Turns out, Jennifer Hudson lip-synched the national anthem before Sunday night’s Super Bowl.

The reason?

“This was such an important performance, because it’s the first time everyone has seen Jennifer,” the show’s producer, Ricky Minor, said of Hudson, who marked her first public performance on Sunday since her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were fatally shot in October. “But she’s in such a great place, with such great spirits, and time can heal her wounds. She’s on fire right now and totally grounded.”

Before her performance, Minor insisted that Hudson sing to the prerecorded track.

“That’s the right way to do it,” said Minor, who also produced Whitney Houston’s powerful 1991 rendition of the anthem. “There’s too many variables to go live. I would never recommend any artist go live, because the slightest glitch would devastate the performance.”

After the performance, Minor said Hudson asked him, “How did I do?”

“I told her, ‘Touchdown!’” he said.

He said her two cell phones also lit up “like slot machines” after her performance. She even got a text message from her Dreamgirls costar Jamie Foxx.

“His text said ‘Amazing. It brought tears to my eyes,’” Minor said. “She’s just getting so much love.”

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Jennifer Hudson will sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in what will be her first performance since her family murder tragedy last October.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed to the Associated Press on Wednesday that the Dreamgirls Oscar winner, 27, will deliver “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Tampa, Fla., event on Feb. 1.

Her Super Bowl honor will come just days before Hudson is also scheduled to sing the songs of Neil Diamond at a Feb. 6 MusiCares Person of the Year gala in Los Angeles.

Hudson has been in seclusion since her mother, brother and nephew were killed in Chicago.

E! News on Tuesday first reported Hudson’s Super Bowl appearance.

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Since the Oct. 24 murders of her mother, brother and nephew, Jennifer Hudson has been keeping a low profile. But now the Academy Award winner, 27, and fiancé David Otunga are finally venturing out. On Dec. 26, Jennifer and David had dinner at Chicago’s Calypso Cafe. “They were just trying to have a nice relaxing meal at one of their favorite spots,” Matt Peebles, the restaurant’s general manager, tells Life & Style. “Jennifer is a regular; she used to come in here a good amount. I noticed them when they walked in, and I took them to the private dining room so they could enjoy dinner.” But, Matt adds, this recent visit was definitely more somber than usual: “They often sit in the dining room, and fans have approached her there. This time was a little different, with the recent tragedies. It was very low-key and discreet.”

Then on Jan. 3, the couple were spotted shopping with friends at high-end department store Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue. “Jennifer told the store manager that she was looking for a dress to wear to church, but she didn’t want to spend ‘a million dollars,’” an eyewitness tells Life & Style. “She ended up buying a dress for about $100 and tights.” Though rumors that the Dreamgirls star was to perform at Barack Obama’s inauguration turned out to be false, the American Idol alum is on the docket for the MusiCares Person of the Year Gala in February. We can’t wait to see (and hear!) Jennifer perform again.

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Jennifer Hudson has been announced to be among the Grammy nominees who’ll sing the songs of Neil Diamond at February’s MusiCares Person of the Year gala.

The Grammy week event could mark the first public appearance of the Dreamgirls Oscar winner since the tragic events in late October, when her mother, brother and nephew were killed in Chicago.

Besides Hudson, those announced to perform Feb. 6 at the Los Angeles Convention Center also include Tim McGraw, Coldplay, Josh Groban and Foo Fighters, Raul Malo and Adele, reports Variety.

The 51st annual Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 8 at L.A.’s Staples Center.

Earlier this month, Hudson, 27, was said to be filming her video for the single “If It Isn’t Love” – which originally had been scheduled at the time the tragedy occurred.

Hudson’s brother-in-law, William Balfour, was charged Dec. 2 with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion.

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William “Flex” Balfour has been officially charged with three counts of first degree murder and one count of home invasion in relation to the October murders of Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew, a spokesperson for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office confirms to Usmagazine.com.

The lone suspect, who was arrested Monday on the charges, will face a judge in Chicago Wednesday for a bond hearing, spokesperson Tandra Simonton tells Us.

Balfour, 27, has been held in custody in the Stateville Correctional Center - which is about 45 miles west of Chicago - on violation of parole stemming from an attempted murder conviction in 1999.

Balfour is the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister, Julia.

The couple had had screaming matches and had “been having problems, but I never expected anything like this,” neighbor Angela Russell told Us the week after the murders.(Balfour’s mother has insisted her son “had nothing to do with this.”)

Hudson, who won an Oscar in 2006’s Dreamgirls, says she’s grateful to her fans for helping her bounce back after the tragedy.

“I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” she wrote on her MySpace blog Nov. 14. “My sister and I take great comfort and strength from your love and concern. jhud”

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Jennifer Hudson’s family announced Thursday a new foundation for families of murder victims.

The Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims is named in honor of the singer-actress’s slain mother Darnell Hudson Donerson, brother Jason Hudson and nephew Julian King.

“The specific purpose of the Foundation is to care for the needs of families who have lost relatives to a violent crime,” the family says in a statement. “This encompasses their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter as well as grief counseling.”

Donations to the Hudson-King Foundation can be sent:
c/o Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson, LLP
Attn: William L. Abrams, Esq.
237 West 35th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10001

The foundation announcement followed a prayer vigil Wednesday night in Chicago.

“Jennifer sang her first song in this church – she said her first prayer in this church,” her cousin Shari Nichols Witt said of the Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church. Witt also spoke fondly of the actress-singer’s slain nephew, saying 7-year-old Julian King “seemed like he was ahead of his time.”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who spoke at the vigil, told PEOPLE that Hudson, 27, and her family “are overwhelmed by the suddenness and the unexpectedness of it all. This family knows triumph, and they also know tragedy.”

As the community grieved the loss of the Dreamgirls star’s relatives, the 27-year-old parolee considered a suspect in their shooting deaths, William Balfour, remained in police custody Thursday.

Balfour – the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister Julia – was being held on an alleged parole violation.

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