Kylie & Jennifer Hudson on Kelce Genes Takeover, Toddler Spa Days & Viral Spirit Tunnel | Ep. 39

Speaker 1 On December 12th,

Speaker 1 Disney Plus invites you to go behind the scenes with Taylor Swift in an exclusive six-episode docuseries.

Speaker 2 I wanted to give something to the fans that they didn't expect. The only thing left is to close the book.

Speaker 1 The end of an era.

Speaker 1 And don't miss Taylor Swift, the Era's Tour, the final show, featuring for the first time the Tortured Poets Department.

Speaker 1 Streeting December 12th, only on Disney Plus.

Speaker 4 This episode is brought to you by Progressive Commercial Insurance. Business owners meet Progressive Insurance.

Speaker 4 They make it easy to get discounts on commercial auto insurance and find coverages to grow with your business. Quote in as little as eight minutes at progressivecommercial.com.

Speaker 4 Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, coverage provided and serviced by affiliated and third-party insurers. Discounts and coverage selections not available in all states or situations.

Speaker 2 Not going to lie,

Speaker 2 I'm blaming the full moon.

Speaker 2 Eagles lost, Philly's lost, Chiefs lost.

Speaker 2 Trash, absolute garbage.

Speaker 2 I'm blaming the full moon.

Speaker 2 Because I tried every seat in the house.

Speaker 3 So that couldn't be it.

Speaker 2 Let's get this podcast started.

Speaker 2 Welcome back to Not Gonna Lie, a Wave Original brought to you by Hannah Anderson. I'm your host, Kylie Kelsey.
My mom is one of my best friends. Shout out to Lil Lise.

Speaker 2 I do famously got a knock on wood.

Speaker 2 You know the drill.

Speaker 2 Also, these are not Easter eggs. We're not that clever.
And I'm a former Cabrini College sports announcer. I would say that I called

Speaker 2 women's or men's soccer the most. I did call one basketball game

Speaker 2 and a couple women's volleyball games, which

Speaker 2 that took a lot of studying.

Speaker 2 But we got through it. And I don't think it's the worst thing I've ever done.
So

Speaker 2 look at me trying to stay positive. Coming up on today's episode, I've gotten absolutely stacked Doom Scroll of the Week featuring the winner of this year's Fat Bear Week.
Yep, you heard that right.

Speaker 2 Oh my gosh, it is an absolute honor

Speaker 2 to get to witness what is comparing fat bears.

Speaker 2 Unreal. And it looks like women's basketball is coming to Philly sooner than we thought.

Speaker 2 That's right. That unrivaled announcement was exciting.
After that, I'm going to be joined by an EGOT winner I truly have no business speaking to.

Speaker 2 You know her from American Idol and her hit talk show, the Jennifer Hudson show.

Speaker 2 If that didn't make it obvious, guys, it's Jennifer Hudson. It's all coming up.
But first, let's get to some real one comments of the week. First up,

Speaker 2 yeah, there was a 12-minute jump.

Speaker 2 Two weeks in a row on the runtime of this podcast. And some of you in Queen Emma's court commented with absolute horseshit like this.

Speaker 2 At Colleen said, Queen Emma did it again. at one hour.

Speaker 3 Get the front door out of here.

Speaker 2 Get the French toast out of my face. Queen Emma asked, how are you feeling about two cool 60s in a row?

Speaker 2 And then she said, girl, should we make it three with a turtle emoji?

Speaker 2 No, we shouldn't make it three. How about that?

Speaker 2 Garbage. Next up, a lyric from Life of a Showgirl inspired a viral tweet.
And I have to admit, They got my ass. They really did.
The tweet says, a whole block full of baby Kelsey heads.

Speaker 2 Someone commented on that tweet and said, The fate of Kylie Kelsey. First of all, the lyric is:

Speaker 2 Have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you from Wishlist, which

Speaker 2 is my favorite song on the album. I think I've said it so many times before: the Kelsey genes are strong.
And here is

Speaker 2 a moment that happened this week. This week was Uncle Trav's birthday.

Speaker 2 And

Speaker 2 in true celebration, there were a number of photos posted on a carousel on Instagram,

Speaker 2 I believe, by the Chiefs and New Hus

Speaker 2 that were.

Speaker 2 Oh, yeah, I did. Brad, bleep it!

Speaker 2 The other podcast and the Chiefs collabed on a carousel of photos for Uncle Trav's birthday that included a photo of my husband and Travis.

Speaker 2 And I will tell you what,

Speaker 2 I think I've given up on the Ellie fight.

Speaker 2 It was so obvious. It's Ellie's eyes.
It's her eyes.

Speaker 2 And the worst part was,

Speaker 2 it was in that photo where I was like, oh shit.

Speaker 2 Is that Benny's face too?

Speaker 2 Which, to be fair, I have not thought for one second that Benny resembled me at all. So that was fine.
It was Ellie that broke me.

Speaker 2 So

Speaker 2 the genes are strong, guys. I don't know what to tell you.
I've been saying this from the beginning. We saw Wyatt come out.
It's like we cloned Jason in girl form.

Speaker 2 Just,

Speaker 2 we don't have a fighting chance, okay?

Speaker 3 But

Speaker 2 luckily, they make very cute children.

Speaker 2 Ken confirm. Very cute children, those Kelseys.

