JHUD

JHUD
Studio album by Jennifer Hudson
Released September 23, 2014
Recorded 2013–2014
Genre
Length 43:43
Label RCA
Producer
Jennifer Hudson chronology

I Remember Me
(2011)		 JHUD
(2014)
Singles from JHUD
  1. "I Can't Describe (The Way I Feel)"
    Released: September 24, 2013
  2. "Walk It Out"
    Released: April 28, 2014
  3. "It's Your World"
    Released: July 10, 2014

JHUD is the third studio album by American recording artist Jennifer Hudson. Released on September 23, 2014 by RCA Records, it marks Hudson's first album to be released by the label after the closure of Arista and J Records. It serves as the follow-up to 2011's I Remember Me.[1]

The 1970s-inspired album has already spawned the Pharrell-produced single "I Can't Describe (The Way I Feel)" featuring T.I. and the Timbaland-produced "Walk It Out", for which she shot a video in Chicago. On August 18, 2014, Hudson released the single, "Dangerous", via her Vevo and SoundCloud accounts. The single "It's Your World" featuring R. Kelly was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance[2] and the album was named "Best R&B/Soul Album" by iTunes.[3]

Background

In March 2011, Hudson released her second album I Remember Me. As with her self-titled debut, Hudson worked with many different producers and songwriters on the project, resulting in a "feel good album".[4] Upon release, it debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 165,000 copies,[5] and was eventually certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipping over 500,000 copies in the United States.[6] While not as successful as previous releases, lead single "Where You At" became a top-ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, though subsequent singles failed to chart or sell noticeably.[7] After a short musical hiatus, in which she co-starred in the films The Three Stooges (2012), The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete (2013), and Black Nativity (2013), Hudson returned to music recording in mid-2013.[8] Heading for a different direction, Hudson consulted new producers to work with her on her third album: "It's different expressions of me as an artist, a girl, a music lover. Earlier in my career I was just a soloist singing other people's songs. Now I really want to be an artist. I want to lift the people up, have fun, create a moment. I have my own visions that I want to bring to life."[9] On the developing process of her third album, she elaborated in November 2013: "I've been working with Pharrell Williams quite a bit on my album, and Timbaland as well. This whole project this time around is extremely different and every session felt like a party, like we was getting our jam on."[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 68/100[10]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [11]
Billboard [12]
The Guardian [13]
New York Daily News [13]
Rolling Stone [14]
Slant [15]

The album received a score of 68 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 6 critical reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16] On behalf of Billboard, Elias Leight foreseeing, "the spare templates she uses here, which are heavy on rhythm and relatively empty otherwise, give her plenty of space to flex her powerful voice."[12] Writing for AllMusic, Andy Kellman forecasting Hudson to be "in full-on diva mode" even though she "occasionally sounds disconnected from the material, but the singer, as powerful as ever, still leaves her indelible mark on everything".[11]

Commercial performance

JHUD debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, selling 24,000 copies in its first week of release.[17] It marked Hudson's lowest sales and chart debut for a studio set. Previously, her 2011 album, I Remember Me, tallied her smallest start with 165,000 copies."[18] In addition, JHUD debuted at number two on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart, becoming her third consecutive album to do so.[17] Commenting on the album's chart performance, Paul Grein from Yahoo! Music felt that its opening sales were "a disappointment, considering that her first two albums, [..] both debuted at number two." He found that "the main problem is that the singles from this album haven't done as well as the singles from Hudson's previous albums [...] None of the first three singles from the new album has cracked the top 20 on the R&B chart."[18] As of December 2014, JHUD has sold 61,000 copies in the US.[19]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Dangerous"  
  • Nineteen85
  • Kozmeniuk
 4:15
2. "It's Your World" (featuring R. Kelly)
  • R. Kelly
DJ Terry Hunter 5:18
3. "He Ain't Goin' Nowhere" (featuring Iggy Azalea)
Williams 3:46
4. "Walk It Out" (featuring Timbaland)
 4:43
5. "I Can't Describe" (featuring T.I.)
Williams 3:46
6. "I Still Love You"  
Gorgon City 3:44
7. "Just That Type of Girl"  WilliamsWilliams 3:53
8. "Bring Back the Music"  
 3:55
9. "Say It"  
  • Pollard
  • Duplessis
  • Altino
  • Duplessis
  • Mali Music
 3:41
10. "Moan"  
  • Hudson
  • Pollard
Mali Music 6:53

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
scope="row" US Billboard 200[17] 10
scope="row" US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[20] 2
UK Albums Chart[21]
116

References

  1. ↑ "Jennifer Hudson’s New Album is Called ‘JHUD’ « Radio.com". radio.com. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  2. ↑ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-grammys-2015-nominees-winners-list-story.html#page=1
  3. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6385969/itunes-year-end-sales-chart-list-pharrell-frozen-beyonce
  4. ↑ "Jennifer Hudson InStyle, Talks Music, Weight More". Singersroom. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  5. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (March 30, 2011). Chris Brown Nets First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart | Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved on March 30, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  7. ↑ Grein, Paul (2011-03-30). "Week Ending March 27, 2011: Songs: Katy Moves Up | Chart Watch - Yahoo! Music". New.music.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Jennifer Hudson Talks New Album, Shoots Down Marriage Rumors". Rap-Up. 2013-11-21. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
  9. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Jennifer Hudson’s New Album is Called ‘JHUD’ « WPGC – 95.5". wpgc.cbslocal.com. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  10. ↑ "JHUD - Jennifer Hudson". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Kellman, Andy. "JHUD – Jennifer Hudson". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Leight, Elias (September 22, 2014). "Jennifer Hudson, 'JHUD': Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Leanse, Theo. "Jennifer Hudson: JHUD review – a thrilling voice with a workaday backing". The Guardian. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  14. ↑
  15. ↑ "Slant review".
  16. ↑ "Critic Reviews for JHUD". Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Jennifer Hudson Album & Song Chart History" Billboard 200 for Jennifer Hudson. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Grein, Paul. "Chart Watch: JHud Stuck In The Mud". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
  19. ↑ Lynch, Joe (December 9, 2014). "9 Albums That Flopped in 2014 (Or Did They?)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Jennifer Hudson Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Jennifer Hudson. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  21. ↑

External links