Rehab (song)

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“Rehab”
Single by Amy Winehouse from the album Back to Black
B-side	"Do Me Good" "Close to Front"
Released	23 October 2006 (UK, Ireland) 22 May 2007 (U.S.)
Format	CD single, digital download
Recorded	Chung King Studios (New York City, New York) Daptone Studios (New York City, New York) Metropolis Studios (London)
Genre	Soul, jazz
Length	3:36
Label	Island
Writer(s)	Amy Winehouse
Producer	Mark Ronson
Certification	Gold (USA) Silver (UK)
Amy Winehouse singles chronology
"Pumps"/"Help Yourself" (2004) "Rehab" (2006) "You Know I'm No Good" (2007)
Amy Winehouse American singles chronology
"You Know I'm No Good" (2007)	"Rehab" (2007)	"Tears Dry on Their Own" (2007)
Alternate cover
Digital cover
Audio sample
Info "Rehab" (help·info)

"Rehab" is a song by English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse. The song was written by Winehouse and produced by Mark Ronson for her second studio album, Back to Black (2006). It was released as a single in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2006. The lyrics are autobiographical, describing a protagonist's drinking habits and refusal to enter rehabilitation clinics.

The song received widespread critical acclaim and enjoyed commercial success in Winehouse's native England and abroad. The tune won the 2007 Ivor Novello award for Best Contemporary Song. "Rehab" won three Grammy Awards in 2008, including the "Record of the Year", "Song of the Year" and "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance".

Winehouse's subsequent public battle with substance abuse and the song's popularity contributed to its numerous appearances in the mainstream media. Several artists have covered the song, both in official releases and live.

[edit] Background and release

"Rehab" was produced by Winehouse and Mark Ronson and released as the album's lead single in October 2006 (see 2006 in music) in the UK and January 2007 (see 2007 in music) elsewhere. The song was written about Winehouse's refusal to attend an alcohol rehabilitation centre after her management team encouraged her to go. "I asked my dad if he thought I needed to go. He said no, but I should give it a try. So I did, for just 15 minutes. I went in said 'hello' and explained that I drink because I am in love and have screwed up the relationship. Then I walked out."^[1] Winehouse later changed her management company.^[2] In November 2006, an early demonstration version lacking the horn section and originally played on Mark Ronson's East Village Radio show was released in the iTunes Store.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Music video

The music video was directed by Phil Griffin and released in September 2006. It features Winehouse's band playing their instruments while she sings to the camera. The band members are dressed in gowns throughout the video. It begins with Winehouse rising from bed and then moving to the bathroom. For the second verse, Winehouse is on a chair in a psychiatrist's office, presumably explaining herself to an unseen psychiatrist. Ironically, the video ends with Winehouse in rehab, sitting on a bed in a white-tiled clinical ward room with her band around her. On 31 May 2007, "Rehab" debuted on Total Request Live and later peaked at number one on 7 June.^[3]

[edit] Response

[edit] Critical

Critical response to "Rehab" was glowing. Rolling Stone called it a "must hear song" and a "Motown-style winner with a banging beat and a lovesick bad girl testifying like Etta James."^[4] People magazine called the track "instantly memorable."^[5] Billboard remarked that Winehouse's vocals on the song were "Shirley Bassey-meets-Ella Fitzgerald" and called the track "a better buzz than a double-gin martini."^[6] This song was #7 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.^[7] This song was also #92 on MTV Asia's list of Top 100 Hits of 2007.^[8] Time magazine named "Rehab" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at #1. Writer Josh Tyrangiel praised Winehouse for her confidence, opining, “What she is is mouthy, funny, sultry, and quite possibly crazy” and, "It's impossible not to be seduced by her originality. Combine it with production by Mark Ronson that references four decades worth of soul music without once ripping it off, and you've got the best song of 2007."^[9][10]

The song won the Ivor Novello award for "Best Contemporary Song" for songwriting on 24 May 2007.^[11] In July 2007, the track was shortlisted for the Popjustice £20 Music Prize. The prize recognizes the best British pop singles over the past year. The track competed against singles by Robbie Williams, Girls Aloud, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and Jamelia among others. "Rehab" won the award, making Winehouse only the third act to win the award, after Girls Aloud and Rachel Stevens. The single also won Song of the Year at Village Voice's Pazz and Jop. On 10 February 2008, "Rehab" won three Grammy Awards: "Record of the Year", "Song of the Year", and "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance".^[12]

