JENNIFER HUDSON

Hudson's debut album has been nearly two years in the making, but her mentor Clive Davis must finally be happy, because it's scheduled for a Sept. 30 release. I've heard a few tracks, and can confirm that the word Hudson most often uses to describe the disc -- "variety" -- applies. The final track listing remains unsolidified; what I heard ranged from blockbuster heart-renders to hip-hop-flavored experiments.

The best cuts include the super-sassy Timbaland production "Pocketbook," which features a lascivious rap from Ludacris, and the smooth heartbreaker "Invisible," helmed by the Underdogs, the production team behind the "Dreamgirls" soundtrack.

The first single, "Spotlight" is already heating up the charts.

BEYONCE KNOWLES

Beyoncé has finally set a release date for her as-yet-untitled third studio album: The wannabe icon will unleash her new tunes on Nov. 18. While she probably doesn't need to worry too much about hyping the hotly anticipated release, she'll still be amping things up on Oct. 7, when she simultaneously releases the first two singles from the album, "If I Were A Boy" and "Single Ladies."

According to her Columbia record label is the Grammy winner's "most personal, reflective and revelatory collection to date."

The 27-year-old cowrote and coproduced every track on the album.

BRTINEY SPEARS

Britney Spears shouldn't expect to work with Jermaine Dupri on her new album.  The über-producer, who's worked with some of the biggest names in the music biz—Mariah Carey, Usher, Kanye West and girlfriend Janet Jackson, to name a few—had an unexpected response when he was asked why: "I don't think she needs me... Her last album was a good album. She probably would have sold three million records if everybody wasn't paying attention to her babies and all that."

Ne-Yo, on the other hand, says he'd hook up with Ms. Spears, because they were supposed to work together on her last album. Plans got sidetracked, because of Brit's then-troubled private life.

Among the producers on Spears' new CD are Nate "Danja" Hills and Max Martin, who produced some of her biggest hits, including her first, "Baby One More Time." The first single, "Womanizer," will be released to radio Sept. 22, her record label, Jive/Zomba, announced Monday. 

 Her new album, "Circus" is set for release Dec. 2.