I’m Still Here - Jennifer Holliday

[@windowtrimmer8211]

I was in the audience. Great show. But nothing prepared me for Jennifer Holliday’s performance, which was beyond description. Time stopped. She conjured a once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere of ecstatic awesomeness. The song itself took on new meanings that reached toward cosmic truth. What a privilege to have been in Carnegie Hall on June 20, 2024 to experience Holliday’s divine electricity. I’ll never be the same.

[@MaureenStapletonFan]

I could not agree with you more! I was there, too. I was in tears. I've never heard such thunderous applause in all of my 54 years. I'm sure the moment will flash before my eyes at the time of my death. It was beyond anything I have ever experienced. It was electric. Amazing.

[@mgescuro]

I was in the audience that night. I wasn’t prepared for that performance at all. Just… wow!!!

[@folliesfanatic]

Just an incredible night it was. This was probably the top highlight among many others. She sang the song differently than I've ever heard it before. There was a video of her performance on Facebook but it was taken down.

[@mjastoria]

I’m still having the shivers. It was an unforgettable and legendary Moment. 😮

[@christopherbush9027]

Absolutely killed it! Thank you so much for posting!

[@joshuavandyne7334]

Holiday insisted that her conductor from Dreamgirls conduct her performance at the 82 Tony Awards as opposed to the Tony Award Conductor because her conductor knew all her tempos, and breaths and she threatened to no show unless she got her wish (she did , obviously as the Dreamgirls sequence from the Tony Awards It’s All Over/And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going/Thats ShowBiz is one of the all time greatest Tony award performances showcasing not just the phenomenon that was Jennifer Holiday but also the brilliance that was the seamless cinematic staging of Michael Bennett

[@markuhl]

Thank you, Joshua! Miss u.

[@richardgoodjoin3250]

Bless the person who posted this audio. I heard this performance was out of this world and so glad I got to hear it.

[@XPRT10R]

Fantastic! Thank you! I hear the "One more kiss" rendition was also fabulous.

[@jasonmatthews534]

It was amazing! Harolyn took Young Heidi’s high note at the very end!

[@XPRT10R]

@@jasonmatthews534 Yes, the C#, like Erie Mills did in the 1985 Concert! I wish I could have been there. Any chance of a bootleg of that too, ​ @YoureGonnaLoveTomorrowChannel ?

[@mjastoria]

Karen Ziemba and the Dancing Women in “Who’s That Woman” were all Epic. That one brought down the house.

[@davidmorley5430]

Thank you for posting. I'm hoping Miss Holliday will sing this again.

[@davidhigginbotham2387]

I was just thinking, I hope she includes that in her repertoire from now on.

[@Dan_G.R.S.]

Absolutely astounding stuff! I feel like the universe was made just for this moment

[@smallworld1624]

Thank you for posting all these!

[@joshuavandyne7334]

In all fairness, she did tell us she wasn’t going ….clocking in at just under 10 minutes this is far and away the longest version of this song ever recorded - we are on a journey with through the twentieth century - in real time!

[@davidhigginbotham2387]

@joshuavandyne7334 LOL, yes and worth every single second.

[@dogvom]

I played the video at 1x speed, then at 1.5x and 1.25x. • Jennifer's 1x speed seemed a little bloated and unwieldy, which is what made me try different tempi in the first place. • 1.5x speed was great vocally, and full of energy, but this orchestration, especially the drums, sounded cluttered and too busy at half again as fast. Incidentally, Yvonne De Carlo's version on the original cast album is _even faster,_ by about 5 beats per minute. The reason that speed works on the OC is that Jonathan Tunick's orchestration is sparser and roomier, so the instruments don't bump into one another. • 1.25x is just right. That tempo is fast enough to make the song strut, but slow enough to give it weight without bloat.

[@jasonmatthews534]

Omg! Thank you so much!

[@Mr17051963]

Wow! Just wow!!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@user-qu2hr8kr5h]

Wow

[@kevinkiniry3941]

wow!

[@ChristopherButler-um2ko]

Brenda Frazier is the correct answer...Ms. Holiday always packs a punch.

[@johni0666]

Breathtaking ❤❤❤

[@patrickinsoho4777]

I liked it, and I loved the way she made it her own with slightly jazzier orchestrations. For me the Petula Clark version at the Old Friends concert was more moving as her voice was older and frailer. Jennifer Holliday’s voice is still too young. Hopefully Miss Holliday will perform it again in a decade and she’ll be even better!

