
Not everyone who is famous has the elusive It Factor.
That statement might come across as a grizzly, judgmental jab from someone sitting behind a computer screen, but I say it with both realism and relief.
Imagine if every person who graced the big screen, appeared on a TV show, amassed a loyal legion of fans, penned great books, or sang popular songs was also at all times dazzling, articulate, and just completely other worldly.
Sounds a little exhausting.
It's also difficult to explain exactly how someone has the It Factor, it's not like there's a test you can sit or a password you can ask for.
All I can say is that I recently interviewed Jennifer Hudson, and whatever that It Factor test is, she passed it with flying colours.
My Zoom interview with Jennifer was scheduled for the early hours of a Saturday morning, taking place after I had dragged furniture and equipment around my apartment to create a haphazard studio, because Sydney was in lockdown and going into the office wasn't an option.
Our interview also landed in that period of time when it had become clear that lockdown wasn't going to be short and sharp. There was a long bleak road ahead of us and it was hard to be excited about anything on the horizon.
Yet when Jennifer and I said our goodbyes I felt elated, just by hearing her talk about her work and life with such passion and pizzaz.
Such is the power of the It Factor.
Take a look at the trailer for Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin. Post continues below.
Her new movie Respect chronicles the life and career of the legendary Aretha Franklin, also known as the Queen of Soul.
In the newly released film, the 39-year-old actress and musician stars as Aretha, portraying the award-winning musician from her early days as an aspiring singer who had suffered many great losses, through to her glory days as a musical powerhouse.
The movie takes the audience through Aretha’s childhood years singing in gospel choirs for her preacher father (Forest Whitaker), after the death of her beloved mother (Audra McDonald) through to her extensive civil rights activism work, and into her struggle to become a soul singer under the eye of her abusive husband and manager Ted White (Marlon Wayans).
Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin in Respect. Source: Universal Pictures. Jennifer
Hudson first appeared on the world's radar when she competed on American Idol in 2004, but was eliminated in the top seven, in what is now widely regarded to be one of the most shocking exits in the show's history.