Dreamgirls Jennifer Holliday "I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" with Sheryl Lee Ralph & Loretta Devine

[@parknoll32]

I saw this in the LA production in 1982. There was a 3-minute standing O that stopped the show. And I was part of it. Today they try to sing it and come up short. Jennifer Holliday sang it and acted it.

[@DavidRichardson95]

Here because Ms. Sheryl finally got her just due at the Emmy's tonight.

[@siantelove]

Same😊

[@lolabunny1157]

I’m so proud of her❤

[@TahariBlue]

I have heard so many great renditions of this song, but Jennifer Holiday is the blueprint! She sung and acted with her whole entire everything, and in 2020 it still brings me to tears.....just MASTERFUL!!!

[@Percussiongurl]

It’s a master class. Range, style, breathe control, emotion I could go on.

[@taqaripayne8122]

Hit the hammer on the nail with that one

[@GenaGilder]

Jennifer Hudson did the the damn thang, but there’s nothing like seeing the original. ❤

[@TaqariPayne]

Hands down

[@tlo666]

It's her song... No one songs it like her

[@andreiliver9295]

This is probably the most powerful and emotional Broadway performance ever to be staged in a Tony Award show.

[@waddysjaquez]

Oh Yes!!!!!!!!

[@residentevil4life]

the intensity of this song is insane, like she's belting to the extremes nonstop for several minutes

[@levitroyce4605]

This clip needs to be in every theatrical and musical category, within every museum in the world. A once in a lifetime masterpiece that defies all logic and reason.

[@meetthetables6803]

Couldn’t agree more

[@sierria64]

my god when she took that breath .... you knew she was bringing it

[@laurenjennings6226]

I get chills every time

[@carolynfinkelmeier1227]

And to think she did this 10 times a week for years !!!!!!!

[@bradleyscarton3931]

Broadway does 8 shows a week, not 10. And yes, in the beginning Jennifer did do this 8 shows a week, but within a few months the vocal demands of the role took its toll on her voice and understudies went on a lot for her after she began to blow out her voice. When she went to LA to do the show, she only did the evening shows because it was too much for her vocally to do that many shows. The matinees were done by her understudy, Lillias White, and within a few months Jennifer was blowing out her voice to the point that Lillias was doing just as many shows as her.

[@NunuBird]

@@bradleyscarton3931I think they was being dramatic you didn’t have to write a whole essay lol

[@bradleyscarton3931]

@@NunuBird Thanks for telling me what I should and shouldn't do. I'll be happy to take your advice next time.

[@LizzieBirdsworth-ek3io]

@@NunuBird Why be a douche? I appreciate someone who knows so much about the background of this, things the general public would never know. I sincerely thank this person for giving the details. Many people do not understand how that world works.

[@NunuBird]

@@LizzieBirdsworth-ek3io ok

[@lamontking87]

Loretta was fine 🔥😍

[@ojotuoluwabukola5701]

IS!! She’s still fine and not dead🙄

[@marimuffin]

Still fine! I love her

[@winterbutterfly9096]

And they called Whitney "The Voice". Yes, Whitney's voice was absolutely phenomenal, but I hate that we don't give Jeniffer Holiday the credit she deserves for her own. I pray we don't wait until she's gone to give her not only her flowers but the whole freaking field full of them!! She is most definitely deserving of such and should have gone a hell of a lot further musically than she did. Love her!

[@IWannaBeDownWithYou]

Aht don’t do Whitney

[@LEGENDPantherJennings]

Dont Do Whitney Like That

[@kidking___________________7554]

She ain’t no whit you sound crazy as hell

[@davidstovall7263]

No where near Whitney

[@kaydenceisthemuse]

Why y’all so mad in these replies?

[@Gatorbaitress]

I saw the original cast in L. A. and became a litelong Jennifer Holliday fan! We had orchestra seats. Wow! I was like 22.

[@wrinthiak3431]

What a memory!

[@yeslia2010Godis]

I never realized that Loretta Devine could sing like that and she looked good.. No words for the phenomenal talent of Ms Jennifer Holiday!!! A true unsung Artist!!!

[@mariahg.8209]

YEAP, the original Dream Girls.

[@roshelltannen9698]

​@mariahg.8209 No one did it better than this cast. I watch this every year. I was baby when this on Broadway.

[@SH-jv5uf]

And Sheryl Lee Ralph too.

