Jennifer Hudson recently enlisted the help of two loved ones.
The daytime talk show host, 43, tells PEOPLE exclusively how her 15-year-old son David Daniel Otunga Jr. and her boyfriend Common both did their part to create some Christmas magic for her new Christmas project.
“[My son] helped name this holiday album, The gift of love,” Hudson says of Otunga Jr. – which she shares with her ex-fiancé, former WWE star David Otunga – while talking about her Old Navy holiday campaign.
“He is a holiday fanatic just like me. He has been very present in all of this,” adds the EGOT winner. “We sat by the fireplace and watched holiday movies together. He even said, “Mom, this song right here is my favorite song from the Christmas album.” He gives his two cents. He is encouraging, he helped me learn different notes.”
Chris Haston/Warner Bros.
The gift of love, released in October, it is Hudson’s first holiday album and first album since its release Respect soundtrack in 2021 and JHUD in 2014.
“Everything is family-oriented, even that process,” Hudson emphasizes.
But a love of music and the holidays isn’t the only thing Hudson hopes to pass on, she hopes to instill an important Christmas tradition: giving.
“He’s always looking for gifts to give to others,” Hudson says of her son. “He’s a giver. And that’s how he was raised. That is the tradition that is in him. He looks a lot like me. He loves seeing everyone come together and eat together, have a good time together and see the unity in everything.”
Never miss a story: Sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The duo is spending Christmas this year, as they do every year, by going to Hudson’s hometown of Chicago: “We call it ‘flying in for Christmas’. “
Hudson’s son wasn’t the only person close to her who helped with the album. Hudson and Common, who have fueled dating rumors since 2022 and confirmed their romantic relationship in January 2024, collaborated on the track “Almost Christmas.”
“I said, ‘It was the night before Christmas and all over the house,’ and then he came in and turned it around and started freestyling it and really making it personal,” Hudson recalls. “Then I thought, ‘Actually, this would be a really cool idea for my holiday album [he] do [his] interpretation of what that would be.’ And then came the singing part, where we merged our musical worlds.”
Hudson’s album release coincides with her ‘Love is in the House’ collaboration with Old Navy. The gift of love will be sold in select Old Navy stores in cities where Hudson is on tour, such as Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York City.
“To think that I get to go to Old Navy and one, shop and two, see my holiday album, that in itself is a Christmas gift to me,” Hudson says.
