20 Years of Back To Black: 10 Artists Inspired By Amy Winehouse

As Amy Winehouse’s seminal album Back to Black turns 20, it’s hard to ignore what a widespread impact the album has had. Back to Black saw Winehouse detail heartbreak, addiction, and love in a Motown-meets-soul album that has defined her legacy and cemented her name as one of the best artists of the century.

Inspired by her short-lived separation from Blake Fielder, the album has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, and Winehouse’s character and music have impacted and influenced many individuals and artists. Winehouse’s honest and raw emotion expressed throughout her songwriting has led to her music resonating with many, and solidifying Back to Black’s legacy as one of the best break-up albums of all time.

As a celebration of 20 years of Back to Black, here are 10 of the many artists that she inspired.

Adele

It is unsurprising that Adele was influenced by Winehouse: the pair were both London-born BRIT School alumni singer-songwriters with a love for British music and soul inspirations.

However, Winehouse’s influence on Adele was immense, with Adele first influenced by Winehouse’s Frank, revealing that “it was the whole reason I picked up a guitar.”

Later, writing in a blog post following Winehouse’s untimely death, Adele said that Winehouse made people “excited about British music again.” In the same post, she added that Winehouse “paved the way for artists like her.”

Lana Del Rey

Many fans and critics have commented upon the similarities between Winehouse and Del Rey: both artists are known for their confessional and vulnerable songwriting styles, retro aesthetics and influences, and their discussions of controversial and often taboo topics.

This attraction to taboo and complicated topics was evidenced when Winehouse discussed the line “He hit me, and it felt like a kiss” from the Crystals’ 1962 single “He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)” in a 2007 interview, revealing that she understood what they meant beyond the initial imagery of domestic violence in the controversial line. Later, Del Rey sampled the same lyrics for her song “Ultraviolence.”

In an interview with MOJO, Lana Del Rey confessed that she considered quitting music after she found out about Winehouse’s death the same day as receiving her first review.

Olivia Dean

Fellow Londoner Olivia Dean spoke in 2021 for a series celebrating Amy, where global artists spoke about the impact Amy had on them: “Her lyrics were the first lyrics that were so specific and spoke about real things and about growing up in London and being a bit rough around the edges, but that being part of what it’s like to be a human.”

“I don’t think she had any interest in being a pop star; she just wanted to be herself, and she clearly had this authentic love of music. It was really clear in her music that she was using it as a form of therapy, and then you know we just so happened to be hearing it, but it’s so personal. I really love ‘He Can Only Hold Her ’; that’s one of my favorite tracks.”

Jorja Smith

Smith once credited Winehouse’s debut album Frank as “the soundtrack to my life,” and has spoken openly about how “obsessed” she was with the album as a teenager. Frank also inspired Smith’s songwriting style: a raw approach that is similar to Winehouse’s confessional lyricism.

Smith featured during the “Amy Winehouse Back to Black 20” tribute concert at London’s the Roundhouse on October 21st. She joined the Amy Winehouse Band to perform “Some Unholy War” as well as finishing off the night with a cover of “Valerie” alongside the other performers featured.

Paloma Faith

Faith has performed Winehouse’s iconic song “Back to Black” multiple times, including at Glastonbury Festival in 2024, where she paid tribute to Winehouse.

The singer also paid tribute to Winehouse in “Price of Fame” from the deluxe edition of her album The Architect, written after Faith had seen the film about Winehouse. “Price of Fame” was even created with the band that Winehouse recorded Back to Black with.

Billie Eilish

Eilish told SPIN in 2019: “She changed a whole generation of music like everyone when listing off the people that inspired them like people right now, Amy Winehouse is always in that list, and it’s really true. Everything about her, she just mixed a whole bunch of stuff together, and created the most beautiful things.”

Florence Welch (of Florence + the Machine)

When speaking of Winehouse, the “Shake It Out” singer stated that “Seeing her up there made me think, wow, there is a place for female singer-songwriters in this world.”

In 2011, Welch performed a shortened rendition of “Back to Black” at the VH1 Divas Concert in New York City.

Lily Allen

In 2014, Allen stated that Amy was “too damn interesting for her own good.”

While the pair weren’t close friends – more so acquaintances – Allen stated that she felt a strong connection toward Winehouse due to her shared understanding of the demands and pressures of fame. Because of this affinity, Allen dedicated her 2014 album Sheezus to Winehouse.

Stormzy

Another London-born artist inspired by Winehouse is Stormzy. Throughout his career, he has made many references to Winehouse – for example, in “Big for Your Boots,” Stormzy wrote, “Had a peng ting called Amy / Telling me to come round hers on a Valerie ting.”

He also recalled that he attended Glastonbury 2008 just to see Winehouse and Jay-Z.

Future

American rapper Future revealed that he listened to “a lot of Amy Winehouse” when making his 2014 album Honest. During the album’s creation, he cited Winehouse alongside Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, and Coldplay as musical influences, demonstrating just how varied his listening habits were.

There was also an unexpected connection between the two artists. While recording music in London, Future discovered that he had been working in the same studio room Winehouse had previously used. He explained that he had already recorded several songs there before learning its history, having been drawn to the atmosphere of the space. The experience left an impression on him, offering another example of Winehouse’s reach beyond the soul and pop artists most commonly associated with her influence.

Conclusion

Twenty years after the release of Back to Black, Amy Winehouse’s influence can still be found across generations and genres. From Adele and Olivia Dean’s admiration for her songwriting to the inspiration she’s provided artists as different as Lana Del Rey, Stormzy, and Future, her music has reached far beyond the jazz and soul traditions that helped shape it. Each artist has taken something different from Winehouse’s work, whether that’s her honesty, distinctive sound, or refusal to compromise her artistic identity. Her career may have been tragically short, but the music she created continues to inspire artists finding their own voices, two decades later.