Speaker 2 Because that baby picture was a freaking that little kid picture of Jason Travis was so cute.

Speaker 2 We do have half the block already covered, especially when they scatter, which is a thing they've been doing recently. They think it's funny.

Speaker 2 Speaking of the girls, we have listened to Life of a Showgirl.

Speaker 2 There are some bops on there. I think everybody knows.
One of the songs that Ellie and I have been bopping to on the way to school is Opalite.

Speaker 2 Great song. The lyric my brother used to call it Eating Out of the Trash.

Speaker 2 Outstanding. My favorites on the album are definitely Wishlist,

Speaker 2 Opalite,

Speaker 2 and Who Are We Kidding? Wood.

Speaker 2 Here's the deal.

Speaker 2 Do I need that much detail about my specifically about my brother-in-law? Probably not, but also.

Speaker 3 Good job, Trent. That's it.

Speaker 2 Guys,

Speaker 2 yes.

Speaker 2 A thousand percent. Yes.
That's women supporting women.

Speaker 3 Gratia.

Speaker 2 Okay, moving on. Let's get right into a chunky Doom Scroll of the Week.
Pun intended, you'll see what I mean.

Speaker 2 First up on Doom Scroll of the Week, we no longer have to wait until 2030 for professional women's basketball in Philly because Unrivaled is coming this January. Queen Emma, roll the clip, please.

Speaker 2 Okay, there was an announcement in Love Park in Philadelphia that Unrivaled, the three-on-three Women's Basketball League,

Speaker 2 will

Speaker 2 have two games played

Speaker 2 in January

Speaker 2 in Philadelphia. Get out of town.
No, get in town. I do have January 30th blocked off on the calendar.

Speaker 2 because

Speaker 2 of course I want to be there for this.

Speaker 2 I hope that people feel encouraged and welcomed into the Philadelphia area. And I hope that this is just a small glimpse into how we are going to love and support our team that comes in in 2030.

Speaker 2 I think we can show up and show out. And I think that we can make our city proud.
Speaking of the WNBA, I've just been given yet another reason to be a fan of Caitlin Clark.

Speaker 3 Roll the clip, Queen Emma.

Speaker 2 She and some of her fever teammates were at the Colts game, and Caitlin, a die-hard Chiefs fan, is the only one not wearing the custom jersey they made for her. Nailed it.
You fucking nailed that.

Speaker 2 You nailed that so hard. Here's the deal: very kind of the Colts organization to give a customized jersey.
This is customary. I've seen it happen to my husband many times.

Speaker 2 I co-signed this decision very hard. I think that Caitlin nailed this.
I think that when you are

Speaker 2 raised a die-hard fan of a team, that this is the only appropriate response to being given a jersey of another team.

Speaker 2 So,

Speaker 2 yeah,

Speaker 2 yep, nailed that. Next, on Doom Scroll,

Speaker 2 first we were a turtle podcast, then a hippo podcast.

Speaker 2 Well, now I think it's safe to say we're a brown bear podcast because the winner of Fat Bear Week 2025 has been crowned, and you guys, his name is Junk.

Speaker 2 Queen Emma, the clip, please.

Speaker 6 We have a winner.

Speaker 3 Chunk.

Speaker 6 A towering brown bear with a broken jaw has taken the top prize in Alaska's popular fat bear contest. This is Chunk's first win after narrowly finishing in second place the three previous years.

Speaker 6 By the way, Chunk weighs an estimated 1,200 pounds.

Speaker 2 Chunk received the most votes in a competition between 12 brown bears, where people picked the bear they believe best exemplifies fatness and success,

Speaker 2 which is perfect for him in their preparation for winter hibernation. Okay.

Speaker 3 A couple things here.

Speaker 2 One, one being the most important, I think we should point out. One of the things that they shared about Chunk is that he has a broken jaw.
Okay.

Speaker 2 So for him to become the fattest bear with a broken jaw, I don't think that we are properly acknowledging the adversity that he had to overcome to fatten up.

Speaker 3 Okay?

Speaker 2 He was so dedicated that with a broken jaw, he still consumed enough calories to be the fattest bear.

Speaker 3 Perfect.

Speaker 2 I have seen a bear in the wild. Did I freak out? Yes.
Was it like a freak out scared? Absolutely not. Because I was in a vehicle and the doors were locked.
That's key.

Speaker 2 Because those suckers can open doors.

Speaker 3 Yeah.

Speaker 2 I believe the bear I saw was a black bear.

Speaker 2 And

Speaker 2 it was on the way to the Dickerson wedding. That's not, that's out for real.
We were going to see Landon and Brooke get married. And we saw one on the way up the mountain.
I was very excited.

Speaker 2 Queen Emma would like to know: if Jason and I saw a bear on a hike, would he ditch me like he did with the shark?

Speaker 2 A couple problems with this question. Number one, would Jason be on a hike? Probably not.

Speaker 2 I don't think he would ditch me. I think he would.

Speaker 2 I think he would stick around.

Speaker 2 He doesn't, it doesn't feel as dire as him coming in contact with a shark.

Speaker 3 But maybe I'm wrong. We'll have to ask him.

Speaker 2 Am I a national parks girlie?

Speaker 2 Yes.

Speaker 2 Yes, I am.

