Hairspray for J. Hud!

Hairspray – the musical based on the 1988 John Waters classic –is coming to NBC later this year, and it is coming to us live.

Obviously.

Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson is on board, as Motormouth Maybelle (y’ know, the part that Queen Latifah played in the 2007 movie musical version), while Harvey Fierstein will reprise his Tony-winning role as Edna Turnblad.

Phew – we dodged a Travolta bullet!

In fact and btw, Fierstein also will be writing the teleplay for Hairspray Live!, which will feature Derek Hough and Martin Short as well, as Corny Collins and Wilbur Turnblad, respectively.

The Peacock’s Hairspray Live! will premiere on Dec. 7.

Photo: NYDailyNews.com.

Gunning for a Tony, J. Hud?

Jennifer Hudson already has an Oscar. So girlfriend is focusing on getting herself a Tony now.

Maybe. Probably.

See, this year, J. Hud will be spending a lot of time in New York, where she will making her Broadway debut as the Shug Avery of the upcoming revival of The Color Purple.

And since the singer already has a Grammy as well, a Tony would certainly put her on the path toward EGOTville. Just sayin’, yo.

The Color Purple is scheduled to arrive on the Great White Way in the fall.

Photo: Newest-Hairstyles.com.

J. Hud Fixes Obamacare’s Awareness Issue

The American government is in shutdown mode today – but here’s Jennifer Hudson, ready to explain the finer points of the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, to the kids of America.

And how is the Oscar winner doing that?

By channeling Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington’s character on TV’s Scandal), or course. Because it would a scandal that young Americans should go under- or misinformed about the proposal. And because the ACA does not leave for, well...any scandal.

Check it:

Scandalous with Jennifer Hudson from Jennifer Hudson      

I totally laughed at the asthma dude. Now someone book J. Hud on the real Scandal, please.

Back to the Well

Jennifer Hudson’s getting back to where it all once began.

Yes, E! News has tweet-revealed that J. Hud has signed on to be a judge on TV’s Americal Idol next year.

The rumor mill has been turning with talk that the show was/is interested in featuring an all-star cast of previous contestants during the new season that is to come in the winter.

Original Idol Kelly Clarkson is the get for producers, of course, while Adam Lambert is also being courted for the gig.

Photo: AceShowbiz.com.

Inevitable Lady

Jennifer Hudson is keeping busy this summer.

Before J. Hud joins the cast of TV’s Smash a seasoned Broadway diva this fall, the Oscar winner is working on a different kind of drama, a project titled The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, which actually began production yesterday.

The independent project follows the misadventures of two children who are left alone after their mothers are taken into government custody.

Jordin Sparks, Anthony Mackie (We Are Marshall), and Jeffrey Wright co-star.

Photo: FashionBombDaily.com.

J. Hud Smashes In

Jennifer Hudson is pulling an Uma Thurman and heading to the New York City of TV’s Smash.

The Oscar- and Grammy-winning multi-hyphenate is joining the show next season for multiple eps, playing a Tony Award-winning star who has a great influence on the path of Katharine McPhee and Meghan Hilty’s characters.

Mmm...perhaps I should use part of my summer to catch up on Smash? I love me some J. Hud, so if there ever was a reason to, already, it’s her.

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

Running Off to Join the Convent

Jennifer Hudson wants to make us laugh.

The multi-hyphenate is set to play Sister Rosemary in the Farrelly brothers’ Three Stooges movie starring Will Sasso, Sean Hayes, and Chris Diamantopoulos.

J. Hud joins a cast that also includes Sofia Vergara as a temptress, Jane Lynch as Mother Superior, and – ha! – Larry David as Mother Mengele.

Hudson will next be seen in Winnie, the story of Nelson Mandela’s former wife.

Photo: BroadwayWorld.com.

Jennifer the Beautiful

Well, it’s official: Jennifer Lopez is baaack.

