Jennifer Hudson on Motherhood, Common & Her Next Chapter

Jennifer Hudson joins Keke and reflects on her American Idol elimination, winning an Oscar at 25 for Dreamgirls, her goal to double her EGOT and her bond with her idol Aretha Franklin. She talks about The Jennifer Hudson Show and sees herself as a “human” first, not just a talk show host. She shares what this second season of life has taught her about love and opens up about her relationship with Common and whether marriage is in her future. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Keke Palmer?

  Baby, my guest today is a singer, actress, talk show host, producer, and the youngest woman to ever have an EGOT. And now she's heading into the Daytime Emmys with five nominations for The Jennifer Hudson Show. And what's wild is after more than 20 years in this business, Jennifer Hudson is still finding new things to do and new sides of herself to explore. And I relate to that because when you've been doing this since you were young, people know all these different versions of you. But eventually, you get to a point where you get to decide what the next version looks like. So today, I want to talk about what Jennifer calls the second season of her life, what she's learned, what she still wants, and what she's finally making room for.

• 0:44Keke Palmer?

  We're getting into all of it. Baby, this is Keke Palmer.

• 1:17Keke Palmer?

  Today's episode is brought to you by Apple Watch. We spend so much time checking in on everybody else, but when's the last time you checked in on your heart? Apple Watch Series 12 has an all-new health-sensing system that unlocks even more powerful health insights. In health, heart is everything. Now, let's get into today's show.

• 1:40Keke Palmer?

  Baby, this is Jennifer Hudson.

• 1:45Speaker 01

  Do I come out out?

• 1:45Keke Palmer?

  Yes, you come, girl. Why did I get so scared?

• 1:51Keke Palmer?

  Oh, my God, you look so good.

• 1:53Speaker 01

  Thank you for having me.

• 1:54Keke Palmer?

  Girl, thank you for being here. I'm so thrilled.

• 1:56Speaker 01

  I'm so excited to be here.

• 1:57Keke Palmer?

  Me too. How you do... By the way, are you filming the show right now?

• 2:00Speaker 01

  I am.

• 2:01Keke Palmer?

  Okay, yeah. So you're like...

• 2:02Speaker 01

  I had to stop by to see you.

• 2:04Keke Palmer?

  My girl, come on, shi-town.

• 2:06Speaker 01

  I'm excited. Okay.

• 2:07Keke Palmer?

  Me too. The last time I saw you, me, you, Katy Perry, and John Baptiste were singing Ain't No Mountain High Enough.

• 2:14Speaker 01

  Yes, we were.

• 2:14Keke Palmer?

  What were we... What was going on? But it was everything. We set the party on fire.

• 2:19Speaker 01

  I think it was like a groove jam session, and we just, we grooved it out.

• 2:24Keke Palmer?

  We really did groove it out. And then Justin Bieber singing So Sick by Neo.

• 2:29Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 2:30Keke Palmer?

  It was a fever dream. It was a fever dream.

• 2:31Speaker 01

  Right? So it's like, wait, was that real? Did that happen?

• 2:35Keke Palmer?

  Anyway, how are you? You're good. You're working on the show, busy as ever.

• 2:38Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 2:39Keke Palmer?

  But the vibes are high. Cali weather is blowing us to bits. It's so hot out here.

• 2:44Speaker 01

  But I love the heat.

• 2:45Keke Palmer?

  I do too, actually. I'm not gonna lie. We like that humidity.

• 2:48Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 2:48Keke Palmer?

  I mean, that's that.

• 2:49Speaker 01

  The humidity, the hotter the better. I'll be like, why people complain to me, it's too hot? I'm like, this is why it's beautiful, because it's so hot.

• 2:56Keke Palmer?

  No, seriously. And then your birthday just passed.

• 2:59Speaker 01

  Yes, September 12 Virgos.

• 3:01Keke Palmer?

  When is your birthday? August 26. I'm a late, I'm an early one. Yes.

• 3:06Speaker 01

  A fresh Virgo. Got it.

• 3:07Keke Palmer?

  August Virgos. So what did you do? Did you do anything or you made it chill?

• 3:11Speaker 01

  I wanted to play games because everything is always so serious.

• 3:16Keke Palmer?

  It is, it is.

• 3:17Speaker 01

  So I was like, I want to have fun. So in my front yard, which happens to be the beach, I was like, I want to play games all day. We played baseball, we played volleyball, we played dodgeball. I still ain't hit the ball, so I want to do it again.

• 3:31Keke Palmer?

  Come on, Virgo.

• 3:32Speaker 01

  But it was a lot of, it was a lot of fun. And then they sang me "Happy Birthday" out on the sand. So it was a lot of fun.

• 3:38Keke Palmer?

  This hair is everything, girl. I kind of got trapped in the rapture when I leaned in. Yes, you look good. I'm so happy that your birthday was, uh, was great.

• 3:47Speaker 01

  Thank you. It was. It was.

• 3:49Keke Palmer?

  Okay, wait, let's get into the pre-show pull-up, you know, you have to ask these questions.

• 3:52Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 3:52Keke Palmer?

  So obviously, I know that your sun sign is a Virgo. What's, do you know your moon or your rising?

• 3:58Speaker 01

  Uh, I'm not super into it. I heard something about a Pisces or something.

• 4:03Keke Palmer?

  I heard of something about a Pisces.

• 4:05Speaker 01

  Yeah, though it's like...

• 4:07Keke Palmer?

  Either the rising maybe, or it's one of them.

• 4:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 4:10Keke Palmer?

  I'm gonna need to get your birth time.

• 4:11Speaker 01

  I feel like it's both. I don't know what time. My sister keeps up this, with this stuff better than I do. All I know is I think I was born on a Saturday.

• 4:18Keke Palmer?

  Okay.

• 4:21Keke Palmer?

  And what, you don't know what time? Yeah.

• 4:23Speaker 01

  No, I don't.

• 4:24Keke Palmer?

  That's the only way we can get the real details to you, but maybe this is like...

• 4:26Speaker 01

  What details you want?

• 4:29Speaker 01

  This tells you about people?

• 4:31Keke Palmer?

  This tells us everything. Like, I mean, we could get so into it that I could find out your mid-heaven, and then we know like why you're so fierce in your business. You might be an Aries mid-heaven.

• 4:38Speaker 01

  I'm gonna have to call my sister back then because I want to know all of those things. But I don't know much.

• 4:43Keke Palmer?

  Do you know your love languages?

• 4:45Speaker 01

  Uh, that I want, how I want to be loved?

• 4:48Keke Palmer?

  So you know a little something. Yeah, how you want to be loved and how you receive love. Like, what do you recognize as someone loving you? And then how do you show?

• 4:55Speaker 01

  Just the time they invest or the gifts, you know, you bring me.

• 4:59Keke Palmer?

  We like a gift or two.

• 5:00Speaker 01

  If anyone wants to bring me a gift, I love a good gift. And then I, I don't know what celebrating others, um, falls under, but you know what I mean?

• 5:10Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 5:10Speaker 01

  Like investing.

• 5:11Keke Palmer?

  Affirming them, investing in them, your service, extra service. Yes.

• 5:15Speaker 01

  Investing time.

• 5:16Keke Palmer?

  You can cook?

• 5:17Speaker 01

  No.

• 5:19Keke Palmer?

  When you said that, I just felt like I saw a big meal, but no, it ain't.

• 5:22Speaker 01

  I will buy you a meal. Um, I can warm the meal up.

• 5:26Keke Palmer?

  I want to be that woman that's like, come over, I just made some catfish and greens.

• 5:31Speaker 01

  Well, see, I do. I make like I did. I'll be like, child, I've been in this kitchen slaving all day. Then now here, eat this food. They don't need to know you didn't cook it.

• 5:40Keke Palmer?

  Literally just take out the packaging.

• 5:42Speaker 01

  Or I'll warm it up for, for you.

• 5:44Keke Palmer?

  Come on, warm it up.

• 5:44Speaker 01

  It's still with love.

• 5:46Keke Palmer?

  Warm it up with love. A little brand. Um, okay, what is something that your friends roast you for? If they roast you for anything?

• 5:54Speaker 01

  Well, I'm gonna have to take this to my son. Well, everybody says I'm extreme, and I don't think I am. I'm like, my son's like, mama, you extreme. I'm like, no, I'm not. Um, I don't know what that means.

• 6:07Keke Palmer?

  I do think Virgos get plagued with extreme in general.

• 6:11Speaker 01

  Why is that?

• 6:12Keke Palmer?

  Because we're extreme.

• 6:14Speaker 01

  We are.

• 6:14Keke Palmer?

  In this way. It's like, for us, when we hear this, when something is delivered in a certain type of way, we're like, oh, it's this or that. We can be like black or white. We can be very like, oh, this is what it is. And people are like, no, it's not. It's like, no, this is what it is. We're kind of like cutting dry at times.

• 6:31Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 6:31Keke Palmer?

  Do you feel?

• 6:33Speaker 01

  Huh, I think I am.

• 6:37Speaker 01

  I follow rules. Like, it has to be exactly like, if you say do something, I'm gonna do it. If you say don't do something, I'm not gonna do it. You know what I mean? So maybe extreme in that way, by the book.

• 6:47Keke Palmer?

  I'm here for the by the book of it all.

• 6:48Speaker 01

  But apparently, I'm extreme. I don't know what they're talking about.

• 6:50Keke Palmer?

  Period. Okay, what is one movie you could watch over and over and over again?

• 6:56Speaker 01

  Can I say two movies?

• 6:57Keke Palmer?

  Yes, you can. Three if you want. I love it.

• 6:59Speaker 01

  Okay. Well, one of my favorite movies is Home Alone.

• 7:02Keke Palmer?

  Come on.

• 7:05Speaker 01

  Home Alone, Home Alone one and two.

• 7:06Keke Palmer?

  Rest in peace Catherine O'Hair.

• 7:07Speaker 01

  Yes, rest in peace. Rest in peace. Um, Home Alone and then Sister Act 2.

• 7:12Keke Palmer?

  Girl, Sister Act 2. Didn't we all want to be in Sister Act 2? Like, please give me a role.

• 7:18Speaker 01

  You can tell me I wasn't in it.

• 7:19Keke Palmer?

  Girl, who was that singing that song when they was in the back like, huh, huh? What was that?

• 7:23Speaker 01

  Which one you on?

• 7:24Keke Palmer?

  The Sister Act 2, and it was the one when the girls were like, gonna be somebody.

• 7:28Speaker 01

  The girl with hair.

• 7:29Keke Palmer?

  If you wanna go somewhere, then everything happen. You better wake up and pay attention.

• 7:35Speaker 01

  We did that.

• 7:36Keke Palmer?

  You see what we did? Girl, that was you because you got it like that.

• 7:39Speaker 01

  You can tell me I was not in Sister Act?

• 7:42Keke Palmer?

