And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going

"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (also known in short as just "And I Am Telling You") is a torch song from the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'', with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is sung by the character Effie White, a singer with the girl group The Dreams, to her manager, Curtis Taylor Jr., whose romantic and professional relationship with Effie is ending. The lyrics to "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", often considered the show's signature tune, describe Effie's love for Curtis, both strongly devoted and defiant. She refuses to let Curtis leave her behind, and boldly proclaims to him, "I'm staying and you ... you're gonna love me."

In addition to its presence in the musical, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is also notable as the debut single of two women who portrayed Effie. Jennifer Holliday originated the role on Broadway in 1981 and won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the role as well as the Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for its re-release in 1982 for which it became a number-one R&B hit for Holliday. Jennifer Hudson portrayed Effie in the 2006 film adaptation of the musical, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. Hudson's version became a Top 20 R&B single, and a number-one dance hit.

Jennifer Holliday version

In 1982, Jennifer Holliday, the actress who portrayed Effie in the original Broadway production, released the song as a single. It was her first single release and it met with great success, topping the ''Billboard'' R&B charts and attaining top forty positions on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. In 1983, Holliday won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for the single.

"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was designed as the closing number of ''Dreamgirls first act. Holliday's performance of the song, in a style owing much to gospel music singing traditions, was regularly staged to thunderous applause; it was hailed as the highlight of the show in several printed reviews of the musical. In his review of ''Dreamgirls'', ''The New York Times'' theatre critic Frank Rich referred to Holliday's "And I Am Telling You" as "one of the most powerful theatrical coups to be found in a Broadway musical since Ethel Merman sang 'Everything's Coming Up Roses' at the end of Act I of ''Gypsy''" "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" remains Holliday's signature song.

Charts

Rosabel with Jennifer Holliday version

Jennifer Hudson version

In 2006, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was recorded by Jennifer Hudson for her film debut, as Effie White in the DreamWorks/Paramount motion picture adaptation of ''Dreamgirls''. Her recording of the song peaked at number 60 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and number 14 on the R&B chart.

Hudson's version received widespread praise from film and music critics as well as the audiences, which highlighted her strength as both a vocalist and an actress. ''The New York Observer'' described Hudson's performance as "five mellifluous, molto vibrato minutes...." ''Newsweek'' said that when moviegoers hear Hudson sing the song, she "is going to raise goose bumps across the land." ''Variety'' wrote that Hudson's performance "calls to mind debuts like Barbra Streisand in '' Funny Girl'' or Bette Midler in '' The Rose'', with a voice like the young Aretha." For her performance, Hudson won a multitude of accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The song also appeared in Hudson's eponymous debut album (2008).

On June 26, 2007, the 7th Annual BET Awards opened with Jennifer Holliday and Jennifer Hudson performing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" live in their first duet together.

Although it in essence is Hudson's first single release, it became her fourth top 75 hit in the United Kingdom after a performance on ''The X Factor'' in 2009 after being sung by Danyl Johnson. Hudson performed the song again at the 85th Academy Awards, as part of the ''Dreamgirls'' section in the tribute to movie musicals.

In February 2022, Hudson's rendition was named a finalist for Oscars Cheer Moment as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Oscars Fan Favorite" contest, finishing in fourth place.

Dance remix

A club remix was created for this single, engineered by Richie Jones and Eric Kupper, and appears as a bonus track on the "Deluxe Edition" of the ''Dreamgirls'' soundtrack album. This version of Hudson's "And I Am Telling You" was a chart success, reaching the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart in early 2007. A shortened edit of the full remix appeared on a Columbia Records promotional-only CD accompanying the Jones & Kupper remix of another ''Dreamgirls'' song, the Beyoncé Knowles/Anika Noni Rose/Sharon Leal/Jennifer Hudson rendition of " One Night Only". Also included were the Freemasons remixes of Beyoncé's singles "Déjà Vu" and "Ring the Alarm".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other notable versions

Whitney Houston performed the song as part of a medley with "I Loves You, Porgy" and "I Have Nothing" at the 1994 American Music Awards of 1994. This performance is included on her posthumous 2014 CD/DVD release, '' Live: Her Greatest Performances'', and was re-enacted by Naomi Ackie as Houston in the 2022 film Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Houston also performed the tune as part of the set list during The Bodyguard World Tour in 1993.

