Jen Yamamoto from Rotten Tomatoes sat down with "it girl" Jennifer Hudson to discuss her role in the hit movie "Dreamgirls" and the road to fame. The debut performance just might earn her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The experience is definitely a surreal one for someone who never even knew she had a penchant for acting. She humbly addresses her newfound acting abilities, saying, "I'm like, huh? They want me to do what? Act? OK! But I've never thought about it, so this is a surprise to me, but I'm loving it." She also admits to Jen that she'd like to continue with both her musical and acting career. If given her way, she'd love to perform in a big-screen adaptation of "A Star is Born" as well as have some sort of role in the Jackie Robinson biopic. She's reading scripts right now, so it looks as though her next role could be in the very near future. Jennifer was thrilled to work with such a star-studded ensemble cast. She was amazed by Beyonce's level of hard work and determination, Eddie Murphy's ability to transport himself into character and Danny Glover's animated table reads. But the one person on the set that truly inspired her was Jamie Foxx. As she puts it, "Any time I would get lost in the moment like ok, I don't understand, what do you mean Bill, how do you want this to be approached? And Jamie would give me an example like 'Girl, try it like this,' and he would set it up for me and act it out." The vocals came much easier to Jennifer. She patterned most of the songs after her musical inspirations. However, she remained true to her own style, right down to doing her own vocal arrangements. "They allowed me to because when I recorded 'And I'm Telling You' I did it four different times. And the final time Bill [Condon] was like, just let her sing. Just let her have a moment, let her do it. And it took one take." As she says, it took a while for her to strip herself of some basic vocal rules and instead "let it be led by emotion." Visit Rotten Tomatoes to read the full interview which includes Jennifer's very revealing thoughts on being part of American Idol.

American Idols are popping up all over the place as we head into 2007. Not only is Chris Daughtry performing in Times Square on New Year's Eve, but Anaheim native Lisa Tucker will perform on Orange County’s only Rose Parade float on New Year's Day. She will perform an original rendition of Frank Sinatra’s "Young at Heart" on the float while 28 dancers perform alongside. Accompanying Tucker on the float will be six winners of the Mayor’s TechScholar program, an initiative to help Anaheim students advance technologically and academically. Check out Lisa's Transformation Gallery from Season 5!

Ruben Studdard is getting increasingly closer to meeting his own personal weight loss goals, and he's now looking to pay it forward.  As myfoxny.com reports, Ruben is asking the 25 percent of Alabama's residents who are obese to lose 10 pounds in eight weeks--a total that would reach an astounding million pounds. "I'm not where I want to be, but I'm on the right track, and I'm excited about encouraging other Alabamians to begin their own weight-loss journeys," Ruben tells myfoxny.com. Ruben went about the impressive lifestyle change and 100-pound weight loss the practical way--by learning how to eat right and exercise.   He reveals to the web site, "I felt like it was necessary for me to combat those issues at a young age before it became a bigger issue. I went to this place called Duke Diet & Fitness Center for a month and learned how to change my eating habits." Scale Back Alabama, an eight-week weight-loss campaign, kicks off Jan. 4 with an event featuring Studdard. The campaign is being jointly sponsored by Alabama's hospitals, the Alabama Department of Public Health and Barber Dairies.  Check out myfoxny.com for the complete story and photo of the slimmed-down Ruben.

If you're a Chris Daughtry fan and have been pondering your New Year's Eve plans, ponder no more. You'll want to be planted in front of your TV to catch your favorite Idol. Chris Daughtry will perform his new hit single, “It’s Not Over”, from his new platinum CD, live from the Times Square stage, with his band Daughtry. Cat Deeley, host of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, returns to FOX to host the NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECIAL airing live from New York City’s Times Square, the center of the country’s largest New Year’s countdown celebration, Sunday, Dec. 31 (11:00 PM-12:30 AM ET/CT/MT/PT) on FOX.

Jon Peter Lewis will be headlining the holiday show, "Rockin' Holidays!", at the Bakersfield Dome on December 22nd, 2006. Jon will perform songs from his just released debut album, Stories From Hollywood, as well as his latest original Christmas tune "California Christmas." The newly released holiday song is being called "an instant classic" by Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine. The high-energy show will feature a mix of Jon's rock and roll songs including the popular "Man From Amsterdam" and "Gypsy Queen", as well as intimate acoustic tracks, such as "Man Like Me" and "Amanda Grace." Jon's explosive band includes "some of the most talented musicians in the business," according to Hollywood music producer David Rolfe. Jon has been playing shows across the country, including a December return engagement to the world-renowned Viper Room in Hollywood, California. Jon will also be playing a special holiday acoustic show in Salt Lake City at Kilby Court on December 19th. On Christmas Eve Jon will be performing live on PBS, during KCET's broadcast of the 47th annual Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. Watch Jon's latest live broadcast performances on Fox TV: Fox 10 Interview & Live Performance "Rodeo" Fox & Friends Live Performance "Man Like Me"