  Oh, my God.

• 7:43Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 7:44Keke Palmer?

  Have you ever met Lauren Hill? I've never met her.

• 7:46Speaker 01

  You know what? I was actually at her birthday party.

• 7:49Keke Palmer?

  Okay, flex. She said, I, I know Lauren Hill, honey.

• 7:53Speaker 01

  It was, I think it was like last year or so. Um...

• 7:58Keke Palmer?

  That's so cool.

• 7:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, that was really nice. And then Tanya Blunt, who I thought I was back in the day. You know, they're war and treaty now. I'm a huge fan of hers as well. So I've seen her quite a bit, you know, here and there.

• 8:11Keke Palmer?

  That is so fire. Okay, like I said in the beginning, everybody knows this about you because every Chicago girl does what we do, which is, I'm from Chicago.

• 8:19Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 8:19Keke Palmer?

  So you were Chicago born and bred, and you grew up singing in the church.

• 8:23Speaker 01

  I did.

• 8:24Keke Palmer?

  Tell me what little Jennifer was like. Like, what you, what you, do you always know, I'm gonna be a star? Or was it that people were so impacted by your voice that you were like, okay, guys, I guess I should do this?

• 8:34Speaker 01

  Uh, I feel like it was all of those things. Um, well, I come from a singing family. I was a, they called the lap baby. I was like two, maybe one, two years old, sitting on my godmother's lap. She still tells this story to this day. And the choir director, which was probably my Uncle John, because it's a family church.

• 8:52Keke Palmer?

  Come on, Unc.

• 8:53Speaker 01

  On the piano, he'd look over them glasses like this. And he was giving The Sopranos their note, and they couldn't hit it, and he said I did. And my cousin said, then who's my godmother as well, Deborah, she would want to shout out.

• 9:07Keke Palmer?

  They always do.

• 9:08Speaker 01

  You know how it goes. And she said, mark my words, this baby is gonna sing. So if I ever have a Jennifer Hudson movie about my life, that's how I wanted to start. That would be the first scene of the movie because that's where it all started.

• 9:22Keke Palmer?

  Oh, my gosh. Yes.

• 9:23Speaker 01

  You see what I just did?

• 9:24Keke Palmer?

  And it was so good, the picture that you painted. I wanted to be in the cinema.

• 9:27Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 9:28Keke Palmer?

  Immediately.

• 9:29Speaker 01

  And I've always been a dreamer. So, um, growing up in church, and my grandmother led over a hundred solos in the church choir. So that's where I said I got my voice from. She was Julia Kate, I'm Jenny Kate, right? Um, and so I had my first solo by the age of seven. And I forgot the words to the song. And the congregation had to help me out because I always had stage fright. To sing, I would beg for a solo, but then be too intimidated and afraid to sing. Um, and so when I did, I forgot the words, so.

• 10:01Keke Palmer?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 10:02Speaker 01

  And the congregation had to help me out.

• 10:04Keke Palmer?

  Oh, my gosh. What do you think it is about church? And I bring it up because obviously, all the great singers have it, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, it's, you know, everybody has this church. What do you think it is about the church that creates the environment for the, for a voice like yours? You know what I mean?

• 10:20Speaker 01

  Thank you, thank you. Um, I think it's the teachings. Think about it, that's like, like the way we would rehearse songs. And the, just born into it, like that's all we, that was our language, singing. I remember being in a choir, if you didn't get your note right, you had to go stand in the corner and sing that note.

• 10:37Keke Palmer?

  Into the damn wall?

• 10:38Speaker 01

  Into the wall. And you were not coming out of that corner until you had that note.

• 10:43Keke Palmer?

  Oh, my gosh. It was a Jackson fight, that was.

• 10:45Speaker 01

  Well, I don't know if it was that extreme, but, um, and we were in church every day of the week. Every day of the week. And my, again, my grandmother led over a hundred solos. And so when we would go home, she would line my brother and my sister up together and rehearse us all. And then after a while, she said, okay, Jason, Julia, you go sit down, Jennifer, come on. And she would like train me to sing, you know, so it's just in our family.

• 11:08Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, yeah. I mean, and then obviously, eventually you started doing the Disney cruises. Um, at that time, did you really see it being like your career outside of the cruises? Like, did you see yourself saying, hey, you know what? Maybe one day I'll have an album, or did you feel like I could sing, this is a side thing, I get to go on a cruise?

• 11:24Speaker 01

  I just loved singing. It didn't matter to me where I sang at. And, well, you tested my mind. Let's see, what was first, was it the cruise? And yeah, it was the cruise ship, then Idol.

• 11:34Keke Palmer?

  Then American Idol.

• 11:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, and it was actually my first, my family's first time hearing me sing secular music. Because again, it's a family church.

• 11:41Keke Palmer?

  Come on, secular.

• 11:42Speaker 01

  The only time we were singing was in church. So by the time I did the ship and Idol, they're like, wow, we never heard you sing secular music. And I'm like, really? And then it's like, it's true to that. Because you sing in a church, you sing for the Lord. And I think, you know, it comes with that purpose and that's where that comes from. But I always knew I went to sing at seven. I said, I am going to be a singer, I'm gonna be rich and famous, and I am going to be a singer. At seven, and when I was in school, my teacher told my mom, like, this little girl knows exactly who she is and who she wants to be when she grows up. Yeah.

• 12:15Keke Palmer?

  Period. I mean, and when you get off the Disney cruise, what was, and you might have probably told this a million times, but I'm curious what was going through your mind that made you say you wanted to try out for American Idol?

• 12:24Speaker 01

  You know what? The ship was my test. I was like, if I can get through this, then I'm cut out to do Idol. But if you can't get through this, girl, stay your butt at home. And so that was my test for myself, because I'm a homebody, I'm a mama's baby. So that was like one of my first times really away from home. And it was scary. And I'm like, but if you really want to do this, then you gotta lunge into the deep.

• 12:49Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 12:50Speaker 01

  And so I was like, okay, this ship would be my test. If I make it through it, I can go. And when I stepped on that ship, I promise you, God spoke to me the very second I stepped on the ship and said, you will never ever be at home again for good. And I haven't been since then, literally.

• 13:04Keke Palmer?

  What was your favorite thing to do in Chicago? Like, was you always, were you in the city, you know, hanging out? Were you, were you, what was your favorite place to eat? What was your life like in Chicago?

• 13:14Speaker 01

  Again, I was in the house being creative. My brother and sister, they didn't, people didn't even know Jason and Julia had a little sister until they heard me. They like, who is that singing? In the house? And it's like, oh, our little sister. They're like, y'all got a sister? I was, because my grandmother was sickly. So I would, you know, stay in the house with her while my sister was in high school, because I'm the baby of the family. Jason would be outside running around, you know, hanging out with the boys. My sister was in high school, about to go to college.

• 13:41Keke Palmer?

  Come on, hanging out with the boys.

• 13:41Speaker 01

  Stuff like that. I'm in the house with grandma singing songs, drawing, just being creative. And then when I did get out, my best friend Walter, who's here, um, we, we've been friends since the sixth grade. And he was determined for the world to hear me sing.

• 13:54Keke Palmer?

  That's right.

• 13:55Speaker 01

  Yes, we, on the south side of Chicago, we would sit in his little car and have our meetings. And then we would go and perform. He would find me different talent shows. So if you did see me, I was out grinding and performing and things like that. That's, that's the, what I spent majority of my time doing if I wasn't outside being a kid playing, having fun.

• 14:15Keke Palmer?

  I live for that. Now, I heard something crazy when you said on Level Up Radio that when you turned 40, you were going to retire? Girl, what was you saying? What was happening that day?

• 14:25Speaker 01

  No, for real. I was like, child, you know, I, I don't know, that's what I came up with. But I feel like that's when God restored me. Because that's the year I got the wax figure. And I said, you know what, he multiplied it and it gave me a second wind to run around again.

• 14:42Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, because right after that, you end up doing your talk show. So it was like, girl, so is this what retirement looked like to you?

• 14:48Speaker 01

  I don't know how to sit down, T G.

• 14:50Keke Palmer?

  Neither do I.

• 14:51Speaker 01

  Is that Virgo in us? What is that?

• 14:53Keke Palmer?

  Girl, we got Michael, we got Mother Teresa, she was around the world ministering. Yes, girl.

• 15:00Speaker 01

  I never knew that.

• 15:01Keke Palmer?

  We got Kobe, we got Mambo, we know we got, every one of us can sit down. Beyonce, no one, none of us can sit down.

• 15:08Speaker 01

  Even if we like think we want to, it's like, I can't sit down even if I wanted to. And I've always been that way. My mom, y'all always doing something, sit down. But I need to, I guess, be creative in some way.

• 15:18Keke Palmer?

  Yes. Yes. So when the talk show came about, what was your immediate reaction, right? You were already kind of feeling like, I don't know, I'm just like, but then the talk show came and you said, what'd you say?

• 15:29Speaker 01

  I'm like, I always say, you, you know, you will always see me try. I was like, you know what, I want to try it. I think that's one of the things that make me different, um, where I don't mind trying things. And it's a huge part of me, like, one of the reasons why I wanted to do it is because I'm like, you know, being an actress and a performer, like, people have heard me sing songs. You've seen me play characters. But I'm like, I want you to get to know the person. And I want to get to know your person.

• 15:55Keke Palmer?

  Yes, yes.

• 15:57Speaker 01

  That's a part of motivation. And then also, I come from a talking family. If we're not singing you down, we're talking your head off.

• 16:05Keke Palmer?

  Okay, if we're not singing you down, we're talking your head off. That's the word.

• 16:09Speaker 01

  You see, so it's, it's so fitting for just like who I am and how I am. And I love people, I love celebrating people. And so I was like, baby, roll your camera, who you want me to talk to?

• 16:20Keke Palmer?

  Okay, literally. And such a fun show, obviously, I've been on there, can't wait to come back another time.

• 16:25Speaker 01

  I love when you come.

• 16:26Keke Palmer?

  Girl, now you've described it, like you just said, as God basically saying, this is your second win. What would you describe, like, this second season of your life to be like thus far?

• 16:36Speaker 01

  Ooh, um, I have to take it back to like, think about, when I won the Oscar, I was 25, you know, so.

• 16:44Keke Palmer?

  Wait a minute, girl, you a mess.

• 16:48Keke Palmer?

  Oh, Jennifer, I just adore you. I love that, 25.

• 16:52Speaker 01

  I was 25.

• 16:53Keke Palmer?

  Thank you very much.

• 16:54Speaker 01

  And let me, I have to take this to Tyrese. One time I was shooting the movie Respect, and he came and sat in the trailer. I don't even remember why he was there, but he was there.

• 17:02Keke Palmer?

  Because Tyrese is everywhere. There are seasons of his life where he's everywhere. It's like, Tyrese, what are you doing?