Speaker 2 I love and support the National Park Service, and I think we all should

Speaker 2 because it is preserving parts of our country that are beautiful and representative of the land that we get to call home.

Speaker 3 Like beautiful national parks

Speaker 2 taken care of by our wonderful National Park Service. Shout out again to Fat Bear Week and the Cat My National Park Conservancy.

Speaker 2 They exceeded their fundraising goal and raised over $430,000 during Fat Bear Week. If you want to donate, we'll put the link in the description.

Speaker 2 The last thing on Doom Scroll, TikToker Green Megs and Ham Ham just shared a very seasonally appropriate mom hack, and I'm taking notes.

Speaker 2 Queen Emma, please roll the clip.

Speaker 2 It says, Mom hack: if your child ever wants to play, but you have low energy, just tell them you're a corpse that needs to get ready for a funeral and let them do your makeup. I love

Speaker 2 low-energy kid activities for parents. There was a period of time where we did spa day,

Speaker 2 and I provided a brand new

Speaker 2 paintbrush with a tiny little like bathroom cup of water.

Speaker 2 And that was great. We were, I had my eyes closed and we were painting clean water onto mom's face.

Speaker 2 And at some point, I peeked an eye open and realized that Bennett was dipping the paintbrush in the water, sucking the paintbrush

Speaker 2 dry.

Speaker 2 Well, I guess not dry, sucking the water out of the paintbrush, and then painting my face.

Speaker 2 So I was getting a spit facial,

Speaker 2 which I could have done without. I could have lived my life not receiving a toddler spit facial.

Speaker 2 I then quickly realized that spa day could not involve me closing my eyes. And that's okay.
I'm okay with that because I still got to lay on the floor.

Speaker 2 Another one that we've been doing recently is

Speaker 2 massages.

Speaker 2 They're not actually massages, but my kids are young enough that if they want to beat the shit out of my back,

Speaker 2 it's still kind of relaxing. And they're not quite, I can ask them to not do it as hard as they possibly can.
And they actually listen. So

Speaker 2 I love that I said they actually listened like it was a surprise. But for anyone who has children our kids' ages, then you know it is kind of a surprise that they listen to that.

Speaker 2 We

Speaker 2 regularly have ended up with

Speaker 2 stickers all over our faces.

Speaker 2 That was an activity that specifically Wyatt really enjoyed when she was younger. She enjoyed putting stickers on both mine and Jason's faces.

Speaker 2 I think I have a video of that somewhere. Maybe Brad can cut that in here.

Speaker 2 But it's,

Speaker 3 it

Speaker 2 really was easy because you sit and you get, I mean, it's, you want to get not-so-sticky stickers. That is, that shit will hurt.

Speaker 2 Uh, and I think you also want to make sure you're not putting it on eyelashes or eyebrows.

Speaker 2 So, you know, you're not waxing your face.

Speaker 2 I have tried a number of times to have the girls do my hair.

Speaker 2 But we cannot grasp the concept of only brushing down.

Speaker 2 And then

Speaker 2 when we are old enough to grasp the concept of brushing down, or we're being light on mom's hair that day, we transition to, well, now I need to put it into an elastic or a ponytail holder.

Speaker 2 And

Speaker 2 we don't quite know how to do that. So it ends up with like a lot of this,

Speaker 2 a lot of like smushing hair.

Speaker 2 around and just sort of like circling your hands almost like they're making a meatball with my hair.

Speaker 2 And then it ends up, that ends up as a rat's nest, as my mother would call it. I do love doing it though, because

Speaker 2 every time Ellie does my hair,

Speaker 2 it looks,

Speaker 2 nobody tell her I said this, horrific.

Speaker 2 And every single time she goes,

Speaker 2 you look beautiful. And it is the sweetest moment.
I'm like, you know what?

Speaker 2 I do look beautiful. I'm going to wear it like this to dinner with dad.

Speaker 2 It's so cute and I love it. And also, I get to sit there while they do it.

Speaker 3 So

Speaker 2 10 out of 10, highly recommend.

Speaker 2 9 out of 10, highly recommend.

Speaker 2 That one point off is for hair loss. Here we go.
That's it for Doom Scroll the Week coming up. Jennifer Hudson is about to join me.
But first, I'm going to rave about Hannah Anderson pajamas.

Speaker 2 If you're a real one, it was only a matter of time before you found out about some of my favorite kids' PJs from Hannah Anderson.

Speaker 2 I've actually got some right here with me because these are some of the holiday prints for Finney.

Speaker 2 Look at how freaking cute this is. Look at the little tree.

Speaker 2 Oh, focus.

Speaker 2 Look at the little trees. My goodness.
It's only October, but if you're a planner, unlike me, they've already got holiday prints in stock. I love Hannah Anderson pajamas because they

Speaker 2 last.

Speaker 2 They last.

Speaker 2 I have had pajamas that Wyatt wore that Finn will now wear.

Speaker 2 And that's so cute. Hannah Anderson just dropped their new 2025 holiday pajamas for the entire family.
And there are so many new and fun, colorful patterns this holiday season.

Speaker 2 You can mix and match with the full family. And when I say full family, I mean it.
Guys, they even have dog pajamas.

Speaker 2 I love it.

Speaker 2 And it's the perfect time to check out Hannah Anderson pajamas because their exclusive friends and family event is happening right now.