[@shawnbflannigan]

There is nobody on earth that puts as much as themselves into a song as Jennifer Holliday. She brings down the house every time with that song. I cannot watch without getting chills and tears.

[@pretty2b4u]

I cried like a baby. This is so captivating.

[@generalholiefield]

This has gotta be one of the single greatest performances of all time

[@donalddavis6689]

Patti LaBelle Are A Great Powerful Singer As Well.. Jennifer Holliday Love Patti LaBelle.

[@Mama-Ames]

No one, NO-O-O-O-O-O-O ONE will ever, EVER, EHHHHHH-VER top Ms. Holliday's LEGENDARY performance of this EPIC song. Tho Jennifer Hudson was pure excellence... not even HER. NO ONE. EVER. PERIOD. FULL STOP.💕💕💕

[@sandraatkins2539]

You're absolutely, undeniably correct!!! Ms. Holiday brings her feminine, anguished soul to this iconic song. No matter how loudly she belts out those anguished notes, we still hear her femininity. To this day, it is difficult to hear and see a woman who sounds like a man when she sings. Without naming anyone, just think about what I am inferring. Jennifer's powerful, beautiful voice combines the anguish of thousands of women who have been mistreated throughout the ages, and we hear those women. Ms. Holiday absolutely OWNED this song. There are imitators, but no emulators!!! Ms. Jennifer Holiday here is a standing ovation.

[@sensationsmag]

40+ years of attending Broadway shows, and this was the single best musical performance of all of them. I saw her do this show live. Jennifer Holliday was 18-21 years old during these shows, and belting out this performance, show after show, 6 days a week, twice on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with some understudy breaks later in her run. It's a truly remarkable achievement.

[@zbluesy]

I'm with you. I saw her do this when she was 18 and I was in high school. My friends and I went backstage to thank her. She was so kind and gracious to us, talked to us. She barely had voice left at the end of the night. I was weeping in my seat when she did this. What a memory. She is amazing!

[@everberry51]

I’m so jealous you got to see this live!!

[@sensationsmag]

I was very fortunate. For me, it was a life-altering moment, very much like Elton John's song, where he talks about Marilyn Monroe "from the 22nd row" - pretty much the row I was in!@@everberry51

[@quinnmurph2750]

Shout out to the actor who stood opposite her in this performance and stayed in character. Can you imagine the transfer of energy with Holiday singing like this so close to you? That he can keep it together is astounding... though it's probably why they have him exit the stage mid-song: it would be almost impossible to remain unmoved on-stage with her through the end of the performance.

[@spyari18]

They had him exit mid-way to give her the whole stage to herself to finish the second half in a gut wrenching way to the climax, and for the audience to feel the impact of her abandonment and the pain she was experiencing of been repalced both by her lover and the group. She had to be alone on staget for impact.

[@shizzray]

Cleavant Derricks

[@carolynfinkelmeier1227]

Saw this in NYC and the crowd was in tears after she sang this incredible song…… Still can get tears

[@joannap8769]

Ooo you’re so lucky! This is the first time I’ve heard this and I’m in awe. I can’t imagine what this must have been like in person 😄 how cool!

[@GoddessInTraining444]

I'm in tears right now

[@iago07]

THE HANDS-DOWN GREATEST TONY AWARD SHOW PERFORMANCE. EVERRRR!! I wish they would have let Jennifer sing that note uninterrupted at the end.

[@365designs]

I know!

[@jaquen1977]

The last note being uninterrupted is literally the thematic point.

[@clintotitot]

Jennifer Holliday brought the entire house down! No one else could better sing this song but her because each time she gets to open her mouth, emotions just start pouring in and you know that she’s going to kill it ♥️ my respect for this LEGENDARY singer ever to have graced the earth ♥️

[@TakaComics]

There are a few original performances in theater that are so iconic and powerful that the actor sets the stage for everyone who comes after them. In most cases, only one other actor has been able to match them. Betty Buckley's Grizabella, Idina Menzel's Elphaba... and this. Jennifer Hudson came the closest, but nobody has ever topped Holliday's performance in skill, emotion, and power.

[@Wisdom2812]

She set the bar with this performance! (I just shake my head in awe, everytime I look at this performance!) W😳W! "You think a star is a king!...wake up baby, a star is a slave!" That's the sleeper line of the century!

[@beaellie9766]

...and she repeated it 40 years later on the Tony Awards -- brought the house down again with little difference in her ability to sing this song.