Taylor Hicks sat down with FOX 5 Good Day's Jodi Applegate and Ron Corning to discuss his life, post-Idol. They also discussed his new self-titled CD, "Taylor Hicks", which is now available in stores everywhere. Taylor commented on the fact that Ray Charles' former manager has even referred to him as "Ray reincarnated." He also told them about how his life has certainly been interesting these days--from singing for the President to making holiday wreaths with Martha Stewart, his life is anything but dull. The leader of the Soul Patrol even admitted that he might not be opposed to some day working on the "silver screen!" Could he be the next James Bond? Anything's possible considering his success so far. Check out the interview now! Listen to the first two singles here.

If you're an American Idol addict, then you're going to love to test your passion for all things Idol with our newest online game, adapted from the hot DVD board game “American Idol-All Star Challenge DVD Game”.  From trivia to karaoke challenges and hosted by Ryan Seacrest himself, this game is loads of fun.  Not to mention, you'll be immersed in intriguing questions about your favorite TV show, American Idol, and you’ll get to compete in fun challenges like singing and dancing, too. Play it now to relive the excitement of AI from auditions to Hollywood, right through to the thrilling finals!

Season Three’s Jennifer Hudson is certainly generating a lot of talk around Hollywood these days for her stellar performance in the movie, “Dreamgirls.” And she’s definitely getting the recognition she deserves for her achievement. On top of the Oscar buzz surrounding her, she has already won the following awards: ~NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW OF MOTION PICTURES: Breakthrough Performance (Tie): ~NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE: Winner, Best Supporting Actress ~NEW YORK ONLINE FILM CRITICS: Winner, Breakthrough Performer Winner, Supporting Actress (Tie): ~WASHINGTON, DC AREA FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION: Winner, Best Supporting Actress Winner, Breakthrough Performance of the Year ~LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION: Runner Up, Supporting Actress Jennifer has also been nominated for this award: SATELLITE AWARDS: Nominee, Actress in a Supporting Role Americanidol.com would like to extend huge congratulations to Jennifer for her outstanding achievements.

Season Three’s Jennifer Hudson is certainly generating a lot of talk around Hollywood these days for her stellar performance in the movie, “Dreamgirls.” And she’s definitely getting the recognition she deserves for her achievement. On top of the Oscar buzz surrounding her, she has already won the following awards: ~NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW OF MOTION PICTURES: Breakthrough Performance (Tie): ~NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE: Winner, Best Supporting Actress ~NEW YORK ONLINE FILM CRITICS: Winner, Breakthrough Performer Winner, Supporting Actress (Tie): ~WASHINGTON, DC AREA FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION: Winner, Best Supporting Actress Winner, Breakthrough Performance of the Year ~LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION: Runner Up, Supporting Actress Jennifer has also been nominated for this award: SATELLITE AWARDS: Nominee, Actress in a Supporting Role Americanidol.com would like to extend huge congratulations to Jennifer for her outstanding achievements.

On top of her recent Grammy nominations and Billboard Music Award wins, Carrie Underwood is about to tackle a completely different kind of challenge. She will soon embark on her first USO tour to the Persian Gulf region. Carrie, who recently received the Country Music Association’s “Female Vocalist of the Year” Award and “Horizon” Award, will perform and meet with service members. After becoming the 2005 “American Idol” winner in the show’s fourth season, Carrie’s career has skyrocketed. Her debut album, “Some Hearts,” was certified quadruple platinum and is the fastest-selling debut female country album since the introduction of the Nielsen SoundScan in 1991. “Some Hearts” will close 2006 as the best-selling country album of the year. In addition, all three singles from the CD have hit the top spot on the country music singles chart: “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” “Don’t Forget To Remember Me” and recent five-week #1 “Before He Cheats.” Underwood is the only solo female artist to top the country chart in 2006 and also leads as the artist with the most cumulative weeks at #1 on the R&R country chart so far this year. Since the release of her debut album, the Checotah, Okla., native has received numerous awards this year, including “Breakthrough Artist” at the American Music Awards, the “Top New Female Vocalist” and “Single of the Year” Awards from the Academy of Country Music, two CMT Music Awards and many more. This tour continues the USO tradition of bringing celebrities to visit troops during the holiday season.