Jennifer Hudson belted out some pop classics as the Palm Springs International Film Festival honored her performance in "Dreamgirls."

Hudson received the breakthrough performance prize at a gala Saturday after missing the festival's award ceremony earlier this month.

"I never imagined any of this, I never thought about the outcome," Hudson said. "All I wanted was the part. It never occurred to me I would be a part of such greatness."

Later, she launched into Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and the Barry Manilow favorite "Weekend in New England" – the last song she sang before being voted off 2004's "American Idol."

Hudson, 25, plays soulstress Effie White in "Dreamgirls," adapted from the stage hit about a Motown singing group that rises to stardom in the 1960s.

Her film debut has earned a Golden Globe nomination, and she's considered a potential Oscar nominee.

"I'm going to have to do a lot of praying to get ready for that," Hudson said of the Academy Award nominations being announced later this month.

Labels: Jennifer Hudson