Joaquina Kalukango - "Let It Burn" (75th Tony Awards Performance) 

Cynthia cheering her on is incredibly powerful.

just when you think she’s barely holding onto that note, she comes through with that power. good god.

This is what Broadway is missing now. Everyone is having their actors sing as high as they can and have all these crazy vocals but forget that the most moving thing is watching someone going through an existentially emotional moment.

Hearing Cynthia in the croud, cheering for her, knowing exactly the mental, physical, and emotional tool a role like this requires.. let alone a 18 second belted final note - with vibrato

She felt that, she really did feel that. That wasn’t lack of talent or skill, that was raw emotion

I think nine times out of ten, trained singers like this become “pitchy” on purpose. That’s the beauty of acting and singing coming together. You can’t just be technically perfect, you have to portray a human being experiencing emotion.

I keep coming back to this performance. It fills me with such pride. As a black artist seeing another black artist command that stage. To see that crowd spring to their feet with adulation gives me the feels every time. What a powerful, raw, and relevant piece of theatre. Joaquina deserved that Tony.

“we were safer separated, but love left us no choice.” wow that’s profound.

I think the pitchiness adds to the genuine “natural” feel.

the way that Cynthia hopped up to applaud her gave me chills to think that she would be the first to cheer you Joaquina truly is a force of nature

She held that note and pulled a new one out with the same note. That is pure talent.

She embodied ALL the emotions it took to deliver this song…it translated so well.

Holy moly she was in character deep in this performance. Gah, those tears and the passion and the release of notes one after another until we reach that finale - the notes just kept on blazing. Reminds me of Idina's Defying Gravity. Oh what a a special performance this was from Joaquina! Worthy of her deserving win here at the Tony Awards. You better stand and applaud and ovate this woman. Now I wanna watch the play.

that slow clap with a sly but genuinely proud look on that womans face along with Cynthias "YES! YES!" in the back thats a core memory.

You can tell, she had something to prove to many people in that audience. This touched her spirit as well as others.

As someone who has Chromosthesia - I can see sound - this is the most painfully beautiful performance I have ever witnessed. It is so powerful that I actually couldn't see properly the first time I watched it. This is now the 50th time I have watched it and the more I do so the more I realize that this performance can change the world. I wish this could be performed in Congress - it will change the way we experience division and hatred. A voice and a performance that could unite the world.

I'm not a critic, I loved her "pitchy" sound... Do you know how it feels to know you were nominated for an award to sing in front of your peers? And knowing that the show you performed in was closed due to mismanagement of money... Now listen to her again, and see who she's talking to at this moment... Feel her passion and why it means so much to her. And why her peers cheered the way they did. I don't think any of us on this side of the stage should criticize her performance... She won the award... We're listening to her! WELL DONE Ms. Kalukango... Well Done.

This will go down in history as one of the most powerful Tony performances ever.

I remember getting up and having to shake out the chills I got when I saw this on Broadway. She did that 8 times a week yall. So sad how this show ended literally only weeks after this performance.

Her absolute raw emotion almost taking the note from her but then becoming her greatest strength gets me right in the god Damn feelings

omg that final breath on that note hit me RIGHT in the soul. made me tear up wow the desperation so powerful @2:25

I can watch this over and over again and it never gets old!!! The best live performance I've seen in years!!! Absolutely breathtaking and stunning!!!!! BRAVO!!

This is powerful. If you don’t think so watch it again. 2:10 The lord blessed her lungs. I’m sure she hit notes that make others shit.

Without even watching the musical, in 3 mintues I can feel her journey and her pain. Such a stellar song AND performance.

Mere human beings aren't supposed to be able to hold a belt that long with that much raw depth. She is SUPERHUMAN. I can't watch this enough times. This was historic.

I literally bawled tears with her watching this performance..not JUST because of her vocals, but also because of what the song/musical meant & stood for, & how it resonates to our story. SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL!!! THEN SHE TURNED AROUND & WON THE TONY!!!! And to ALL those with the negative comments about her pitch or her being “off key”, just stop & realize these few things: 1. You CLEARLY don’t know the difficulty in trying to sing while fighting tears 2. She’s in room filled with LITERALLY hundreds of the top broadway performers/LEGENDS & they themselves were left in awe 3. Babes, you 9.5 times out of 10 could NEVER😊

That line "We were safer separated but love left us no choice" moves me every time. Its about interracial relationships during the civil war and this character is with an Irish man

Don’t know what she wants to burn; however, her vocals are on 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

The point of live performance is it isn't perfect, it isn't tonally corrected, it is raw, it is emotion. it is fucking GOOSEBUMPS!

Wow. That power and delivery!! The spirit of determination and endurance are soo tangible here. She understood the assignment and ACED IT. Hats off ma'am. My God

imperfection expresses the heart better than perfection. She's INCREDIBLE

He version is sooooo freaking powerful and emotional. 🥹

Nah this had me bawling. The imperfections just made this so beautiful 😭

❤‍🔥I didn’t know that vocal talent like this existed anymore. Today is the day I begin to support her work.

My spirit jumped out & came back in! My God

I saw this musical in June and I’m still having chills from her performance of that amazing song.

Life can be a little "pitchy" sometimes. And she sand her heart out about it. It's the power, and the emotion, and the realness for me. I FELT that.10/10 period.

The last note 😭😭😭 my tears were flowing

There is so much power and passion. The single tear gets me every time I watch it. She deserved that Tony 100%

Holy crikey! Made me cry right along, and hard. I can’t love this enough!🎉

I WILL NEVER GET TIRED OF WATCHING THIS CLIP. IT TRANCENDS !!!!