The entertainer may not have gone away, alright, but her career certainly went from H-O-T to lukewarm for a little while there, didn’t it....

Now, though, thanks to her well-received judgeship on TV’s Americal Idol, a semi-successful return to Rom-comville, and a turning up of the temperature on her music career, La Lopez is once again kinda It...and she’s gracing the cover of People’s Most Beautiful Issue to prove it.

Lest you think it, though, she knows and she wants everyone to know being beautiful is part of her job.

“I don’t want anybody thinking it’s easy,” she said. “It does take time and it’s hard work. HDTV is nobody’s friend!”

Thanks for the clarification, girl. I’m sure we all feel so much better about your gorgeousness.

Among the other pretty peeps the magazine chose to highlight in 2011 are Kellan Lutz, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Hudson, Mila Kunis, and Ryan Reynolds, among others.

Photo: People.com.

J. Hud’s Back

She’s staying, alright.

Jennifer Hudson is about to release her sophomore effort, I Remember Me (the album is due out on March 22), and she has a first single to prove it.

“Where You At,” written and produced by R. Kelly, is actually dropping in a couple days (a snippet of it is available on J. Hud’s Web site.

Among the folks that Hudson also collaborated with for the album are Ryan Tedder, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Rich Harrison, Ne-Yo, and Stargate.

Sounds like a doozy, huh.

Photo: HipHollywood.com.

La Lauper Called...

She loves Jennifer Hudson and Leona Lewis’ “Love Is Your Color” and its obvious homage to her “True Colors.”

I keed – kinda.

You gotta admit the duet, featured in Sex and the City 2 and its soundtrack, sounds an awful lot like the Cyndi Lauper hit.

Photo: FashionBombDaily.com.

Divas Both Old and New Like Their Sex

Alicia, Jennifer, Leona, and Liza – as in Keys, Hudson, Lewis, and with a Z – are ready for some hot action…that is, of course, some Sex and the City 2 soundtrack action.

Keys will help open the sequel with a cover Blondie’s 1980 hit “Rapture,” which will be mashed up, ever-on-trend, with the original SATC theme song.

Hudson – who is not reprising her role as Carrie’s assistant in the movie opening on May 28 – will duet (beautifully, I’m sure) with Lewis on the original ballad, “Love Is Your Color.”

For her part, Liza, as expected, will perform her very-Liza version on Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” which is featured during the movie’s gwedding, as well as Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.”

Not to be outdone, the real ladies of Sex and the City – Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon – will be included on the album, out on May 25, btw, with their rendition of “I Am Woman.”

Photo: E! Online.

Save Haiti, Save Your Soul

Ever the philanthropist, two-time Sexiest Man Alive George Clooney spent the week organizing tonight’s “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief,” a star-studded telethon, in the wake of the devastating 7.0 quake that hit the island nation on Jan. 12.

Slated to appear on the TV special, which will air beginning at 8 p.m. on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH-1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, and E! Entertainment, are President Bill Clinton, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Anderson Cooper (live from Haiti), Wyclef, and Muhammad Ali, among others.

Madonna will perform from New York. Btw, I hear the Queen of Pop is set to perform...an oldie but a goody. (I promised I wouldn’ t say which one. Yet.)

Other performers appearing from either the Big Apple or Los Angeles include Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Stevie Wonder.

Keith Urban, Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow will put on a group performance, while Beyoncé, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Bono and the Edge, and Coldplay will perform via satellite from London.

To donate to the relief effort, check out the American Red Cross link to your left, or visit the Partners in Health Web site.

Photo: Time.com.

Update 1: A hint regarding Madonna’s choice of song: She performed it on her “Re-Invention” and “Sticky & Sweet” tours.

Update 2: Alright, M’s supposed to sing “Like a Prayer.” Hopefully she won’t change her mind since I already told.

Update 3: “Hope for Haiti Now” reportedly raised $58 million with more donations coming in still.

