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Amy Winehouse‘s parents have accepted the BRIT Billion award on behalf of their late daughter.
Mitch and Janis Winehouse were presented with the statue to mark the ‘Back To Black’ singer-songwriter posthumously reaching one billion online streams in the United Kingdom.
“We of course wish that Amy was here today accepting this award in person, but it’s amazing that she is still winning awards for her incredible talent and achievements,” the pair said in a joint statement.
“It’s wonderful that her music is being discovered by new audiences of young people who love it just as much as her contemporaries. We are so proud of Amy. Thank you.”
The award was given to Winehouse’s mother and father by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) – the representative voice for the UK’s world-leading record labels and music companies.
Per a press release, Winehouse’s 2007 single ‘Back To Black’ – from her seminal 2006 album of the same name – is the artist’s most-streamed song in the UK, with over 150million plays.
The title track peaked at Number Eight in the Official Singles Chart, and has since gone platinum twice in the United Kingdom.
Amy Winehouse has posthumously been awarded a BRIT Billion Award celebrating one Billion streams in the UK. Amy’s parents, Janis and Mitch Winehouse accepted the BRIT Billion Award at the Amy Winehouse Foundation in London 🖤#BackToBlack pic.twitter.com/OWcA7HyVMY
— Amy Winehouse (@amywinehouse) May 8, 2024
It is followed by Winehouse and Mark Ronson‘s hugely popular cover of The Zutons’ ‘Valerie’, which has earned more than 135million UK streams.
The ‘Back To Black’ songs ‘Tears Dry On Their Own’, ‘Rehab’, ‘You Know I’m No Good’ and ‘Love Is A Losing Game’ all stand at over 50million listens.
Launched in 2023, the BRIT Billion award has also recognised the likes of Billie Eilish, The Rolling Stones, Lewis Capaldi, AJ Tracey, Raye and Olivia Rodrigo – the latter of whom is the youngest recipient of the prize.
Winehouse’s nod follows the release of Sam Taylor-Johnson’s new biopic Back To Black, which was released in cinemas last month.
In a four-star review of the film, NME said that lead actor Marisa Abela “captures Winehouse’s fascinating mix of self-belief and frailty” and “takes on her songs pretty remarkably”.
It added: “It offers a welcome reminder of Winehouse’s plucky spirit – something that often gets lost when her life is reduced to a hackneyed tale of talent and tragedy […] You’ll come away wanting to take a deeper dive into the remarkable artist that inspired it.”
To celebrate the release, a new lyric video for ‘Tears Dry On Their Own’ was shared – featuring previously unseen footage of Winehouse.
Elsewhere, Abela spoke to NME about the experiences that came with portraying the late icon on the big screen.
“There are so many things that I never thought would happen,” she explained. “Like singing at Abbey Road… Being on the cover of NME… I just went to the BAFTAs and the BRIT Awards… It’s an amazing honour and incredible.”
Abela added: “If I could wish for anything, though, it would be that… Amy would feel honoured by the lifeblood that we’ve poured into celebrating her.”