[@Donde_Lieta]

This was so extra, but in all the best ways! Brava!

[@Glorygood56]

Was it recorded? Hope so

[@22professional]

Too slow for me, but still fabulous! (Sondheim would hate it, but the fact he isn't around meant she got to do it like this!)

[@TruthSerum101]

LOLOLOL! Do you think a dival like Jennifer Holiday would ever seek or need Sondheim's approval to sing his songs the way she wants to sing them in a concert setting? If that were the case, we would have never heard Sarah Vaughan's definitive interpretation of Send In The Clowns. He should have been honored that either woman would breathe new life into his wonderful songs,

[@windowtrimmer8211]

Sondheim was actually very approving of personalized interpretations by varying performers of his songs. As long as they got the notes right. (Holliday makes two slight melodic alterations that might be classified as blues-ification.) One thing he did hate was when neo-arrangers would get his authentic chord structures wrong. For example the branzenly wrong chord in Sinatra’s Send in the Clowns. But Holliday’s slowed tempo seems to me to add an element of supreme seriousness and reverence. Also in this tempo the first part sounds even more introspective and the second half even more triumphant. In the theater that night, the awe that she evoked was indescribable.

[@davidhigginbotham2387]

@@TruthSerum101 yes, Sarah Vaughan's version is sublime. Cleo Laine's version with John Dankworth (prior to her Sondheim album with Jonathan Tunick's arrangement), however, is definitive for me.

[@davidb5818]

I think Sondheim would've loved this.

[@IceAintNice]

Why?

[@bliss66]

@@IceAintNiceBecause he would’ve been proud to hear this sung with such complete vocal authority and marvelled at the longevity and resonance this composition holds for so many women, especially for a talent as dynamic and storied as the great Jennifer Holliday.

[@nathanielament-stone4176]

Where / when was this performance?

[@YoureGonnaLoveTomorrowChannel]

Open your eyes and look at the picture…

[@stephenrebello4251]

Date is on the poster.

[@rugby8-Philadelphia]

​@@YoureGonnaLoveTomorrowChannel ❤❤❤

[@fionajackson8002]

It was on June 20th at Carnegie Hall.

[@nathanielament-stone4176]

Lol thanks, everyone! 😂

[@hawby7mgh]

“I was there…” and yes, this performance was fantastic. Recording (Audio or Video) of any kind without express permission of management/producers & all unions involved is not permitted. I understand the urge to share - but why can’t we simply respect the regulations and allow a “One Night Only” event to be just that?

[@Dan_G.R.S.]

Art deserves to be shared and not all 8 billion people in this world live in the miniscule New York.

[@davidb5818]

It would be an aesthetic crime if this wasn't recorded for commercial release. I'll gladly pay for a CD if/when it's released.

[@YoureGonnaLoveTomorrowChannel]

Your post not only reeks of gatekeeping but sadly also of hypocrisy: you keep a playlist on youtube that includes several bootlegs. Have some shame.

[@TruthSerum101]

Has there ever been a US production of Follies that has turned a profit? The two Broadway and first West End productions certainly did not. Some people who don't know or care who Sondheim is, will get to hear I'm Still Here for the first time because Jennifer Holliday is singing it on KZbin. Let's face it. Sondheim fans are a small and select group of people. How many tries did it take for Merrily We Roll Along to become a success? Showcasing Broadway on KZbin increases visibility and builds a fanbase. KZbin is a cost effective marketing tool which is why many theatre producers and artists don't always enforce the rules that you quoted. If you need for this concert to remain a one-time-only event, then by all means, you should NEVER listen to this video again.

[@windowtrimmer8211]

Intellectually I know you’re right but emotionally I am thrilled this recording is here. The performance seemed too good to be true when I was present that night, but here it is to confirm my initial response. I’m speechless with awe all over again.

[@johnflynn9619]

Jennifer is a Broadway Star. But, she doesn't fit this particular song. Carol Burnett sang it Best.

[@SLisheron1]

I don’t much care for this rendition either. It lacks the wry wit others have brought to the song. I like Burnett’s version, but Polly Bergen’s performance in the first Broadway revival was phenomenal. I’m also very fond of Eartha Kitt’s version.