There’s still time to donate by purchasing all the performances (or individual ones) from the telethon. I just bought three (guess which one I got first).

Proceeds will benefit Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, the U.N. World Food Programme, Yele Haiti Foundation, and the Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation.

The First Lady

Jennifer Hudson is set to play Winnie Mandela, the former wife of South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela, in the upcoming Winnie.

“I was compelled and moved when I read the script,” Hudson said. “Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honored to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told.”

The biopic will be based on the Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob biography Winnie Mandela: A Life. Production is scheduled to begin in May in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Transkei, and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela served 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment.

Smells like awards bait for the Dreamgirls Oscar winner....

Photo: SheKnows.com.

In the Motherhood

Jennifer Hudson is coming out as a mother.

J. Hud introduced son David to the world today – in her own terms. She and fiancé David Otunga never confirmed she was preggers until the baby’s birth in August. Aside from her Divas gig last month, she’s been pretty much focusing on her bundle of joy.

“I love being nurturing and caring because I love to see other people happy,” she said. “Who better to devote my time to than my own child?”

Click here to read more about Hudson’s life as a mommy.

Up next for Hudson is the ABC special, Jennifer Hudson: I’ll Be Home for Christmas, airing in December.

Photo: People.com.

Jennifer Hudson’s a Diva

Uh duh – of course Jennifer Hudson had to be added to the roster of performers of the upcoming Divas show airing live on VH-1 on Sept. 17 from the Brooklyn Academy of Music Howard Gilman Opera House.

Hudson joins fellow American Idol alumnae Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks in the lineup, as well as Adele, Miley Cyrus, and Leona Lewis.

Additional special musical guests for the show include Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, and Martina McBride.

Kathy Griffin, Toni Braxton, Ryan Kwanten (HBO’s True Blood), Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port (MTV’s The City), and the cast of the upcoming Fame (Asher Book, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Kherington Payne, Naturi Naughton, and Walter Perez) have all joined the Divas show as presenters.

Mmm…Ryan Kwanten.

Photo: StraightFromThea.com.

And with Spring Comes J. Hud

In an Entertainment Weekly cover story out this week, Jennifer Hudson opens up about her life, her career, her highs, and her lows.

It’s quite the revealing interview for the Oscar- and Grammy-winning artist, who is embarking on a 27-show tour with Robin Thicke (they will perform in New York on April 10 – and it is killing me that I can’t get tickets). In it, J. Hud calls music “my home,” and says she’s “uncomfortable” with fans who cry in front of her.

Not that, mind you, the Dreamgirl isn’t grateful.

“This is what I love to do,” she said.

And I for one love seeing her do it.

Photo: EW.com.

Back to Work

Jennifer Hudson is moving on from the tragic loss of her mother, brother, and little nephew – at least a enough to get back to work.

J. Hud, who is set to perform at the Grammys on Feb. 8 (she’s a nominee), will first take to the stage on Super Bowl Sunday to sign the national anthem, marking her first public performance since her family members were killed last fall.

The singer has been keeping busy recently, filming the music video for her new single, “If This Isn’t Love,” which is expected to debut in a couple of weeks.

Good to have you back, girl!

Photo: People.com.

Sending Good Vibes

Jennifer Hudson, I’m thinking about you, girl.

Hudson’s mother and brother were found dead in their South Side Chicago home last Friday.

The singer-actress’s 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, has been missing since. Hudson is offering a $100,000 reward for his safe return.

“If anyone has any information about his whereabouts please contact the authorities immediately,” she said in a statement.

Photo: EarSucker.com.

Update: CNN.com has broken the news that an SUV connected to the case has been found. A medical examiner is checking reports of a child’s body inside.

Girlfriend’s Doing It for Herself

Jennifer Hudson upcoming self-titled debut album, she says, will allow us to learn a lot about her journey toward absolute divadom.

Jennifer Hudson will be released on Sept. 30 – but you don’t have to wait quite that long to preview the first single off the album, “Spotlight,” a song written by Ne-Yo.

