WATCH: 'Jennifer Hudson on Her Style, Her Music and What Inspires Her'

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Take a peek behind the scenes of the TV host, actress, singer, and EGOT winner&#039;s of the ESSENCE cover shoot.

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00:00Fashion is a huge expression for me.

00:02I feel as though fashion somehow bleeds into my energy

00:05and help me express myself.

00:07Sometimes I wear a shirt that may say something

00:09that I want to express verbally, but I can't.

00:10I let it speak, or whatever mood I'm in,

00:13you could probably almost tell by what I'm wearing.

00:14You know, if I put on a gown, I may feel grand,

00:17or it helps me express it.

00:23My upbringing and my culture, growing up in the church,

00:27you know, that's a part of my upbringing.

00:29My culture is well, and it can't help but to show up

00:32in the music, and that's the base for me.

00:36And I like to cater to it a lot of times,

00:37but also, like, it helps me expand myself

00:40and be open to other styles of music just the same.

00:45Musically, sometimes it's the expression

00:49that helps create the music.

00:50The more life you live, the more creative you can become

00:53in your craft.

00:54Even when it's a character, if I'm in film or acting,

00:57I can pull from my own personal experiences

00:59to attach it to the character,

01:01to help create the character.

01:03So I think they all kinda weld together and feed each other.

01:07I am a very curious person.

01:09That is what keeps me intrigued and interested

01:11and inspired to keep going.

01:13Part of my favorite thing of what I do

01:15is being around people who are specialists in what they do.

01:18And because they're into it, I'm into it.

01:20And it inspires me, it intrigues me,

01:21and it makes me wanna learn that much more.

01:23And my mother always taught us,

01:25whatever you put your mind to, you can do it.

01:27And so every time I look and discover another thing,

01:30I'm like, hmm, I could do that.

01:32The only thing is I don't have enough time to do it all.

01:38I hope my lifestyle influences people in a positive way.

01:41There are negative influences out there

01:43just the same as there are positive.

01:44So I feel like I've lived a lot of life.

01:48And if I can inspire somebody, I wanna inspire somebody.

01:52If I can help somebody, I wanna help them, comfort them,

01:58I would like to do that.

01:59I mean, we're all living life.

02:00And I've lived a life that can speak to many things.

02:04And so if I can be an example to someone on their journey,

02:07then that makes my life not in vain, honey.

02:11I have to give that to my mother.

02:13She says, you know, the fame doesn't matter to me.

02:16Your gift is the human being that you are.

02:19It's your person that I'm most proud of.

02:21So I would say that.

02:22Everything I do, it comes from the heart.

02:24And what comes from the heart hopefully reaches the heart.

02:27And when it's real, that's when it resonates.

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