After last week’s stunning performance of the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, Jennifer Hudson continued her “comeback” with a stirring rendition of “Holly Holy” at Friday’s MusicCares’ Person of the Year tribute to Neil Diamond.
At Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy bash Saturday night, Jennifer performed “Spotlight” and sang “Weekend in New England” with Barry Manilow.
Her comeback will culminate in a performance of “You Pulled Me Through,” a track from her self-titled album. The soaring ballad, which was written by Diane Warren, has some powerful lyrics that really speak to what Jennifer’s been through in the past three months. I’m betting there won’t be a dry eye in the house when she finishes that song.
The big question is, will Jennifer take home a Grammy, and if so, which one? Let’s check out the various categories for which she is nominated and analyze her chances in each one.
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Jennifer’s performance of “Spotlight” is up against some heavy hitters, including Beyonce’s “Me, Myself, and I,” Alicia Keys’ “Superwoman,” Keyshia Cole’s “Heaven Sent,” and Jazmine Sullivan’s “Need U Bad.” Despite the competition, I think this might be the one category where she could well take home the Grammy. “Spotlight” has been on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip Hop chart for 38 weeks and had a nice run on the Hot 100. If Jennifer doesn’t win this one, I think Alicia Keys will.
Best R&B Album
Jennifer Hudson is up against Eric Benet’s Love & Life, Boyz II Men’s Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA, Al Green’s Lay it Down, and Raphael Saadiq’s The Way I See It. Al Green’s CD deserves this one. It’s an outstanding album and the Grammys often go conservative when it comes to albums. But Jennifer’s album has sold nearly 600,000 copies and is certified Gold by the RIAA, the only one of the five nominees to have achieved Gold status. So, if sales are the benchmark, she’ll win this one.
Best R&B Song
This is a songwriters’ award and not technically given to the artist. But the artist sells the song and deserves credit for that, in my opinion! “Spotlight” is nominated along with Ne Yo’s “Miss Independent,” Jazimine Sullivan’s “Bust Your Windows,”Raheem DeVaughn’s “Customer,” and Keyshia Cole’s “Heaven Sent.” I think “Miss Independent” will take this one in a night that will see Ne Yo win numerous Grammys. What’s interesting, however, is that the same team that wrote “Miss Independent” (Mikkel S. Eriksen, T.E. Hermansen & S. Smith) also wrote “Spotlight.”
Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
Jennifer’s duet with Fantasia of “I’m His Only Woman” is probably the weakest entry of her four Grammy nominations. Other nominees include “Ribbon In The Sky” (Boyz II Men), “Words” (Anthony David Featuring India.Arie), “Stay With Me (By The Sea)” (Al Green Featuring John Legend), and “Never Give You Up” (Raphael Saadiq Featuring Stevie Wonder & CJ Hilton). I think the Al Green track has this one sewn up.
The Grammy show airs live at 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS. I’ll post results as soon as they are available. Hopefully, there will be a video of Jennifer’s performance as well.
SOURCE: Syracuse
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