Hudson rose to fame in 2004 as a finalist on the third season of American Idol, placing seventh. She made her film debut as Effie White in the musical Dreamgirls (2006), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the youngest African-American to win in a competitive acting category. After signing to Arista Records, Hudson released her self-titled debut studio album in 2008, which was certified Gold in the US and the UK, and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album.
Hudson's subsequent studio albums, I Remember Me (2011) and JHUD (2014), both charted within the top ten of the Billboard 200, with the former also being certified Gold in the US. Meanwhile, her other acting roles include the films Sex and the City (2008), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), Winnie Mandela (2011), Black Nativity (2013), Sing (2016), Cats (2019) and Respect (2021), the television shows Smash (2012), Empire (2015) and Confirmation (2016), and her Broadway debut with the musical The Color Purple. Hudson also contributed as a coach on the UK and the US version of The Voice from 2017 up to 2019, becoming the first female coach to win the former.
What's Wrong
Jennifer Hudson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A feeling I ain't never felt before
And it came from you (And it came from me)
So that means you can make it go away make it go away
And I don't like
The way you've been hanging around with your face on the ground
What's the deal?
Can you make it go away? Make it go away
[Chorus]
What's wrong with my baby (what's wrong with my baby)
What's wrong with me? (what's wrong with me)
What's wrong with us (what's wrong with us)
What's wrong with we (what's wrong with we)
Cause every time we try to talk and turn this thing around
Tell me what's the deal and then I try to work it out
Is it you (you)
Is it me (me)
Is it us (us)
It is we (we)
This is so much pain.
Baby calm down
Believe it or not you got me feeling this way
And I never ever felt this way before
Didn't expect that from you
You tryin' to make me go away
And I don't like
The way we keep on fussing and fight about yesterday and last night
That's old news
We need to be strong
But you making me go away
[Chorus]
We've gone through so much pain
Now lets stop playing these games
If we gonna make it work lets just act our own age
Girl I'm hearing everything you saying but I don't wanna make you go away
I know I act like I don't care but I'm just tryin' play it cool
But if we keeping acting this way then it'll just make us both some fools
All the hurt and the lies and the pain
Make it go away make it go away
[Chorus]
In Jennifer Hudson's song What's Wrong, the singer expresses a feeling she has never felt before that has been caused by someone else. She tells the person that they have the ability to make this feeling go away, but they haven't been doing enough to help her ease it. She questions what's wrong with herself, the person, and their relationship, and wonders whether they can work it out together. In the second verse, she acknowledges the pain they have been through in the past and hints that they need to grow up and stop playing games if they want to make things work. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the need for the issues to be resolved and for the pain to go away.
Overall, the song seems to touch on the struggle and frustration of trying to make a relationship work when it feels like both parties are not on the same page. The singer is questioning herself, her partner, and the relationship, trying to get to the root of the problem and find a way to resolve it. The lyrics also highlight the importance of communication, understanding, and forgiveness in relationships, and the importance of being honest with oneself and one's partner.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got this feeling today
I'm experiencing new emotions
A feeling I ain't never felt before
These emotions are completely foreign to me
And it came from you (And it came from me)
Our connection is the source of these emotions
So that means you can make it go away make it go away
You have the power to help me control these emotions
And I don't like
These emotions are uncomfortable
The way you've been hanging around with your face on the ground
Your behavior is worrisome and concerning to me
What's the deal?
What's going on? Why are you acting this way?
Can you make it go away? Make it go away
Please help me control these emotions and figure out the situation
What's wrong with my baby (what's wrong with my baby)
What's wrong with our relationship?
What's wrong with me? (what's wrong with me)
What am I doing wrong?
What's wrong with us (what's wrong with us)
What's wrong with our relationship?
What's wrong with we (what's wrong with we)
What's wrong with us together?
Cause every time we try to talk and turn this thing around
Our attempts to solve the issue aren't working
Tell me what's the deal and then I try to work it out
Please communicate with me so we can resolve the problem
Is it you (you)
Are you the problem?
Is it me (me)
Am I the problem?
Is it us (us)
Is our relationship the problem?
It is we (we)
We are both responsible for the problem
This is so much pain.
This situation is causing a lot of emotional distress
Baby calm down
Please try to relax and stay calm
Believe it or not you got me feeling this way
You are the reason for my emotional distress
And I never ever felt this way before
These emotions are completely unfamiliar to me
Didn't expect that from you
I am surprised by your behavior and actions
You tryin' to make me go away
Your actions are making me want to leave the relationship
And I don't like
These feelings are uncomfortable and unwanted
The way we keep on fussing and fight about yesterday and last night
Our constant arguments about the past are not productive
That's old news
The past is in the past and we need to move on
We need to be strong
We need to work together and be resilient
But you making me go away
Your behavior is pushing me away from the relationship
We've gone through so much pain
Our relationship has been through a lot of emotional distress
Now lets stop playing these games
We need to take this situation seriously and work together
If we gonna make it work lets just act our own age
We need to be mature and communicate effectively
Girl I'm hearing everything you saying but I don't wanna make you go away
I understand what you're saying, but I don't want to lose you
I know I act like I don't care but I'm just tryin' play it cool
I may seem distant, but I'm just trying to handle the situation calmly
But if we keeping acting this way then it'll just make us both some fools
If we continue down this path, we will both end up regretting it
All the hurt and the lies and the pain
Our past mistakes and bad behavior are causing us emotional distress
Make it go away make it go away
We need to resolve these issues and move on from the pain
What's wrong with my baby (what's wrong with my baby)
What's wrong with our relationship?
What's wrong with me? (what's wrong with me)
What am I doing wrong?
What's wrong with us (what's wrong with us)
What's wrong with our relationship?
What's wrong with we (what's wrong with we)
What's wrong with us together?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FAHEEM RASHEED NAJM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sabino Humbane
This is Jennifer Hudson’s best song!! I love it!!
Alexis J
this ENTIRE album brings back sooooo many memories for me :))))
AYAKHA SIDUMO
Same here
minabaddass
This Whole Album was My LIFE!!! I lovedddd it soooooo muchhh
Hursty Hurst
So many ppl sleep on her she’s so underrated
nieshia gaston
Loved it from the start to the end loved it
Sheelia Davis
That go away part gets me every time
ELinda Adams
BEST Song On The Album !!!
Billie Hamilton
i love this song it is so blood i love her album go head jennifer hudson. i hope it go platuinim
Drew Mura
My fav song off this cd