On This Day in 2007, Amy Winehouse Makes Her U.S. Television Debut With “Rehab”

On March 12, 2007, acclaimed British singer Amy Winehouse took the U.S. by storm when she made her American television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman. Clad in her signature beehive, polka dot wiggle dress, and pumps, Winehouse performed “Rehab,” the lead single off her second and, tragically, last record, Back to Black.

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Backed by Sharon Jones’ band, the Dap-Kings, Winehouse burst onto the American pop scene with a sound unlike anything that was getting mainstream airplay at the time. Christina Aguilera had already dove into the midcentury aesthetic with her singles “Ain’t No Other Man” and “Candyman.”

But Winehouse was something different, grittier, and tougher. Try as we might to compare her to predecessors like Janis Joplin and Etta James, Winehouse truly was one of a kind, and her U.S. television debut is a testament to that fact.

Watch Amy Winehouse Make Her U.S. Television Debut

British artists coming across the pond to make their U.S. television debut is a tale as old as the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, David Bowie on American Bandstand, and countless other artists beginning in the 1960s. Amy Winehouse was certainly no exception, including her appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman on her promotional tour for Back to Black.

Winehouse released her follow-up to her debut, Frank, in October 2006, and the wheels kept picking up speed after that. Upon her sophomore record’s release, Winehouse quickly embarked on an international tour that included TV appearances, festivals, and headlining shows. Sadly, the rigors of her newfound global fame didn’t take long to wear Winehouse down. By November of the following year, the artist announced she would be taking a break from touring after a string of particularly disastrous shows.

Still, Winehouse’s struggles with substance abuse and live performances didn’t stop her album or its singles from receiving immense critical acclaim. The singer won five Grammy Awards in February 2008, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Rehab,” Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best New Artist. The impressive sweep even garnered her a 2009 Guinness World Record for Most Grammy Awards won by a British Female Act. On the U.S. charts, Back to Black peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and Top Alternative Albums.

A Tragically Ironic Song To Capture Her Tumultuous Legacy

Amy Winehouse was the primary songwriter on her sophomore album Back to Black, which meant that “Rehab” wasn’t just a catchy hook she and producer Mark Ronson imagined up on their own—although, catchy it certainly was. The collaborative duo got the inspiration for writing the song after Winehouse recounted a conversation with a boyfriend who tried to get her to go to rehab. Her response was “Pfft, no, no, no,” which, of course, would lead to the song’s signature hook. But as successful as the track was, there was a seedy underbelly to its legacy.

Winehouse long struggled with substance abuse, poor mental health, and eating disorders. At a time when tabloids eviscerated young women in the industry, the scandals around her career almost shadowed her actual music in the press. The singer tragically died at 27 from an accidental alcohol overdose, shining a whole new light on the single that skyrocketed her to the international success that contributed to her downward spiral.

But for a brief moment, including her momentous U.S. television debut in 2007, Amy Winehouse managed to capture the world’s attention by being unapologetically, unequivocally herself, including all of the soaring highs and devastating lows that came with that reality.

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