you choose?"^[29]

The album debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200, selling 112,000 copies in its first week. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart, while debuting at number one on the UK R&B Chart.

2011–present: R.E.D. and other projects[link]

On February 25, 2011, while on his tour in the United Kingdom, he announced his new album would be called Love and Passion and would be released in September, but this was proven false as the title was tentative. American rapper Fabolous, said in an interview that he is planning a collaboration album with Ne-Yo as well. Ne-Yo is currently writing songs for Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé Knowles, Justin Bieber, Monica, Alexandra Burke, Cheryl Cole and Willow Smith's upcoming albums. Ne-Yo starred in two motion pictures, Red Tails, due for a release in early 2012, and Battle: Los Angeles, which was released in the United States on March 11, 2011. Ne-Yo has already finished writing songs for American pop singer and Roc Nation artist Alexis Jordan and her self-titled debut album as well as Jennifer Hudson for her second studio album, I Remember Me, which had a North American release on March 22, 2011. Ne-Yo appeared in the childrens preschool show The Fresh Beat Band and is one of the few artists not to cancel appearances in the wake of the 2011 Japan earthquake.^[30]

In the spring of 2011, Ne-Yo collaborated with American rapper Pitbull and Nayer on his single, "Give Me Everything", which has peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Ne-Yo his second U.S. number-one single since 2006's "So Sick" and his first as a guest artist. Ne-Yo has also revealed an interview that he would like to collaborate with Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Drake on his new album.

Ne-Yo is currently making a mixtape to give to fans before his forthcoming album. The Mixtape will be called "1O1" and will be hosted by comedian Kevin Hart. On October 13, 2011, Ne-Yo revealed that his fifth studio album would be titled, The Cracks in Mr. Perfect. The album's title was later changed to R.E.D. The album's release date is reportedly September 18, 2012.^[31] On Oct. 27, 2011, Ne-Yo dropped a promo single called "The Way You Move" featuring Trey Songz and T-Pain.^[32] Ne-Yo has recently left Def Jam & joined Motown, which he will release his fifth studio album off.^[33][34]. The official lead single from "R.E.D." is called "Lazy Love".^[35]

Other ventures[link]

Ne-Yo promoting Because of You in 2007

Songwriting and production[link]

Ne-Yo frequently co-writes with Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen of the Norwegian production team Stargate. Ne-Yo met them in a hallway at Sony Music Studios in New York, and having known the team produces R&B records, he decided to collaborate with them. The collective's early works were tracks off In My Own Words including "So Sick".^[36]

Aside from working on his own album, Ne-Yo also collaborates with several other artists. His works include: Rihanna's top-ten singles "Unfaithful", "Russian Roulette" and her number-one hit "Take a Bow", Mario Vazquez's "Gallery", Paula DeAnda's "Walk Away (Remember Me)", and Beyoncé Knowles' Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Irreplaceable", which stayed on the chart for ten consecutive weeks.^[37] He wrote the song "I'm You" for Leona Lewis's debut album Spirit, and is currently writing songs for her next album and for the debut album of fellow X Factor winner Alexandra Burke. He has also been working with Sugababes for their seventh album, with member Keisha Buchanan confirming that Ne-Yo had written a song called 'No More You' for their album.^[38] In 2010, he dueted with Mariah Carey on 'Angel's Cry', a song on her cancelled album, Angels Advocate. Ne-Yo has also written songs for Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Anastacia, Ciara, Corbin Bleu, Enrique Iglesias and Dima Bilan.^[37] He also collaborated with Lindsay Lohan on her new material, having already finished "Bossy", a pre-single for her new album Spirit in the Dark.^[39] Ne-Yo confirmed that he had been contacted by producer will.i.am to work on what would have been Michael Jackson's new album.^[40] However, at the time of Jackson's death, Ne-Yo's collaborations with him had yet to move past the writing stage.^[41] In an interview in 2010 he said since Jackson's death he's been confused as what to do with the songs, as he feels that selling them to another artist or even releasing the songs himself would be disrespectful to Jackson legacy.^[42] In 2009, he wrote "Truth (Saigo no Shinjitsu)" for Japanese pop group w-inds..^[43]

