Amy Winehouse’s parents accept BRIT Billion award on her behalf

Amy Winehouse’s parents have accepted the BRIT Billion award on behalf of their late daughter, who died in 2011.

Mitch and Janis Winehouse were presented with the trophy to mark the ‘Back To Black’ singer posthumously reaching one billion online streams in the United Kingdom.

The award was inaugurated by the BPI, a representative voice of the UK recorded music business. Each trophy honours a specific artist whose catalogue has exceeded one billion global streams.

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

Only a handful of artists have achieved such a feat, with Amy Winehouse becoming the latest beneficiary. Past winners include The Rolling Stones, Queen and Whitney Houston.

“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,” Mitch and Janis Winehouse 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 song ‘Back To Black,’ from the eponymous album, stands as her most-streamed song with over 150 million streams. It is closely followed by ‘Valerie’ - the Zutons indie staple that Amy made her own, alongside producer Mark Ronson.

The new biopic Back To Black has provided another boost for the Amy Winehouse catalogue. In an interview with HotPress, Marisa Abela - who stars as Amy Winehouse - spoke to Roe McDermott about the challenges of portraying the iconic singer without proper vocal training.

“I sing, but I’ve never tried singing in the style of anyone, let alone Amy, who has such a specific and authentic style,” Abela said, who like Winehouse, is from North London. “I felt a big responsibility.

“The technical stuff was difficult, learning to sing and play guitar, and to move and sound like her. But for me, the most important thing is people walking away with the feeling they’ve been with her during this movie. So it’s that kind of intangible thing, that essence of a person you try and conjure – that was the thing I was most determined to capture.”

In a 2007 interview with HotPress, Amy Winehouse told Stuart Clark about her indifference to commercial acclaim: “I don’t care about breaking America or Mars or wherever,” Amy remarked. “If it happens while I live my life the way I want to live it, fine. If it doesn’t, you won’t find me going boo-hoo.”