• 17:07Speaker 01

  And he put it in perspective for me. He was like, wait a minute, Jennifer, you just said you won your Oscar at 25. He said, most people don't reach their prime until they're 40. And now fast forward to being 40, I'm like, okay, um, so to end up with a talk show. I had just gotten a wax figure.

• 17:29Keke Palmer?

  You're the youngest EGOT.

• 17:30Speaker 01

  Oh, I was like, I think I won the EGOT at the same time.

• 17:34Keke Palmer?

  You've accomplished so much.

• 17:35Speaker 01

  That's the second win, you know what I mean? Um, and not to mention, I literally had not stopped running from the moment I went to the cruise ship, all the way to the pandemic. Like, every, all of those years, like, without that break, I don't think I would have been able to push through the second leg.

• 17:57Keke Palmer?

  Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

• 17:59Speaker 01

  For all of those things to manifest, to happen.

• 18:02Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 18:03Speaker 01

  That is still going right now. Well, I'm like, okay, and even when I won the Oscar, people are like, okay, how are you gonna top this? Well, only God can. I'm, I'm sitting waiting to see just the same as everyone else.

• 18:12Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 18:12Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? To see, because then, here 40, I won an EGOT? What?

• 18:19Speaker 01

  You know what I mean?

• 18:19Keke Palmer?

  Yes, yes, yes.

• 18:21Speaker 01

  It's still unfolding?

• 18:23Keke Palmer?

  And I love what you said because it is one of those things where, and I think this in general, because that's just my faith and background, like only God could write this script, y'all.

• 18:30Speaker 01

  No, for real. At least it's what I feel.

• 18:32Keke Palmer?

  You know what I mean? Like, there's no way that I would have been able to, I know, I would love to be like I'm a mastermind, but like, God put this here together.

• 18:38Speaker 01

  And I'm just, I feel like I'm willing to go, like, okay, where you sending me now? So every time those doors open up at the Happy Place, and I'm like, God, are you serious? Like, I'm really here, this is really happening, you know?

• 18:51Keke Palmer?

  Girl, and we love that spirit tunnel.

• 18:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:53Keke Palmer?

  That spirit tunnel, it's so funny because it's almost like the show has two lives. It has the live where you're watching, get the daytime talk, and then it has the digital life where you just get into the clips and then getting into the spirit tunnel. It's like, and that song coming down there, I live for mine, they put my, they done remix mine with Whitney coming down there. I was like, yes!

• 19:11Speaker 01

  I live. You need to play Whitney.

• 19:12Keke Palmer?

  Girl, that would be crazy.

• 19:14Speaker 01

  No, you need to.

• 19:15Keke Palmer?

  That would be too.

• 19:16Speaker 01

  She needs to play Whitney.

• 19:17Keke Palmer?

  Stop it, stop it! How was it for you doing Respect? Because playing somebody that's so iconic, it can, that's, it's scary. It's scary, right? Because, you know?

• 19:30Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 19:30Keke Palmer?

  What was that process like for you?

• 19:32Speaker 01

  It's exciting and scary at the same time, especially when it's someone like Aretha Franklin.

• 19:40Keke Palmer?

  But you was the only one that could do that.

• 19:42Speaker 01

  And then that, like, whoa, oh my God, that's a, and when you understand, like, the treasure.

• 19:48Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 19:49Speaker 01

  That they, that they are and what they represent, that makes it even more scary. Because I'm, like, that's one of my idols.

• 19:55Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 19:56Speaker 01

  Oh, God, you wanna, you wanna, you know, treasure what you have and give it the justice that it needs and deserves. So, I remember being in the studio when we recorded Respect.

• 20:09Keke Palmer?

  Mm-hmm.

• 20:10Speaker 01

  That is the moment that still me, where I'm like, wait a minute.

• 20:12Keke Palmer?

  It's chilling.

• 20:14Speaker 01

  I get to sing and recreate this? Or the first time we had, her and I had our meeting about me portraying her, and which was a dream of mine to do. Because think about it, on my American Idol audition, I sang, I said, I'm gonna sing Share Your Love With Me by Miss Aretha Franklin.

• 20:29Keke Palmer?

  Mm-hmm.

• 20:31Speaker 01

  Having no idea, yes, my little black girl. You know how I got that dress? Child on that ship, I saved my money. Don't get me started. That's it. And I said, look, let me go up here and audition for this. And I used to, I'm a Chicago girl, so I did my own crochets. I didn't want nobody to touch my hair back then. Thank you, I did that!

• 20:48Keke Palmer?

  It was very cute. A little curly curl.

• 20:50Speaker 01

  My daddy used to call me Miss Make Her Hair, Jennifer gonna make her some hair. Listen, I had my crochets, I went in there for that audition, that dress had a little hole in it, it shouldn't have had that hole in it, Jennifer, but it did. Anyway, and I said, I'm gonna sing.

• 21:04Keke Palmer?

  We was making our best.

• 21:04Speaker 01

  Yes, period. I said, I'm gonna sing Share Your Love With Me by Aretha Franklin, and little did I know, she was watching. You know, so right after I won that Oscar for the Dreamgirls, she called and we had a meeting in New York. And then she was telling me about, you know, she's like, you know, basically, um, kinda like an interview type of thing about me portraying her, and I'm like, and she's like, what, you're shy or something? And I'm like, ma'am, I'm saying, you are the queen of soul, like, ha, I'm here.

• 21:36Keke Palmer?

  You're shy or something?

• 21:37Speaker 01

  What can you say?

• 21:39Keke Palmer?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 21:40Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 21:40Keke Palmer?

  The fact that she was watching you and had been watching you all that time is actually insane and amazing. What was it like spending time with her?

• 21:48Speaker 01

  You know, being able.

• 21:50Keke Palmer?

  She seems like a gag and a key.

• 21:51Speaker 01

  She, she's a gag and a key, yes, she is.

• 21:55Keke Palmer?

  She do.

• 21:55Speaker 01

  And she's the queen of soul. So, you know, anytime Aretha was there around, I, again, there was a couple of performances that I had to tribute her. And one time she snuck up into the rehearsal and just sat there, and it's like, who gonna tell Miss Franklin, you, ma'am, you're not supposed to be here right now, this is like in tribute to you, but you can't tell Miss Franklin, leave the room.

• 22:17Keke Palmer?

  No, and she be stomping up in there like, hey.

• 22:19Speaker 01

  Yes, yes.

• 22:20Keke Palmer?

  It's a play.

• 22:21Speaker 01

  But, um, just, she just became like more than your idol.

• 22:28Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes, I do, because she's a real person now to you.

• 22:33Speaker 01

  To get to know the real person.

• 22:35Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 22:35Speaker 01

  Which had, of course, like a, kind of a motherly figure.

• 22:40Keke Palmer?

  Mm-hmm.

• 22:40Speaker 01

  And the more I talked to her, the more I understood, I guess, like, our connection.

• 22:46Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 22:47Speaker 01

  In a way, if that makes any sense.

• 22:48Keke Palmer?

  And I'm curious, you have such a, again, your voice and the way that you express, um, yourself through singing. Obviously, we see it on TV or movies or whatever, and it's incredible, but me having been able to see it in person, it's another level when you sing.

• 23:05Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 23:06Keke Palmer?

  I'm curious if she ever, or if you guys ever talked about, like, y'all's, the way that you guys are able to communicate through music like that, I think it's such a specific vibe.

• 23:14Speaker 01

  What I attribute more to, I thought, getting, learning from her, more of her story, her background, and even doing research, as you know, you have to do when you portray someone.

• 23:23Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 23:23Speaker 01

  Is like the similarities of our realities. And I think she under, she knew that I would understand the place to come from, to be able to deliver, which will come out through it, throughout the performance.

• 23:38Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 23:38Speaker 01

  Whether it's musically or characterized.

• 23:41Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 23:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:42Keke Palmer?

  Very cool, very, very, I mean, an incredible experience.

• 23:45Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 23:46Keke Palmer?

  Incredible. Now, obviously, we're talking about the performing, that was your entry point to entertainment before you became a host. And you shared, you know, with Jimmy Fallon about how it was kinda like going to school again to become a talk show host, because it's a different way, even though you clearly, you talk to people, it's different, you know, doing it on a show.

• 24:04Speaker 01

  Uh-huh.

• 24:05Keke Palmer?

  So what was the process of learning, like, what kind of host you would be?

• 24:10Speaker 01

  Okay, so for me, Kiki, I'm like, I'm, I still don't consider myself a host. I consider, I'm a human, not a host.

• 24:18Keke Palmer?

  Sure.

• 24:18Speaker 01

  You know what I mean?

• 24:19Keke Palmer?

  Of course.

• 24:20Speaker 01

  That's the approach that I prefer to take, or I like to take, or, like, I want you to meet my human, my person, and I wanna see yours.

• 24:27Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 24:27Speaker 01

  And when we start the show, I wanna, you know, you can, you will see me try.

• 24:31Keke Palmer?

  Mm-hmm.

• 24:32Speaker 01

  Um, and approach it in that way, but yes, like, looking, of course, we all grew up on talk shows. Of course, Oprah Winfrey, who's not gonna go look at her?

• 24:39Keke Palmer?

  But you're right, there's a difference between, like, somebody that is a journalist and then somebody that's here to have a conversation with you.

• 24:44Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 24:45Keke Palmer?

  I feel the exact same way, I'm here to talk to you.

• 24:46Speaker 01

  I'm just here to exist with you.

• 24:47Keke Palmer?

  Yes, yeah, yeah.

• 24:48Speaker 01

  That's why we love you so much, you know what I mean?

• 24:50Keke Palmer?

  I got you.

• 24:50Speaker 01

  Because it's just that real rawness.

• 24:53Keke Palmer?

  Sure.

• 24:54Speaker 01

  And so it's like, no, I'm, I'm here with you.

• 24:57Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 24:57Speaker 01

  We're here together.

• 24:58Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 24:58Speaker 01

  And it's just, I'm just Jennifer, okay? And being versus walking, I feel like it would have been a mistake to walk the door, like, hi, I know everything, hi, welcome to the Jennifer Hudson Show. No, that's not who I am. I want, and again, that's the other reason why I want to do it, so people can know, like, this is Jennifer.

• 25:15Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 25:16Speaker 01

  I'm just like you, I'm your sister, I'm your daughter, I'm your friend, I'm your next door neighbor, y'all watched me grow up. Now, I just wanna create a platform to, where we can all come to, love on each other and celebrate each other. Um, of course, I work with like a.

• 25:29Keke Palmer?

  Yes, Jen!

• 25:30Speaker 01

  A media host, and it's like, with my acting coaches, one of the tools he always says is like, put your tools in the toolbox.

• 25:37Keke Palmer?

  Mm-hmm.

• 25:37Speaker 01

  And it's things that I've learned along the way where I'm like, okay, I'll put that in the toolbox, and maybe I'll apply it. Not smooth it over, I need to be Jennifer right now. You know, use it where you.

