"One Night Only" is a song from the 1981 Broadway musicalDreamgirls, with lyrics written by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "One Night Only" is performed twice in succession, as differing versions of the song — a soul ballad by the character Effie White and a disco version by her former bandmates Deena Jones & the Dreams — compete on the radio and the pop charts.
Song information
Both versions of "One Night Only" appear as one track on the original 1982 Dreamgirls Broadway cast album, performed by Jennifer Holliday as Effie and Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine, and Deborah Burrell as Deena Jones & the Dreams. "One Night Only" was later covered on album by Elaine Paige and Sylvester. Actor Hugh Jackman performed the song while hosting the 2004 Tony Awards ceremony, in a large production number featuring girl groups from the musicals Caroline, or Change, Hairspray, and Little Shop of Horrors.
The version of "One Night Only" performed by Deena Jones & the Dreams entered the UK Singles Chart at number 67 on September 6, 2009 due to strong digital download sales. An audition performance by 21-year-old Rozell Phillips on the reality TV showThe X Factor renewed interest in the song, three years after it was initially released.
Scherrie Payne, a member of The Supremes from 1973–77, recorded a 12" single 6:35 duration, on the San Francisco label Megatone in 1984. It was a big hit in gay discos of the era, and featured fellow former Supreme Cindy Birdsong on background vocals.
Treyc Cohen performed the song when she was in the Bottom 2 on the 3rd Live Show of the seventh series of The X Factor
Finnish rapper Mikael Gabriel used the samples of the song on track "Tuulee Tuulee" from his debut album 5 miljoonaa muuta.
The dance crew Breaksk8 danced to this song on America's Best Dance Crew as a part of their Broadway Challenge.
Ailee, an American-born Korean pop singer, performed the song live on the music show Simply K-Pop in February 2012.
Rylan Clark performed the song when he was in the Bottom 2 on the 1st Live Show of the ninth series of The X Factor
Faye Tozer of pop band Steps covered the song for the group's Ultimate Tour.
Arisxandra performed the song on the seventh series of Britain's Got Talent; this performance caused major controversy, as Libertino was eleven at the time and it was widely construed to be inappropriate for a minor to be singing it.
Shelley Smith performed the song when she was in the Bottom 2 on the 1st live show of the tenth series of The X Factor
In 2014 Maltese child singer Veronica Rotin covered this on her debut album, Veronica Rotin.
In October 2017, the song was the first single released, by the group Leading Ladies, taken from the album Songs from the Stage.
