Jennifer Hudson is slated to sign with L.A. Reid’s company Epic Records. Hudson’s previous three records were with Arista/J Records and RCA, but now the singer and Dreamgirls star has signed an exclusive contract with Epic, which was announced by chairman and CEO L.A. Reid.
“Jennifer Hudson is the defining voice of this generation,” Reid said in a statement to Billboard. “He award-winning presence on records, in film, and on stage establishes her as one of the premiere artists to emerge in this century. I’m enjoying collaborating with my friend and mentor Clive Davis on Jennifer’s first Epic album and excited for her fans to hear what we’re up to… all will be revealed soon!”
L.A. Reid will be working on the album with Clive Davis, who serves as the Sony Music Entertainment Chief Creative Officer and is co-executive producing the album. This is the first time that the two have worked together in almost 25 years, the last time being when they did a collaboration on Whitney Houston’s soundtrack to The Bodyguard in 1992.
Davis further said on their new sign, “I signed Jennifer in 2007 believing her to be the strongest candidate as the next generation’s Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston. She has become that, as L.A. and I excitingly reunite to capture Jennifer at her all time best.”
Hudson has made some major marks in the music industry over the years, and finished seventh on American Idol’s third season back in 2004. In Dreamgirls, she portrayed singer Effie White and also released a self-titled album in 2008. Her self-titled album was followed by I Remember Me, released in 2011, and JHUD, released in 2014.
The singer was also recently involved with a tribute to Prince at the 2016 BET Awards, where she was joined by Kirk Douglas on guitar for a rendition of "Purple Rain."