J. Hud, who also collaborated with Timbaland, Robin Thicke, and Diane Warren, among others, on the album, promises to take us on a journey with her long-awaited musical material. And I believe her and cannot wait.

The Oscar winner most recently co-starred in the Sex and the City movie, and recorded the song “All Dressed in Love” for its soundtrack.

She soon will appear in the upcoming The Secret Life of Bees and Winged Creatures.

Photo: VDay.org.

The Biggest Sex of All

Last we saw the women of the hit HBO series Sex and the City – back on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2004 (yeah, I remember) – they’d all gotten the love.

Carrie Bradshaw’s lifelong quest for “real, ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can’t-live-without-each other love” had come to an end when, after six long years of on-off romance, Mr. Big finally told her she was the one.

Samantha Jones had beaten breast cancer and admitted that her boyfriend Smith Jerrod had meant more to her than any man she’d ever known.

Charlotte York-Goldenblatt’s life with husband Harry had gotten more blessed when their adoption of a Chinese baby girl went through, and Miranda Hobbes had settled nicely into her new life in Brooklyn with husband Steve and son Brady.

Four years later, Carrie & Co. are back, and I just couldn’t be more thrilled.

Sex and the City was a groundbreaking phenomenon in its premium-cable run, one that grew exponentially when it was adapted to air on basic cable.

Today marks another landmark in the Sex machine’s history: A much-anticipated film adaptation is opening – a remarkable feat considering that A) an earlier shot at transitioning to the silver screen soon after the series finale didn’t pan out, and B) Hollywood quite rarely banks on movies starring women over 40.

As Sex and the City opens at a theater near you, you must celebrate more than the return of four friends. You also must celebrate a Manolo Blahnik-high-heeled step in the right direction for an entire industry.

Cosmos for everyone!

But onto the business du jour.....

The movie acknowledges that time has passed and that these women are still living and thriving, as luminous as ever, older, and, yes, wiser.

Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) still is with John James Preston (Chris Noth), a.k.a. Mr. Big. She no longer writes her newspaper column, but still writes for Vogue and has in fact published two more books and is working on a fourth.

Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is in remission and now lives on the West Coast where she runs a talent management agency – her biggest client is Smith (Jason Lewis), with whom she lives in L.A. She’s even more successful than before, yet she feels disconnected from herself.

Meanwhile, Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is beyond happy – happy to the point where she feels guilty about it – and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is grappling with an unfathomable betrayal.

Clocking at almost 2 ½ hours, Sex and the City is an ambitious movie.

I’m tickled to say veteran series writer-director Michael Patrick King really packed into it everything you ever could want it to have and more (even Carrie’s tutu makes a cameo) – fun, laughs, tears; joy, sadness, anger; shoes, bags, belts....

Oh yeah, you can’t talk Sex and the City without talking about the fashion. Costume designer Patricia Field has outdone herself, but the biggest, best trend the movie will spawn is love.

By the way – there’s a fundamental reason why Carrie always looks her best: she knows she can’t risk looking like a hamper had just thrown up on her should she run into an ex, which is what happened to me on my way to the movie. Really.

But I digress. And I haven’t even mentioned Jennifer Hudson’s pivotal turn as Louise, Carrie’s assistant. Ha – I guess I just did.

As the trailer, and countless Internet reports already revealed, including mine, Carrie and Mr. Big get engaged in the movie. She poses for Vogue as a beaming bride, which leads to a gorgeous and dramatic and voluminous Vivienne Westwood dress…and to the wedding getting bigger than Big.

Will our protagonist get her happy ending? That is the movie’s biggest crux, and, naturally, you’re going to have to watch it for the answer. Fans of the series definitely will not be disappointed, and they will feel like Carrie & Co. have come full circle. For that, this is the most satisfying Sex of all.

My Rating ****

Photo: New Line Cinema.