With all due respect, a counterpoint
We all know I love me some J-Hud. Like furreal. (Furreal, player? Furreal). Love her. I seriously want her to sing at my funeral. And if she can't make it, then can someone just push play and we all just sit and listen to "Jesus Promised Me a Home Over There?" OK, so we have that established. Now, let's get to the point. Or, the counterpoint, really.
Fantasia owns "I'm Here." The first time I heard her sing it on Idol, I cried. When I saw her perform it on the Tonys, more tears and chills from head to toe. And when I was fortunate enough to see her perform it in person on Broadway, I completely lost it. I was a Weepy Wilma in my seat. I couldn't stop the tears. I think my entire row knew I was a sobby mess because I was crying so hard my chair shook all the seats. The woman has a gift and this song is perfect for her. I love J-Hud and always will. She did well with it, but she can't beat Fantasia's for me. She just can't. She even does it better on her album. She just knows the right touches for the song. It's more than the song for her. She knows Celie and she knows the song. There is a time to be delicate and a time to be strong. J-Hud oversings it in my opinion. Fantasia does it perfectly. So here we go. Here's the winner, Nation.