Speaker 2 You're invited to Hannah Anderson's family and friends event at hannaanderson.com backslash NGL.

Speaker 2 She's one of only 21 people in history to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.

Speaker 2 You know her from American Idol, The Voice, Dream Girls, Sing, Respect, and of course her hit talk show that just kicked off its fourth season. And now she's officially not going to lie.

Speaker 2 Jennifer Hudson, welcome to the show.

Speaker 3 Thank you for having me. Happy to be here.

Speaker 2 Of course. I am so excited to talk to you because I, of course, was introduced to you from your American Idol days.

Speaker 3 Wow.

Speaker 2 We were a big American Idol house. Oh, yeah.

Speaker 2 Huge.

Speaker 2 It was a family event, similar to like a Wheel of Fortune situation. Yeah, okay.

Speaker 3 Family event in our house.

Speaker 2 Okay. It was a staple.

Speaker 3 I

Speaker 2 remember specifically the people who gave us goosebumps. That was always our threshold of life.
Okay.

Speaker 3 That's how you knew who you were going to vote for.

Speaker 2 Exactly.

Speaker 2 And you provided goosebumps on a regular ass basis.

Speaker 3 Thank you.

Speaker 2 I mean,

Speaker 2 I don't think I need to tell you that, but your talent is like kind of mind-boggling. Thank you.

Speaker 2 Now, I'd love to start by talking to you about your show. You just kicked off season four of the Jennifer Hudson Show.
Congratulations.

Speaker 3 Thank you. I can't believe it.

Speaker 2 Now,

Speaker 2 every week on this podcast, I always say I'm joined by a guest I have no business speaking to, very much like yourself. Oh, stuff.

Speaker 2 Are there any times in your show where you've had a moment similar to that, or just a guest that you still can't believe you get the opportunity to speak to?

Speaker 3 Probably all the time. Like, I,

Speaker 3 yes, sometimes I have to

Speaker 3 remove myself from it to be able to get through it. Or sometimes it overwhelms me to the point like if it's someone I'm like crazy, crazy, like a fan over, then my brain starts rushing.

Speaker 3 Like, oh my God, what I want to ask them this. I want to ask them that.
I want to ask them this. And then before I know it, the time is up.

Speaker 3 So that varies for me. And then a lot of times, like, I'm realizing dreams right there in that moment.

Speaker 3 Like, I just had Jennifer Holiday on the show or when I had, you know, like the original Dream Girls with Mariah Carey. Like, wait, how are you on my show? And what? I got a show.

Speaker 3 And Mariah Carey, it's like, my mind works like that in those moments.

Speaker 2 One of my favorite parts is the spirit tunnel.

Speaker 2 Those clips are constantly going viral.

Speaker 3 Yes.

Speaker 2 Before I play some of my favorites, do you have a favorite?

Speaker 3 I mean, they're all good and they're only getting better and better and people getting more and more creative.

Speaker 3 It's like turn, it's an event at this point. Let's see, okay, of course, we all love the era, yeah.

Speaker 3 That's the, uh, that's a moment. Um,

Speaker 3 and the chat, it depends on the chat and then how to guess. We want to see what they're going to do, and then I have a monitor, so I get to watch them as they're coming out in real time.

Speaker 3 Um, I've seen like choreography, uh,

Speaker 3 Beckers won her, she got her MVC.

Speaker 2 That's rookie of the year, yeah,

Speaker 2 yeah, rookie of the year.

Speaker 3 Like, we're having like moments in the tunnel, so every every show is a new one that tops the last one. It's hard to say.

Speaker 2 Who is coming up with, who is the creative mind behind this? Who is coming up with

Speaker 2 what's going to be? Yes.

Speaker 3 The staff and the crew. Like, I don't know when they rehearse.

Speaker 2 I mean, like, when is rehearsal, but they get me too.

Speaker 3 Okay. And that's how it all started.
Like, I would come out the dressing room.

Speaker 3 or out of the office and they're out there like rooting and chanting me on and then i was like y'all we need to do this for the guests. We need to show the world this.
Like, people should see this.

Speaker 3 And then we started doing it for the guests as well. And now, the whole, when I say the whole world, is like doing spirit tunnels.

Speaker 3 Even when I'm in hotels, I'll see the staff line up and I'm like, Lord, they're about to spirit tunnel me. I was at a Knicks games not too long ago, and they lined up.

Speaker 3 And I was like, What are these people doing? They did a spirit tunnel. Colleges, churches, clubs, everywhere you turn.
It's like we brought the, you know, helped bring the world joy.

Speaker 2 I love that. And also, it is exactly what you said.
It's layers to it. It's the creativity of your team and what the chant is going to be, but also the reaction from the guest.

Speaker 2 What are they going to do? How into it are they going to get? Some of them are vibing in a way I was not expecting.

Speaker 3 But see, that's what's cool about it because I love it. It allows them to just let their guard down even before they come out for the interview.

Speaker 3 Because as soon as you hit the door, you know you are here to be loved on and celebrated. have your moment.
And so they completely like lose sight of

Speaker 3 any guard they may have up because they're so indulged in a moment.

Speaker 2 Like I said, I have a few spirit tunnel clips here. I'd love to break them down with you.
Okay. The first one is Usher.