Ne-Yo ventured out to open his own recording studio called Carrington House in Atlanta, Georgia.^[44] He also had started his own production company, Compound Entertainment, in 2007, and has hired several producers and songwriters in hopes of turning it into a full-fledge record label. It successfully became a label, and artists such as Paula Campbell, Sixx John, and Shanell are now associated with Compound.^[6][44]

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

In 2005, Ne-Yo's girlfriend at the time gave birth to a boy, naming him Chimere after Ne-Yo's middle name.^[37] Though Ne-Yo believed he was the father, he later discovered the child was not his. He is now in litigation with the child's mother.^[45][46]

In June 2010, Ne-Yo told Ebony that he and his thought to be girlfriend, Monyetta Shaw, were expecting their first child together, a girl due early in 2011.^[47] Shaw gave birth early to a girl, Madilyn Grace Smith, on November 12, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. Announcing the birth, Ne-Yo said of his first child, "I've been in love before but this feels like nothing I've ever felt...Like I'm in love for the first time."^[48]

In September 2011, Ne-Yo revealed that he is expecting his second child with Monyetta Shaw. Shaw gave birth to a boy, Mason Evan Smith, on October 9, 2011.^[49]

Legal issues[link]

Ne-Yo was arrested for reckless driving on February 19, 2008, while driving through Cobb County, Georgia. He was driving at over 100 mph in his 2006 Range Rover and did not have a valid license. It was reported that he was doing about 150 mph, 100 mph over the speed limit. According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Ne-Yo was sentenced to 24 hours community service by a judge on June 2, 2008. He pleaded guilty to driving without a license and pleaded "no contest" to the reckless driving charge.^[50]

On August 22, 2011,Ne-Yo, did a song with Pitbull, Nayer and Afrojack Called Give Me Everything in which Lindsay Lohan sued Pitbull for referencing her name, in the lyrics.^[51]

Discography[link]

• In My Own Words (2006)
• Because of You (2007)
• Year of the Gentleman (2008)
• Libra Scale (2010)
• R.E.D. (2012)

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

• List of awards and nominations received by Ne-Yo

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ne-Yo

• Official website
• Ne-Yo at the Internet Movie Database

Jennifer Hudson
Hudson at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Jennifer Kate Hudson
Born	(1981-09-12) September 12, 1981 (age 30) Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	R&B, soul
Occupations	Singer, actress, spokesperson
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2004–present
Labels	RCA Records (2011–present)[1] Arista
Associated acts	Ne-Yo
Website	www.jenniferhudson.com

Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981) is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson.^[2] She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol, coming in seventh place. She made her film debut in the 2006 film Dreamgirls, which won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, an NAACP Image Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

She won a Grammy Award for her eponymous debut album, Jennifer Hudson, which was released in 2008 on Arista Records and was certified gold by the RIAA for selling over 800,000 copies in the US; sales exceeded 1 million copies worldwide. Additionally, it spawned the hit single Spotlight. Her second album, I Remember Me, was released in March 2011, and reached number two on the Billboard 200, selling 165,000 copies in its first week of release.^[3] The album was certified gold by the RIAA, for shipping over 500,000 copies in the US.^[4]

In late 2008, after Hudson's mother, brother and nephew were killed in a shooting, Hudson stepped out of the limelight for three months. Hudson resumed her public appearances in 2009, and has since performed at the Super Bowl XLIII, the Grammy Awards, American Idol, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.^[5] Hudson has been described as a friend of President Barack Obama, who invited her to appear with him at a fundraiser in Beverly Hills in May 2009.^[6] She also performed at the White House at the "Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement" event.^[7] Her vocal range is mezzo-soprano.^[8] Hudson has sold 1,280,000 albums and 2,237,000 tracks in the United States as of February 2012.^[9]

