I used to sing in the church choir. People would say it was unusual for such a small girl to have such a big voice. They would say, 'She sounds like she's grown.'

Everything I see, I now see through a mother's eyes.

I've always had a love for making things my own.

My family always says my voice is a gift—a precious jewel I inherited from my maternal grandma, Julia Kate Hudson. My sister and I used to joke that the 'Kates' in our family got all the talent.

The key thing is figuring out what your issues are, and it's really never about the food. You have to be real and honest with yourself. I had to stop and look and ask myself, ‘Why do I want this? What is the real reason?’ At times it was comfort food like chocolate. I love chocolate and I realized it relaxes me, so when you acknowledge what the issue is, you can control it better.

I like to have songs with me that have substance. That's missing from a lot of today's music. You might hear a song with a catchy beat, but what's it about? It's not empowering or helping anyone.

My faith in God is everything at this point. Also, my family and friends that I've had around me pretty much my whole life and my boyfriend, we've been together for eight years. I try to keep people around me who've been around me, who've seen me struggle. They know how dedicated I am and how hard I've worked. They know me - not the Jennifer from American Idol and Dreamgirls, but the real Jennifer.