Speaker 3 Yeah, we got Usher.

Speaker 3 All of us are coming down to the flow.

Speaker 3 We said

Speaker 2 The skates are just

Speaker 2 the part that the part that gets me about this is like we know he's smooth.

Speaker 3 Right. We know that.

Speaker 2 To get on skates

Speaker 2 and just literally glide through the spirit. I'm, I mean.

Speaker 3 Usher was ready. He said this.

Speaker 2 He was so ready. He came like, this is my spirit tunnel.

Speaker 3 Exactly. And that's what it is and was.
And so to see him

Speaker 3 get in it and represent like that.

Speaker 2 Now, there was a top comment on this and it said everybody was at work today

Speaker 3 that's funny

Speaker 2 was there an unusually high participation rate that day it did feel especially full that hallway i mean it is usher so

Speaker 3 you know

Speaker 3 the more the merrier it's like but that's the thing if anybody If you want to hop in that spirit tunnel and shit, whoever own, if you're loving them that much, come on out. You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 So it's a vibe, it's a moment. And depending on the stars and how much they want to love on them, sometimes they get bigger and bigger.
And

Speaker 3 each one is different.

Speaker 2 I love it. Now, one of my personal favorites you just mentioned was the Paige Beckers when she received the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award.

Speaker 3 Yes.

Speaker 2 Queen Emma, can you roll that one?

Speaker 2 I just love that people get to show off their swag.

Speaker 3 Yes.

Speaker 3 Hey.

Speaker 3 Hey. I'm here to present you with the 2025

Speaker 3 WNBA. And she said she was nervous.
But she really was.

Speaker 2 She did great.

Speaker 3 And then she had an amazing surprise.

Speaker 2 It is so cool that this has become an opportunity to share something like this, which is an incredible accomplishment. Man.

Speaker 3 Yes. to be a part of that, to see her receive that, and for them to want to do that in the spirit tunnel, it again, once again, raised the bar.

Speaker 2 Now, I'd love to throw it back to your first ever TV appearance,

Speaker 2 which was, of course,

Speaker 2 on American Idol. I also had Kelly Clarkson on here, and she talked a little bit about the audition process and not knowing what to expect.

Speaker 2 You were on the third season, so you had a little bit more understanding.

Speaker 3 I got to watch Kelly do it first. Exactly.

Speaker 2 What were your expectations going in?

Speaker 3 You know, that's a good question because I said,

Speaker 3 originally, I was like, when I go, I'm going to win. I'm going to win.
But then, you know, as time went on by and you get to see how huge the show is and became, you can get a little nervous.

Speaker 3 And by then, I was like, you know, I want to do it for the experience. And what an experience it was.

Speaker 3 I feel like I hopped on American Idol roller coaster and it has been going ever since because look at all the things I've gotten to do all because I won an audition for that show.

Speaker 3 That's when it, that's when everything started for me.

Speaker 2 Now, what do you remember the most from your audition?

Speaker 3 Whoa.

Speaker 3 Man,

Speaker 3 because it's so many different phases to the audition. So like my original one was in the Georgia Dome Football Stadium, you know, and singing in the middle of the field, the football field there.

Speaker 3 But then I remember when I sang and I told, you know, Simon and Paul and Randy, hello. I'm not the average cruise ship singer, and I do think I'm the best.

Speaker 3 And I had this big oh hair, and I said, I'm gonna sing, Share Your Love With Me by Miss Aretha Franklin, you know.

Speaker 2 Now, does that feel, does that feel like you accomplished a full circle moment when you ended up playing Aretha in the movie Respect? Because I feel like you manifested that.

Speaker 3 I would have never guessed. If you told me that then, that one day I would be handpicked by Miss Aretha Franklin and get to play her.

Speaker 3 I would have been like, girl, go sit down.

Speaker 3 Yes, that's how my life works in so many full circles over and over again. So, to think back there, even this big hair right now, I'm paying tribute to my introduction to the world.

Speaker 3 I had the big hair, and I was like, My name is Jennifer now.

Speaker 3 You know, here I am 22 years later.

Speaker 2 I do think being an avid American Idol watcher,

Speaker 2 people like Aretha Franklin, people like Whitney Houston, whenever someone stepped up and they started their audition with, I'm planning to sing a song by one of the greats.

Speaker 3 Yes.

Speaker 2 There was always this moment of like, I really hope they nail it because there is a reason they are the greats. Yes.

Speaker 2 And so for you to not only nail that audition, but then again, to end up

Speaker 2 playing Aretha is

Speaker 2 unreal.

Speaker 2 Just, it really,

Speaker 2 I always say, there, I would love the ability to just belt out a note, like really hit one hard.

Speaker 2 I feel like, oh, nope, can't. Definitely can't.
But I will tell you, it seems like one of the most satisfying things you could physically do.

Speaker 2 I just think it must feel good, like for your soul.

Speaker 2 Listening to you is like scratching that itch.

Speaker 3 Thank you.

Speaker 2 It is, it's just, it's fulfilling to hear your voice and the power behind it and the control you have and the soul behind it. It just feels, oh God, it's so good.
Let me be fangirling over you.

Speaker 3 Thank you. You know, but it's a spirit.
It's from the heart. So that's why I'm like, it's all about the energy.
If you reach down there enough, I'm sure you could do it.

