An American Idol meets her idol! Jennifer Hudson got to live out one of her biggest wishes to sing with Dionne Warwick during an episode of her show on Friday, December 16. The singer and host, 41, welcomed the R&B icon, 82, as a guest and asked if they could sing a duet together, revealing that they chose to do Dionne’s 1979 tune “All The Time.”
Before delivering a soul and sweet rendition of the track, Jennifer revealed how long she’d been hoping to get to sing with Dionne, and she handed her a microphone. “I cannot have you here and not sing with you. Can we sing a bit?” she said. “Oh my God. I’ve been wanting to do this.”
As they finished, Jennifer was clearly overwhelmed with emotion and nearly fell over on the couch before showing her gratitude to the singer. “Thank you so much for that. Can I give you a hug?” she said, before reaching over and hugging Dionne.
Before they sang the song, Dionne talked about getting asked to sing with Jennifer beforehand, and she explained that the choice that the “Spotlight” star had chosen wasn’t exactly in her regular setlists. “When they came to me and said, ‘Jennifer would like to sing with you.’ I said, ‘Of course, I’d love to sing with her.’ I said, ‘What does she want to sing?'” she said. “She chose the song. I’ve gotta tell you the truth. I’ve not sung [it] since I recorded it. Why she chose this song, I’ll never know.”
After a laugh, Jennifer explained that she’s a real superfan, and likes finding hidden gems in the discography. “Growing up as a kid, I would be the one to always pick the songs that—I’m a fan. I love some music, so I’m going to go dig up every single record under the sun. People would be like, ‘Jennifer, where’d you get this song from?'” she said.
Jennifer proceeded to explain why Dionne’s music was so special to her, as it was a key moment early in her career. “My original audition song for American Idol was ‘Empty Plates,'” she said. “I fell in love with ‘All The Time.’ I’ve always loved this song, and that’s the song I want to sing with her. She says she don’t remember singing it.”