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Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Jennifer Hudson has reasons to celebrate this week as she's now aired the 100th episode of her eponymous daytime chatfest. The singer/actress turned talk show host is following in Kelly Clarkson's lucrative footsteps in making the transition from American Idol to Grammy-winning songstress to daytime mainstay. Hudson celebrated with fellow EGOT winner John Legend, who was both a guest on the couch and performer on the 100th-anniversary show.
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Dressed in a sparkly pink three-piece suit Hudson introduced Legend as one of her favorite musicians and a national treasure. He arrived on the set with a hundred-flower bouquet of roses for Hudson, congratulating her on the achievement.
"Time flies when you're having fun," said Hudson. "And I'm having fun."
Hudson and Legend collaborated on a performance of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" a song written by legendary duo Simon and Garfunkel but made even more famous with a stirring version by Aretha Franklin. Legend played piano and he and Hudson traded verses of the song. Legend also rolled out a huge celebratory cake.
They also talked about their respective EGOT wins. The EGOT is not an official award. It's the distinction given to those who have won all four awards from the major performing arts associations - an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.
There are only 18 people who can say they are EGOTs. Viola Davis is the most recent to reach the mark, completing the set on Sunday with a Grammy Award for the audio narration of her 2022 memoir Finding Me. She is just the third Black woman behind Whoopi Goldberg and Hudson to achieve the coveted honor.
Legend, the first Black man to earn an EGOT, told Hudson that winning Grammys (he has 12) is probably the award he's most proud of. Hudson, who has two Grammys, agreed.
"When I grew up, I would watch the Grammys and want to win Grammys," Legend said. "I didn't have any dreams of winning an Emmy. I didn't have any dreams of winning an Oscar. But I'll take them, though."
He says there is one award that he considers the most impactful. He and Common won an Oscar in 2015 for the song "Glory" from the Selma soundtrack.
"That film was just so meaningful because it covered the life of Dr. King and the fight for voting rights. And in that moment, it was not too long after Michael Brown and Trayvon (Martin) and a lot of people were still literally marching in the streets, protesting for Black lives. And so, we were able to be up on that stage and honor the movement in a really beautiful way in front of hundreds of millions of people around the world. So that was very special."
Hudson gave Legend a hat with a '15' on it, commemorating his designation as the 15th person to gain EGOT status and Hudson showed her own '17' hat. The two welcomed Davis into the exclusive club.
"Miss Viola Davis, baby," Hudson said. "Did you see that?" she asked the audience, who responded affirmatively. "Beyond well deserved. She was [on the show] too, so making more room."
Legend also performed his latest song "Nervous" and talked more about his and his wife Chrissy Teigen's challenging path to welcoming their new daughter, Esti Maxine, last month.
