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.

Jennifer Hudson portrayed Effie in the 2006 film adaptation of the musical, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

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.

"[11] Variety wrote that Hudson's performance "calls to mind debuts like Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl or Bette Midler in The Rose, with a voice like the young Aretha.

Although it in essence is Hudson's first single release, it became her fourth top 75 hit in the United Kingdom after a performance on The X Factor in 2009 after being sung by Danyl Johnson.

[14][15] A club remix was created for this single, engineered by Richie Jones and Eric Kupper, and appears as a bonus track on the "Deluxe Edition" of the Dreamgirls soundtrack album.

The track remained a sleeper club hit in the UK throughout 1995, prompting a spate of re-releases and remixes, including Stonebridge, culminating in a major release on Ore Records in 1996.

On November 20, 2007, the original master, Produced by critically acclaimed Eve Nelson, was released digitally by Breaking Records and is available on all major download sites.

In an episode of The 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 the 2001 film Down to Earth, the song is performed by several people at the Apollo Theater, with the audience only approving when sung by Phil Quon (John Cho).

Also in 2009, the parody film Dance Flick features David Alan Grier performing a version of the song telling the protagonists that they're "gonna feed [him]" with assorted foods and name brand items.

On December 1, 2013, Im released a version of the song as part of her self-titled album, which debuted at number one in Australia, and was certified Platinum.

In 2015, Louisa Johnson performed this song both in the six chair challenge and with Rita Ora as her celebrity duet choice during the first part of the twelfth-season finale of The X Factor in the UK.