The full version of Beyoncé and André 3000‘s ‘Back to Black’ was debuted by Mark Ronson on his East Village Radio show last night.
Ronson co-wrote the original Amy Winehouse classic which was released in 2006. The song appears on ‘The Great Gatsby’ soundtrack, which is available for purchase on May 7th. Take a listen to it below…
On this day last year, Amy Winehouse was found dead at her flat in London. Sadly, the 27-year-old lost her battle to the life threatening addictions that overshadowed her career. However, her music spurned some of the most genius and inspired lyrics and melodies in recent times. On the anniversary of her death, we are presented with the unreleased ‘Jazz N Blues’, allegedly recorded during Amy’s ‘Frank’ era.
This year in music, we’ve seen some shocking ish go down. Fights, arrests, unexpected deaths and extravagant pregnancy announcements have definetely topped our lists. Musically, this year was nothing to write home about, but behind the scenes and more is what delivered quite a shock to these blogging shores. I unveil my top five.
5. Teairra Mari gets arrested…
Ever since Teairra Mari was cruelly dropped by her mentor Jay-Z and stripped from her Princess of the Roc title, she has struggled to maintain a successful recording career. While former label mate Rihanna‘s career went from strength to strength, Teairra faded into oblivion. She’s had to settle with being a World Star Hip Hop act and releasing multiple mixtapes to generate buzz for herself. I guess one way to put yourself in the headlines is to get arrested in Beverly Hills for drunk driving. A shock, considering that Mari is now making strides with her career after signing a new record deal with Rico Love’s Division 1 record label. Silly girl.
Another week, another leak from the new Amy Winehouse album ‘Lioness: Hidden Treasures’ (out on December 5th via Island Records).
‘Halftime’ is my type of tune! The chilled, jazz and soul blend was recorded nine years ago while Ms Winehouse was in the studio with Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi. This is what they cooked up for her debut album. Not to sound ungrateful because I appreciate the unreleased stuff and this one is mind blowing. However, I’m more interested in hearing what she did for her real third studio album. I hope it gets a release sometime in the near future.
A new music video for the unreleased Amy Winehouse number ‘Our Day Will Come’ has now just surfaced. The visual features clips from past videos and performances from the tragic singer.
‘Our Day Will Come’ was recorded back in 2002 when an 18-year-old Winehouse was in the early stages of her music career. The Salaam Remi-produced cut is a reworked reggae version of the Ruby & The Romantics 1960s doo-wop classic. It’s interesting a tribute visual was made for this as previously, Universal rejected some songs Amy did for being “too reggae”. I wonder if those will ever escape the vault one day. ‘Our Day Will Come’ is lifted from the singer’s posthumous album, ‘Lioness: Hidden Treasures’, which will be released on December 6th.
A day after the Nas-assisted Amy Winehouse collab ‘Like Smoke’ hit online shores, another unreleased song resurfaces. ‘Our Day Will Come’ was recorded back in 2002 when an 18-year-old Winehouse was in the early stages of her music career. This was also the very year she signed to Simon Fuller‘s 19 Management shortly after his global record-breaking girl group The Spice Girls decided to call it a day. The Salaam Remi-produced ‘Our Day Will Come’ is a reworked reggae version of the Ruby & The Romantics 1960s doo-wop classic.
If you enjoyed ‘Just Friends’ from her critically acclaimed ‘Back to Black’ LP, you’ll definetely enjoy this as both tracks have major similarities. ‘Our Day Will Come’ is also lifted from her posthumous album ‘Lioness: Hidden Treasures’ (out on Dec 5th). Take a listen to it below.
Amy Winehouse‘s unreleased duet with rapper Nas made it’s debut last night on New York City’s Hot 97. ‘Like Smoke’ serves as the lead track from the late singer’s first posthumous album ‘Lioness: Hidden Treasures’ (out on December 5th). The Salaam Remi-produced cut sees the rapper’s newly recorded verses and Winehouse’s jazzy vocals effortlessly glide over the enriching retro-soul production.
“I be out in London, Camden, hunting for the answers why the God take away the homie. I can’t say that I’m a firm believer that we all meet up in eternity. Just hope the big man show me some courtesy…” he raps.
The track was recorded in 2008 during a recording session for her third studio album. Winehouse and Nas really compliment each other. Hot.com! See below to listen to the audio in its entirety.
On the same night a posthumous Amy Winehouse album was announced, JoJo was somewhere in Detroit paying tribute to the late star at the Hard Rock Cafe. The singer delivered a stunning acoustic rendition of Amy’s ‘You Know I’m No Good’ from the critically acclaimed ‘Back to Black’ album. Of course no one could do it like Ms Winehouse but she totally embraced the song and made it her own. Aaliyah fans were also in for a treat because she performed the late R&B star’s hit singles ‘Are You That Somebody?’, ‘One in a Million’ and several more.
JoJo is so damn talented. She sure merked it! Sometimes you forget she’s just 20-years-old. I wonder which artist she’ll be covering tonight? Watch the stunning array of performances after the jump.
Amy Winehouse will recieve her first posthumous release when new album ‘Lioness: Hidden Treasures’ hits retailers on Dec 5th. The new songs are lifted from earlier recording sessions in her career. Several were recorded for album number three. The album features material produced by Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson who were both appointed to work on her third studio album previously. In an official statement, her father Mitch Winehouse says: “If the family had felt that this album wasn’t up to the standard of ‘Frank’ and ‘Back To Black’ we would never have agreed to release it and we believe it will stand as a fitting tribute to Amy’s musical legacy”.
‘Lioness: Hidden Treasures’ features alternate versions of classic songs, including slowed down re-workings of ‘Tears Dry’ and the hit single ‘Valerie’. It will also include ‘Body & Soul’, her recently released duet with Jazz legend Tony Bennett. Sales of the LP will benefit charity, with £1 from each copy going towards the Amy Winehouse Foundation. Check out the tracklist and song descriptions below.
British coroner Suzanne Greenway ruled yesterday the real cause of Amy Winehouse‘s death on July 23rd. The singer is said to have died of accidental alcohol poisoning consuming sufficient alcohol at 416mg per decilitre (of blood). The fatal amount consumed was more than five times the legal drink-drive limit. Amy was a small woman so while a pint may not seem like huge amounts, for her frame and weight, it is considered over the limit.
I guess her body took one hell of a tolerance until she couldn’t take it any more. Sadly, it was a substance that took her life in the end. It just wasn’t an illegal one. Regardless of what killed her, it is still a very unfortunate situation.
