“Daddy Issues” and “Regret” Inspired Kate Hudson’s Debut Album
"It was like a memoir for me," Hudson said of the collaborative songwriting process with fiancé Danny Fujikawa.
After secretly writing music for over 20 years, Kate Hudson is ready to get into the recording studio.
Like many, Hudson found her career at a crossroads during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday’s episode of the Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi podcast, the actress admitted she’d always dreamed of being a singer-songwriter but because of her complex relationship with her biological father, famed musician Bill Hudson, she completely abandoned the idea as a teen instead.
“Earlier on in my career, I thought I would definitely [pursue] music, but then Almost Famous happened,” Hudson recalled. Her breakout role as Penny Lane would go on to earn her an Oscar nomination.
Hudson ironically plays a groupie in the 2000 hit film, but later “rejected” the idea of becoming a musical artist herself due to what she calls unresolved “daddy issues.” Her mom, Goldie Hawn, was married to her biological father from 1976 to 1982.
By the time she was three, her father was out of the picture, leaving her mom behind with two young children: her and her brother Oliver.
“Later on I kind of rejected it because I was like, ‘You know what?’ As you do when you’re dealing with daddy issues. I don’t want to connect to that part because that’s my dad. That’s all dad,” Hudson explained.
So, she decided to put her music career on hold, indefinitely.
“If I put that out in the world and people didn’t like it, it would destroy me,” she said. “If that one connection that I had to him, I failed miserably at, would be devastating to me. I wasn’t ready for that.”
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However, now in her early 40s, Hudson doesn’t want to look back on her career with any regrets. Last December, the Bride Wars actress announced she would be dropping her debut album in 2023.
While a release date has yet to be set, Hudson did tease that she and her composer fiancé Danny Fujikawa wrote 26 songs for the record —and recently shared with fans on Instagram “finally realized it’s time to say f#%! it and saaaannngg!!!!”
The album currently doesn’t have a title, Hudson admitted, but they’re nearing the end of the process. “I would say we’re like 70 percent there — I mean, pretty soon we’re going to be like 90 percent there,” she said on the podcast.
To date, Hudson says this is her most vulnerable piece of work and the closest she’s ever been to writing “a memoir.”
“This to me was like [my version of] writing a book. It’s so personal. I’ve never done anything like this, that’s fully just me putting it out there,” she said.
“I was so terrified of doing that. During COVID, I was like, ‘If I don’t do it, that it’ll be the only regret — so I’m gonna just do it.’ I’m so excited because the music turned out really wonderful. I can’t wait for people to hear,” Hudson added.
Apart from a debut album, Hudson also has a new movie coming out this year. The actress is returning to her rom-com roots in A Little White Lie. The film is expected to hit theaters on April 13.
