Amy Winehouse’s music video for Back To Black has surpassed one billion views on YouTube – over 16 years since its release.
The Grammy-winning singer – who passed away at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011 at her Camden home in North London – is still achieving phenomenal success long after her tragic death.
This week, Back To Black finally hit one billion views on the video streaming platform, with Amy joining an elite group of musicians to achieve the impressive feat, such as Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran.
Title track Back To Black – widely considered to be one of Amy’s signature songs – is part of the Back to Black album that propelled the artist to commercial and international stardom in 2006.
Her debut number from the album, Rehab, became an international and critical success, earning 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 passed away at the age of 27 from on July 23, 2011 – is still achieving phenomenal success long after her death, (pictured in 2008)
Significant: This week, Amy’s Back to Black music video finally surpassed one billion views on the video streaming platform YouTube – over 16 years after its release
Single Back To Black also achieved success in its own right, peaking at number eight on 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 American musical comedy drama Glee, and Beyoncé and André 3000 for the soundtrack to the 2013 film adaption of the novel The Great Gatsby.
The song was written by Amy and Mark Ronson, directly inspired by the turbulent relationship the singer shared with Black Fielder-Civil, who had left her for an ex-girlfriend at the time.
The pair reconciled and got married in 2007, but divorced two years later in 2009 after she admitted to being unfaithful.
Winehouse’s public battle with her troubled love life and alcohol and drug addiction, as well as her subsequent death, has been considered to have contributed to the Back To Black album’s continuing popularity.
Directed by Phil Griffin, the black-and-white music video for the sombre jazz number portrays Amy attending a funeral service for an evidently failed romance.
Among a crowd of people, she attends the burial, where a gravestone reads: “R.I.P. the Heart of Amy Winehouse” – though the imagery was removed following her 2011 death from alcohol poisoning.
The song’s lyrics sees Amy reminiscing over the relationship and pouring over the fragments left behind by her boyfriend, as she sings: ‘We only said goodbye with words / I died a hundred times / You go back to her / And I go back to black.’
Sombre: Directed by Phil Griffin, the black-and-white music video for the sombre jazz number portrays Amy attending a funeral service for an evidently failed romance
Inspiration: Back to Black was directly inspired by the turbulent relationship the singer shared with Black Fielder-Civil, who had left her for an ex-girlfriend at the time, (pictured in 2007)
Pure talent: Amy Winehouse won three Grammy Awards at the 50th ceremony from her debut hit Rehab. from the Back to Black album, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year, (pictured at the BRITs in 2007)
Music producer Mark Ronson – who helped to construct Amy’s hit cover of Valerie by The Zutons – often pays tribute to the star on TikTok, most especially when her birthday comes around.
Last year, Ronson, 46, spoke about his experience of co-writing and producing the song with the singer – sharing unreleased raw vocal takes from Back to Black in a video on the social app, touching the hearts of thousands of Amy’s fans.
He said in the footage: ‘I wrote the song Back To Black with Amy Winehouse some 15 years ago at this exact piano right here,’ showing fans the grand piano where he worked on music with the star.
‘Amy came to my studio right here. We met for the first time, and I instantly loved her,” Ronson continued. “She played me all this great ’60s music, and she left, and I got very inspired, and I came up with this piano right here.’
‘Next day she came in and wrote these incredible lyrics, which she scribbled in the back room. And for the first time ever maybe, here are the very first vocals that she did.’
Special treat for fans: Producer Mark Ronson shared unreleased raw vocal takes from Back to Black in a video on TikTok, touching the hearts of thousands of Amy Winehouse’s fans
The producer then played an audio clip of Amy singing a slightly different version of the track – much to both the delight and sadness of her fans.
One fan wrote, ‘Will never be able to thank you enough for the art you and amy created,’ while another said, ‘This is so 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 for me growing up.. thank you making this art & RIP Amy.’
One fellow fan wrote, ‘I miss her so so much. It’s really hard not to cry whenever I hear her music,’ while another commented, ‘I usually skip this song cuz it just wrecks my heart every time…but it is an absolute masterpiece.’
A film biopic – Back to Black – based on the life of Amy is due to be released in 2024, with filming already underway, but the the project has been met with harsh criticism from friends and fans who believe it is too early for such a film to be made.
