Jennifer Hudson Returns, Stuns Super Bowl

Getty Images

After what amounted to being a heartbreaking and tumultous final few months of 2008 for pop star/actress Jennifer Hudson, the Oscar winner stepped back into the public eye at Sunday's Super Bowl to belt out "The Star-Spangled Banner."

It was a near pin-drop moment when 27-year-old Hudson, clad in a black jacket and white top, stepped onto the field at Tampa, Florida's Raymond James Stadium.

But the singer was not only pitch-perfect, she also gave a heartfelt, emotional performance that perhaps resonated moreso than others, given her recent, tragic circumstances.

Watch Jennifer sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" below:

Hudson has by and large avoided the spotlight since the shooting deaths of her mother, brother and nephew in late October.

A video shoot for the second single off her debut album was scrapped in December, and her rumored appearance at President Barack Obama's inauguration two weeks ago was also never realized.

However, it was announced in early January that the Dreamgirls star would indeed appear at the Super Bowl to sing the national anthem before the Pittsburgh Steelers took to the field against the Arizona Cardinals.

Another moving appearance before the game started was that of Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger of recently-downed US Airways flight 1549, who has largely become a media hero since diverting a possible disaster.

All members of the flight survived an emergency landing in New York's icy Hudson River in January.