Beyonce & Andre 3000’s “Back To Black”: Preview Their Dark Amy Winehouse Cover

Sam Lansky | April 22, 2013 5:58 am

Well! A first listen of Beyonce‘s much-anticipated collaboration with Andre 3000 for The Great Gatsby soundtrack, a cover of Amy Winehouse‘s beloved “Back to Black,” has leaked, and the 90-second snippet suggests that the song is no party. Nor is it a “Party.

In fact, it’s a fairly sinister, gloomy affair — which is probably to be expected, given the song’s dreary lyrics coupled with Winehouse’s tragic life and the film’s noirish bent. Still, it strikes us as an unusually dark side of King Bey, who’s supposed to be literally the most poised human being alive. Bow down, bitches. 

A scratchy, bare beat and dissonant instrumentation provide a frame for Andre’s tense verses before Beyonce’s sultry vocals drop; the lyrics see the speaker reversed so it functions better as a duet, which is nifty but a little odd. Never thought the day would come when we would hear Beyonce sing, “I love blow and you love puff,” but hey — there’s a first time for everything.

Listen below.

Beyonce & Andre 3000 — “Back to Black” (Snippet)

How do you feel about Beyonce and Andre’s collab? Let us know in the comments below, or on Twitter or Facebook.