• 25:48Keke Palmer?

  Without a doubt.

• 25:50Speaker 01

  Where you wanna use it, you know?

• 25:51Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 25:52Speaker 01

  Um, so I kinda say that to say I made up my own thing.

• 25:56Keke Palmer?

  That's literally how it should be. I mean, you're now in season five, a lot of these talk shows do not make it past season one, constantly going viral. At what point in, between season one to season five, where you were like, yeah? You know, and obviously, you're gonna continue, you know, we always continue to learn as life goes, but like, when, what season did you feel like you were like, oh, oh?

• 26:18Speaker 01

  Season five.

• 26:21Speaker 01

  No, for real, I'm like, uh, no, because again, it's so.

• 26:23Keke Palmer?

  That's real, though.

• 26:25Speaker 01

  I'm gonna be honest with you, it's so foreign, and it's like, okay, what is Jennifer doing? I'm trying, and there's nothing wrong trying and doing something else, and I don't believe in limits. I don't believe in boxes, so I'm, you're gonna see me try, I'm just a fool that's gonna be like, you know what, let me try this.

• 26:40Keke Palmer?

  You're courageous.

• 26:42Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 26:43Keke Palmer?

  You're courageous, and I mean, a lot of people, I, you know, I think that to me is like, I always say this to people, it's never about like, oh, I'm never gonna mess up, or I'm never gonna fall, or, no, what really makes you a winner is that you get back up.

• 26:56Speaker 01

  Right.

• 26:56Keke Palmer?

  Is that you have the courage to try something new and do it, and do it again. It's not what you do, it's who you are.

• 27:02Speaker 01

  Mm.

• 27:02Keke Palmer?

  You know what I mean? So it's, and I, I mean, you're a perfect inspiration for that, you know? You inspire me.

• 27:08Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 27:08Keke Palmer?

  Um, now you done said that you would do 25 seasons of the show, so I feel like you really love it. Like, you tried it, you loved it, and, and now you're like, I'm here to stay.

• 27:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm gonna be out there telling some happy plays. Uh-huh, uh-huh.

• 27:22Keke Palmer?

  I turned 65 today, y'all.

• 27:24Speaker 01

  Come on, get me up on these steps.

• 27:27Speaker 01

  That's, look, we five seasons in, we only got 20 more to go.

• 27:39Keke Palmer?

  This message is a paid partnership with Apple Watch. Our heart can tell us a lot about our health. And most of us are just out here ignoring it like an unread text from someone who's right. I've learned that one of the best indicators of how you're really doing is your heart. Apple Watch Series 12 has the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable. And the readiness score gives you one simple number every morning that says, "Yes, go conquer," or "Maybe sit this one down." It pulls from your recent activity, your vitals, your sleep, and it adjusts throughout the day so you know when to push and when to pull back. Oh, and the vitals app now tracks HRV, or heart rate variability, which is basically your body's inside scoop on stress and recovery.

• 28:25Keke Palmer?

  And you can check vitals day or night to catch shifts in your health status before they even think about becoming a whole thing. And that's on self-care, honey. Your heart tells the story of your health, and with Apple Watch Series 12, you can understand it better than ever. Visit apple.com/AppleWatchSeries12 to learn more. The features described are for wellness purposes only and not for medical use. iPhone 11 or later required. Heart rate accuracy based on Apple conducted study, August 2026. Visit apple.com/hraccuracy. I've been scrolling Airbnb, planning Thanksgiving, and I already know I want to take the family somewhere instead of hosting at home this year. I'm thinking Hudson Valley Orchards, farm-to-table restaurants,

• 29:10Keke Palmer?

  maybe a cider tasting that turns into a whole afternoon? I want to hit a local market the morning of and get everything fresh. Find a bakery for the pies, because let's be clear, I do not bake. I perform other talents. Walk through town after dinner when everyone's too full to function but too happy to go inside. And then we'll come back to the cozy home at the end of the night to relax, get comfy, and of course, enjoy those leftovers at midnight. That's what I love about booking trips with Airbnb. You get the comforts of home while exploring new neighborhood, discovering local gems, and living your best life. If a cozy holiday getaway is in your future, play your next family gathering with Airbnb.

• 29:56Keke Palmer?

  So, obviously, you know, we think about American Idol, but American Idol, you didn't win. At that time, were you like, you know, man, you know what I mean? This is really, like, what was the transition point from "I didn't get this show" to "I didn't get this show and this was one of the biggest blessings of my life" that I didn't win this show per se? You know what I mean?

• 30:16Speaker 01

  That was a process. But the not winning part, or I'm eliminated part, that literally happened in that moment,

• 30:26Speaker 01

  when I was eliminated. And then I remember having this thought, like, wait, I'm walking away with my talent. The talent doesn't end here, the competition ends here. But whatever it is, and I had an exit speech. Before I left, I said, you know, something is in store for me. I don't know when, how, what, but I know I'm gonna have to sing my way to it. And then bam, two years later, it was Dreamgirls, right?

• 30:48Speaker 01

  And I always wanted to, like, while we were on the show, when you're there, you have everything. You have management, you have glam squads, you have a team, you have everything. And I used to think, like, okay, so what happens when we no longer have this? When this goes away, how do you stay afloat then? So, I'm a Virgo, so I'm a planner. I'm always thinking ahead, like, okay, now, what's gonna happen after this? But, nothing is just. So being able to be on a platform like that, you're a whole lot further than where you started.

• 31:20Keke Palmer?

  That's right.

• 31:21Speaker 01

  And I'm like, I'm walking away with my talent. And as long as I have that and I keep at it, it has no choice but to give in. And, and again, as long as Jennifer is singing, I'm happy.

• 31:32Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, yeah, but that's like a really important, I think, experience to even have. And how much did that actually inform the way you deal when things don't go your way now? Like, how much that was a big situation like that not going your way and being positive in the end affected how you look at?

• 31:47Speaker 01

  Well, from that experience, I always say if I could get through Idol, I could get through anything. That's what I say to myself in the midst of things. And I don't look at anything, whether if it's a success or not, as a negative. Because then everything is a lesson.

• 32:01Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 32:02Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? And it will prepare you for the next.

• 32:05Keke Palmer?

  Yep.

• 32:06Speaker 01

  You know, like, for example, I feel like doing The Voices helped prepare me to one day be a host.

• 32:13Keke Palmer?

  Yes, yes, yes, yes. I feel that way about everything I did with Disney Channel. They had me in every role but craft services. And honey, it's like, it's helped me because you're right. Everything kind of becomes a bit of a training ground. And I always say that too, like, even if you're not in entertainment, right? If you're working a job where you were behind a cubicle and they got you typing, well, that typing helped me become an editor in chief. You know, whatever, like, whatever you can pull-

• 32:38Speaker 01

  It will prepare you for the next.

• 32:40Keke Palmer?

  Yes, pull whatever, take whatever you can from wherever you are and make it a part of, like you said, your toolbox type vibe. But let's get on to Dreamgirls, because that was... I mean, everything changed with Idol, but then everything changed again with Dreamgirls.

• 32:54Speaker 01

  Yes, they changed it. I mean, like, Lord, I'm trying to keep up.

• 32:58Keke Palmer?

  I love that so much. I mean, you win that Oscar at 25 years old. And it was probably, the campaigning thing is insane. So you did the movie, and obviously, I remember even hearing as a kid, because I was performing at that time, and I remember people being like, Jennifer Hudson's gonna win an Oscar, Jennifer Hudson's gonna win an Oscar. They kept saying that. And this is like, the Oscars hadn't come yet. I mean, so you hear these things within the industry before the nomination happens, then the nomination happens, and then we're all waiting on that night to see what happens. But what was it like for you having to be out there on the front line and people being like, "It's gonna be you"?

• 33:33Speaker 01

  I had no idea what was going on, Kiki.

• 33:37Speaker 01

  I still don't think I do. It took Jamie Foxx, he the one who, he's the one who said-

• 33:41Keke Palmer?

  Oh my gosh, I love the Black Council, see? I live for the Black Council.

• 33:44Speaker 01

  Listen, he spoke it, he said, while we were on the set, he's like, "The craziest thing about this girl is she has no clue what's going on." And I didn't. And then he's like, "You're gonna win an Oscar for this," and I'm like,

• 33:55Keke Palmer?

  "Oh my gosh."

• 33:56Speaker 01

  This is while we were filming. So to hear him say that, I mean, he had just won foray.

• 34:02Keke Palmer?

  Yep, yep, he knows the vibe.

• 34:04Speaker 01

  He knew. And all I wanted to do was get my lines right, child. Make Bill Cundin proud for giving me that opportunity. You know, just for those who gave me that chance to be there, I knew everybody's lines. I knew Lightnin'. Okay, I was like, actually, this was, and your line is, okay, like-

• 34:23Keke Palmer?

  That was the same thing that Will Smith said when he started doing Fresh Prince of Bel Air. He said, "Honestly, I had to learn everybody's lines." And I was saying they lines while they was talking. That is so funny.

• 34:32Speaker 01

  That was probably me.

• 34:34Keke Palmer?

  So it was a very fun experience, but also, like you said, a whirlwind.

• 34:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 34:38Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, and so when you, when you got on stage and you won that Oscar, again, there's no ceilings, but a lot of people don't even accomplish something like that in their lifetime of being a performer or being, you know, that might be their, that might be their end goal. And you've won it already at 25 in the beginning of your career. So, at the end of that night-

• 34:57Speaker 01

  It's my first time acting.

• 34:58Keke Palmer?

  You know what I mean?

• 34:58Speaker 01

  It's crazy.

• 34:59Keke Palmer?

  You know what I'm saying? Like, so at that point, you were like, what, what do you, what do you... Were you kind of like, "I guess I'm done," or were you like, "Damn, how do I top that"? Did you ever feel any pressure?

• 35:10Speaker 01

  No, because I wanted my Grammy. Because as a kid, Kiki, I dreamt of being at the Grammys.

• 35:18Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 35:18Speaker 01

  And, like Whitney Houston, and, you know, having your music video where you're in the, in the mirror where you, you know, creating those things. So that was my dream.

• 35:33Speaker 01

  You better sing, listen.

• 35:35Keke Palmer?

  I love that.

• 35:37Speaker 01

  That's what I dreamt about, but I won an Oscar first, which I'm not complaining about.

• 35:42Keke Palmer?

  But it's just a different, it was different in terms of what your goal was.

• 35:45Speaker 01

  Right.

• 35:45Keke Palmer?

  You know, it's a blessing, but it was different from what you expected for yourself.

• 35:48Speaker 01

  So I'm, I need to get that Grammy.

• 35:50Keke Palmer?

  Period.

• 35:52Speaker 01

  I wanted to sing, but again, if that's all God was gonna do, that was more than enough.

• 35:56Keke Palmer?

  Sure.