Early life and career[link]

Jennifer Hudson was born on September 12, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois.^[10] She is the third and youngest child of Darnell Donnerson (November 7, 1950 – October 24, 2008)^[11] and Samuel Simpson^[12] (died 1999).^[13] She was raised as a Baptist^[14] in Englewood^[15] and attended Dunbar Vocational High School, from which she graduated in 1999.^[16] She cites Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Patti LaBelle as her overall biggest influences and inspiration.^[17] At the age of 7, she got her start in performing by singing with the church choir and doing community theater with the help of her late maternal grandmother, Julia.^[18] She enrolled at Langston University but she left after a semester due to homesickness and unhappiness with the weather, and signed up at Kennedy–King College.^[19]

In January 2002, Hudson signed her first recording contract with Righteous Records, a Chicago-based independent record label. The company's president, David Johnson, and his staff put Jennifer through a full year of artist development, working five days a week on live performance, stage presence, songwriting, on-camera interviewing, charm school etiquette and physical fitness. She was released from her five-year contract with Righteous Records so that she could appear on American Idol in 2004, but Jennifer credits David Johnson with teaching her "so much" and preparing her for the successful career she is enjoying today.

[edit] American Idol (2004)

Hudson auditioned for the third season of American Idol, in Atlanta, commenting that she had been singing on Disney Cruise Lines (aboard the Disney Wonder) for the past few months (as one of the Muses from Hercules); and contestant judge Randy Jackson said, "We're expecting more than a cruise ship performance from you."^{[citation needed]} Hudson received the highest number of votes in the "Top 9" after her performance of Elton John's "Circle of Life" on April 6, 2004, but two weeks later was eliminated during the "Top 7" show after performing Barry Manilow's, "Weekend in New England." The bottom three consisting of three African-American females led to controversy.^[20][21] In May 2009, MTV listed Hudson as the sixth greatest American Idol and noted her exit was the most shocking of all time.^[22] In May 2010, the Los Angeles Times claimed Hudson to be the third greatest Idol contestant in the history of the show, placing behind season one winner Kelly Clarkson and season four winner Carrie Underwood.^[23]

Performances

[edit] Dreamgirls (2006-2007)

In September 2006, Hudson performed the song, "Over It," live on Fox Chicago Morning News. In the interview she stated the song would be included on her debut album, to be released in early 2007, however this was before she was signed to a record label.^[24] In November 2006, Hudson signed a record deal with Arista Records.^[25] On The Oprah Winfrey Show, Hudson announced plans to enter the studio in March 2007.^{[citation needed]} Hudson said on The Tyra Banks Show, on February 23, 2007, that she just finished the first song for the album.^{[citation needed]} Hudson also recorded a song called, "Stand Up", which was available for preview on her fan website which was produced by Chicago natives Earl Powell and Herman Little III, who arranged the song.^{[citation needed]} The power-ballad would later become available on the deluxe edition of Hudson's self-titled album as a bonus track.

In November 2005, Hudson was cast in the role of Effie White for the film adaptation of the musical Dreamgirls, which also starred Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles and Eddie Murphy. The role, originally created in a Broadway performance by Jennifer Holliday,^{[citation needed]} marked Hudson's debut screen performance. She won the role over hundreds of professional singers and actresses, including Raven-Symoné and Fantasia Barrino.^[26] Filming of Dreamgirls began on January 9, 2006, and the film went into limited release on December 25, 2006, and national release on January 12, 2007. Hudson has won particular praise for her show-stopping onscreen rendition of the hit song, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", the signature song of the role, which had earlier been recorded, and had already reached the status of musical standard, because of the definitive performance of Jennifer Holliday. The New York Observer described Hudson's performance of the song as "five mellifluous, molto vibrato minutes that have suddenly catapulted Ms. Hudson... into the position of front-runner for the best supporting actress Oscar".^[27] Newsweek said that when moviegoers hear Hudson sing the song, she, "is going to raise goose bumps across the land."^[28] Variety magazine wrote that Hudson's performance "calls to mind debuts like Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl or Bette Midler in The Rose, with a voice like the young Aretha".^[29] Hudson's version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the January 13, 2007, issue.^{[citation needed]} The Dreamgirls track became Hudson's first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart on February 24, 2007.^{[citation needed]} "Love You I Do" was nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song and won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Hudson performing in 2007

