World renown for her astonishing live vocal prowess, this marks the first official tour for Hudson, who recently won a Grammy Award for “Best R&B Album” for her RIAA-certified Gold self-titled debut album. “I am so grateful” stated Hudson. “My first Grammy and my first tour, it doesn’t get any better than this!” Hudson also received three NAACP Image Awards for “Outstanding New Artist,” “Outstanding Album” and “Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration” for “I’m His Only Woman” featuring Fantasia.

Sparked by the success of her hit single “Spotlight,” Jennifer Hudson entered at #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart after its September 30th release on Arista Records. With a total of 217,720 units sold, the chart-topping entry was the biggest first week for a debut R&B female since November 2004. Hudson’s current single, the beautiful mid-tempo “If This Isn’t Love,” is steadily climbing the charts while the Diane Martel-directed video recently premiered on AOL.

Robin Thicke, the award-winning multiplatinum superstar, returned to center stage with his 2008 release Something Else, a joyful and modern tribute to the ‘70s soul and pop records that have inspired an extraordinary career. Debuting at #3 on The Billboard 200, Something Else is Thicke’s highest charted album to date.

Thicke’s previous album The Evolution Of Robin Thicke, now on its way to double platinum status, includes the mega hit “Lost Without U” which became the #1 most played song on the Urban Adult Contemporary BDS as well as topping four Billboard charts simultaneously: #1 R&B /Hip Hop album, #1 Hot R&B / Hip Hop song, #1 Hot R&B Hip Hop Airplay, and #1 Hot Adult R&B Airplay.

Robin Thicke and Jennifer Hudson have teamed up with I Love All Access to provide a variety of VIP ticket packages for the tour, including premium seats, meet and greets, parties and more. For more information on I Love All Access and up to date tour information, please visit www.robinthicke.com or www.jenniferhudsononline.com.

The Robin Thicke-Jennifer Hudson tour dates are as follows:

March 31
Albany, NY
Palace Theatre

April 2
Newark, NJ
NJ PAC

April 3
Philadelphia, PA
Tower Theater

April 4
Baltimore, MD
Lyric Theatre

April 5
Washington, D.C.
DAR Constitution Hall

April 9
Mashantucket, CT
MGM Grand at Foxwoods

April 10
New York, NY
WAMU Theater at MSG

April 12
Norfolk, VA
Chrysler Hall

April 15
Atlanta, GA
Fox Theatre

April 17
Charlotte, NC
Ovens Auditorium

April 18
Greensboro, NC
Special Events Center

April 19
Richmond, VA
Landmark Theater

April 23
St Louis, MO
Fox Theatre

April 24
Detroit, MI
Opera House

April 25
Chicago, IL
Arie Crown Theater

May 2
Los Angeles, CA
Nokia Theatre L.A. Live

May 3
Oakland, CA
Paramount Theatre

May 7
Dallas, TX
Nokia Theatre

May 8
Houston, TX
Verizon Wireless Theater

Three-time GRAMMY winner Carrie Underwood is up for Best Female Country Vocal Performance (“Last Name”).

As previously announced, this year’s “My GRAMMY Moment” segment on the telecast gives music fans an opportunity to virtually share music’s biggest stage with current GRAMMY nominee Katy Perry. Produced in partnership with CBS.com, “My GRAMMY Moment” allows music fans to upload a 30- to 60-second video of themselves singing along to a portion of Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” to www.cbs.com/grammys through Feb. 6. Videos will be voted on by fans and the public-at-large, and the most popular videos will be shown as part of Perry’s performance on Music’s Biggest Night®.

Academy Award winning actress/singer Jennifer Hudson claims the No. 2 spot with her eponymous debut album on this week’s Billboard Top 200 Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, according to Nielsen SoundScan. With a total of 217,720 units sold, the chart-topping entry of Jennifer Hudson is the biggest first week for a debut R&B female since Fantasia’s November 2004 debut album Free Yourself. The release of Jennifer Hudson also marks the largest selling debut album for RCA Music Group this year.