[edit] Commercial

On 22 October 2006, based solely on download sales, the Ronson-produced "Rehab" entered the UK Singles Chart at #19 and when the physical single was released the following week, it climbed to #7, at the time making it Winehouse's highest chart position by more than 50 places. By 25 October the album was approaching 5x platinum in the UK, making it the best-selling record of 2007.^[13]

The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 91 on the chart dated 31 March 2007 without an official single release. Winehouse's current single at the time, "You Know I'm No Good", entered one spot above, at number 90, on the same week.^[14] After lingering in the bottom portions of the Hot 100 for several months, the song suddenly jumped 38 spots to number ten on the 23 June chart^[15], mainly due to digital sales following Winehouse's live performance of the song on the MTV Movie Awards on 3 June 2007; sales of a new remix featuring rapper Jay-Z also had a small effect on the chart position, peaking in the seventies on the iTunes top 100 in the United States. After a change of rules in the UK allowing all digital downloads to be counted for the singles chart, "Rehab" re-entered the chart at number 20 for the week ending 13 January 2007, whilst "You Know I'm No Good" occupied the number 40 spot as a new entry on downloads alone.

The song reached number one in Spain, Norway, and Hungary. As of March 2008, the single has sold 357,943 copies in the UK commercially and on downloads. Between October 2006 and June 2007, the single spent 34 consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and has since re-entered the charts, giving the single a total of 57 non-consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart to date, an amount bettered by only four other singles in the whole of chart history. It also became her first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number nine and being certified Gold with sales of 500,000+.^[16]

The song, despite an October 2006 release date, was an enduring hit throughout 2007; with UK sales of 131,415 in 2007 alone, it finished the year as the UK's 56th biggest-selling single. It is Winehouse's longest-running UK chart hit, but her Ronson collaboration "Valerie" has proven to be her biggest seller to date.

[edit] Notable appearances in the media

As a result of the songs poularity and acclaim, in made several appearances in the popular media in 2007 and 2008. During the fourth season of House M.D., episode trailers featured the song, as the theme tied into a plotline. During Australian Idol 2007, the judges heavily criticized the eventual winner, Natalie Gauci, for performing this song, saying she sang it in "Disney style".^[17] Professional wrestler Santino Marella did a parody of the tune, attacking "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on the 8 October 2007 episode of WWE Monday Night Raw.^[18] On the October 6, 2007 episode of Saturday Night Live, Seth Rogen and Kristen Wiig performed an nearly unrecognizable version of the song during a sketch.^[19]

[edit] Track listings and formats

UK CD 1

1. "Rehab" (Album Version) – 3:36
2. "Do Me Good"

UK CD 2

1. "Rehab" (Album Version) – 3:36
2. "Close to Front"
3. "Rehab" (Desert Eagle Discs Vocal Mix)

[edit] Charts

[edit] Covers

 Music sample:

Hot Hot Heat cover excerpt

For download on their MySpace page. The song features a sparser arrangements, with heavier percussion and rock vocals.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Several musicians have released covers and alternate versions of the song. Terra Naomi performed an acoustic cover of the song on YouTube.^[36] English girl group Girls Aloud performed their version of the song on Radio 1's Live Lounge (with Jo Whiley) on 10 November 2006, and a studion version later appeared as the B-side to their single "Call the Shots". Italian-Scottish singer Paolo Nutini performed his own cover on the same show on 6 December 2006, and has covered the song during his live gigs. In October 2007, Seether covered the song for Yahoo! Music with an alternative rock arrangement.^[37] Canadian indie rock band Hot Hot Heat also made a cover of the song, which they released for free download to their MySpace page.^[38] Rapper Jay-Z was featured on a remix of the song in an attempt to give the song wider appeal.^[39]

During live performances, Taking Back Sunday often includes the chorus of a popular song in "A Decade Under the Influence" and the breakdown of "Cute Without the 'E' (Cut from the Team)", and, beginning in 2007, "Rehab" has been used.^[40] During his world tour on August 2007, in Zurich, Switzerland, pop singer Justin Timberlake sang the song's chorus in the third person feminine after performing "Cry Me A River", an action that was widely reported to allude to Britney Spears.^[41][42]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Lyrics at Yahoo! Music
• Music video for "Rehab" at YouTube