As Effie White, Hudson has garnered 29 awards from film critics as Best Supporting Actress and Breakthrough Performer of 2006. She won the Golden Globe Award as Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In addition, she has been named Best Supporting Actress by the Broadcast Film Critics Association and also by the Screen Actors Guild. After seeing Hudson's performance in Dreamgirls, Simon Cowell taped a congratulatory message to her, which aired on The Oprah Winfrey Show.^[30] With the March 2007 issue, Jennifer Hudson became the third African-American celebrity, and the first African-American singer, to grace the cover of Vogue magazine.^[31] On 11 February 2007 the 60th British Academy Film Awards were held in London, but Hudson was not there to accept her award for BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. The BAFTA Award went missing and Hudson did not receive her award until April 22, 2011, when it was presented to on the Graham Norton Show. On February 25, 2007, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film. During her acceptance speech, Hudson said: "Oh, my God, I have to just take this moment in. I cannot believe this. Look what God can do. I didn't think I was going to win. [...] If my grandmother was here to see me now. She was my biggest inspiration." She also concluded her speech by thanking Jennifer Holliday.^[32] Later in 2007, the Mayor of her home town Chicago, Richard M. Daley, declared March 6 as "Jennifer Hudson Day".^[33][34] She was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on June 18, along with 115 other individuals for 2007.^[35][36] Entertainment Weekly put her performance on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Sure, Beyoncé's performance was great. And Eddie Murphy's was impressive. But there was really only one reason we all rushed to see 2006's Dreamgirls: Jennifer Hudson's soul-to-the-rafters rendition of the classic 'And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going'. When she sang 'You're gonna love me,' it wasn't just a lyric — it was a fact."^[37]

[edit] Winnie (2008)

In May 2008, Hudson appeared in the feature film Sex and the City as Louise, Carrie Bradshaw's assistant. Filming finished in December 2007 and the movie was released on May 30, 2008.^[38] In October 2008, Hudson had her third film appearance in The Secret Life of Bees as Rosaleen, the mother figure of Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning). Also starring in the film are fellow Oscar nominees Queen Latifah and Sophie Okonedo, as well as Alicia Keys. The film opened on October 17, 2008, and grossed over $37 million at the box office. The film won two People's Choice Awards in January 2009 in the categories, Favorite Drama Movie and Favorite Independent Movie.^{[citation needed]} The film also received nine Black Reel Awards nominations including three wins.^{[citation needed]} Hudson was nominated for her performance in the film, but lost to Queen Latifah.^{[citation needed]} The film also received eight nominations at the 2009 NAACP Image Awards, including a nomination for Hudson for her performance.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, Hudson starred as Kathy Archenault in Fragments, a film based on the novel by Roy Freirich, with Dakota Fanning and Forest Whitaker. The name of the film was changed from "Winged Creatures" to "Fragments".^{[citation needed]} It was released on DVD on August 4, 2009. In 2010, Hudson started filming an upcoming biopic film Winnie^[39] based on the South African politician Winnie Mandela^[39] starring alongside Terrence Howard and directed by Darrell J. Roodt.^[40] Andre Pieterse and Roodt and Paul L. Johnson based the film's script on Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob's biography, Winnie Mandela: A Life.^[41] The Creative Workers Union of South Africa have opposed this choice, stating they will push for a moratorium on the film if the casting is not reversed.^[42] Winnie Mandela has threatened legal action over this film, claiming she was not "consulted" about the film.^[43] Winnie was scheduled to be released in December 2011; the trailer was released in 2010.^[40]

