As the original Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, Renée Elise Goldsberry got to embrace pop diva fierceness onstage eight times a week — and won a Tony Award in the process.
The actress, who also won a Grammy when the Hamilton original Broadway cast recording took home best musical theater album, has kept busy since — notably as the hilariously over-the-top girl group alum Wickie on Peacock/Netflix musical comedy series Girls5Eva — but she’s now stepping into the spotlight in a new way: with her independently-released debut album, Who I Really Am, out June 6. It’s mostly written by Goldsberry herself, with the notable exception of “Satisfied,” her personal eleven-o-clock number from Hamilton.
“I think the song becomes a lovely bridge from how you know me as a recording artist to the rest of my music as a recording artist,” Goldsberry tells Billboard. What always felt like a “deer in the headlights” moment during the show, she says, became less scary knowing the ensemble was still around her — and placed in the new context of the album, her backup vocalists and band have taken on that role.
Ahead of the reimagined “Satisfied” release today, Goldsberry spoke to Billboard about her evolving relationship to the number that required her to both belt and rap, and the surprising way that tapping into her Girls5Eva character helped her take on this new version.
How did learning and performing “Satisfied” as much as you have help you grow as a vocalist and performer overall?
What’s most virtuosic about it is the speed of the rap – but that was always very natural for me. It’s so well-constructed, it makes so much sense. I understood immediately the way [Angelica’s] brain works, how someone that smart and passionate can make a decision that’s that complex in an instant.
What was challenging for me was singing through the emotion that holds so much sacrifice at the end of the song. Signing that live was the thing that was so frightening – Will i be able to make sound at the end of this, when I have to act on the decision I just made? The album single version of this song continues to grow – it doesn’t drop back down into vulnerability, it just keeps driving, and that’s a lovely evolution for me in it.
You did so much of the writing yourself on this album; I presume it took a lot of thought to decide what to include that wasn’t by you. Why did this feel important to have in the mix?
In 2020, we were promoting Hamilton on Disney+ — and at the exact same time I was writing this album, and the last thing on my mind would have been to include a song I didn’t write, even the song I’m most famous for singing. So it’s so funny to come full circle and be so proud of having this track on the album. What Hamilton has turned into is something that belongs to everyone, and everyone I think knows it better than me now. So it’s a wonderful thing to feel it separate from the show — and when I finally had the courage to share it with Lin and he also liked it, that was the sign-off I needed.
Why was it scary to present it to him?
I’m not a huge believer in remaking things that are perfect. Luther Vandross can remake anybody’s song, Whitney Houston did a really good job with “I Will Always Love You” — but unless you’re comin’ like that, I think you should leave well enough alone. [Laughs.] I didn’t do it to improve upon it; I just found a way for it to live outside of a perfect show.
How has your relationship to performing it changed over the years? At this point it must feel a little like the hit everyone wants a pop star to perform in concert, even if they occasionally need a break from it….
In the very beginning, I said: “If for the rest of my life when I walk out, somebody plays this song, I’ll be thrilled.” And then what you’re saying is also true; we have an interesting relationship with the things we owe the most to in terms of our career. At some point, we want to prove we can do something else — so there might be a stage where we’re trying to be defined as something different, and then we full circle land on gratitude.
It’s funny that it’s only been ten years — but I’m already full circle grateful. I don’t feel like it’s in any way diminishing, like, “This is your one thing.” It’s such a gift, and also there’s so much challenge in it, so much to discover, it will never feel too small for me.
As a big Girls5Eva fan, I have to ask: Do you see any ways in which playing Wickie helped you on this album? Does tapping into her energy help you diva out?
At this very moment, something just became very clear for me: the alter ego of a Sasha Fierce…even in Girls5Eva, Dawn has this Fledge Mulholland alter ego so this mom and wife can feel as powerful as she did onstage. And I just realized Wickie is mine.
There are a lot of things about her I don’t take into my life — but the unapologetic ambition is critical, especially when you’re doing something that no one asked you to do. No one asked me, “Who are you really, Renée?” I just chose to answer it, and Wickie would do that — and she’d do it bravely and with a very unique sense of style! And she’s the Energizer Bunny — she never ever stops trying to move forward, and I need a little bit of that. I have so many more stories to tell.