Actress and singer Jennifer Hudson is slated to take the stage at the 2023 North American International Auto Show Charity Preview, organizers announced Tuesday.
The Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner performs during the signature black-tie gala at 7:45 p.m. Sept. 15 at Huntington Place, the former TCF Center and Cobo Hall.
“It’s a thrill to have such an incredible talent, especially one who portrayed the Detroit music legend Aretha Franklin, grace our auto show stage on a night that celebrates everything great about this city,” said Thad Szott, the Detroit Auto Show chairman, in a statement.
Hudson portrayed the “Queen of Soul” in the 2021 film “Respect,” and performed the Christian hymn “Amazing Grace” at the icon’s funeral in 2018 at Greater Grace Temple on Detroit’s west side.
Tickets, $400 each or $700 a pair, are now available through the NAIAS website.
Since 1976, the Charity Preview has generated more than $123 million for local charities in southeast Michigan, organizers said.
Beneficiaries of this year’s event include Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan; The Children’s Center; The Children’s Foundation; Detroit Auto Dealers Association Charitable Foundation Fund, a fund of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan; Detroit PAL; and University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
The event kicks off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m. The auto show floor opens from 6 p.m. through 9 p.m. Hudson performs until 8:45 p.m. on the main show floor.
Born in Chicago, Hudson, 41, first generated attention in season three of “American Idol” in 2004 then later starred on Broadway, “Dreamgirls” and more, including releasing four studio albums.
“It was on this very day in 2003 that my best friend @wallybean1 and I traveled all the way to Atlanta, Georgia for my American Idol audition ! 20 years, yall! Look at God !!” she wrote in a post on Instagram on Sunday.
The auto show’s public portion runs from Sept. 16-24.
jaimery@detroitnews.com
X (formerly Twitter): @wordsbyjakkar