Speaker 3 I know for a fact.

Speaker 2 I want you to be right. I want you to be right, but I'm very sorry to disappoint you.

Speaker 3 Okay. But I got faith in you now.

Speaker 2 Thank you. I appreciate that.

Speaker 2 I will try my best to manifest that in the privacy of my shower. Okay.

Speaker 3 Okay. I'll let you have that.

Speaker 2 Thank you.

Speaker 2 Now, in your audition clip, Randy references that you were singing on Disney Cruises up until that point. Did you have a favorite song?

Speaker 3 Well, I got to be Calliope the Hit musing Hercules the musical

Speaker 3 and the Circle of Life solos and the Disney Dreams. Circle of Life is one of my favorite, like top five favorite songs ever.

Speaker 3 And you know what else?

Speaker 3 Like I said, my life works in full circles, like everywhere I turn to the point I should be Disney.

Speaker 3 Because right before I went to Idol, like I said, I was on the ship singing Circle of Life, having no idea that Elton Jun wrote that song.

Speaker 3 I would have never guessed a few months later, I would be on a show called American American Idol and Elton Jun would come in and be

Speaker 3 the celebrity star who was teaching us their songs. And guess what I sang? Circle of Life, and he played it for me.

Speaker 3 And that was my biggest week. You manifested that.
On Idol. So I went from the ship singing it to singing it with the man himself.

Speaker 3 That's perfect. Yeah.

Speaker 2 Now,

Speaker 2 Coming in on a different thing we could probably manifest is a live-action version of Hercules because if you already have practiced

Speaker 3 we are the muses, goddesses of it.

Speaker 3 Listen, I'm ready.

Speaker 3 Just call me. I already got prepared.
Disney,

Speaker 2 let's get this moving

Speaker 3 because we're all waiting for it. Yes.

Speaker 2 We all need it.

Speaker 3 That's my dream, bro.

Speaker 2 Now, Kelly also talked about when you two were coaches on the voice and how much you appreciated being able to help the contestants who were in the position that you were once in.

Speaker 2 How did that feel to be able to

Speaker 2 help people along their journey?

Speaker 3 I think it made a huge difference from our perspective, Kelly and I, because we were once them. So I think we listened from a different perspective.

Speaker 3 Say if the contestant got up there and they wasn't at their best, well, come on, they're auditioning in front of the whole world. Of course, they're nervous.
We'd consider those things.

Speaker 2 You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 We had a different sense of empathy for them and understanding and compassion because

Speaker 3 we were contestants too on shows like this. So, a lot of times, like, I would pick contests, they're like, Why did she pick this contestant? They're contestant, and it's like,

Speaker 3 Well, you know, it's considering a lot of different things from that perspective. They're auditioning in front of the whole world, that is not easy to do, and you got celebrity

Speaker 3 mentors sitting here and you're auditioning in front of them. That's nerve-wracking, you know.
So,

Speaker 3 I felt like it was helpful and it made us different as coaches.

Speaker 2 Now, would you ever consider returning to American Idol or the voice?

Speaker 3 Yeah, I would. I enjoy it all.

Speaker 3 Now, I wouldn't go on American Idol as a contestant.

Speaker 2 No, no, no. You've done that.
You mastered that. You're good.

Speaker 3 As a mentor or a judge.

Speaker 3 Because Idol is judge. On the voice was a coach.
Coach.

Speaker 3 Either way.

Speaker 2 Those are two very different roles.

Speaker 3 It's different roles. But yes, I love my experience in both.

Speaker 2 Now,

Speaker 2 you went from American Idol finalist to Egot.

Speaker 2 And it didn't take you long. You won the Oscar for Dream Girls just two years after Idol.
Is that right? Yes. First film ever.

Speaker 2 That's incredible. Thank you.

Speaker 3 I just wanted to get my lines right

Speaker 2 and make Bill Cunden proud. Now, where does accepting your Oscar rank as far as the most surreal moments of your life?

Speaker 3 Well, it's up there very, very high. I mean,

Speaker 3 it's probably maybe in the top two.

Speaker 2 Three steps.

Speaker 2 To do it on your first film is, I mean.

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 3 And I had never acted before other than being on the ship singing and narrating Hercules the musical.

Speaker 2 Who knew that a Disney cruise would prepare you?

Speaker 3 Yes.

Speaker 2 To be an e-got.

Speaker 3 I mean, but

Speaker 3 oh, that's a good question. I don't know.
And then that is the thing, if anything, that could take one of those top spots.

Speaker 3 Because even when I won the e-got, I didn't even realize I had won it until the whole room was like, egot, egot. And I'm like, who the, oh, are they? They talking about.
Oh, they're talking to me.

Speaker 2 Yeah.

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Speaker 2 I would love to talk to you a little bit about motherhood. I saw that your son is now 16.

Speaker 3 He is 16.

Speaker 2 And you said he's getting getting ready to drive.

Speaker 3 Yes, he better be soon. Come on.

Speaker 2 How do you feel about that?

Speaker 3 You know, I'm a little nervous.

Speaker 2 I am. Will you be the one teaching him?

Speaker 3 You know, here and there, but he needs a better instructor because I'm still working on parking. Remember that? Sure.

Speaker 2 Okay. Sure.
We're going to need someone else to tag him for the parallel parking.

