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OK, this post is simply just a placeholder for 3 YouTube video links to one of my all-time favourite songs, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” which was made famous by Jennifer Holliday in 1981. Her iconic performance in the role of overweight Effie Melody White in the hit Broadway musical Dreamgirls is widely acclaimed. The lyrics describe Effie’s love and her defiant refusal to let Curtis (her cheating former lover and the manager of her singing group) to both fire and dump her. (My sister, a former abused women’s shelter counsellor would say that Effie is in major denial and in need of counselling ASAP! Yup!) Jennifer’s powerhouse rendition is a huge torrent of over the top emotion. Big lady. Big talent. Titanic ballad.

I have neither seen Jennifer live in concert nor a stage production of the play, but I do have this song memorized. I think it was a decade after the end of Jennifer’s 4-year stint in Dreamgirls when I first heard the lady and this song on the radio, belting out what I still consider today to be the most definitive performance of this song, hands down.

3 versions for comparison (in the order that they came out and coincidentally, in the order of my preference - first being the best):

• Jennifer Holliday at the 1982 Tony Awards telecast
• Bianca Ryan at the 2006 America’s Got Talent contest (winner, 11 years old at the time, check it out)
• Tamyra Gray (2002 American Idol, 4th place) in H&M produced video commercial singing “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”. Coming this December is a film adaptation of Dreamgirls starring Beyoncé Knowles as diva “Deena”. Jennifer Hudson, also an American Idol finalist (2004, 8th place) is playing Effie Melody White in the film.

Jennifer Holliday’s performance at the 1982 Tony Awards (WHOAH, a lot of facial grimaces and umm, if I was THAT guy, I’d be scared… RUN!):

Bianca Ryan’s performance at the 2006 America’s Got Talent contest. She won. WHOAH, BIG VOICE for a little 11-year old girl! ELEVEN?! Highly impressive, but… still sounds like a kid. Needs training and refinement.

Lastly, the H&M video commercial (yeah, that clothes store) featuring Mary J. Blige (Queen of Hip Hop) and Tamyra Gray both singing songs from Dreamgirls. Mary sings “When I First Saw You” for the FIRST 2 minutes and Tamyra follows her with “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going”. The latter song takes on a different meaning here because Tamyra plays a “Juliet” chick to some dude’s “Romeo” who dies from a drive-by shooting. Boo hoo hoo, whatever. Juliet basically goes through Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’s first 3 levels (shock, denial, anger) of the 7 stages of GRIEF, hahaha! Ah, Psych 101, fond memories of sleeping in class and getting an A-.

While surfin’ the Net for this song, I ran across several articles about Jennifer Holliday’s 10-year bout with manic depression, low-self esteem, loneliness, suicide attempt, an eating disorder, severe weight gain and her faith in God that helped her on her road to recovery. Interesting, I didn’t know that. All that talent, fame and awards, but low self-esteem. Yeah, sounds like Halle Belle, the anorexic flipside.

Adieu,

choking on a fruity pit

P.S. [ EDIT: I saw the movie Dreamgirls... and yowza! Jennifer Hudson brings the da house down. She totally deserves all those accolades and Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Wow! ]