I’ve watched this video, perhaps, hundreds of times. And no matter how many times I’ve watched it, I have to watch it again, and again, again , and… Well, you get the point 😆.

Watching her live on Broadway was an unique experience! ✨

She was so incredible in jelly’s last jam her voice is just a soaring bird and deep as the oceans ❤

MAJESTIC EMOTING! 👁 popping breath control and the RANGE of her VOICE effectively channeled that Battle cry from the depths of her soul!!!! STANDING OVATION ONLY!!!!

I never cried like ugly in a long time 😢 Prolly one of the best theatrical performances available on YT right now! Hope this doesn’t get taken down for a while, i feel unworthy seeing legendary performances like this, if this is priced i sure couldn’t afford it. Thanks for sharing! Brb , maybe a couple thousands times more 😮

I saw this song live in Chicago and it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I still get chills thinking about it!!!

The more i watch this performance the more i feel that every moment is intentional, and it is beautiful and alarming and incredible.

I missed the Tony's in 2022... I'm blown the f*ck away.

The power of her voice, and raw emotion. There are no words suitable enough to describe her.

The power... The skill... The control... WOW!!!

I watch this a million times and every time I get chills and tears well up as though it was the first time - my god this woman is powerful!

Good lord! Teared up! So spectacular

When someone can take a subpar song from an erratic, at times dismal, musical and still make your jaw drop from the power of conviction, that is the mastery of a great performance.

Oh my F..... GOD!!!!!!! I am breathless just listenning to her!!

This is one of the greatest musical theater performances of all time!!!

CYNTHIA!!!!!!!!!!! FELT. THAT.

OUTSTANDING!!!!

SHE SANG WHAT SHE SANG!!!! ✊🏾💗🔥

When you have moved Bernadette Peters to tears, you KNOW you're doing something really, really right. I remember seeing this when it was first broadcast and being absolutely staggered at how amazing this performance was.

Just wow!

I wanna be able to sing while crying and eat a performance up like this. I’ll take just a tiny piece of this talent.

I cry EVERY TIME I see this performance, talk about getting into your soul..

One of the best things I’ve ever seen ❤️

It’s the “yes” at the end from Cynthia Erivo! Yes ma’am you killed this!!! ❤

Almost went into tears

Power, skill, talent, and beauty.

Damn! Made me tear up

CHILLS

GOOSEBUMPS

Yassss MA’AM!! That last note!😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😭😭😭😭🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I hope all the actors and everyone involved with this show receive their settlement from the show. I am waiting for that Broadway Cast Recording. Now my two cents: I had no context of the show when I watched the Tony Awards, but this performance was beyond powerful that I was crying at the end. Pure, raw emotion. Was Joaquina pitchy, yes, but here’s the thing. This is the show stopping 11’clock number in Act 2. By this time, she would have sung for at least 2 hours, her voice would have been warmed up, and she would have told a story up until this number, so the audience would have known the backstory leading to this moment. Instead, Paradise Square did not perform their medley until the end of the Tonys. Joaquina had been sitting in the audience for maybe 2 hours or so before she had to perform. No chance to really warm up her voice. Just “ready, go time.” And she gave one hell of a Tony winning performance. So unless you can do better on the fly, be my guest. Only positive comments! Joaquina is a phenomenal storyteller and performer! Flawless!

Wow. Just…Wow.

We found you on Bass Reeves and you stood out I see why now...great performance here and there

HOLY sh---t THAT was powerful!

Wowwwww!! Truly a masterpiece 😊❤

she was definately possessed by the ancestors, i have got chills. ''we were safe seperated'' that got me

So much meaning and power behind that performance. Breathtaking and captivating personal and political commentary. Well done.❤

This is powerful one of the best performances I have seen

I genuinely came in thinking "Meh, it's okay." like some naive, ignorant, fool, but THAT ENDING!!!!! It gave me the lightning- that moment when the spark of God rushes through your entire nervous system and let's you know you're a piece of something so much greater than any one, and you just glimpsed a microcosm of some grand design. Like being caught beneath an aurora, having an epiphany, or witnessing a miracle. All of that occurred in this note, in those features, and in those eyes. 😍

Ok. Someone needs to explain to me how huge her lungs are. I mean. It’s not just the raw emotion but also the technique. She is a STAR!!!

Someone just walking an honorary Tony out to her for this performance would have been highly appropriate and well deserved.

Oncore oncore beautiful beautiful 🙏❤️ god bless us all thank you beautiful video

Oh my God, what a mega talent. Absolutely beautiful & powerful.

Stunning performance...!!! 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

A lot of people in broadway are missing emotion these days, she sounds amazing, but also SO POWERFUL, especially with the message behind this omg

Oh my goodness !!! WOW! Outstanding! Gifted not with a voice to speak but kissed with His love a voice to sing🙏🏼

Why she got me crying!🥺

The pitchyness, the mistakes make it beautiful.

Sistah With A Voice!💪🏾🙌🏾🎤⭐️

Have never seen anything like this.. waw.. incredible..wow wow wow!!!!!

Man….i love when Broadway singers make these notes seem effortless, but the amount of training she has to do…power. Also…random Bor’dor appearance.

Unforgettable.

Damn, she made me wanna see this play…I felt all of it…❤

One Word. WOW❣️❣️❣️

It does not matter much about the pitch in other parts of the song. Those last notes are amazing. It made it all worth it!!!!! Yes!!!!!!!!

How many times have I watched this? Yesssss

THIS IS THE DEFINITION OF EXCELLENCE ✨

Chills 😮❤

I think this is actually the best Tony performance of all time …. No kidding. So moving.