[@Wisdom2812]

@@beaellie9766 I saw it, crazy! (Didn’t realize it was 40 yrs later)

[@donalddavis6689]

​@@Wisdom2812Oh Yes!! It Was A Long Long Time ⏰ Ago.

[@Wisdom2812]

Yes she did!@@beaellie9766

[@Wisdom2812]

I saw that one too, left them in awe!@@beaellie9766

[@davidbethancourt-barrios7186]

A huge fan of Ms. Sheryl Lee Ralph and Ms. Loretta DeVine

[@thekaerichtexas]

Never seen the original but dreamgirls with Jennifer hudson is my favorite movie. I'm here after the sheryl Lee Ralph Emmy win. Just wanted to see her in her prime singing

[@dollewilliams2742]

Loretta divine looked absolutely stunning

[@jaykay9766]

I was honored to play the strings (keyboard) for Dreams Girls in Austin, TX 1997. I have yet to see such a great performance !

[@engsfitnessnaturalhaircare7829]

😢😢😢😢😢😢😢 real tears. She sang that with her entire being. A living legend. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@IgnorancEnArrogance]

I watched this 20 times at least today, just the most incredible vocal performance ever done on stage.

[@mzbea4996]

NO ONE will EVER sing this sing as she did. ❤

[@katielawrence5420]

I love Sheryl Lee Ralph and Loretta Devine.

[@DominicGo]

this is beyond iconic, her voice and emotion, raw talent!!

[@kewchiemonster]

HOW CAN A HUMAN MAKE THOSE SOUNDS!?!?!? MY HEARTTT

[@logangillon484]

When she sings “that’s a lie that’s a lie Its just I having been feel that well “ 😌🔥👍🏾

[@mills2006]

1 of the greatest performances ever on planet earth

[@r.stevens6205]

OMG the original Dream girls and the original The Wiz!!!! So lucky to experience them both!!!!

[@militarymom6690]

I have heard other powerful voices belt out this song, but……Jennifer Holiday OWNED IT!!

[@tonyali52]

Will never be bettered.. Ever❤ Total Excellence..!! #jennifernailsit

[@byrondevillier8837]

I saw her perform this live on Broadway, July 10th, 1982. It still gives me goosebumps.

[@lolabunny1157]

Beautiful ❤❤ we have to keep black art alive!

[@NiqueTheSneak1]

When I say that woman BODIED this performance!! OMG!! So freaking gorgeous! Beautiful job!! They should’ve just ended the show right there haha! Love it! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾❤️❤️😁😁😄😄

[@TheGovenorGeneral]

Everything about this was perfect! Right down to Jennifer looking into the “mirror” and holding the conversation in the beginning!

[@tinkerbellneverland5350]

Unbelievable talent I Jennifer Holiday!

[@petey6716]

Wow, just looking at this and it brought back so much memories. I actually got to see this play amazing. 💕💕

[@CalvinTennessee]

Jennifer Holliday is such a special woman and human being.

[@havefaith.staypositive.ble9219]

The Originals Dream Girls. Iconic At Its Finest! Gone Jennifer Holiday!🙌🏿

[@shewandabrandon5204]

OMG. I don't know what to say. She sang that!!!!❤❤❤❤

[@TheSakebomb1]

I remember hearing this soundtrack at 10..the gasp at the end..

[@sarahclark6225]

I still need a dose of this per 3months.

[@k.leetalon742]

Saw this production multiple times when I first moved to nyc and each time the entire audience was in tears by the end and standing O. It was so incredible.

[@denisemcdougal6445]

She sang the hell out of that song .

[@wrinthiak3431]

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤

[@barbaraleonard8379]

Chills !!!!!!!!

[@Lincia517]

I come back to Dreamgirls so often, this part just pulls the right string in my soul. Jennifer is so powerful with her performance once I saw it it never left my mind

[@mysticamethyst1398]

Oh mai gaw I just realized thas miss Loretta herself!! Ive seen this a thousand times!! She looks amazing! Who knew 😶

[@crystalfloyd6492]

❤❤❤ Outstanding

[@hijo94]

Jennifer Holiday has a phenomenal voice and the perfect intrepretation of this song. Pure talent and class. I saw her perform live.Bravo!👏❤❤❤😂

[@sushiharden]

Absolute goosebumps!!!! Man I wish I could have seen this live

[@katielawrence5420]

I love Jennifer Holliday.