“Jennifer’s album debut is amazing! I never take this for granted,” comments Clive Davis, Chief Creative Officer of Sony BMG Worldwide and Producer of the album. “It’s a genuine thrill to be a part of a truly spectacular start of a major new star.”

Ushered into the “Spotlight” by the hit single of the same name, the September 30th release of Jennifer’s debut album is the realization of her childhood dream of becoming a bona fide recording star – and the critics agree. The New York Times states: “Whether cooing her way through the midtempo ‘Spotlight,’ or singing a self-esteem anthem like ‘Invisible,’ she always builds to a wailing climax – the moment when she ceases being merely a skilled vocalist and becomes Jennifer Hudson, star.” Billboard adds that Jennifer’s “self-titled debut showcases a voice so big, with an interpretive talent so natural, that it seems to burst beyond the confines of the recording. All hail the new diva.”

In the weeks leading into the release, Jennifer was virtually inescapable as her single “Spotlight” saturated the airwaves and was complemented by television appearances/performances on Good Morning America, Oprah, The View, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Dancing With The Stars, half-hour performance special on BET, as well as the nationally televised performance of the “Star Spangled Banner” during the Democratic National Convention in Denver. On October 13, Yahoo will launch a special Pepsi Smash performance of “Spotlight” while Jennifer continues to travel the world for various promotional events in support of the album.

In 2004, television viewers got the chance to witness Hudson’s musical journey as a contestant on the third season of American Idol. Two years later, she told the world that she wasn’t going during her unforgettable portrayal as “Effie White” in Dreamgirls, and subsequently won 29 awards including the coveted Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Jennifer’s performance of “Love You I Do” for the Dreamgirls soundtrack yielded a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Hudson continued her acting career in this past summer’s hit film Sex and the City and will follow up with another role in the October 17th release of The Secret Life of Bees. Now with the chart-topping release of her stellar debut album, the multi-talented Jennifer Hudson has established that she’s here to stay as she conquers the worlds of film and music.

Corporate line:
The 2008 self-titled debut album of Jennifer Kate Hudson reflects her high-powered soulful style voice which is transcendent and timeless. Guests features on the album include Fantasia on “I’m His Only Woman”, Ludacris on “Pocketbook”, plus the highlights version of “And I am Telling You I’m Not Going” from Dreamgirls. Jennifer first gained notice as one of the finalists on the third season of the FOX television series American Idol. She went on to star as Effie White in the 2006 motion picture adaptation of the musical Dreamgirls for which she won numerous awards including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA and a SAG Award.

The good:
“If This Isn’t Love” – A beautiful ballad that showcases Hudson’s strength.

“Giving Myself” – Again, Hudson breezes through another epic ballad that sounds ready for the finale of American Idol.

“I’m His Only Woman” f/ Fantasia – Two women singing their hearts out–what else is there to say.

“Can’t Stop The Rain” – The slowest and most laid back ballad. It’s getting cliche to say Hudson can sing any ballad, good or bad, and make it sound great.

“Jesus Promised Me A Home Over There” – The album ends on a high note as Hudson drops a beautiful bit of gospel on us.

The rest:
“Spotlight” – Reaches back into the soul of the ’70s but never hits the big booming epic sound of Donna Summers.

“Pocketbook” – Light on lyrics and melody. It’s a shame becuase the verses are hot. The hook is almost nonexistent as Hudson sings over and over “hit you with my pocketbook.”

“Whats Wrong (Go Away)” f/T-Pain – Again, the overuse of digital effects–in this case every vocal part by T-Pain is digitized. It destroys the song.

Finally:
Jennifer Hudson has the voice to dominate R&B and pop. The songs, for the most part, are good. But there aren’t any songs that are truly great. With a voice like hers you are always waiting for a song to give you goosebumps.