Jennifer Hudson loves defying the public's expectations by showing different sides of herself - and insists she is "a tree with many branches".

The multi-talented star has a highly successful acting career, scooping 29 awards for her appearance in 2007 movie Dreamgirls.

And she hopes her self-titled debut album will surprise fans - because it is such a change from her usual work.

She tells CNN.com, "I don't believe in limits so I wasn't allowing myself to be limited and I wanted to show other sides of me, and to say 'Well, if you like this side of Jennifer, let me introduce you to another side'.

"I used to consider my voice a tree with many branches and that's what to me this album displays, all these different sides of me."

But Hudson insists she has no plans to film a musical - because she doesn't want her movie career to clash with her singing.

She adds, "If I'm acting I'm acting, if I'm singing I'm singing. There's no doing both, because I don't wanna split my focus... so one had to give way for the other."