Amy Winehouse: A star even in death

Winehouse album set UK chart records posthumously.

LONDON: Her untimely death has not deterred Amy Winehouse from achieving the stardom she truly deserved. Winehouse’s horde of loyal, dedicated fans have given her the ultimate tribute as she returns to dominate the UK sale chart with her second and final album Back to Black. The album has become the UK’s biggest seller of the 21st century, according to data from the Official Charts Company. The company said the 2006 record, which included such hits as “Rehab”, “Back to Black” and “Love Is a Losing Game” and netted Winehouse five Grammys, had sold 3.26 million copies, surpassing James Blunt’s Back to Bedlam (3.25 million).

Like great artists before her, Winehouse’s death has drastically increased her music sales. English singer and songwriter John Lennon, who was killed in 1980, had also achieved number one records after his death. Twelve days after his death John Lennon’s album Double Fantasy, which included the number one hit “(Just Like) Starting Over” reached the number one spot on the Billboard 200, stated a report by BBC. Similarly Telegraph affirms that pop star Michael Jackson achieved high album sales posthumously. Only two hours after his passing, Jackson’s hit album Thriller reached number one on iTunes and three days after his death, Michael Jackson’s most celebrated albums jumped from 121 to number one on the UK charts.

Similarly, after the confirmation of Winehouse’s passing, fans rushed to purchase her albums and songs. The Telegraph noted that sales for her five time Grammy winning album Back to Black increased 37 fold and attained the number one position on the both UK and USA iTunes 24 hours after her death. A CNN report informs that through downloading and purchase, fans managed to put the album back on the charts five years after its release.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th,  2011.