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 quickly 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
her performance. In 1982, Holliday recorded a number-one R&B hit version of
"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". Jennifer
Hudson portrayed Effie in the 2006 film
adaptation of Dreamgirls, winning an Oscar for the role.
Hudson's version became a Top 20 R&B single, and a number-one dance hit.

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, Femalefor 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.[1] In
his review of Dreamgirls' opening night performance, 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"[2] "And
I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" remains Holliday's signature song.