GIANT: So is all of this just blowing your mind?

Oh, my god, is it?! It’s unbelievable! And it’s just now hitting me. I’m like “Ohhh, my god…” I get nervous. It’s a lot of pressure, you know? It has exceeded what I had envisioned for myself, what I wanted. It’s beyond my dreams.

Well, the lyric is, “All you’ve got to do is dream.” What did you dream about, career-wise?

I can’t say I didn’t want this; it’s just I didn’t expect it—not like this. At least, not this soon. I just wanted to be able to sing and, if it was possible, to sing for the world. I always said I wanted to use my talents and my gifts to make my living. So to be able to do that and then to act as well, which I never considered before… All of this is just a huge surprise.

Let’s talk about American Idol. Does this feel like a vindication for you? Or do you not think that way?

I don’t think that way. I’m just glad to be here and to be able to have a second chance.

Is it true you almost didn’t do American Idol?

Everyone was like, “You should do Idol. You should do Idol,” and I was like, “I don’t know,” because it seemed like a shortcut to a certain extent. But when I finally did decide to do it, I was like, “You know what? I wanna do it for the experience and the exposure.”

Labels: Jennifer Hudson