Jennifer Hudson

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• blowing up
• crank out
• overshadow
• process

• spotlight
• charge with
• nominate
• bittersweet

• cope
• homicide

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Everyone’s life has its ups and downs, but most people don’t see their greatest dreams and worst nightmares come true at the same time. That’s what happened to Jennifer Hudson, who first stepped into the spotlight as a contestant on the TV show American Idol. Even though she didn’t win, her performance on the show helped her get a role in the 2006 musical Dreamgirls, in which she sang and acted alongside Beyonce Knowles. She did such a good job in that film that she won an Academy Award, the highest honor an American actor can receive, and became a superstar overnight.

Then, in October 2008, Jennifer’s mother, brother, and seven-year-old nephew were all murdered. Soon afterward, her brother-in-law was charged with the killings. Now, Jennifer’s debut album, which came out just a few weeks before the shootings, is nominated for multiple Grammy awards, including Best R&B Album.

Devan and Amanda were both shocked to hear about what happened to Jennifer’s family. Listen to them wonder what it would be like to be nominated for Grammys so soon after losing your family.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Devan

Amanda

Devan:  Jennifer Hudson just got nominated for five Grammys. This must be somewhat bittersweet, to get the happy news in the midst of all the sad news she’s had lately.

Amanda:  Yeah. She so needs that. I just can’t believe it. With the triple homicide, she pretty much had all the closest people in her family taken away from her.

Devan:  It’s so sad, what happened to her family. But then at the same time, it’s like, “Here comes the Grammys!” She’s nominated for five Grammys. She very well might win some of them, which should be like one of the happiest days of her life, besides winning the Oscar that she won for Dreamgirls.

Amanda:  Yeah. She’s really blowing up because she’s so multi-talented. I mean, she was a finalist on American Idol. Most finalists just kind of disappear. They crank out their album and then you never hear from them again, and here she has a supporting role in…what was it called, with Beyonce?

Devan:  Dreamgirls.

Amanda:  Yeah! And she overshadowed Beyonce Knowles, which was ridiculous. Both with the singing and with the acting. It was almost like she had this huge blessing and then it was taken away from her in her personal life.

Devan:  Yeah.

Amanda:  It was almost too much to process, and swallow.

Devan:  It’s just such a shame. That’s such a horrible tragedy, also, to overshadow all of her accomplishments.

Amanda:  It makes you wonder how she can actually focus on her career right now.

Devan:  Yeah.

Amanda:  But on the flip-side, it’s probably what keeps her going.

Devan:  Definitely. At least she has stuff going for her, and she has the music career to continue embracing and look forward to. I certainly hope she wins some of those Grammys, ‘cause I think she deserves it.

Amanda:  She certainly does.

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