"I Am Changing" is a song from the second act of the long-running

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. It is based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, and p ...

''. Written by

Henry Krieger Henry Krieger (born February 9, 1945) is an American musical theatre composer. He most notably wrote the music for the Broadway shows ''Dreamgirls'' (1981, with lyrics and book by Tom Eyen), '' The Tap Dance Kid'' (1983), and '' Side Show'' (199 ...

and

Tom Eyen Tom Eyen (August 14, 1940 – May 26, 1991) was an American playwright, lyricist, television writer and director. He received a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for ''Dreamgirls'' in 1981. Eyen is best known for works at opposite end ...

, the song was performed by the character Effie White, originally portrayed on Broadway by

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American singer and actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), '' Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a ...

History

"I Am Changing" tells the story of a woman who wants to leave behind the mistakes of her past and "change her life"—she sings, "I need you, I need a hand" and "I need a friend to help me start all over again". After the unexpected success of Holliday's first single, "

And I Am 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 ...

", "I Am Changing" was released as the second single from the ''

'' cast album. However, the song didn't perform as well as "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", peaking at #22 on Billboard's Black Singles Chart and failing to chart on Billboard's Pop Singles Chart.

Cover versions

"I Am Changing" has been covered several times.

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

performed the song at the 10th Anniversary of

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

ceremony in 1984. This performance is included on her 2010 CD/DVD reissue of '' Whitney Houston – The Deluxe Anniversary Edition''. She also performed the song during the duration of her Greatest Love World Tour in 1986 in a slower, soulful version, influenced by

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

. Ex-Supreme Mary Wilson included it in her album ''

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies by the American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash: '' Man in Black: His Own ...

'', and in a compilation of her solo singles.

Lillias White Lillias White (born July 21, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She is particularly known for her performances in Broadway musicals. In 1989 she won an Obie Award for her performance in the off-Broadway musical '' Romance in Hard Times''. ...

, who was Holliday's original understudy, has performed the song in concert.

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, producer, and talk show host. Having received List of awards and nominations received by Jennifer Hudson, numerous accolades for ...

performs the song as Effie White in the 2006 DreamWorks/

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

'' motion picture adaptation. The song was performed by

Bianca Ryan Bianca Taylor Ryan (born September 1, 1994) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ryan was the first winner of NBC's ''America's Got Talent (season 1), America's Got Talent'' at the age of eleven. Singi ...

on the first season of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

'', a reality show which Ryan became the winner of that year. The eleven-year-old's performance of "I Am Changing" prompted show judge (and onetime teen star)

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

to shake her head and proclaim that Ryan "makes me want to go practice … that's how good you are."Mahan, Colin.
''Talent'' shines in finale
. tv.com. Retrieved on 20 August 2006. In 2014, the song was performed in the ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'' episode " New Directions" by

Kurt Hummel Kurt Elizabeth Hummel is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied a ...

(

Chris Colfer Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical ''Glee'' (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received crit ...

) and

Mercedes Jones Mercedes Jones is a fictional character from the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox popular musical comedy-drama series ''Glee (TV series), Glee''. The character is portrayed by actress Amber Riley, and has appeared in ''Glee'' from its Pilot (Glee), ...

(

Amber Riley Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986) sometimes known mononymously as Riley (stylized in all caps), is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox comedy-drama series ''Glee'' (2009 ...

Charts

References

{{authority control 1981 songs 1982 singles Songs from Dreamgirls Jennifer Holliday songs Jennifer Hudson songs Songs written by Henry Krieger Songs with lyrics by Tom Eyen Song recordings produced by David Foster