“Listen” was written for the 2006 film Dreamgirls.
Beyoncé recorded “Listen” for the musical drama Dreamgirls, in which she played Deena Jones. The song appears during the film’s later section and expresses Deena’s growing independence as she seeks to define her own voice and identity.
The song was written by Beyoncé, Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Henry Krieger. Krieger composed the music for the original Dreamgirls stage musical, while the film’s writers developed “Listen” as a new song for the movie adaptation. Beyoncé performed it in the film and included it on the Dreamgirls soundtrack.
“Listen” received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song and a Golden Globe nomination in the same category. It is sometimes confused with “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” the signature song associated with Jennifer Hudson’s character Effie White, but that song was part of the original stage musical.