Jennifer Hudson’s trip from “American Idol”-also ran to Oscar-winning actress began with the release of “Dreamgirls” nearly two years ago. Since then, talk about a transition back to singer in the form of an album has run rampant, with a scheduled release date of late 2007 having come and gone.

Finally, with the release of the single “Spotlight”, an album release date appears to be on the horizon, and the video officially premiered this past Tuesday. While the song (co-written by Ne-Yo, natch) doesn’t exactly have “huge pop single” written all over it, it’s a pleasant enough ditty that calls to mind early-Eighties soul/dance heavyweights like Cheryl Lynn and Evelyn “Champagne” King. It’s one of the few Ne-Yo songs that I can’t identify as his within 10 seconds, and Jennifer (and that ginormous rack) are going full force.

What do you folks think?