Kate Hudson feared music aspirations could damage Hollywood career: 'It'll affect everything'

Kate Hudson has always loved making music, but this year, at 45, she released her first studio album.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Hudson explains that she's always been "hesitant" to share her music on a more professional level because she'd been told that she "can't cross over" from acting.

"People like saying to me, you know, 'You can't cross over, it's different when you start with music. It's easier to cross over into acting,'" she shared. "But I became famous very young."

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Kate Hudson performs onstage during the album release concert for her debut album "Glorious" at The Bellwether on May 18, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)

Mimicking the advice she'd gotten, she said, "You shouldn't cross over into music, because if you fail at that, then you're probably going to … it'll affect everything."

She admitted, "So, that always made certain things hesitant for me."

While Hudson's first credited role was in 1996 – she appeared in an episode of "Party of Five" – her breakout role came with 2000's "Almost Famous." She played groupie Penny Lane in the film, and her performance earned her a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actress as well as an Academy Award nomination in the same category.

Kate Hudson was nominated for an Oscar for her work in "Almost Famous" (pictured at the award ceremony on left) and won a Golden Globe (right). (Steve Granitz Archive 1/WireImage | Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images)

She's been a household name ever since, with roles in films like "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Bride Wars" cementing her place in the spotlight.

In May, she released her debut album, "Glorious," despite those earlier warnings that a crossover into music might not be good for her acting career.

WATCH: KATE HUDSON SINGS THE TITLE TRACK FROM HER NEW ALBUM ‘GLORIOUS’

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"When I became really sort of known as an actress young," Hudson said, "it was like, you don't become a musician. And I don't think there's a becoming. I think you are born a musician and that's your love or you're not. … I remember when Cillian Murphy was onstage, he's like, ‘I was a failed musician.’ He's like winning one of those awards for ‘Oppenheimer,’ and I thought, there's no such thing. Like, that doesn't exist."

She continued, "There's a job as a musician. Like, that's your livelihood. But like, there's no such thing as a failed musician. … I don't know why musician is only defined as a job. Versus a lifestyle, you know?"

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Kate Hudson poses with brother, Oliver Hudson, and their mother, Goldie Hawn, at the premiere of her 1987 movie "Overboard." (Bettmann)

When asked which she likes better, acting or music, Hudson refused to answer, saying, "I like to perform. I love all of it!"

"I feel like the luckiest person that I get to do the things that I love the most," she told Fox News Digital. "One's not exclusive to the other, for me, truly … there's been a void, and it's now filled."

She added, "I feel like it's made even my acting and my desire to be on set even more fun because I can choose … it sort of feeds each other, I guess, in a way."

Hudson worked with her partner, musician Danny Fujikawa, on her album – he co-wrote and co-produced many of the songs.

Danny Fujikawa and Kate Hudson have been dating since 2016. (Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Michael Kors)

She said that the process of collaborating professionally with him has been "amazing," though at first, she was wary of the idea.

"I didn't think that I would like it, to be honest," she said of working with Fujikawa. "When we started, I was like … this will be interesting to see."

"But because he's not writing for himself as an artist, the facilitating aspect of wanting to make sure I'm happy with the things that I'm hearing, especially as a producer, you know, it kind of removes the ego and allows him to facilitate versus have it be about him. And I think for him and for both of us, it's been really great," she said.

Kate Hudson and Danny Fujikawa have one child together, daughter Rani. (Jacopo Raule/Getty Images)

Fujikawa co-wrote and co-produced Hudson's album. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for WCRF)

Hudson went on to explain that Fujikawa, whom she's been engaged to since 2021, "loves to write" music and can write for long periods of time on end. Despite the fact that she's been writing songs on her own for years, she can't do the same.

"I don't have that," she admitted, "so to be able to have us or me write something and then have him be able to, like, actually put it down, no matter where we are in the world, it's so wonderful. We have such a great time doing it, you know? So it's really a blessing."

In addition to Fujikawa, another artist put the work in to bring Hudson's album to life – legendary singer-songwriter Linda Perry.

Linda Perry rose to fame as the lead singer for 4 Non Blondes. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)

Hudson said that she, Fujikawa and Perry created what she jokingly called a "triangle of sadness" to create the album from scratch in "a very prolific two weeks." In their time together, they created "Glorious" with enough material left over for an additional album.

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"When I was looking at the curating," she shared, "like how the songs would go, it was just so clear that it was a reflection of my life and love and what that looks like, whether it be your kids or past relationships or even like myself, and how others saw me in love … that's really what came out."

Kate Hudson performs at Webster Hall on July 12, 2024, in New York City. (Taylor Hill/Getty Image)

So far, Hudson has made a few appearances to perform this new music: the first at the Bellwether in Los Angeles in May and the second this month at Webster Hall in New York City.

She also did a show at The Surf Lodge in Montauk, New York on July 13, with stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jane Krakowski and Jeremy Piven in attendance.

Kate Hudson performed at The Surf Lodge earlier this month. (Madison McGaw/BFA.com)

The Webster Hall performance was different, she told Fox News Digital, because the album had been out for nearly two months, so "people had time to sit with" the songs.

Kate Hudson was "emotional" during her performance at Webster Hall because so many people "knew the music." (Sandbox Entertainment)

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"There [were] so many people who knew the music," she said, "and I just was like … I don't think I've ever had a feeling like that before. It was very emotional because I put so much into it, and then to see people actually digging it and knowing it was really amazing, and the energy was great and people were excited to be there."

She added, "New York is tough, you know? So I was really nervous about what the room would feel like. But it was just awesome. So great."

Kate Hudson has done two shows for her new album. (Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)

Kate Hudson said "the energy was great" during her performance at Webster Hall in New York City. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

While this is undoubtedly a new era for her, she said that she's been getting excited ahead of performances instead of getting nervous.

"The technicalities and wanting to put on a good show and wanting it to be right make me nervous," she clarified. "But then once I'm out there, I'm just so happy, I just love it."

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"And I'm loving connecting with real people," she went on. "I've never gotten to do that. Only when at a premiere or – and it still doesn't feel the same. It's just not the same. And so it's wonderful."