Jennifer Hudson is already back for a third season of her celebrated talk show, The Jennifer Hudson Show, but she has a lot more exciting things in store too.
After announcing recently that she would be releasing her very first holiday album titled The Gift of Love this October, the singer, 43, revealed that she will be going on tour to support it as well.
Jennifer shared on Wednesday, September 18, that she will embark on a mini tour in support of the album, called The Gift of Love: An Intimate Live Experience.
The shows kick off on November 24 in Brooklyn, New York, and will then hit up her native Chicago on December 13 and Los Angeles on December 18, followed by a two-date stint in Las Vegas on December 21 and 22.
She took to social media with the announcement, writing: "I am SO excited to announce my limited engagement holiday tour, 'The Gift of Love: An Intimate Live Experience'," adding: "I cannot wait to spend the holidays with you!!!"
Fans were thrilled with the news, reacting to her announcement with enthusiastic comments like: "I'm definitely making it to one of those shows JHUD," and: "Oh we are so ready for this!!!" as well as: "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHGHHGG I'm screaming. The album we all needed. I love you."
The American Idol finalist recently signed with Interscope Records to make her grand musical comeback. She has received two Grammy Awards throughout her musical career (she is an EGOT, in fact), but her last studio album was released nearly a decade ago, 2014's JHUD.
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In an interview with Variety, she spoke about the big move and making her return: "I don't feel like I ever left it. I go from industry to industry to industry and music is the base of it all."
© Getty Images"No matter where I go, just because I said I was going to do a talk show did not mean I was going to stop singing. Or if I go to act, the music is still there," she explained, also talking about how her Christmas album was a dream finally coming to fruition.
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"As a creative, you always feel the urge to create, and a Christmas album is something I have always wanted to do. I couldn't think of a better time than now to do it and express my artistry. Now I have a talk show with families and a platform and an audience that I can share it with."
© InstagramShe recalled: "Growing up, I used to recreate 'Oh Holy Night.' I would remix it and pass it out every year to my family as my Christmas gift. Now, I get to share that with the world."
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When asked if there was more music to come after The Gift of Love, she simply responded: "At this moment, [I'm focusing on] this Christmas album, but there will be other music to come after that."
"I love starting with Christmas music because it gets my creative chops going. I love the holidays, and so to me, it's like my Christmas gift."
