Amy Winehouse’s music video for “Back To Black” has racked up more than a billion views on YouTube, more than 16 years after its release.
The Grammy-winning singer, who died of alcohol poisoning at her home in Camden, north London, on July 23, 2011, aged 27, continues to enjoy phenomenal success long after her tragic death.
This week, Back To Black finally reached one billion views on the video streaming platform, with Amy joining an elite group of musicians to achieve the impressive feat, including Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran.
The title track, “Back To Black,” widely considered one of Amy’s signature songs, is part of the “Back to Black” album, which brought the artist commercial and international fame in 2006.
Her debut number from the album, Rehab, became an international and critical success and earned her three Grammy Awards at the 50th ceremony, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Iconic: Grammy-winning singer Amy Winehouse, who died on July 23, 2011 at the age of 27, continues to enjoy phenomenal success long after her death (pictured in 2008).
Significantly, this week Amy’s music video “Back to Black” finally surpassed one billion views on the video streaming platform YouTube – over 16 years after its release
The single “Back To Black” was also a success in its own right, reaching number eight in the UK Singles Chart and is Winehouse’s third best-selling single in the UK.
Many notable artists have covered the song, including the cast of the American musical comedy Glee and Beyoncé and André 3000 for the soundtrack to the 2013 film adaptation of the novel The Great Gatsby.
The song was written by Amy and Mark Ronson and was directly inspired by the singer’s turbulent relationship with Black Fielder-Civil, whom she had left for an ex-girlfriend.
The couple reconciled and married in 2007, but divorced two years later in 2009 after she admitted to being unfaithful.
Winehouse’s public struggle with her troubled love life and alcohol and drug addictions, as well as her subsequent death, are believed to have contributed to the Back To Black album’s enduring popularity.
The Phil Griffin-directed black-and-white music video for the dark jazz number shows Amy attending a memorial service for an obviously failed romance.
Amidst a crowd, she attends the funeral, where a gravestone reads: “RIP the Heart of Amy Winehouse” – but the image was removed after she died of alcohol poisoning in 2011.
In the song’s lyrics, Amy reminisces about the relationship, dousing herself in the fragments her boyfriend left behind as she sings: “We said goodbye with only words / I died a hundred times / You go back to her / And me.” go back to black.” .’
Dark: The Phil Griffin-directed black-and-white music video for the dark jazz number shows Amy attending a memorial service for an obviously failed romance
Inspiration: Back to Black was directly inspired by the singer’s turbulent relationship with Black Fielder-Civil, whom she had left for an ex-girlfriend (pictured in 2007).
Pure talent: Amy Winehouse won three Grammy Awards at the 50th ceremony for her debut hit “Rehab.” from the Back to Black album, including “Record of the Year” and “Song of the Year” (pictured at the BRITs 2007)
Music producer Mark Ronson, who co-created Amy’s hit cover of The Zutons’ “Valerie,” often pays tribute to the star on TikTok, especially when her birthday comes around.
Last year, Ronson, 46, spoke about his experience co-writing and producing the song with the singer and shared unreleased raw vocal recordings of “Back to Black” in a video on the social app, touching the hearts of thousands of Amy fans.
He said in the footage: “I wrote the song Back To Black with Amy Winehouse about 15 years ago on this very piano here,” and showed fans the grand piano on which he worked on the music with the star.
“Amy came right here to my studio. “We met for the first time and I loved her immediately,” Ronson continued. “She played me all this great ’60s music and she left and I was very inspired and I came up with this piano right here.”
“The next day she came in and wrote these incredible lyrics that she was doodling in the back room. And maybe for the first time ever, here are the very first vocals she did.”
Special treat for fans: Producer Mark Ronson shared unreleased raw vocal recordings of “Back to Black” in a video on TikTok, touching the hearts of thousands of Amy Winehouse fans
The producer then played an audio clip of Amy singing a slightly different version of the track, much to the joy and sadness of her fans.
One fan wrote: “I will never thank you enough for the art you and Amy created,” while another said: “This is very special to me.” “I’d love to hear more of the early vocals.”
Another person commented: “Amy was one of my singing inspirations.” Back to Black was iconic to me as a child. Thank you for making this artwork and RIP Amy.”
Another fan wrote, “I miss her so much. “It’s really hard not to cry when I listen to her music,” while another commented, “I usually skip this song because it breaks my heart every time… but it is an absolute masterpiece.”
A biopic called “Back to Black,” based on the life of Amy, is scheduled to hit theaters in 2024 and filming is already underway, but the project is met with harsh criticism from friends and fans who believe it is too early for that is film to be made.