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Jennifer Hudson opened up about the viral success of the Spirit Tunnel on The Jennifer Hudson Show in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE
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The Spirit Tunnel is a lively tradition that sees the show’s crew welcoming guests into the studio by becoming a cheer squad
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“What better way to spread joy than through song?” she says
Jennifer Hudson is spreading joy!
The actress, 43, opened up about the viral success of the Spirit Tunnel on The Jennifer Hudson Show in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE.
“Our goal and mission for season 3 was to choose joy,” she says of her daytime talk show. “What better way to spread joy than through song? Now, we have the whole world chanting and singing.”
The Spirit Tunnel is a lively tradition that sees the show’s crew welcoming guests into the studio by becoming a cheer squad. The guests move and groove down a backstage hallway surrounded by staff, who sing a custom chant while clapping along.
Chris Haston/WBTV/Getty
Jennifer Hudson appears on ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’ on April 23, 2025 in Burbank, Calif.
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A plethora of celebrities have participated in the tradition, including Gwen Stefani, Keke Palmer and Shemar Moore. Fans have come to expect a tunnel for every guest, but participation is voluntary. Actor Noah Wyle famously skipped his opportunity while promoting The Pitt because of a dancing mishap in 1984 that still haunts him.
Hudson was surprised with a Spirit Tunnel of her own during her visit to see Broadway’s Smash on May 15. The EGOT winner serves as a co-producer of the Tony-nominated musical and starred in the second season of the 2012 NBC series of the same name.
“The [Smash] cast did a Spirit Tunnel for me,” she shares with excitement. “People everywhere are doing Spirit Tunnels. And it’s like, ‘Wow, we got the whole world singing right now.’ What better way to spread joy and love than that?”
The musical posted a video of the special welcoming on Instagram, writing, “WE CAN’T LET GO! A #SmashBway spirit tunnel for our producer @iamjhud🌟.”
Hudson starred in the television series as Broadway actress Veronica Moore, and sang the original song “I Can’t Let Go,” penned by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. When the actress visited the stage show, she joined the songwriters and cast on stage during the curtain call. There, she shared a few encouraging words and belted out a line of the song.
Speaking with PEOPLE about the special event, Hudson expressed that the musical could help usher in a comeback for the cult-favorite series.
“It’s showing how much love and support is out there for the show,” she said. “I think it could be a vehicle to help bring the [TV] show back, because it clearly has a strong following and a lot of supporters. That’s how the Broadway show is able to exist.”
Paras Griffin/WireImage
Jennifer Hudson attends the 56th NAACP Image Awards Creative Honors on Feb. 21, 2025 in Los Angeles.
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Jay Ellis, currently preparing for his Off-Broadway debut in Duke & Roya, recently shared his Spirit Tunnel experience with PEOPLE.
“I was just like, ‘Listen, man, I only get one time down this tunnel. I may not get this again. I don’t know what they’re going to sing, but I may not get this again, but I’m going to take every single moment and eat it up. I’m going to soak up every single moment,’” he said while looking back on his April 14 appearance on the talk show.
“What you not going to say is I didn’t have no joy walking down that Spirit Tunnel because I had all the joy walking down that Spirit Tunnel. You can’t take that away from me,” Ellis added.
Read the original article on People