• 35:57Speaker 01

  And I would have never imagined that, wait, so now I'm an actress that sings? Because all of this was so new to me. Right before that was Idol. And before that was The Ship. And now, how did I get here? You know what I mean?

• 36:15Keke Palmer?

  Following the calling.

• 36:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, I guess so.

• 36:17Keke Palmer?

  Following the calling.

• 36:20Speaker 01

  But, let's see, after that came music. Everything happened so fast.

• 36:26Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 36:27Speaker 01

  It was, talk about a whirlwind.

• 36:29Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 36:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 36:30Keke Palmer?

  I mean, it's hard to catch up. That's the funny thing when you talk about the second season. The second season, I feel, even when I think about my own life and career, is like, the one where I know what's happening a little bit more. And that'd be those first stages-

• 36:43Speaker 01

  I can appreciate it more, because now I have a greater sense

• 36:47Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 36:47Speaker 01

  of knowing, like, okay, like you just said, people don't just walk up and win these things. There's people who've been doing this for years and don't achieve it or are only achieving it way later. So now, I can really embrace it. I fully understand what this represents and what this is, to understand the achievement of it all, you know?

• 37:11Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 37:11Speaker 01

  And so this time around, I can really embrace it.

• 37:16Keke Palmer?

  So when we double in the EGOT?

• 37:18Speaker 01

  Well, actually, I'm halfway to-

• 37:20Keke Palmer?

  Because I heard you want to do that, I say, "Yes, girl."

• 37:22Speaker 01

  Okay, no.

• 37:25Speaker 01

  Because I have two Grammys.

• 37:26Keke Palmer?

  Yep.

• 37:27Speaker 01

  So, Lord bless me. If I get another Emmy or something, then I'll be an EGOT and a half.

• 37:34Keke Palmer?

  I mean, and you, you're nominated, what, the talk show, your show-

• 37:38Speaker 01

  We had 18 Emmy nominations.

• 37:41Keke Palmer?

  You gotta win one. So we're gonna be, like, we're gonna be halfway to that. That's happening, at least.

• 37:46Speaker 01

  Okay, okay, I received that, I received that, thank you.

• 37:48Keke Palmer?

  Girl, that's definitely happening, and so we're gonna be halfway again at the EGOT. You're gonna be a double EGOT winner. That's never happened before.

• 37:54Speaker 01

  No, it has.

• 37:55Keke Palmer?

  Who did it?

• 37:56Speaker 01

  It's like one other person, I don't know his name, but it's one other person.

• 37:59Keke Palmer?

  It's a man that we know and love?

• 38:00Speaker 01

  It's a man. I don't know if we know him, or we love him.

• 38:03Keke Palmer?

  And she don't know if we love him, we probably don't.

• 38:05Speaker 01

  But, "You're gonna love me," uh, you see what I did?

• 38:12Keke Palmer?

  I cannot with you, I cannot with you. Okay, you've also shared something that I think, obviously with the spirit and the fun you have, sometimes people can think this is contradictory, especially also considering the fact that you are so ambitious, but sometimes you get tired. And, and, and not being always, you said this in Interview Magazine, that sometimes it's hard to say that because people immediately think that, oh, you're somehow ungrateful. I really relate to that.

• 38:37Speaker 01

  What is that?

• 38:38Keke Palmer?

  I don't know, man.

• 38:39Speaker 01

  No, no, no, I'm not complaining, I'm, I'm just, you know.

• 38:41Keke Palmer?

  You're being truthful.

• 38:42Speaker 01

  I'm just, we can be tired and grateful at the same time, because, that's why I'm tired, because I'm so invested in all my blessings that I'm grateful for, that, child, I need a nap.

• 38:54Keke Palmer?

  It's so true.

• 38:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 38:56Keke Palmer?

  It's so true, and I think it's like, it's good, I wanted to bring it up because I think it's important to just, because it's important to say that I can be ambitious, I can really want this, I can be really grateful, and I can still be tired. I can be frustrated, I can be irritated.

• 39:08Speaker 01

  You can be human.

• 39:09Keke Palmer?

  I can be human. I can be human, and I think as a performer, especially when we're showing up and we're putting that smile on, um, it becomes difficult, people don't understand, like, I'm not being fake, I'm showing up and I'm giving you all I've got.

• 39:20Speaker 01

  Right.

• 39:20Keke Palmer?

  But that doesn't mean that the human side of me doesn't sometimes wanna just go in a corner somewhere.

• 39:25Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 39:25Keke Palmer?

  And not express anything.

• 39:26Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 39:27Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 39:27Speaker 01

  That is so true.

• 39:28Keke Palmer?

  Yeah. What is something that you make room for now that is literally just Jennifer, like, for that human side?

• 39:35Speaker 01

  Me, period. I mean, um, yeah, that, like, I'm in a place now, it's, it's a self-care, the self-care season. You know, um, and I'm, I'm 45 now, baby, I'm almost 50 years old.

• 39:51Keke Palmer?

  Which is so hilarious to me, because what?

• 39:54Speaker 01

  I love saying that. I like getting older. But, um, it's like, when you spend your whole life being disciplined, doing everything you're supposed to, I'm always where I'm supposed to be, I be, I don't be worried about where I'm at, I'm where I'm supposed to be. Okay, and then if you work this long and this hard, okay, everybody has some stopping sentence, when is it my turn to make more time for me? You know, and at this age, or chapter in my life, it's like,

• 40:20Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 40:21Speaker 01

  You know, we should allow some room for that, some space, more for self. And along with all the things I love doing, because this is who I am, whether you got a camera in front of me or not, I am still going to sing, I am still gonna host, I'm still gonna be whatever it is I do.

• 40:39Keke Palmer?

  Yep.

• 40:39Speaker 01

  That's why I do it so much, because this is who I am. But at the same time, um, it's okay not to, too.

• 40:46Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 40:46Speaker 01

  We, I think a lot of us can learn that, you know, we can still exist and not have to, have to, all the time.

• 40:57Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, not to just be what we do.

• 40:58Speaker 01

  Kiki wanna just be Kiki and just be human, if Jennifer wanna just be Jennifer and just, I just wanna go to the concert and see it.

• 41:04Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 41:04Speaker 01

  Or can I just be with the friends and not be on display? Or, you know, not be expected to, and just simply be, or not even have to always worry about everyone and everything.

• 41:16Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 41:16Speaker 01

  You know, where it's like, huh, you know, let everybody else take care of themselves for a change.

• 41:22Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 41:22Speaker 01

  You know? So, that's more the space I'm in, which is a foreign space.

• 41:28Keke Palmer?

  Mm-hmm.

• 41:29Speaker 01

  To know it's like, they'll be okay, they'll figure it out, or it's okay to just exist, and what is it, um, not have productivity, but have a little play.

• 41:42Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 41:42Speaker 01

  Everything doesn't have to be productivity.

• 41:44Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 41:45Speaker 01

  Does that make sense?

• 41:45Keke Palmer?

  It is, because even, even with self-help, sometimes that can turn into a damn job, too. And it's like, I'm just, I'm being productive about the non-productivity, let me calm down now. You know, it's true, it can be a mess, you know, so you gotta check, we gotta check ourselves.

• 41:57Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 41:58Keke Palmer?

  Something else you've been making time for in your chap, this chapter of your life, and you can say as much as you want, or as little, is love.

• 42:03Speaker 01

  Love.

• 42:11Keke Palmer?

  You know how every episode I go deep on whatever I can't stop thinking about? Well, lately, it's been my living room. I walked into my local IKEA store last week just to look around and left with a whole new vision for my space. Because here's the thing people don't realize, there are hundreds of new products every season. New colors, new patterns, whole new collections I had never seen before. It's not just about style for me, it's the functionality of it all. I found new storage pieces that solved problems I'd been ignoring for months. Plus, some design updates that made my space feel fresh. I feel like every time I go back, there's something new waiting for me. So, if you haven't visited in a while, trust me, go see what's new.

• 42:55Keke Palmer?

  Discover what's new at IKEA. Shop the latest products in-store or online at ikea.us/discovernew. So, here's something that genuinely surprised me, over 80% of Americans are not getting enough omega-3s from food alone. 80%. That means most of us are walking around with a gap in our nutrition and don't even realize it. That's where Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega Soft Gels come in. EPA and DHA omega-3s support your heart, your brain, your immune system, your eyes, your mood. These are foundational nutrients that show up everywhere in your body, doing important work, and most of us are just not getting enough.

• 43:38Keke Palmer?

  And before you say, "Fish oil, no thank you," let me stop you. Nordic Naturals has a clean lemon taste. Plus, every batch is thoroughly tested for purity, potency, and freshness to meet strict international quality standards. Clean ingredients, no drama. Use promo code NORDIC, N-O-R-D-I-C, for 15% off your next order at nordic.com, and discover the power of omega-3 with Nordic Naturals, the number one selling omega-3 brand in the U.S. Supplements are not evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent diseases.

• 44:19Keke Palmer?

  Okay, you've been making love available to you, and, and, and how's that been? How was romance in this chapter of your life?

• 44:24Speaker 01

  It's been amazing.

• 44:26Keke Palmer?

  Oh.

• 44:26Speaker 01

  It's been beautiful, and it's something that's helped me get to the space of, like, self. Like, oh, hmm, you know, I think it's contributed to that as well.

• 44:36Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 44:37Speaker 01

  Um,

• 44:38Keke Palmer?

  That's super dope.

• 44:38Speaker 01

  The timing is amazing, it's just a beautiful place and space to be in, so, yes, love.

• 44:44Keke Palmer?

  Yeah. What, what would you say is the difference of how falling in love feels at this stage in your life, as opposed to in your early twenties?

• 44:50Speaker 01

  Always, because when you can really truly identify love.

• 44:54Keke Palmer?

  Hold on, take, run that back for me.

• 44:55Speaker 01

  And know what it is. When you're young, you have the ideal of it. But once you, and, and I'm not saying those times are not necessary, but by the time you get to this space, no, no, no, no, I don't want that, I don't want that, now this is what I want, no, that seems right, you can really identify it.

• 45:11Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 45:11Speaker 01

  And know what it is, and that way you can enjoy it and embrace it more. Because by the time you go to all the things that you thought it was, or your idea of what it should be, it helps you get, when you get to that place, when you see it, you know it.

• 45:25Keke Palmer?

  Yes, because sometimes I feel like that should be, is, is, it, it's only able to come from what you've seen. Either in your house, your surroundings, or even in the movies, and sometimes the people around you, especially with us, they live a totally different lifestyle, right? Nobody was an entertainer, or had, you know, your six, I don't know your family, but I imagine you're one of one.

• 45:46Speaker 01

  No, yeah.

• 45:46Keke Palmer?

  So not everybody can speak to that experience, so whatever love looks like for them, it probably wouldn't look like that for you. And then also, it's like, whatever the movies be doing, that's for like, um, an hour and 30 minutes.

