Academy Award-winning actress/singer Jennifer Hudson will release her self-titled debut album in September. "I think people will be pleasantly surprised, because it shows a side of my work that no one has heard before," Hudson said in a recent interview. The album's first single, 'Spotlight,' was leaked onto the internet last week and has received fair reviews from fans and bloggers, alike.

The former American Idol contestant burst onto the scene when she snagged the role of Effie White -- for which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress -- in 2006's 'Dreamgirls.' Hudson will return to the big screen in the highly-anticipated 'Sex and the City' movie, which hits theaters May 27. The songstress will also star alongside Queen Latifah and Dakota Fanning in the upcoming drama 'The Secret Life of Bees,' in theaters October 27.