[@cj10109]

Sang!! This will always be the blueprint classic 🔥🔥🔥

[@NuCreechure]

DAMN! She did that!

[@RightAsAlways5759]

Saw this on broadway 1983, freaking unbelievable

[@Raphalou]

I tell you, if this was a Gospel song, the entire world would convert to Christianity and get saved! PURE unadulterated power, control, emotion, and character!

[@alexandrebertrand-lafleur3114]

Jennifer Holliday, OC Effie, did a appearance with Jennifer Hudson (Effie from Bill Condon's Dreamgirls)

[@makeitmakesense5348]

You can literally feel it...She is Soul Music...#Legendary😍

[@roshelltannen9698]

Everyone talks about the women (they are dope) but the men in this play aren't slobs.

[@ladennayoung2939]

They did really good too. I like the way they delivered their lines in this scene.

[@shizzray]

Oh, man. When Obba Babatunde came in with that note.

[@misticmoon115]

Here from the Emmys…WOW. This was incredible. Such emotion, ma gawdddd I wish I could’ve seen this original live

[@shiemah27]

I really wish I could see this on streaming I was born in 84 😢

[@ladennayoung2939]

This was good y'all, from what I got to see. I have never got to see this version. It seem like it is pretty good though. May God continue to bless, cover, carry, lead, and protect EVERYONE, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. AMEN.

[@daking589]

Good? Pretty good? My lord.

[@valenciataylor7872]

CAN'T NOBODY COMPARE!!!!!!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟The Queen of it ALL!!!!!! 💖💖💖 POWERFUL!!!!

[@JoannHines-g6f]

Happy Birthday Jennifer Holliday!!!❤❤❤

[@JoannHines-g6f]

Young Loretta Devine & Sheryl Lee Ralph!! Original Dreamgirls!!!❤❤

[@ramelmilton4496]

This is legendary!!!!

[@lafinoutloud]

Such a bombastic and beautiful voice. This was my first time ever seeing the original rendition of this song

[@zhaneempress5529]

OMG my heart that just gave me soooo many chills that was a wonderful performance my girl got them LUNGS 🫁 🥰👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾I almost cried near the end

[@LaikynSings]

The incomparable talented genius Chester Daigle II on those keys in the wings......my mentor and the man I call second father.... RIP POP Chester

[@terrancesings]

Everyone felt that pain

[@Dea.jamone]

I got chills !!!! My goodness

[@perfumewench]

Many have tried. Some have done well. Amber Riley comes to mind. But NO ONE else will ever match the brilliance of this performance. It’s as if she was possessed by the meaning and the music. Every cell of her body was used in full force. No one will ever match this.

[@tatilalima2874]

Sensacional. Sem palavras 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@LadyTate925]

🥺😢 That was so GIANT..... I am blown away!

[@TheGovenorGeneral]

Every woman in their era could sing!

[@mngreg1790]

1 WORD---POWERFUL!!!!

[@dianaboozer8564]

Perfection on that stage

[@ThomasBryant-sg6sn]

She took this song to next level 🎚️ awesome

[@handbagshoes]

this is crazy, wow moved to tears

[@BenjaminIsaac-pz1tu]

Still to this day; #Chills !!!

[@jetblackhair92]

Omg first time seeing this is so amazing

[@Shelikewoah]

Goosebumps…

[@danafripp4120]

The Whole Godhead came out that woman's throat.🔥 Monumental.

[@rhonefraser]

CLASSIC. Happy Birthday, Jennifer!!!😍😍😍

[@mistafreeze7241]

AIN'T NOBODY........I REPEAT.......NOBODY......F$%KIN' WITH THIS.........POINT BLANK AND PERIOD.....CAN'T BUY THOSE KINDA PIPES.😤

[@amandaboom3777]

What an experience that must’ve been.

[@trfreitas1983]

This is a gem. 🥰

[@joeymissie]

3:35 I'm saying this line like this forever 😭

[@paultrevorbale2440]

How to bring the house down! Utterly amazing!

[@JoannHines-g6f]

Jenny did " THE DAMN THANG"!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@michaelhenderson8126]

Jennifer Holliday is the very best 😘 she should have been in the movie version, too! This is her signature song.

[@marymiller6188]

She was too old to play Effie by the time the movie came out

[@Msomifabien]

Omg Loretta devine looks so beautiful

[@JohnAdjepongWilson]

they did well in the 2006 film....the original is a classic