Back to Black soundtrack: Does Marisa Abela do all her own singing?
The soundtrack also features songs from artists who were an inspiration to Amy Winehouse.
Amy Winehouse's biopic Back to Black has landed, dividing critics with its depiction of the late singer's rise to fame and struggles with addiction.
Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, the film depicts true events from the acclaimed singer's life, with Marisa Abela leading the cast as Winehouse.
Unsurprisingly, the movie's soundtrack features some of her biggest hits, lifted from both her album Back to Black and her debut, Frank. But it also highlights some of the artists who inspired her, with The Shangri-Las, Billie Holiday, Minnie Riperton, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan all featuring.
Wondering what songs are included and whether Abela sings them? Read on for everything you need to know.
Back to Black soundtrack
Composed and recorded by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, the soundtrack features three original recordings from Amy’s debut album, Frank, three songs from her masterpiece Back to Black and a new track, Song for Amy, sung by Cave.
More like this
The Amy Winehouse songs featured in the film are as follows:
Back to Black
- Back to Black
- Me & Mr Jones
- Love is a Losing Game
- Rehab
- Tears Dry on Their Own
Frank
- What Is It About Men
- Stronger Than Me
- I Heard Love is Blind
- Know You Now
- F**k Me Pumps
- (There Is) No Greater Love
Live Lounge
- Valerie
Other songs featured on the soundtrack include:
- Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Song for Amy
- Thelonius Monk - Straight, No Chaser
- Ms Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing)
- The Specials - Ghost Town
- Little Anthony & the Imperials - I'm on the Outside (Looking In)
- The Shangri-Las - Leader of the Pack
- Billie Holiday - All of Me
- The Shangri-Las - Dressed in Black
- Donny Hathaway - I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know
- The Libertines - Don't Look Back Into the Sun
- Tony Bennett - Body & Soul
- Minnie Riperton - Les Fleurs
- Willie Nelson - That's Life
- Dinah Washington - Mad About the Boy
- Sarah Vaughan, Clifford Brown - Embraceable You
Does Marisa Abela do all her own singing in Back to Black?
Yes, and in a recent interview with RadioTimes.com, Abela spoke about the challenges of nailing such a unique vocal style.
"I mean, it's an incredibly distinctive sound, so just nailing that sound was the difficult thing," she said.
"Because I think that, you know, one of the incredible things about Amy was that she never performed the same song the same way twice.
"So in those moments that are, you know, specific interviews or specific performances, it kind of has to be right, because that's the only time it ever sounded like that. So that was important to me."
She continued: "But again, it's just another challenge. It's just another, like, way to work.
Director Sam Taylor-Johnson previously revealed that she hadn't always planned to use an actor's vocals over Amy's.
Speaking to Empire, she said: "When we first talked about it, my first question to (Marisa) was, 'Can you sing?' And she said, 'I can't.'"
She continued: "I was thinking, maybe we’ll use Amy’s voice throughout, and we’ll do it that way.
"She then went off after that audition – irrespective of whether she knew she’d got the part – and started training her voice.
"Now she sings the entire movie, beginning to end. I mean, it's a huge feat."
Abela also worked with Winehouse’s original band for the recordings. "Amy's original band got back together, and we all went into the recording studio," Taylor-Johnson added.
"Dale [Davis] was there, her bass guitarist, and Ade [Omotayo, singer], and we just all stood there and just went, 'F**k! She's incredible.'
"They didn't know what to expect. They were just brimming with emotion, because it's such a multi-layer of feelings for the people who were close to her and worked with her.
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
"A lot of the times they would just actually show up on filming days when we were filming music scenes, to just sit and experience that."
Some diehard Amy Winehouse fans have been quick to criticise the vocal ability of Marisa Abela, who is portraying the singer in the film.
A clip was released in March showing Back to Black’s depiction of the process of Amy’s first record deal and writing Stronger Than Me – and giving the first look at Abela’s vocals – and some fans were far from impressed.
However, the RadioTimes.com review is full of praise of Abela's performance, describing her portrayal of Amy as "at turns funny, headstrong, vulnerable and tragic".
The film's music producer, Giles Martin, the son of Beatles producer George Martin, recently weighed in on the criticism around choosing Abela’s voice over Amy’s in the final edit.
"The challenge was acceptance," he told virginradio.co.uk. "I remember really early on, I think Marisa is fantastic. I'm really proud of the way we did it. I think people always go, 'It's not Amy Winehouse singing?' I go, 'Well, it isn't Amy Winehouse singing!'
Giles continued: "I think she gets the emotion across, and that's the challenge, in getting the emotion across, the frailty. I think it's a celebration of Amy, and I think Marisa's done a phenomenal job of that."
Back to Back landed in cinemas in UK and Ireland on Friday 12th April 2024.
Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
