NAACP Image Awards: 5 Vocal Performances From Cynthia Erivo That Are an Instant Replay
Cynthia Erivo doesn’t sing to impress.
She sings to move something. Her voice carries grief, power, tenderness, fury, and faith, sometimes all in one note. You don’t just hear her. You feel her.
With four NAACP Image Award nominations this year, including Entertainer of the Year and Best Actress in a Motion Picture for "Wicked: For Good", it’s the perfect moment to look back at the performances that make people pause mid-scroll and hit replay without thinking.
These are five moments where Cynthia didn’t just sing and shifts the air.
"I'm Here"
This is the performance that turned Cynthia Erivo into a force. “I’m Here” isn’t about volume, but it’s about arrival. Every note sounds like survival turning into self-recognition.
She sings it like someone discovering her own name for the first time. By the end, you’re not watching a performance and you’re instead witnessing a woman standing fully inside herself.
"Stand Up"
Written for her role as Harriet Tubman, “Stand Up” feels like history breathing. It’s strength without stiffness, faith without performance.
Her voice carries the weight of freedom as something both sacred and exhausting. She doesn’t oversing it and she honors it.
The song feels like a prayer you can walk to.
“Ain’t No Way”
In this performance, Cynthia Erivo honors Aretha Franklin with a rendition that’s quiet in volume but huge in feeling.
Originally made famous by Franklin in 1968, the song is a soul classic defined by its emotional openness and vocal purity.
Every breath, every phrase feels like an emotional excavation, and she makes the song her own without losing the reverence it deserves.
- advertisement
"The Wizard & I"
This performance feels like longing learning how to speak. She sings hope like it’s fragile but determined.
Every note feels like a dream trying not to break under the weight of reality. It’s soft, emotional, and quietly brave. It's the kind of singing that makes you lean forward instead of clap.
“And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”
This is Cynthia Erivo in full command and not just of her voice, but of the story inside the vocal.
“And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” is one of those legacy songs where you can’t hide behind technique. You either bring truth, or you don’t sing it at all.
She brings truth. She doesn’t rush the pain, she doesn’t overdecorate the emotion, and she doesn’t treat the big notes like a flex.
Watch the NAACP Image Awards on BET and CBS on Feb. 28, 2026.
