Jennifer Hudson would be the 5th consecutive artist to score Oscar bids for acting and songwriting in the same year
One of the wildest new trends at the Oscars is the emergence of stars being honored not just for their performances but for their songwriting in the same year. In 2018, Mary J. Blige became the first person to score concurrent nominations for acting and Best Original Song, for her work on “Mudbound.” The trend continued with Lady Gaga for “A Star Is Born” in 2019, followed by Cynthia Erivo for “Harriet,” and last year, Leslie Odom Jr. became the first male artist to do so with “One Night in Miami.” Now, Jennifer Hudson is on the brink of continuing this streak, thanks to her contributions to “Respect.”
Fresh off a lead actress nomination from the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Hudson is in contention to land an acting bid at the Oscars. Playing the legendary Aretha Franklin, Hudson led “Respect” to becoming a decent-sized hit at the box office and the actress has scored additional bids from the Australian Academy and other critics groups, making her a strong contender. She is currently seventh place in the latest Gold Derby odds for an Oscar nomination in Best Actress, though she is trending upwards.
SEE ‘You better think’ before you count Jennifer Hudson out of Best Actress Oscar race
Hudson is also in contention in the Best Original Song category for penning the film’s end credits theme, “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)”. Jamie Hartman and music icon Carole King co-wrote the rousing song with Hudson, who also lends to it her powerhouse vocals. Like in Best Actress, the tune is in seventh place in our Best Original Song odds, but it too is on the rise. The song has been nominated for a number of precursor awards, most notably the Grammys, where it is up for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
While earning two nominations would seem to double one’s chances of winning, this has not borne fruit for most of those previous twice-nominated artists. Gaga is the only one to score a win, taking home the award for Best Original Song for “Shallow,” while Blige, Erivo and Odom did not emerge victorious in either of their categories. While Hudson may suffer the same fate, the possibility of getting recognized in multiple fields is not only in keeping with recent trends but a huge win in and of itself.
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?