Jennifer Hudson’s Birthday Serenade in Times Square

Jennifer Hudson marked the launch of “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” turning 41, and a billboard in Times Square with a massive crowd and celebration this week.

She told “Extra,” “It is the best way to kick off 41. I cannot believe… my show debuted on my 41st birthday and I get to be in the middle of Times Square to celebrate it, and always think when I am working on birthdays [that] if I wasn’t doing it, this is what I would be wishing over that candle… So to be able to do it, I do not take it lightly. I am so grateful to be here.”

As far as having a billboard in Times Square, she said, “It’s a dream. It’s a blessing. It’s surreal. I keep looking at everyone like, ‘Is this real?’… It’s amazing when you can imagine something in your mind and watch it manifest… There is no greater reward and no better feeling… I keep saying, ‘You guys are in my dream’… This is what I dreamt about, so to be here is living the dream.”

“The Jennifer Hudson Show” has a star-studded list of guests on the horizon too. Next week Kristin Chenoweth, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Connie Britton, and Randy Jackson will be stopping by.