• 45:56Speaker 01

  Yes, but then that goes into the ideal.

• 45:59Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 45:59Speaker 01

  We all have that ideal, oh, when, you know, when I get to the place, I wanna have two children, and I wanna have the picket fence, and I wanna do this, and this person is gonna do, it's a certain ideal. But when reality kick in, baby,

• 46:11Keke Palmer?

  Mm-hmm.

• 46:11Speaker 01

  Woo.

• 46:12Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 46:13Speaker 01

  That brings a whole nother thing, but once you experience all of that, you, you have a clear, more clarity and an understanding of what love really is, and what you really want out of it. To be able to identify it, and that is the space and place I'm in.

• 46:27Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, and being so accomplished, I'm sure there's so many women out there that are, there's, there's so many boss women that are doing their own thing. How do we decide what love looks like coming into our lives, if we don't need anything? Not to say we don't want nothing, right, but it's like, I have a good situation going for me.

• 46:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:45Keke Palmer?

  You know what I mean? Whether I'm, have no kids, or even a single mom, you know, I got my stuff going on, I got my bills paid, like, I'm good. How does it look like to let somebody be a part of that, even?

• 46:54Speaker 01

  That is such a great question.

• 46:56Keke Palmer?

  I'm asking for me.

• 46:57Speaker 01

  But look, but just hearing you say that, because we can feel lonely.

• 47:00Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, you, you just feel like, who's my buddy?

• 47:02Speaker 01

  Right.

• 47:03Keke Palmer?

  Who, you know, do I gotta, if I wanna call up?

• 47:06Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 47:06Keke Palmer?

  Who can I call?

• 47:07Speaker 01

  But, but it, it takes me to that let, let them thing, where it's like, you have to allow them space to be able to exist in your world. You know what I mean? When, when you do, when you do have every T-crossed and every I-dotted, yourself, you know, you better find them something, you know what, baby, I need you to,

• 47:28Speaker 01

  can you grab? Oh my God, that was amazing, what you did, you know what I mean?

• 47:32Keke Palmer?

  Girl.

• 47:33Speaker 01

  Allow space.

• 47:34Keke Palmer?

  I'm not doing enough of that.

• 47:35Speaker 01

  Allow space.

• 47:37Keke Palmer?

  I'm like, it ain't done right.

• 47:39Speaker 01

  I, you know?

• 47:41Keke Palmer?

  Let me do it.

• 47:46Keke Palmer?

  Girl, I gotta relax.

• 47:47Speaker 01

  Well, it's not right, but look, you know.

• 47:50Keke Palmer?

  Yes, that's real, though. Making space for, allowing, you know, allowing somebody to learn you enough to show up for you.

• 47:57Speaker 01

  Yes, and allowing ourselves to know it's okay not to have to do everything. And allowing space to allow others to do it, and not just the man. I do this with my boys, too. My son and the other boys, it's like they want to do.

• 48:12Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 48:13Speaker 01

  And recognizing that they want to do, and then allowing them space to do it, and if their ass ain't got nothing to do, you find them something to do, okay?

• 48:19Keke Palmer?

  That is so.

• 48:20Speaker 01

  Get that, okay? Like, you know what? Because they be like, I got home the other day, and when I tell you they was outside lined up waiting for me to get there, and I was like, oh my God, this is so sweet, and they like, no, I got the bag, no, I got the bag, oh my God. I didn't have to touch a thing, okay, I'm going in the house. All right, y'all came to see about me.

• 48:37Keke Palmer?

  The queen.

• 48:38Speaker 01

  You know?

• 48:38Keke Palmer?

  Has arrived.

• 48:39Speaker 01

  And, and they want to, so allow that space, give them some room to do something.

• 48:44Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, I need to stop being so off with your head. Um, okay, so Common has been, girl, I'll be ready to chop that. Um, Common has been very vocal about the fact that, you know, he could see marriage with you. Is marriage even anything you want?

• 48:59Speaker 01

  Thank you for asking that question.

• 49:01Keke Palmer?

  You know what I mean? Because it's like every woman doesn't want marriage, and obviously love calming down, and that's fabulous, but I'm just curious, or do you even care about marriage? Is that something that's for you?

• 49:12Speaker 01

  That's a whole nother episode.

• 49:14Keke Palmer?

  Literally, I feel you, because I ask myself that question.

• 49:16Speaker 01

  I appreciate you asking that question, because people automatically always assume women just want to be married, and that is not always the case.

• 49:23Keke Palmer?

  No.

• 49:24Speaker 01

  I will, only thing I will say about it is, this is the only person where I'm like, you know what? Actually, I would consider that.

• 49:34Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, that's so cool.

• 49:36Speaker 01

  But have I been that type of person to be, want to be in that space? No. And let me say, I have never, I hate when people think that, they, oh, she's been married, I have never been married.

• 49:45Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 49:45Speaker 01

  Um, but in this, this, this relationship, I'm like,

• 49:54Speaker 01

  you know what?

• 49:57Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 49:59Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 50:02Keke Palmer?

  Well, if that ever happened, girl, please don't lose my invitation in the damn

• 50:05Speaker 01

  You know.

• 50:06Keke Palmer?

  male system.

• 50:07Speaker 01

  You know.

• 50:07Keke Palmer?

  Because I needs to be there, because I worked, you know, I worked with Common on Alice, and soon as I told you that, when I saw you, I was like, knowing his personality and knowing your personality is just like, it's just perfect. That's that shot down.

• 50:19Speaker 01

  That's my friend, you know?

• 50:21Keke Palmer?

  That is just, it's a blessing.

• 50:23Speaker 01

  It is.

• 50:23Keke Palmer?

  It really is. A shout out to you. Love you, Rashid. Um, okay, David is seventeen now.

• 50:28Speaker 01

  Seventeen.

• 50:29Keke Palmer?

  Literally, I mean, your son is a grown man in two minutes.

• 50:34Speaker 01

  That's crazy.

• 50:35Keke Palmer?

  What are you gonna do, girl? What does it feel like to realize that you're standing beside somebody that's towering over you and you pooped him out?

• 50:43Speaker 01

  It, first of all, let me tell you, get ready, because you think it's like gonna be forever, I'm telling you, because I look at you and your baby all the time, and I'm like, you remember? She has no idea like how quick it's gonna go, because I feel like that's my, I'm like, that was just little David. How is he seventeen, getting ready to go to college, talking to me about women's and things, and I'm like, what? What is happening?

• 51:04Keke Palmer?

  Oh my God.

• 51:04Speaker 01

  Like, it's insane how quick, how quick time has gone by.

• 51:09Keke Palmer?

  And he's so handsome.

• 51:10Speaker 01

  Thank you, and he's so sweet. He's such a little gentleman. Um, watching him come into his own is blowing me away. I, I, I can't even keep up. I just remember him going in his room one day. He was like twelve, thirteen. And he came out that room, because I used to call him Monks.

• 51:29Keke Palmer?

  That's a little nickname.

• 51:30Speaker 01

  He went in the room, it's Monks.

• 51:31Keke Palmer?

  Monks.

• 51:32Speaker 01

  He took a nap, he gonna kill me for saying that, don't get me, David. But I used to call you that. Listen, he goes in, goes to sleep, and he comes out, and I said, who is, where did, who is this man? Where is my child? That one nap, his whole, he had a whole new nose.

• 51:49Keke Palmer?

  Oh my gosh.

• 51:49Speaker 01

  He shot up, and I was like, it, literally, it was a nap.

• 51:54Keke Palmer?

  Don't scare me, Jennifer.

• 51:56Speaker 01

  I'm telling you, Kiki.

• 51:57Keke Palmer?

  Oh my gosh, not Leo, Vio.

• 51:59Speaker 01

  Yes. And, and he walked out that room, and I was like, y'all, he don't even know he got a new nose. Like, where's my child? And then he like, yo, I'm DOJ. What? Where's my Monks?

• 52:11Keke Palmer?

  Now he going by acronym.

• 52:13Speaker 01

  It's a, like, each face has a new name. So right now, we're in the era of DOJ, and it's real.

• 52:18Keke Palmer?

  DOJ is crazy.

• 52:20Speaker 01

  Because his name is David O'Tonka Jr. So DOJ, people are like, why is his name DOJ? Because that's really his initials. It really is.

• 52:28Keke Palmer?

  People be looking for that Hudson.

• 52:29Speaker 01

  You, you know, man, listen, don't get me started on Hudson, but, um, DOJ is a singer in high school, he's very musical.

• 52:39Keke Palmer?

  Can sing.

• 52:40Speaker 01

  He can sing, he wants to be a one-man orchestra. I was like, where did this music come from? He like, I've been around music my whole life. So he sits and he creates music, his own beats, he wants to be a one-man orchestra where like, he pops out records like every day, that's all he wants to do, and I'm like, who are you?

• 52:57Keke Palmer?

  You.

• 52:58Speaker 01

  He's you.

• 52:59Keke Palmer?

  I don't even know. He's sitting up in that room being creative, like you was up in Chicago.

• 53:03Speaker 01

  He got me beat. Okay, creative. But his musical flow is way different from mine.

• 53:08Keke Palmer?

  Oh my gosh, isn't this so crazy? So, so, I mean, when he was little, because you talks about being around music all his whole life, which obviously, you're his mom, was he on the sets? Was his, like, what was?

• 53:20Speaker 01

  Wow. He was. It takes me back, because I asked him, I was like, what you say you've been around music your whole life? And he like, yeah, mom, I've been around music my whole life. So it made, as a mom, I know you know, go back to like old footage and videos and clips, and I see these old videos of him singing so passionately. And I'm like, man, it was there all along. Or, I did Hairspray Live.

• 53:41Keke Palmer?

  Oh, so good.

• 53:42Speaker 01

  Remember that?

• 53:43Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, love, I love Hairspray, yeah.

• 53:44Speaker 01

  He was like six, I want to say?

• 53:46Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 53:47Speaker 01

  And I think back to then, he will sit in rehearsals and he'll come home, he like, you're not rehearsing choreography, right? It's this move, it's that move, it's, and so when I think back to that now, I'm like, oh, how did I miss that? That it was there all along.

• 54:02Keke Palmer?

  All along.

• 54:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:03Keke Palmer?

  Because they're little to us, and they're our kids, and we're like, oh, you know, that's so cute, but they got their whole heart in it.

• 54:09Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 54:10Keke Palmer?

  They got their whole, like, my son, literally, the other day, we're at the house, and my sister, uh, my sister, then it's like, talk to my sister, she say, hey, queen, you know, you would say,

• 54:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 54:18Keke Palmer?

  Hey, queen, my son jet back, he said, my mom's the queen.

• 54:21Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 54:22Keke Palmer?

  And he, you know, in his mind, he was, we laughing, but for him, he was stuck on.

• 54:26Speaker 01

  Like, no.

• 54:27Keke Palmer?

