2008 has been a bittersweet year for Jennifer Hudson.  But of course, we all know that already. The release of her first album, Spotlight, seemed to be a sign that the American Idol contestant—and, not to forget, Oscar winner—is on a roll.  Then, her mother, brother and nephew were killed by her in-law in a murderous rampage, and everything suddenly looked bleak for the performer.  We haven't seen much of her since, choosing to grieve and recover from the murders privately.

But there's always the comeback, in the tradition of many who went through American Idol.  The show has seen many contestants come from what's deemed as a very hopeless situation and bounce back to stardom.  Hudson, of course, is one of those stories, and there's no doubt that she'll do the same this year, right?

For a moment, we thought it wouldn't have come any sooner.  On New Year's Eve, the New York Post reported that Hudson, who has not performed since the murders, is in talks to sing the Star-Spangled Banner during the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama, on January 20 in Washington, D.C.  The bit, which was since picked up by many other media outlets, pointed out the possibility: Hudson, who sang the national anthem at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August, hails from Chicago, the same city where Obama began his political career.  To boot, she is a big Obama supporter, the newspaper's source said.

Quickly, however, a representative for the Idol winner denied that Hudson will perform at the inauguration.  “There is no truth to this,” a representative simply told Access Hollywood, maintaining that Hudson's return performance will be at an event in Los Angeles in February, paying tribute to musician Neil Diamond.

With that, though, at least we can say that Hudson is indeed poised for a comeback.  Disregarding the debate on whether Obama's team is sensitive enough to consider the murders, or whether Hudson is black and all—at least a comeback is bound to happen.  Here's to resiliency, then.


-Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Sources: The New York Post, Access Hollywood
(Image courtesy of AP)