Jennifer Hudson is keeping her family front and center this holiday season, cemented more so by the release of her debut Christmas album, The Gift of Love .
The American Idol alum, 43, spoke with Billboard recently about following in traditions set by her family growing up in Chicago when it came to creating the album, and how it also includes the sweetest nod to her son, 15-year-old David .
While breaking down some of the tracks she chose for the record, she fondly spoke of her teenager as she detailed the track “Make It to Christmas.”
“‘Make It to Christmas’ is my son’s favorite song,” she gushed as to why it made it onto the record. “It speaks to like, we all work all year, right?”
“But we are waiting to get to the end of that tunnel, where the lights are red and green, to that holiday season, where we can go home at that one time of year and enjoy each other and our families.”
When she was further asked how she picked each track for the album, she further explained: “I picked what was most personal to me. Like ‘The Christmas Song,’ for instance, my grandmother used to love that song, so I recall hearing that as a little girl throughout each and every holiday of her playing that song — Nat King Cole with the satin voice — so that made me want to pay tribute to her in that way.”