In 1994, Donna Giles scored a minor club hit in the US and UK with her rendition of the song. The track remained a sleeper club hit in the UK throughout 1995, prompting a spate of re-releases and remixes, including Stonebridge, culminating in a major release on Ore Records in 1996. This last release would finally take the track to number 27 on the UK Singles Chart in February of that year. On November 20, 2007, the original master, Produced by critically acclaimed Eve Nelson, was released digitally by Breaking Records and is available on all major download sites.

In an episode of ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', Will (Will Smith) serenades Uncle Phil to the song by lip-syncing it when trying to win his forgiveness but only ends up annoying him.

In an episode of ''Martin'', Gina (Tisha Campbell) performs the song while interrupting Pam's performance of the song "Home" (from ''The Wiz'') on Martin's talk show "Word on the Street". As both are auditioning for Biggie Smalls, they attempt to out-sing each other, ultimately resulting in embarrassing Martin.

In 1998, Jim Carrey flamboyantly performed a parody of the song in the final episode of ''The Larry Sanders Show'' (entitled "Flip"), pleading to the titular Sanders to persuade him not to leave his late-night talk show.

In the 2001 film '' Down to Earth'', the song is performed by several people at the Apollo Theater, with the audience only approving when sung by Phil Quon (John Cho).

Various renditions appear in several episodes of the sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', often sung by Chris' mother Rochelle (Tichina Arnold), or by off-screen performers watched by Rochelle.

In 2006, then 11-year-old Bianca Ryan auditioned with the song for ''America's Got Talent''. Ryan subsequently won the contest that year.

Jake Gyllenhaal performed it on ''Saturday Night Live'' shortly after the film's release in a pastiche of Hudson. He wore a wig and black sequined dress, with three of the female regulars on SNL as his "backup singers", dressed in red glitter dresses, heels and wigs.

In 2009, it was performed by Amber Riley as her character Mercedes Jones in the first season ''Glee'' episode " Sectionals". Riley would go on to play Effie onstage in the 2016 London Premiere performance of ''Dreamgirls''.

Also in 2009, the parody film ''Dance Flick'' features David Alan Grier performing a version of the song telling the protagonists that they're "gonna feed im with assorted foods and name brand items.

''American Idol'' runner-up Jessica Sanchez performed the song as one of her two songs in the Top 4. Her performance during the Top 4 was praised by Jennifer Holliday. Holliday later performed the song with Sanchez during the eleventh season finale in 2012.

Dami Im, the 2013 winner of the Australian version of ''The X Factor'', performed this as one of her final three songs. Her performance received a rapturous response from all four judges and the audience. The judges stood up on the judges table as an indication of their overwhelming adulation of her exquisite performance while the audience applauded strongly for 70 seconds. Her performance debuted number 29 on the Australian ARIA Charts. On December 1, 2013, Im released a version of the song as part of her self-titled album, which debuted at number one in Australia, and was certified Platinum.

Also in 2013, Sam Bailey performed it with Nicole Scherzinger as her celebrity duet choice during the first part of the tenth-season finale of ''The X Factor'' in the UK. The duet also appeared on her 2014 debut album '' The Power of Love''.

Also in 2013, Jacquie Lee performed this song in season 5 of '' The Voice''.

Also in 2013, actor/singer Tituss Burgess performed a rendition at the event "Broadway Backwards" for the charity
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

In 2015, Louisa Johnson performed this song both in the six chair challenge and with Rita Ora as her celebrity duet choice during the first part of the twelfth-season finale of ''The X Factor'' in the UK.

In 2016, Chi Chi DeVayne and Thorgy Thor lipsynced to the song on the eighth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race.'' The performance, specifically from DeVayne, was viewed as the best lipsync of the season and one of the best in the franchise's history.

In ''Britain's Got Talent'' 2017, Sarah Ikumu sang this song as her audition. It won her the Golden Buzzer from Simon Cowell, which got her an unchallenged pass into the live finals.

In 2020, Destiny Chukunyere performed it as her Big Band choice during the semifinals of the second season of ''X Factor Malta''.

In 2025, Cynthia Erivo sang a version of the song at the conclusion of the 78th Tony Awards, with lyrics altered to reference the awards.

See also

* List of number-one dance singles of 2007 (U.S.)

References

{{authority control

1980s ballads
1981 songs
1982 debut singles
2001 singles
2006 debut singles
Jennifer Holliday songs
Jennifer Hudson songs
Bianca Ryan songs
Songs from Dreamgirls
Torch songs
Songs about heartache
Songs written by Henry Krieger
Songs with lyrics by Tom Eyen
Song recordings produced by David Foster
Columbia Records singles
Geffen Records singles