Speaker 3 Exactly.

Speaker 3 I mean, it's just time, you know, like he looks like a full-grown man and I'm driving him around. And I'm like, this, this ain't really, this don't seem right.

Speaker 3 I feel like, like, you go to the store, you, you dry yourself here, there, you know,

Speaker 3 it's that phase of life that he's in. But as a parent, we get nervous, you know, like, okay, because then those words kick in, is it going to be okay? Where are you going? And don't stay out too late.

Speaker 3 Be careful. Don't be driving crazy.
All of those things.

Speaker 3 will probably pop up and surface then. Whereas like, why would you encourage them to drive, you know?

Speaker 3 But

Speaker 3 it's time.

Speaker 3 Now,

Speaker 2 I have said a number of times, our oldest daughter is six.

Speaker 2 I keep making the joke of like, it's crazy that I'm 33 and a teen parent, you know, because it just feels like I'm not old enough to be here.

Speaker 3 No one ever feels like they're old enough because I, I, so you're still having that.

Speaker 2 That still exists.

Speaker 3 I almost have an adult. That's why I keep saying, like,

Speaker 3 how in the world, how do I have?

Speaker 3 Yes. So every phase, you're going to feel that way.

Speaker 2 Okay, perfect. I wasn't sure if it was going to wear off into the teeth, like into the teenage years, but I'm very much in the camp of like, there is no way I'm old enough to be responsible for

Speaker 2 a six-year-old. When did this happen? Yes.
And they look, and then they start to look old. Like the idea of any of my girls being 16, I'm like,

Speaker 3 but it is coming quicker than you realize. Okay.

Speaker 3 Enjoy this phase right now because when your babies get about 11-ish, my son was about 12 years old. He went in his room, took a nap.
He, I used to call him monks.

Speaker 3 He came out that room, and I was like,

Speaker 3 who is this man? And where is my monkship?

Speaker 3 Because just like that, it's like it flips. And then all of a sudden, you have to find a new way to be there for them because they go through so many phases so quickly.

Speaker 3 And it's that saying, like, when you first have the baby, oh, enjoy it because before you know it, it's going to be, they'll be grown. We think as parents, that's like birth to like 18.

Speaker 3 No, it kicks in way sooner.

Speaker 3 And at this point, my son is like, hey, mama, let's go. I got to go do this.
All right. I got to be at school.
Hey, my girlfriend is doing this.

Speaker 3 What? Hold on.

Speaker 3 How did this happen so fast? Yes.

Speaker 2 Now.

Speaker 2 What is the outside of coming to those realizations? What would you say is the toughest part of parenting a teenager?

Speaker 3 Trusting our teachings. And what I mean by that, to me, when they get in the teenage phase, that is when you get to see

Speaker 3 who are you? Who did I raise? Yes. What all did they receive that all the seeds we planted in them bringing them up? Because now they're going into the world on their own.

Speaker 3 in a lot of ways, at least they're starting to. And so at a certain point, the hardest part is not doing

Speaker 3 like oh wow i gotta let you figure that out

Speaker 3 i gotta let you go through that i you have to piece it together do you know your schedule where are your things you know what i mean like because as parents we're always there we're always doing we're always you know helping and all of that but it's the phase of like i gotta let you figure this out

Speaker 3 on your own.

Speaker 2 And it is so interesting back to what you said about people saying like, enjoy the moment. And you think they're saying, enjoy baby to 18.

Speaker 2 But

Speaker 2 this is his opportunity where he is gaining that independence and he's leaving you to go be his own person in a way. And it kicks in with a home base of still your house, right? Exactly.

Speaker 2 But you're getting to watch

Speaker 2 what you, the person that you've raised.

Speaker 3 Yes. Yes.
Oh, gosh. Yes.
And it comes way quicker than you realize or seeing what they're into. Like,

Speaker 3 what are you into? What are you like? What is, it's like you're rediscovering your kid in a way, you know, because you're learning who they are becoming.

Speaker 3 How, you know, all of those things. And so it's like, it's almost like when you're pregnant, getting ready to have the baby, what is it going to be? Is it going to be a boy or a girl?

Speaker 3 Is it going to look like mom or dad? Who is it going to look like? But when you get to this phase, it's like, who are you? What are you into? What do you like? Hmm.

Speaker 2 Now, I want to switch gears and I want to ask you a little bit about sports. Okay.

Speaker 2 Because I know you're a big basketball fan.

Speaker 3 I am.

Speaker 3 I'm a basketball monk.

Speaker 2 Now, I was just talking about the WNBA coming to Philadelphia in 2030. We're getting a team.

Speaker 3 Congratulations. And I saw.

Speaker 2 Thank you so much. We're very excited.

Speaker 3 Nice.

Speaker 2 Now, I saw that you went to the All-Star game this year.

Speaker 2 Who is your team?

Speaker 3 Well, I better go with Chicago. Chicago, Scott.
Home team. That's my home team.
But I love Vegas too because Asia Wilson is like my favorite. Okay.

Speaker 3 But I got a roof, you know, Angel Reese is in Chicago and that's my hometown. And when I went to the game not too long ago, I was kind of torn.
I'm like,

Speaker 3 but Asia on this team. And then Andrew Reese on my hometown.
So I'm cheering for everybody.

