Kate Hudson says she ‘would have felt too vulnerable’ launching music career when younger

Kate Hudson has opened up about launching her music career after nearly three decades as an actor, saying she doesn’t carry the “same fear of rejection” she did in her twenties.

“I think that’s why it took me so long to be open with music, in this capacity. I mean, there are multiple reasons, but some of it has to do with my love for music being number one for me,” she told Variety.

“It always has been, and so if I felt rejected in it maybe at an earlier time in my life, I think that it would’ve wounded me in a way that I probably knew deep down I wasn’t prepared for.

“I think when you’re growing up and you want to follow in your family’s footsteps, and they’re big footsteps to follow in, I’m not sure people realise how tough-skinned you have to be to get there.

“When it comes to this, though, it felt so vulnerable that if I would’ve done this in my late twenties, I think it would’ve been very hard for me to not sort of get carried into what people were saying.

“And at this age and where I’m at in my life, I don’t have that same fear of rejection anymore. I really just want to share it. I recognise that you’re not gonna win everybody over. But I can’t be led by that fear, or else I just would never put art into the world.”

Hudson’s love for music goes way back, but she revealed in 2023 that her “daddy issues” prevented her from pursuing a career in music from a young age.

Hudson, 45, has previously talked about her love for music and how she had thought she would get into it earlier but decided not to because of “daddy issues” stemming from her relationship with her father Bill Hudson.

“Earlier on in my career, I thought I would definitely do music, but then Almost Famous happened,” she said, referring to the film she starred in when she was 18.

“But later on I kind of rejected [music] because I was like, ‘You know what?’ – as you do when you’re dealing with daddy issues – ‘I don’t want to connect to that part because that’s my dad. That’s all dad.

“If I put that out in the world and people didn’t like it, it would destroy me.”

Hudson released her debut single “Talk About Love” in January, and her debut studio album, Glorious, on 17 May.

She held an album release concert on 18 May at The Bellwether in Los Angeles and described performing live as her “happy place”.

“It’s my dream. I want to be able to play in front of people and have that experience. It’s so much fun up there; it’s my happy place. That was really my first show with people that I don’t really know, with fans and it was a wild experience,” she said.

“I used to be so nervous when I would sing – this was back when people asked me to sing for (private events) here and there – and I really worked on that, because it upset me.

“My fear made me angry. So I had to unpack what that was. I was able to pinpoint some of what those fears were and work through that.

“Now, with these TV shows or doing Howard Stern, I’ve just started performing, so it is sort of like being thrown into the fire. This is still new to me. But once I start singing, within the first 10 seconds, I just feel totally calm. I think it’s just being completely present.”

Hudson also talked about working with fiancé Danny Fujikawa, who co-wrote “Talk About Love” and wrote and produced several tracks on her album.

“I watched Danny get lost in his productions. And so when I was gonna do it, it was really clear to me [that he needed to be part of it],” she said.

“Then when I went to go write with Linda (Perry), I didn’t ask — I just told him, ‘You’re coming, and I want you in the room and we’re gonna write together. I need another instrument. I want your ears in the room.’ Danny’s very quiet and he hears everything.

“It really was a great working process because it was so intimate, and for me, this had to be very personal. It had to be really me doing it, you know?

“It’s been really wonderful for our relationship. Talent is very attractive. And when people can share music like we do, you’re really sharing the most vulnerable parts of yourself. I feel very, very, very lucky to have him in my life.”