Kate Hudson has always danced around music onscreen, whether leading her breakout film “Almost Famous” as a band obsessee (don’t dare say groupie) to almost starring in “Moulin Rouge!” Plus, no one can forget Hudson’s iconic “You’re So Vain” karaoke in “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” Or her “Cinema Italiano” performance in “Nine,” for those who actually saw that movie, anyway.
Now, the actress is fully embracing music for her next act: singer/songwriter.
Hudson, who released her album “Glorious” earlier this year, told IndieWire that, while dates aren’t set yet, she will be going on tour — and admitted that launching her singing career was a “sigh of relief” after decades onscreen.
“I do [have plans for a tour]. It’s been really amazing, and I love it. I just love it so much,” Hudson said of performing onstage. “I’m about to go shoot a movie in October, but I’ve been playing a bunch of different gigs, and I’ve been sprinkling shows around, and then I’ll probably go on tour at some point early next year. Honestly, I’m very happy onstage. I love to write music more than anything. Songwriting has always been my first love.”
The star of the Toronto Film Festival dark comedy “Shell” said that her album “Glorious” allowed her to reconnect with her “energy of creation” as an artist. Part of that process was shedding the industry’s preconceived notions about limiting Hudson to being an actress as opposed to an all-around creative.
“I’ve never been a very calculated person in terms of my career. I’ve always been very open and spontaneous. I’ve never been the kind of person that was like, ‘This is what it needs to look like, and therefore that’s what I’m going to do.’ That’s not how I run my life,” Hudson said. “So, my life sort of unfolded when I was young as an actor, and I love it… I love all aspects of performing, dancing, singing, acting, that’s what I do. I love it. But then, because of circumstances, your life sort of points you in a direction and then sometimes you get stuck in that direction like, ‘Oh, this is what it is forever, and it will never be any different than this.’ And then I realized that’s just not how anything creative should work ever.”
Hudson continued, “You can’t be a real creative and truly live in your creative place if you’re not risking doing new things. I believe that creators should always be breaking barriers and boundaries. We should never conform to it. That goes against the energy of creation. When people try to put you in a box or conform you, it’s much more interesting to live a life as an artist to break out of those boxes, whether they like it or not. As you get older, I think you actually connect with that more. And when you do, it feels like a big sigh of relief, like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s how I should be.’ Live your life the way you want to live as a creator and an artist, not how people want you to live as an artist. It’s like a different perspective, and it can be scary. So to actually put [the album] out and then to feel like it was received so warmly … it just made me feel just like a big void — that I had that I didn’t know that I had — had been filled.”
But coming out of her “Shell” with “Glorious” was something that Hudson had to brace for.
“I really believe that having the courage to put out something that felt so personal to me and that I was nervous about putting out into the world, to face that rejection from something that is your number one love, is a hard thing to do,” she said. “And I’m just so happy that I said, ‘Fuck it. I’m gonna do it.’ And now I really feel like it’s brought me more peace.”
While Hudson has voiced her aspiration to portray Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks in a biopic, the multi-hyphenate star teased that all her “bucket list” projects inevitably involve music.
“I love music in movies. Those are my favorite kind of the movies that stick with me throughout my life,” Hudson said, citing her own “nostalgic” tastes as a child of the ’80s. “When I got into the whole John Hughes world, music was huge. Those songs were the hit songs of that generation and those songs will always make you think of that cinematic experience. I still believe in that marriage of cinema and music, and some people just do it better than others.”
Hudson is passionate about the power of needle drops onscreen, so much so that any movies she backs will have a great soundtrack.
“I always feel like those are the things to fight for is like music choices and movies,” Hudson said. “I get sad sometimes when people won’t spend the money on great music in movies. It’s sad they don’t realize how powerful that can be at times.”
But that isn’t lost on Hudson, whose slated musical will probably include original songs, too.
“Writing a musical is one of the things I’ve always wanted to do. I’m sure, at some point, I’ll get into that. It might be when I’m much older,” Hudson said. “These are all things that are on my bucket list. I’m just so grateful that music will now continue to be in my life forever, and I’ll be able to share it forever until I go wherever we go when we die. That has been the greatest thing for me this, and it was a real game changer.”