In January 2008 Hudson returned to the studio to record new material for her debut album.^{[citation needed]} Her label was reportedly unhappy with the direction they were sending Hudson musically and decided it would be best to scrap the older songs and instead focus on new ones.^{[citation needed]} Hudson worked with Ryan Tedder and Timbaland on a number of songs. Her debut single, "Spotlight" was released on June 10, 2008 and became Hudson's first top 40 hit peaking at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a top 20 hit in the United Kingdom and Turkey. Her debut album, Jennifer Hudson was released on September 30, 2008 on Arista and was written by Ne-Yo, who co-produced along with Stargate. Additional contributors on the album include Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Robin Thicke, Harvey Mason, Jr., Diane Warren, Earl Powell, and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, among others.^[44] The album debuted at number two on the Billboard' 200 with 217,000 copies in the US and opened to positive reviews. As of August 2009, the album has sold 739,000 copies in the US, receiving a Gold certification for surpassing sales of 500,000. She has performed the song, "All Dressed in Love" for the Sex and the City soundtrack, which was released on May 27, 2008.^[45] Hudson performed the national anthem at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The album's second single was to be released in October 2008, and was originally set to be "My Heart" before "If This Isn't Love" was chosen as the official second single.^{[citation needed]} After three of her family members were brutally murdered, the single was rescheduled for a January 2009 release.^{[citation needed]} However, in January 2009, her label decided to postpone the release of the second single once more until, choosing a February 2009 release date.^{[citation needed]} After the release of "If This Isn't Love", the single eventually peaked at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 37 on the UK Singles Chart. The third single was announced as "Pocketbook" featuring Ludacris in April 2009, for a June 2009 release, despite speculation that the third single would be "My Heart" after it was canceled as the second single.^{[citation needed]} In May 2009, "Pocketbook" was canceled as the third single due to negative reception from fans and critics alike.^{[citation needed]} The third single was then rescheduled as "Giving Myself" and was released on June 2, 2009 to the US. Her debut album garnered Hudson three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards; Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Spotlight", Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "I'm His Only Woman" with Fantasia Barrino, and Best R&B Album for Jennifer Hudson. She won the last of these and performed at the awards ceremony.^[46]

Family murders[link]

Wikinews has related news: Mother, brother of singer Jennifer Hudson found murdered, others reported missing FBI asked to assist in murder, kidnap investigation of Jennifer Hudson's relatives FBI says Jennifer Hudson's nephew found dead Arrest made in Jennifer Hudson family killings

In October 2008, Hudson's 57-year-old mother, Darnell Donnerson, and 29-year-old brother, Jason, were found shot to death inside the Chicago home Donnerson shared with Hudson's elder sister, Julia.^[47] An AMBER Alert was issued for 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, when Julia reported him missing.^[48][49] Chicago police arrested William Balfour, 27, the estranged husband of Hudson's sister Julia the same day, but he was not charged with a crime.^[50] Balfour was on parole after spending nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen vehicle. The Illinois Department of Corrections' records revealed one of Balfour's addresses to be the home where Donnerson and Jason were murdered.^[51]

Three days later the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed the body found in Chicago's West Side area in a vehicle that matched the license plate and the vehicle's description given in the AMBER Alert was Julian King.^[52][53][54] Autopsy reports indicated that the death was due to "multiple gunshot wounds".^[55] A gun, belonging to Jason and missing for several months, was found in a West Side vacant lot and confirmed to be the murder weapon by Chicago police Superintendent Jody Weis on October 31, 2008. Funeral services for the three victims were held on November 3, followed by a private service at Chicago's South Side Apostolic Church of God on November 10. Hudson's family announced creation of The Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims, in honor of the three victims.^[56]