  There's only one queen in this house. Like, he was really serious. And so it's so funny, because we don't see it until their bodies match their, their sincerity and their passion, but it was always there. So, I need some advice. Like, I mean, as a boy mom, like, what do I need to know? Like, what should I be watching out for at this little age that, when he gets older, I should keep on task? Like, just tell me, what do I need to know?

• 54:49Speaker 01

  You know, boys have heart, too. And again, not only do I have my son, but eight other boys, and they, I call it Cam David.

• 54:57Keke Palmer?

  Come on.

• 54:57Speaker 01

  I know, Cam David, but that's the truth, it's Cam David. Anyway, that, they can be vulnerable and sensitive, and allow them to be that, you know what I mean?

• 55:06Keke Palmer?

  I live, but you know what I mean?

• 55:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 55:08Keke Palmer?

  I'm with the you know what I mean, too. I be on that, I live, but you know what I mean?

• 55:12Speaker 01

  Yes, like, I spend time with them. Like, it's me and the boys, and I've watched them grow up so much, and it's like, they still are who they are at heart when they was their little kids. You know what I mean? They grow up to be men.

• 55:27Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 55:28Speaker 01

  But at the core, I was just sitting at dinner with them last night, and I'm like, I'm so proud of y'all. You know, to see the young men that they've become to be and how in touch and tuned they are, and a lot of them, shoot, little David and Kim are the babies, they're now seventeen. The others are like nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, all the way up to twenty-six, and the way they all come back to each other, come in and check on each other. You want to keep that unity, and you want to also just, again, raising sons, especially black sons.

• 55:57Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 55:57Speaker 01

  Allowing them to be human, have feelings. I love to validate them, like, no, you have every right to feel how you feel, and it's okay to feel as young men.

• 56:06Keke Palmer?

  Yes, yes, that's awesome. Okay, so, last thing on the motherhood. It goes from, I need to protect and teach you, to now I have to trust that I have taught.

• 56:17Speaker 01

  Trust your teachings, is what I call it.

• 56:19Keke Palmer?

  That's what my parent, I mean, my parents, I talk about that all the time with them, with me, right? Because there's a moment where we pick as thieves, and then there's a next moment in your early twenties where it's like, you know, but they really, they really loved me through that.

• 56:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 56:31Keke Palmer?

  And they really supported me while still making me feel like I had my own autonomy. So with sons, with, with, you know, boys, what are you learning as that age really creeps up?

• 56:40Speaker 01

  That's, that's, that's a work in progress as we speak. I mean, but again, we're very close. It, it's him who will like, you know, uh, what, he's so wise, the things that he say, where it's like, he like, you know, we face a lot of things, but we always gonna, this is what he put in my birthday card, we gonna continue to get through it together. I was like, okay, son. Yes. But that's what I mean by instilling those things in your, in your children, and especially for lifestyles like ours, you know? Like, we move around a lot. So I try to keep things as consistent for him as possible.

• 57:15Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 57:16Speaker 01

  And it's shown that it's, it's paying off. We were just talking about colleges yesterday, and I'm like, David, what are you thinking? And I was like, you're such a homebody, and you love family stuff, you know? Like, so you gotta consider that. And he like, yeah, you know, I like my people. And I like, he likes to be near. Like, when he have a birth, his birthday, he always, he said, um, you know, I'm gonna bring my friends, but I need you to bring the old people.

• 57:38Keke Palmer?

  Okay.

• 57:39Speaker 01

  It ain't a party without the old people. He called us, bring the old people. So it's, old people gotta be there. He wants everybody. If it's holidays, of course, he's a kid that get like all types of stuff, and he'll be like, oh, this is for me and all the boys. It's not just for him, it's for everybody. You know what I mean? So like, seeing that still resonate in him at now seventeen, because this is the phase for me. Like, we're in two different phases. You, you know what I mean? Your phase is way, it's way early on, where you're like, okay, who, who are they like?

• 58:08Keke Palmer?

  Yep.

• 58:08Speaker 01

  You know, what, what's their favorite color, type of thing? I'm at the phase, like, who did I raise? Like, who are you? You're kind of like getting to know your child all over again. Because now, everything you invested in them is now blossom. And it's like, okay, who are you? So I'm sitting back with everybody else, like, who are you? What are you gonna do? What are you into? What is your contribution to society? What do you, like, I want to get to know you in this phase. Yeah, so I'm so intrigued by him and proud. Um, and again, people are like, what he gonna do? I don't know, David, what you doing?

• 58:46Keke Palmer?

  DOJ is what you mean.

• 58:49Speaker 01

  He gonna be like, he call me DOJ.

• 58:51Keke Palmer?

  My boy, I got love for you, boy, ay. I don't even know what this means. I just wanted to be cool with you. Whatever y'all do now, kids. Cause he's Gen Alpha or Gen Z?

• 59:03Speaker 01

  All I know is 2009. What is that?

• 59:06Keke Palmer?

  I think that's Gen Z.

• 59:07Speaker 01

  Is that Gen Z?

• 59:08Keke Palmer?

  It is.

• 59:09Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 59:09Keke Palmer?

  Right, somebody from the, from the outside world said yes to us, right?

• 59:13Speaker 01

  I know Gen Z need to get a driver's license to start driving.

• 59:17Keke Palmer?

  Hilarious. He said, I want the show Furb Music. Okay, let's get into the new music. Cause you're working on new music, so I heard. I was gonna get, we were just some music, Jennifer.

• 59:28Speaker 01

  Well, see, Kiki, I feel like I never stopped making music. Think about it.

• 59:31Keke Palmer?

  You just stopped sharing it with us.

• 59:32Speaker 01

  No, no.

• 59:33Keke Palmer?

  Okay, I see what's going on.

• 59:34Speaker 01

  Like, I sing for everything I do. So people are like, oh, she didn't, like, she hasn't come out with an album in like, have a many years. I don't even know. But it's like, to me, I consider whatever I sing for a soundtrack.

• 59:45Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 59:46Speaker 01

  I'm singing a theme song at a happy place. Like, it's still music.

• 59:50Keke Palmer?

  Yes, like, it's, the music is their god.

• 59:51Speaker 01

  I am motivated. And now, I'm not saying a new album is coming just yet, but at some point, it will. I am motivated, inspired by my son, who, again, is a musician. And then, of course, Rashid, because I love how they just go in the studio on their own free will. Rashid creates and writes and create material. And then, little David, he creates his own stuff as well. And I'm like, I want to approach my music like that. I'm a vocalist, so it's like, you send me to the studio to sing a song. Okay, I'm gonna go in the studio, I'm gonna sing the song. I want to get creative, more creative in that way. So I'm inspired to just go in and just record. Um, but I stay singing. I stay recording towards media projects.

• 1:00:34Speaker 01

  So I've been posting pictures here and there, like, me in the studio. I'm in the studio, I told no lies. But, you know, it ain't for, like, an album. Like, right now, right now. Um, but it will, you know, eventually be another album coming at some point.

• 1:00:48Keke Palmer?

  So who would be on your wish list? I, like, for instance, like, I would love to hear what you would come up with Rafael Sadiq.

• 1:00:55Speaker 01

  Well, Rafael Sadiq has written for me before. See, another film. I can't think of the name of it. Black Nativity, we did songs for that. Um, and I think he did a song on one of my albums, too. I love working with Rafael Sadiq.

• 1:01:07Keke Palmer?

  Cause when you talked about the play of it all, I could, I like the band, the instrumentations. Is it, you know what I mean? That funk, that, you know, I'm here for the next. I'm here for the next with you. I would love to hear it. But who, who else would you see?

• 1:01:19Speaker 01

  Who would I like to work with?

• 1:01:20Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 1:01:20Speaker 01

  I still want to work with Wyclef. I know we were talking about doing some stuff together.

• 1:01:24Keke Palmer?

  That would kill.

• 1:01:25Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:01:25Keke Palmer?

  Over the glasses took me out. You was looking like unc that you told me about in church.

• 1:01:30Speaker 01

  You know, you got, you know, you gotta look over the glass.

• 1:01:34Speaker 01

  God, it's so many.

• 1:01:35Keke Palmer?

  I would, I live for the Wyclef of it all.

• 1:01:37Speaker 01

  Wyclef, I definitely want to work with him.

• 1:01:39Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 1:01:40Speaker 01

  Um, who else?

• 1:01:43Keke Palmer?

  Can you with some, I mean, first of all, be in Chicago. You see, I want to say it. I'm excited, I'm ready to produce, I'm ready to create.

• 1:01:49Speaker 01

  Okay, you get in there?

• 1:01:51Keke Palmer?

  I could see you with Will I Am, doing some type of house type record.

• 1:01:54Speaker 01

  Yes, Will or Not, that's my guy. I think the Cousins, I really do. Um, we'll talk about the Will, that's family. Uh, Will, I love working with Will. We've worked together before. So like, all of them I've worked with before.

• 1:02:06Keke Palmer?

  Yeah. We just want to hear 2027 or 2026, you and them.

• 1:02:11Speaker 01

  Yes, yes.

• 1:02:12Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, right? Cause I mean.

• 1:02:14Speaker 01

  Pharrell, too. I need to get him instead of a Pharrell.

• 1:02:16Keke Palmer?

  Come on.

• 1:02:17Speaker 01

  I like Timbaland as well.

• 1:02:18Keke Palmer?

  Cause we're in this second, this is, what do you think? There's a thing, too, like, this is a whole, this would be a whole different version of Jennifer, this album.

• 1:02:28Speaker 01

  It would.

• 1:02:29Keke Palmer?

  What is your, you know, your conversation around where your life is? What you're doing, what you feel, what you think?

• 1:02:33Speaker 01

  What am I singing about?

• 1:02:35Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, records you couldn't have made.

• 1:02:36Speaker 01

  I want to, I want to, I've had so many life experiences, highs of the highs, lows of the lows, everything in between. And that's what I want all my albums to represent now, like, my story, my voice, from that perspective. Cause I'm like the type, well, okay, what am I singing? I'm singing whatever you say sing. It should be my words, my experiences. That's the space I want to come from.

• 1:02:58Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 1:02:58Speaker 01

  Now.

• 1:02:59Keke Palmer?

  You know what I still think about? What was the jam? Oh, my gosh, we, we all overdid it and played it to the nth degree, the Think Like a Man soundtrack.

• 1:03:07Speaker 01

  Hey, la, la.

• 1:03:10Keke Palmer?

  Really? Yes, that music. I love that soundtrack. Honestly, I think what the consensus here is this, I just want a new Jennifer Hudson album. I know you're like being stingy about it.

• 1:03:21Speaker 01

  You hear me?

• 1:03:22Keke Palmer?

  Well, stream it, cause you know they just streamed this day.

• 1:03:24Speaker 01

  See, that's the H kicking in, stream it.

• 1:03:29Keke Palmer?

  Okay, I play a game with all my guests.

