'It's My Turn Now': Jennifer Hudson Opens Up About Writing Original Music Again

After years of putting everyone else first, EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson is finally ready to write music that's entirely her own. "It's my time for my voice," she says.

Jennifer Hudson is taking control of her music, and she’s writing it for herself. The EGOT winner is currently working on her latest album, with music inspired by her son, and her partner, fellow Oscar winner Common.

Describing this new phase in her life as “the chapter of…putting myself first,” Hudson told Variety in a recent interview that she finally wants to write original music instead of relying on other artists’ songs.

Hudson was performing on tour with Josh Groban when she had the epiphany. Instead of performing a song that fans would normally vote for, she decided to pick one of her own choosing, the song “Invisible” from her 2008 self-titled album.

Hudson recalled, “I got emotional in the midst of it,” as the lyrics of the 20-year-old track hit close to home: “And now I’m gonna live my life for me, ’cause this ain’t how it’s supposed to be. No more standing in the back of the line, ’cause I’m invisible for the last time.”

Now that Hudson is an empty nester, she realizes she has a lot of time, which she can now devote to herself, she told the publication. "I've been disciplined. I've crossed every t, dotted every i, and it's like, but what does it feel like if you take up more space for yourself?" she asked.

Jennifer Hudson performs during the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, in John Lewis Plaza, on June 18, 2026 in Chicago | Source: Getty Images

Her mantra for this new phase: "It's my turn now." She compared years of prioritizing others to sitting at a stop sign while letting every other car go ahead. "That means we're stuck in the same place," she said. "Something's gotta give."

Hudson said her decision to write original music is long overdue. "I only write when I have something I really want to say, and it's my time for my voice," she said, recalling advice she received from Carole King and Aretha Franklin when she was doing research for her role in Franklin’s 2021 biopic, “Respect.”

“Use your voice,” she remembered both of them telling her. “That has never left me. And when I use my voice this time, it's going to be with my words."

Jennifer Hudson performs onstage during an all-star tribute to Aretha Franklin dubbed Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul" on January 13, 2019 in Los Angeles | Source: Getty Images

In 2022, she became the 17th person, and third Black artist, to achieve EGOT status after winning a Tony Award for producing “A Strange Loop,” in addition to the Oscar she won for “Dreamgirls” in 2007 and two Grammy Awards, one for her 2008 self-titled album and another for her work on “The Color Purple.”

Years after that milestone achievement, Hudson is ready to give life to her own original music. "What comes from the heart reaches the heart," she said. "What's real resonates. If you don't put meaning behind it, then it's just a demo of right notes."