Kathy Iandoli of Idolator highlighted " I Am " as a " gorgeous standout " example of Lewis ' ability to " just sing " a song as opposed to using auto-tune on " Power " and over-singing on " I Got You " . Lewis Corner of Digital Spy felt that the track put " Simon Cowell in his place in a way Louis Walsh could only dream of . " Brad O'Mance for Popjustice likened the song to Massive Attack 's 1991 song " Unfinished Sympathy " " with a different song on top " , while Official Charts Company writer Rob Copsey described it as " gutsy and uplifting " . However , Michael Clemons of '' The Daily Reveille '' thought that while it was not a stand out track , it was a good listen . Chuck Campbell of '' Knoxville News Sentinel '' thought that the track 's lyrical theme , and the album 's theme as a whole , was flawed as a concept , writing " The problem with repeatedly declaring you do n’t need the approval of someone who has wronged you is that your message is false . Clearly if Lewis indulges in six straight bitter songs about defiantly rebounding from a bad relationship ( which she does on “ I Am ” ) , she obviously craves validation from the very person ( or people ) who did her dirty . " Lewis performed " I Am " for the first time during a live showcase at the Hospital Club in London on 14 April 2015 . The singer premiered four other tracks from '' I Am '' including " Ladders " , " I Got You " , " Thank You " and " Fire Under My Feet " . Stefan Kyriazis of the '' Daily Star '' described " I Am " and " Ladders " as " instant crowd pleasers " . Lewis later performed the track live on '' The National Lottery : In It to Win It '' on 12 September 2015 , and again the following day at the BBC 's Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park festival . The set-list also included performances of " Better in Time " , " Bleeding Love " , " Run " , " Fire Under My Feet " and " I Got You " . " I Am " was included as the opening song on her 2016 concert tour of the same name
of the same name
I Am Tour (Leona Lewis)
I Am (Leona Lewis song)