Speaker 3 Okay. Yes.

Speaker 2 Women supporting women. We love that.

Speaker 3 Exactly. That's what it's about.
Yep. And I love, I also love that my boys do too.
Like to hit them, like, yo, Juju, Angel Reason, Angel. Like, there's mad into it too.
You see the boys get into it.

Speaker 3 It's like, y'all better recognize.

Speaker 2 That's how you know you're raising a good man.

Speaker 3 That's right.

Speaker 2 Now, you also performed in the NBA All-Star halftime show

Speaker 2 and

Speaker 2 played in the celebrity game.

Speaker 3 Yes, I did. Yes, I did.

Speaker 2 Which did you enjoy more, performing or playing?

Speaker 3 I don't even know the answer. You know what?

Speaker 2 I enjoyed the whole experience.

Speaker 3 I did. It was just fun.
It was like a J-HUD takeover in that joint. But you know what? I will have to say, preparing for playing in the all-star game.

Speaker 3 And because I literally prepped for like months, although my hand never touched the ball.

Speaker 5 And I remember

Speaker 3 my son said, Mama, mama, you on the wrong side of the court.

Speaker 2 He said, lock in.

Speaker 3 I I was like, oh, I can't shame my kid. I removed my nails for the game.
Oh, you meant business. I meant business.
I train with all my boys. I go from the boys to the men and I play games with them.

Speaker 3 They prepped me, leading up.

Speaker 2 That's perfect prep.

Speaker 3 I played with lethal shooter and all for months and never touched the ball.

Speaker 2 But you were ready to, and that's what matters.

Speaker 3 Yes, because I take everything seriously. And I had so much fun.
And of course, I got a lot of cool points from my boys that's incredible yeah um now

Speaker 2 one last sports question because i have to ask

Speaker 3 are you an nfl fan you know what i go to the super bowl every year

Speaker 3 okay and i'm trying are the bears your team one i have one football boy and that's jeremiah so he keeps me abreast on the football now my

Speaker 3 team my team well of course i got to go with my home team the bears but last year it was all about philly for me.

Speaker 3 Yes, it was.

Speaker 3 Yes, it was. And I knew they was going to take it.
That's all I had to say. Did you? You could feel it.
I called it.

Speaker 2 I love that. Thank you so much.
We appreciate your support.

Speaker 3 Yes.

Speaker 2 This week was not our week, but we're going to get back on track.

Speaker 3 That's all right.

Speaker 2 It's fine.

Speaker 2 Now. You sang the national anthem at the 2009 Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 It is highly regarded as one of the best renditions in Super Bowl history. Wow.
Like multiple lists.

Speaker 2 Would you ever do that again?

Speaker 3 Well, don't fix something that's not broken. I'm going to let it sit where it sits.
That's fair.

Speaker 2 Very selfishly. We are in a rotation of going to Super Bowls at this point,

Speaker 2 just out of support for the NFL, but hoping that

Speaker 2 my brother-in-law will be competing, knock on wood.

Speaker 3 I'm sure. I'm sure.
I'm a knock on wood too. Thank you.
I was watching watching the game last night. Uh-huh.

Speaker 2 And

Speaker 2 selfishly, I would just love to witness that in person.

Speaker 3 Wow. Oh, my goodness.
Listen, to

Speaker 3 sing at the Super Bowl

Speaker 3 is, it's nothing like it. It's like one of the highlights of any artist's career ever.
So, you know,

Speaker 3 it's precious. Now, one of my favorite national anthems is Chris Stapleton at the Arizona.
Oh, my God. I I was there.

Speaker 2 It was so good.

Speaker 2 That was one I am very, very grateful to have witnessed in person. Me too.
It will be ingrained in my brain forever

Speaker 2 because while he was singing, they cut to,

Speaker 2 I want to say, it might have been my husband, but I blacked out a little bit with a single tear. And I was like, yes.
Yep.

Speaker 2 Now I can't hold my shit together and proceeded to cry uncontrollably in the stance.

Speaker 2 I don't blame you.

Speaker 2 it was

Speaker 2 unreal.

Speaker 3 That one was very good. One of my ultimate favorites, for sure.

Speaker 2 I cannot thank you enough for coming and chatting with me today. It has been an absolute honor.

Speaker 3 My honor. Thank you.

Speaker 2 You are, I'll fangirl one more time because I have to for good measure. You are.

Speaker 2 an unbelievable talent.

Speaker 2 And I am so grateful to get to speak to you, but also to just get to witness your journey and to uh get to see all of the wonderful things that you're creating for everyone to enjoy so thank you so much thank you for having me and i can't wait to tune into season four of the jennifer hudson show season four team jay more spirit tunnels that's right baby thank you i appreciate you thank you for having me Thank you so much.

Speaker 2 It's an honor. And that's a wrap on another episode of Not Gonna Lie.
You can find even more clips from my longer conversation with Jennifer on my YouTube channel on More Shit Monday.

Speaker 2 I'll be back next Thursday with a brand new episode. Follow Not Gonna Lie on all social media at NGL with Kylie.
Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcast.

Speaker 2 Not gonna lie is a wave original brought to you by Hannah Anderson. Thanks again to the real ones for tuning in.

Speaker 2 Wow, fucking soak my ass. Okay.