And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going

"And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going"
SinglebyJennifer Holliday
from the albumDreamgirls: Original Broadway Cast Album
B-side	"Fake Your Way to the Top" byCleavant Derricks,Loretta Devine,Jennifer Holliday,andSheryl Lee Ralph
Released	1982
Recorded	1982
Genre	Show tune soul
Length	4:08
Label	Geffen
Songwriter(s)	Tom Eyen Henry Krieger
Producer(s)	David Foster
Jennifer Hollidaysingles chronology
"And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" (1982) "I Am Changing" (1982)
Audio
"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" by Jennifer HollidayonYouTube

"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"(also known in short as just"And I Am Telling You") is atorch songfrom theBroadway musicalDreamgirls,with lyrics byTom Eyenand music byHenry 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 thegirl groupThe 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 Hollidayoriginated the role on Broadway in 1981 and won aTony Award for Best Actress in a Musicalfor the role as well as theGrammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performancefor its re-release in 1982 for which it became a number-one R&B hit for Holliday.Jennifer Hudsonportrayed Effie in the 2006film adaptation of the musical,winning theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actressfor 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 originalBroadwayproduction, released the song as a single. It was her first single release and it met with great success, topping theBillboardR&B charts and attaining top forty positions on both theBillboardHot 100and theUK Singles Chart.In 1983, Holliday won theGrammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Femalefor the single.

"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was designed as the closing number ofDreamgirls'first act. Holliday's performance of the song, in a style owing much togospel musicsinging 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 ofDreamgirls,The New York Timestheatre criticFrank Richreferred to Holliday's "And I Am Telling You" as "one of the most powerful theatrical coups to be found in a Broadway musical sinceEthel Mermansang 'Everything's Coming Up Roses' at the end of Act I ofGypsy""And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" remains Holliday's signature song.

Charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
CanadaRPMAdult Contemporary	7
Ireland (IRMA)	23
UK Singles(OCC)	32
USBillboardHot 100	22
USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs(Billboard)	1

Rosabelwith Jennifer Holliday version

Chart (2001)	Peak position
USDance Club Songs(Billboard)	6
USBillboardHot 100 Singles Sales	66
Chart (2007)	Peak position
USBillboardHot Dance Club Play	10

Jennifer Hudson version

"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"
SinglebyJennifer Hudson
from the albumDreamgirls: Music from the Motion PictureandJennifer Hudson
Released	December 5, 2006
Recorded	The Underlab, Los Angeles: March 2006
Genre	Soul
Length	4:45(highlights version) 5:06 (soundtrack version)
Label	Music World Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Tom Eyen Henry Krieger
Producer(s)	The Underdogs
Jennifer Hudsonsingles chronology
"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (2006) "Spotlight" (2008)
Audio
"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" by Jennifer HudsononYouTube

In 2006, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was recorded byJennifer Hudsonfor her film debut, asEffie Whitein theDreamWorks/Paramountmotion picture adaptation ofDreamgirls.Her recording of the song peaked at number 60 on the USBillboardHot 100chart, 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 Observerdescribed Hudson's performance as "five mellifluous, molto vibrato minutes...."Newsweeksaid that when moviegoers hear Hudson sing the song, she "is going to raise goose bumps across the land."Varietywrote that Hudson's performance "calls to mind debuts likeBarbra StreisandinFunny GirlorBette MidlerinThe Rose,with a voice like the youngAretha."For her performance, Hudson won a multitude of accolades, including theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.The song also appeared in Hudson'seponymous debut album(2008).

On June 26, 2007, the 7th AnnualBET Awardsopened 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 onThe X Factorin 2009 after being sung byDanyl Johnson.Hudson performed the song again at the85th Academy Awards,as part of theDreamgirlssection in the tribute to movie musicals.

In February 2022, Hudson's rendition was named a finalist for Oscars Cheer Moment as part of theAcademy 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 andEric Kupper,and appears as a bonus track on the "Deluxe Edition" of theDreamgirlssoundtrack album. This version of Hudson's "And I Am Telling You" was a chart success, reaching the top of theBillboardHot Dance Club Playchart in early 2007. A shortened edit of the full remix appeared on aColumbia Recordspromotional-only CD accompanying the Jones & Kupper remix of anotherDreamgirlssong, theBeyoncé Knowles/Anika Noni Rose/Sharon Leal/Jennifer Hudson rendition of "One Night Only".Also included were theFreemasonsremixes of Beyoncé's singles "Déjà Vu"and"Ring the Alarm".

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2006–2007)	Peak position
USBillboardHot 100	60
USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs(Billboard)	14
USDance Club Songs(Billboard)	1
USPop 100(Billboard)	70
Chart (2009)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)	37
Scotland(OCC)	32
UK Singles(OCC)	32
UK Hip Hop/R&B(OCC)	12

Year-end charts

Chart (2007)	Position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	66

Other notable versions

Whitney Houstonperformed the song as part of a medley with "I Loves You, Porgy"and"I Have Nothing"at the 1994American Music Awardsof 1994.This performance is included on her posthumous 2014 CD/DVD release,Live: Her Greatest Performances,and was re-enacted byNaomi Ackieas Houston in the 2022 filmWhitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.Houston also performed the tune as part of the set list duringThe Bodyguard World Tourin 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, includingStonebridge,culminating in a major release on Ore Records in 1996. This last release would finally take the track to number 27 on theUK Singles Chartin February of that year. On November 20, 2007, the original master, Produced by critically acclaimed Eve Nelson, was released digitally byBreaking Recordsand is available on all major download sites.

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

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

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

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

In 2006, then 12-year-oldBianca Ryanauditioned with the song forAmerica's Got Talent.Ryan subsequently won the contest that year.

Jake Gyllenhaalperformed it onSaturday Night Liveshortly 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 byAmber Rileyas her characterMercedes Jonesin thefirst seasonGleeepisode "Sectionals".Riley would go on to play Effie onstage in the 2016 London Premiere performance ofDreamgirls.

Also in 2009, theparody filmDance FlickfeaturesDavid Alan Grierperforming a version of the song telling the protagonists that they're "gonna feed [him]" with assorted foods and name brand items.

American Idolrunner-upJessica Sanchezperformed 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 theeleventh season finalein 2012.

Dami Im,the 2013 winner of the Australian version ofThe 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 theAustralian ARIA Charts.On December 1, 2013, Im released a version of the song as part of herself-titled album,which debuted at number one inAustralia,and was certified Platinum.

Also in 2013,Sam Baileyperformed it withNicole Scherzingeras her celebrity duet choice during the first part of thetenth-season finaleofThe X Factorin the UK. The duet also appeared on her 2014 debut albumThe Power of Love.

Also in 2013,Jacquie Leeperformed this song inseason 5ofThe Voice.

Also in 2013, actor/singerTituss Burgessperformed a rendition at the event "Broadway Backwards" for the charity Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

In 2015,Louisa Johnsonperformed this song both in the six chair challenge and withRita Oraas her celebrity duet choice during the first part of thetwelfth-season finaleofThe X Factorin the UK.

In 2016,Chi Chi DeVayneandThorgy Thorlipsynced to the song on theeighth seasonofRuPaul'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.

InBritain's Got Talent2017, Sarah Ikumu sang this song as her audition. It won her the Golden Buzzer fromSimon Cowell,which got her an unchallenged pass into the live finals.

In 2020,Destiny Chukunyereperformed it as her Big Band choice during the semifinals of the second season ofX Factor Malta.

See also

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