ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Your album is done?

JENNIFER HUDSON: Finally! The album! Really, this is what I've been waiting for, dreaming of my whole life. It's just a matter of narrowing down [the song choices]. I've got the jitters because it's my first album and a lot of people don't realize that. Everybody thinks I did that already: ''This is your second or third album.'' I'm like, No, this is my first album.

Congratulations! But it's been over four years since Idol — why did it take so long to finish?

Because I didn't expect to be a singer and an actress. I've been very busy. I've shot three films. And I told my team I want to put my attention on one or the other. When I'm acting I don't sing, and when I'm recording I'm not acting.