Recording Academy to Honor Jennifer Hudson at Grammys On the Hill Awards, 4/17

The Recording Academy - the organization internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards- will present its 2013 GRAMMYs on the HillAwards in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 17 at the Hamilton. Known as "Washington's most interesting mix of music and politics," the event will honor GRAMMY and Academy Awardwinner Jennifer Hudson for her artistic achievements and generosity as a philanthropist.

"We are elated to recognize Jennifer Hudson as not only a gifted musician and actress but as an extraordinary humanitarian who has selflessly contributed her time and talent to numerous worthwhile causes," said Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow . "She is one of the industry's most enduring, giving and gifted women, and we are privileged to be honoring her artistry, her commitment, and her generosity."

GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards: April 17

The Grammys on the Hill Awards will take place on April 17 at the Hamilton with special guest presenters and performers, and will recognize Hudson with The Academy's Recording Artists' Coalition Award (named for The Academy's artists' rights program founded by Don Henley and Sheryl Crow ). The event will include a cocktail reception and dinner preceding the awards ceremony, and will also thank key legislators who help improve the environment for music makers. Proceeds will benefit the GRAMMY Foundation's Signature Schools, which provides support for underserved music programs throughout the country, and a GRAMMY Foundation Signature School that has demonstrated excellence in music education will receive a grant to support its music initiatives. The evening is sponsored by SESAC.

GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day: April 18

The day after the Awards ceremony, The Recording Academy will host GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day, where hundreds of music professionals from across the country will visit with legislators to advance pro-music policies that improve the environment for music and its makers. Now in its eighth year, it is the music community's only annual advocacy day in Washington, and features a morning briefing with keynote speeches by leading legislators and lobbying members of Congress on Capitol Hill.

About Jennifer Hudson

An Academy Award-winning actress, GRAMMY Award-winning recording artist and bestselling author, Jennifer Hudson is an extraordinary talent. From humble beginnings, Hudson began singing in a small Chicago church where, week after week, she brought the congregation to its feet. From there, she's gone on to worldwide acclaim.

In 2007, Hudson won an Academy Award for her role as Effie in the SMASH hit Dreamgirls, an adaptation of the Broadway musical. Her Breakout film performance also garnered her a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BAFTA, and an NAACP Image Award. She was also honored by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the National Board of Review, and was named Entertainer of the Year at the Soul Train Awards.

Hudson also received an NAACP Image Award nomination in 2009 for her role in FOX Searchlight's The Secret Life of Bees, co-starred in the box-office hit Sex and the City, and was most recently seen in the Farrelly brothers' comedy The Three Stooges.

Hudson has made the same kind of impact in the world of music with the successful release of both of her Arista Records albums. In 2008, her debut self-titled album won a GRAMMY for Best R&B Album, which was presented by one of Hudson's idols, Whitney Houston . The RIAA gold-certified album entered the Billboard Top 200 at No. 2, marked the biggest first week sales for an R&B female entry since 2004, and has since sold more than 1.1 million albums worldwide to date. Most recently, she released her sophomore album, I Remember Me, in 2011, to rave reviews. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 and the R&B Albums charts, and has since been certified gold by the RIAA.

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