Reality Roll Call

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The mother and brother of Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson were found shot to death in a South Side residence Friday afternoon.

Police issued an Amber Alert for a missing 7-year-old child, a nephew of Hudson’s.

Hudson’s mother, 57-year-old Darnell Hudson Donerson, was one of two adults found fatally shot at a home at 70th Street and Yale Avenue, said Willie Davis, pastor of Progressive Baptist Church, where Jennifer Hudson has been a member.

The other victim was her brother, Jason, a relative said.

“This is a very sad day to get that kind of news,” Davis said. “This is really going to be a major, major blow to such a wonderful person … But we know through our faith in God she’ll get through it.”

Davis said Hudson’s relationship with her mother was “very close.” The singer was expected to arrive in Chicago from Florida, he said.

It’s seems like VH1 reality’s HBIC, Tiffany Pollard of I Love New York and New York Goes to Hollywood fame, is not at all happy with the impending nuptuals of her former reality show date, David “Punk” Otunga and former American Idol contestant, turned Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson. She was recently interviewed by In Touch magazine, and she feels that the marriage won’t last, and that David Otunga is a bit of a gold-digging status seeker. She also seemed to think that something was wrong with the Harvard Law School grad because he was respectful enough not to “try anything” on her. From InTouchWeekly.com:

Although the rumors were swirling this summer that American Idol contestant, and Emmy winner Jennifer Hudson was dating David “Punk” Otunga, we haven’t written about it, because we had nothing concrete. Well, its seems that the two reality show alumni are engaged to be married.

The couple, who are both from Chicago, have been dating for less than a year, but love does not have a timetable. According to Hudson’s spokesperson, the two got engaged Friday night in Los Angeles.

Thinking about which season of American Idol produced the most prominently successful careers beyond the obligatory summer alumni tour, I would have to say that season 3 stands out among the rest. That season gave us the winner, Fantasia Barrino, who became so popular that she decided to become a one named entity. She has had recording success, starred in a biographical movie on Lifetime, won awards, and has starred in The Color Purple on Broadway.

There also was runner-up Diana DiGarmo, who we last saw recently on CMT’s reality show, Gone Country. And the prematurely eliminated Jennifer Hudson, who wowed audiences with her Oscar winning performance in Dreamgirls. She continues to stretch herself creatively by choosing challenging movie roles. Even ex-football player Matt Rogers is doing just fine as the host of the Discovery Channel’s Really Big Things and getting gigs as a correspondent on various entertainment news shows.
The other thing about the third season, where is half of the top 12 were under 20 years old, is that there were two young girls from Hawaii: hip hop styler Camile Velasco, and Jasmine Trias.