The Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black hit cinemas on Friday with Marisa Abela in the titular role and Sam Taylor-Johnson directing.
Amy died in 2011 at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning. Her second and last album Back To Black was the best-selling UK album of the 21st century for years.
The star's biggest songs feature in the film as well as lesser-known tracks from her debut album Frank.
Amid the film's poor reviews, viewers have been taken aback by Marisa's eerily Amy-like vocals and questioned who was behind the soundtrack.
So is Marisa's voice the one cinemagoers will be hearing?
The Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black hit cinemas on Friday with Marisa Abela, 27, in the titular role and Sam Taylor-Johnson, 57, directing
Amy (pictured) died in 2011 at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning. Her second and last album Back To Black was the best-selling UK album of the 21st century for years
In short, the answer is... yes, with Marisa under pressure to take on Amy's unique style.
The film's soundtrack was 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.
Other songs from artists who were an inspiration to Amy – Billie Holiday, Minnie Riperton, Dinah Washington, etc – also feature.
In a recent interview with RadioTimes.com, Marisa spoke about how she managed to nail Amy's famously unique sound.
'I mean, it's an incredibly distinctive sound, so just nailing that sound was the difficult thing. 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 finished: 'But again, it's just another challenge. It's just another, like, way to work.'
Director Sam, 57, revealed that she hadn't always planned to use the chosen actor's vocals instead of Amy's.
Director Sam Taylor-Johnson revealed that she hadn't always planned to use the chosen actor's vocals instead of Amy's
Sam added that Amy's bass guitarist Dale Davis (second from left) and backing singer Ade Omotayo (left) got into the studio with Marisa and she and they agreed Marisa was incredible
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."
'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.
Sam added that Amy's bass guitarist Dale Davis and backing singer Ade Omotayo got into the studio with Marisa and she and they agreed Marisa was incredible.
She shared that her performance was so emotional for them that they would just arrive on set when they weren't needed and soak up the atmosphere.
Also starring in the film is Jack O'Connell as Amy's ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, often attributed for introducing Amy to drugs and alcohol.
Some diehard Amy Winehouse fans have been quick to criticise the vocal ability of Marisa Abela, who is portraying the singer in the film.
The film's music producer is Giles Martin: son of Beatles producer George Martin.
Also starring in the film is Jack O'Connell as Amy's ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil (right), often attributed for introducing Amy to drugs and alcohol
The film's music producer is Giles Martin: son of Beatles producer George Martin. Of choosing to use Marisa's voice he said: 'I think Marisa is fantastic. I'm really proud of the way we did it'
He weighed in on the criticism around choosing Abela’s voice over Amy’s in the final edit, telling virginradio.co.uk. 'The challenge was acceptance.
'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!'
'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 is available to watch in cinemas nationwide now
Related articles:
Related suggestion:
Queen Camilla appears in high spirits as she hosts the first female crew to win an aroundSupreme Court will hear case claiming CBD product got trucker fired'The Tortured Poets Department' gets largest streaming week everDuo charged with murder in killings of couple whose remains were found scattered on Long IslandPhilips will pay $1.1 billion to resolve US lawsuits over breathing machines that expel debrisMatt Ryan will join NFL Today, Simms and Esiason departUzbekistan and Japan qualify for men's Olympic soccer by reaching U23 Asian Cup finalInvestors trying to take control of Norfolk Southern railroad pick up key supportLady Gaga and boyfriend Michael Polansky make a rare appearance as they step out for a lowAutistic schoolgirl, 16, took her own life at £44,000
2.5767s , 6576.0625 kb
Copyright © 2024 Powered by Back to Black film: Does Marisa Abela sing her own songs in the Amy Winehouse biopic? ,Stellar Stories news portal