• 1:03:30Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:03:37Keke Palmer?

  Okay, so I need to talk about something, because I have been in a set refresh mood, and I am not coming out of it anytime soon. You know how I am. When I get into something, I get into it. And right now, it's my space. And I ain't talking about Tom. What sent me was walking into my local IKEA store and realizing they had hundreds of new products I had never seen before. New colors, new textures, whole collections that weren't there last time. I feel like a kid in there, genuinely. I was loving it. So, let me show you what I've been obsessed with. First of all, this new cushion. It's giving, yes, honey.

• 1:04:17Keke Palmer?

  I put this on my chairs here, and immediately, the whole room felt more pulled together. It's one of those pieces where people walk in and go, oh, okay, she's curating. And I'm like, yes, I am, thank you for noticing. Also, we have candles. Everybody knows I love candles. I got two because I have range. This new one is Red Berries. Mmm, I love that scent. And it's light pink, which is already correct, because it looks beautiful just sitting there. Forty hours of burn time, so she's not going anywhere. And then, this one is a fig leaf scent. It's green, as you can see. It has two wicks and it burns for a hundred hours. A hundred, that's not a candle, that's a commitment.

• 1:05:01Keke Palmer?

  And of course, I've got a new lamp. Oh, my gosh, let me tell you about this lamp. Okay, it's LED, it's dimmable, it's smart, and it does the whole color spectrum thing. So I can shift the lighting depending on what energy I'm in. I'm about to take a selfie and I need this lighting to cooperate energy. She adjusts. The glass is white and clean, and it looks like a piece of art just sitting on my table. And of course, for my tea, both literally and figuratively, I grabbed this new mug, since it's one of those pieces that's simple but elevated. It feels good in your hand, it looks good on the table. Nothing like a great mug, am I right? Fabulous. Here's what I love about all of this.

• 1:05:46Keke Palmer?

  None of it required a renovation. None of it required a whole redesign. I just walked in, found new items that spoke to me, and now my space feels refreshed. And that's what keeps me going back, because there's always something new to discover. New colors, new pieces, new collections I didn't even know existed. It's like a treasure hunt every single time. So, if you haven't been to your local IKEA store in a while, go. I promise you, there's something in there right now that's about to change a whole room for you. Discover what's new at IKEA. Shop the latest products in store or online at ikea.us/discovernew.

• 1:06:31Keke Palmer?

  And I'm really gonna put you to the test with this one, because this is a game, I mean, look, it's about your personal playlist. I'm basically gonna give you a category, and you only get to pick one song.

• 1:06:42Speaker 01

  Do I get like a multiple choice, or?

• 1:06:45Keke Palmer?

  No.

• 1:06:45Speaker 01

  Okay, well, come on.

• 1:06:46Keke Palmer?

  This is, one song only.

• 1:06:49Speaker 01

  My young folks right now, when my boys say.

• 1:06:50Keke Palmer?

  See what I did there? She didn't even catch it.

• 1:06:52Speaker 01

  Oh, oh, wait, what you say, what you say, what you say?

• 1:06:54Keke Palmer?

  It's a Jimi Girl reference. It's no big deal. Um, here we go. One Whitney Houston song. One, only one.

• 1:07:05Speaker 01

  That is so hard. I just love anything Whitney sings.

• 1:07:08Keke Palmer?

  I know.

• 1:07:09Speaker 01

  I love, I didn't know my own strength.

• 1:07:11Keke Palmer?

  I didn't know my own strength. Yeah, knocked down.

• 1:07:15Speaker 01

  You better.

• 1:07:15Keke Palmer?

  Yes, tumble.

• 1:07:17Speaker 01

  You better play Whitney. Okay, that one, I love, uh, her debut performance.

• 1:07:22Keke Palmer?

  Only one, we done, you chose that. One Aretha Franklin song.

• 1:07:28Speaker 01

  Ain't no way.

• 1:07:29Keke Palmer?

  Ain't no way.

• 1:07:30Speaker 01

  You said one.

• 1:07:31Keke Palmer?

  You was ready, though.

• 1:07:32Speaker 01

  I cannot pick just one Whitney or Aretha song. Okay, ain't no way, I will always love you, um, share your love with me.

• 1:07:39Keke Palmer?

  And she going back, she going back, she cheats, y'all. This how you was on your birthday.

• 1:07:44Speaker 01

  Never loved a man, okay. And then Whitney, did I say I will always love you? Greatest love of all.

• 1:07:49Keke Palmer?

  I can't believe that I wanted, I want to dance with somebody, didn't, didn't.

• 1:07:53Speaker 01

  I'd love I want to dance with somebody.

• 1:07:54Keke Palmer?

  Didn't even mention, not even an honorable mention. One Mariah Carey song.

• 1:07:58Speaker 01

  One, Mariah, I give my all. That's my friend.

• 1:08:05Speaker 01

  When we did that, hold on, let me talk about this, Mariah. When we did the O-Sana, cause people like Jennifer's face when they hit the whistle notes. So, Dang You, we share the same MD now. He produced all our vocals, but when you get your vocals, like, what are the, the references?

• 1:08:20Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:20Speaker 01

  Your vocal is the only thing on it.

• 1:08:22Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:23Speaker 01

  So, I didn't hear their whistle. I was like, wait, what am I whispering? They could have let me get up in there.

• 1:08:31Speaker 01

  Because sometimes people think my whistle is singing and it's not, but it's whistling. But they could have gave me the third harmony. And then

• 1:08:38Keke Palmer?

  I agree.

• 1:08:39Speaker 01

  I didn't know. No, I'm just saying, but I love my Ari and I love my Mariah MC. I call my MC.

• 1:08:44Keke Palmer?

  I'm literally about to go and look at that clip.

• 1:08:47Speaker 01

  I didn't hear it until we was like on the video. I'm like, where my whistle? Hell.

• 1:08:53Keke Palmer?

  One Michael Jackson song.

• 1:08:55Speaker 01

  Michael's song?

• 1:08:56Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, I did it.

• 1:08:57Speaker 01

  Uh, I'mma have to go with the Earth song.

• 1:09:01Keke Palmer?

  That is really good.

• 1:09:02Speaker 01

  The Earth song. And you know I can't just pick one. I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it. Okay.

• 1:09:10Keke Palmer?

  Come on, I love the ah.

• 1:09:12Speaker 01

  Don't know what you said right there, but.

• 1:09:13Keke Palmer?

  One song that reminds you of Chicago.

• 1:09:16Speaker 01

  I want to go with a Common song.

• 1:09:18Keke Palmer?

  Which one?

• 1:09:19Speaker 01

  The corner.

• 1:09:20Keke Palmer?

  Ay, Chi-Town's finest.

• 1:09:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:09:23Keke Palmer?

  Okay, um, one song that describes Jennifer Hudson.

• 1:09:28Speaker 01

  Today.

• 1:09:28Keke Palmer?

  Oh, God.

• 1:09:30Speaker 01

  Today.

• 1:09:31Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 1:09:33Speaker 01

  Ooh, that's hard, Kiki.

• 1:09:35Keke Palmer?

  Something that represents fabulous.

• 1:09:38Speaker 01

  I wanna be a billionaire. Billionaire.

• 1:09:44Keke Palmer?

  Whose song is this?

• 1:09:46Speaker 01

  Teeny.

• 1:09:47Keke Palmer?

  Hey, Teeny.

• 1:09:47Speaker 01

  Me and my son love some Afro beats.

• 1:09:49Keke Palmer?

  Okay.

• 1:09:50Speaker 01

  That just came to mind.

• 1:09:51Keke Palmer?

  It's quite affirmative and I think she told us what's happening.

• 1:09:55Speaker 01

  To come.

• 1:09:55Keke Palmer?

  What's to come. Um, okay, I'll give two, two last ones. One song that reminds you of childhood.

• 1:10:03Speaker 01

  Oh, my God, one song.

• 1:10:09Speaker 01

  Why you do this? I don't know why I want to say Greatest Love of All.

• 1:10:16Speaker 01

  That just comes to mind. I was very deep.

• 1:10:19Keke Palmer?

  I thought of Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum in a Dish. And that ain't even really a song.

• 1:10:24Speaker 01

  Okay, well, I mean.

• 1:10:27Keke Palmer?

  Why did I think of Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum and Miss Mary Mack and some, oh, I was just thinking about Hand Game.

• 1:10:31Speaker 01

  Kiki, I was in church singing hymns, Chi.

• 1:10:35Speaker 01

  Okay, you lucky.

• 1:10:36Keke Palmer?

  Period.

• 1:10:38Keke Palmer?

  Also a fabulous song. Okay, last one is one song you'd want to perform at the Super Bowl.

• 1:10:46Speaker 01

  Imagine me doing a halftime show. I already got the vision, Kiki. And I'm telling you, it's gonna come, we know. But look, it'd be like

• 1:10:57Speaker 01

  and you see my silhouette.

• 1:11:01Keke Palmer?

  Ooh, I love that it feels dangerous.

• 1:11:03Speaker 01

  Flash. It a hoo hoo's. Them lights will go flashing. I don't like you see that?

• 1:11:15Speaker 01

  And then Kiki gonna come out there with me.

• 1:11:18Speaker 01

  And we would extend that song. How long is it? It's 13 minutes.

• 1:11:22Keke Palmer?

  In general, the song is really 13 minutes?

• 1:11:25Speaker 01

  No, I'mma make it 13 for the halftime show at the Super Bowl. Now, to sing for the Super Bowl two times. Right? Yeah, so now it's time for me to do my hoo hoo hoo spotlight.

• 1:11:36Keke Palmer?

  I'm here for the spotlight that is always shining on you, Jennifer Hudson, because you are just simply remarkable. Always. Every time I see you, I be so happy. We was cutting up, me and Jessica. Oh, my gosh, who was all there, Coleman Domingo? We were all gagging.

• 1:11:50Speaker 01

  I was so happy to see y'all.

• 1:11:51Keke Palmer?

  Girl, we had you hemmed up in the corner so bad, girl. We wouldn't let you loose.

• 1:11:55Speaker 01

  I loved every minute of it.

• 1:11:57Keke Palmer?

  You're just amazing.

• 1:11:57Speaker 01

  Thank you, you're amazing.

• 1:11:58Keke Palmer?

  Love you to the max.

• 1:11:59Speaker 01

  Thank you, baby.

• 1:12:04Keke Palmer?

  I love this idea of second season because Jennifer is a reminder that just because your life didn't go exactly the way you thought it would or you've already accomplished things you once dreamed about, that doesn't mean there aren't new dreams waiting for you. And I think there's something powerful about getting to a place where it's not just what else can I achieve? But what do I actually want more of in my life? Thank you so much, Jennifer Hudson, for such a beautiful conversation. And thank you all for hanging out with me. Until next time, baby, this is Whoopi Goldberg. No, I'm kidding. Baby, this is Keke Palmer.