(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Jennifer Hudson says she can handle being nit-picked by the music industry.

The 29-year-old singer-and-actress became famous in 2004 when she was a contestant on television talent show American Idol.

British music mogul Simon Cowell was a judge on the programme at the time Jennifer appeared, and she is grateful to him for preparing her for the harsh world of the music industry.

I just feel like American Idol is and was the perfect schooling, boot camp, to prepare you for this industry. Thats what I loved about Simon Cowell. Yes, hes brutally honest, but hes bracing you for the industry, she told a British newspaper. You got to be prepared for whatever. Not everybodys gonna love you. You will always be nit-picked apart. Had he not sent me through that, I might not have been prepared for today.

Jennifer also discussed her latest album I Remember Me. The songstress feels far more confident about it than she did with her self-titled debut studio album.

This time I know my direction, more so than the first time, [when it was a case of] Lets find Jennifer some hits and put 'em out there she explained. (C) Cover Media