"Back to Life" | ||||
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Single by Alicia Keys | ||||
from the album Queen of Katwe | ||||
Released | September 1, 2016 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:52 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Alicia Keys singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Back to Life (Lyrics)" on YouTube |
"Back to Life" is a song by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, released on September 1, 2016, for the soundtrack of the sports drama film Queen of Katwe , directed by Mira Nair. The song was written by Alicia Keys, Illangelo, and Billy Walsh. Production of the song was handled by Keys and Illangelo. [1] [2] [3]
“Queen of Katwe” is based on the true story of 10-year-old girl Phiona from Uganda, who becomes an international chess champion. [4] Disney approached Keys to do a song for the film, and Keys started to work on the song alongside Illangelo and Billy Walsh after seeing the film and after being blown away by its authenticity and honesty. [5] [6] The song was announced on August 31, and a featurette featuring Keys singing and discussing the inspiration behind writing the song, was released. [7] [8] Keys further explained that:
I started thinking about this girl, Phiona. This is a young person trying to figure out who she is and where she’s going to be and how that even related to me and my life now. We’re always redefining who we are and redefining who we’re going to be. In so many ways, that’s what brings you back to life. That’s what brings you that feeling of ‘I have to live and I have to be my greatest. [5]
According to OkayAfrica "[t]he new track kicks off with piano, swaying guitars and a subdued melody before shifting gears into a synth-backed dance beat" and "[i]ts second half ends up moving towards the sonic world of Keys’ previous single “In Common,”. [9] Tom Breihan from Stereogum was disappointed that the song isn't a Soul II Soul cover, but he felt that the song "has that group somewhere in its DNA", and went on to say that the song "starts out like a more traditional movie-soundtrack end-credits showstopper, but then a beat drops in and it turns into a slinky dance jam". [10] Rap-Up was positive, commenting that the song features "inspirational strings" over which Keys "belts out a moving ode to resilience". [11] In a review for the Queen of Katwe soundtrack, Alex Reif of LaughingPlace.com referred to the song as a "beautiful ballad". He additionally stated that, despite its appeal, a few of the other songs on the album ended up overshadowing the song. [12] That Grape Juice described the song as "rousing", "inspirational" and "moving" and noted that the "production has many interesting layers" but concluded that the "repetitive chorus prevents this from being anything more than a soundtrack song". [13] Hype commented that the song is "[m]ade-up of a smooth ballad" and it is a "perfect sonic balance". [14] Sarah Murphy from Exlaim wrote that the song features a "cinematic feel with sparse instrumentation and breathy vocals", adding that midway a "drum beat kicks in and gets matched with bubbling synths and booming bass". [15]
Keys performed the song on Today on September 3, 2016. [16] Keys performed the song at the Apple Music Festival in Roundhouse, London. [17]
Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
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United States | September 1, 2016 | RCA | [18] |
Alicia Augello Cook, known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs when she was the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at the age of 15. After disputes with the label, she signed with J Records to release her debut studio album, Songs in A Minor (2001). Met with critical acclaim and commercial success, the album sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won five awards at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. It contained the Billboard Hot 100-number one single "Fallin'." Her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003), was met with continued success, selling eight million units worldwide and spawning the singles "You Don't Know My Name", "If I Ain't Got You", and "Diary". Its release earned an additional four Grammy Awards.
American singer Alicia Keys has released nine studio albums, eight live albums, one remix album, six reissue albums, three extended plays, seven box sets, 47 singles as lead artist, and six promotional singles. Throughout her career, Keys has sold over 65 million records worldwide. According to Recording Industry Association of America, Keys is the top certified female R&B artist of the millennium, with 20 million certified albums and 38 million certified digital singles in the United States. Billboard ranked her as the second top female artist of the 2000s decade, fourth top R&B/hip-Hop female artist of the 2010s decade and the 60th Greatest Artist of all time.
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Phiona Mutesi is a Ugandan chess player. She has represented Uganda at four Women's Chess Olympiads, and is one of the first titled female players in Ugandan chess history. Mutesi is the subject of a 2012 book and a 2016 film called Queen of Katwe.
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American recording artist Alicia Keys has appeared in numerous music videos. Her videography includes more than thirty music videos and three video albums. In 2000, Keys signed a recording contract with J Records and released her debut single "Fallin'", taken from her first studio album Songs in A minor (2001). The plot of its music video had Keys traveling to a prison to visit her incarcerated boyfriend and was continued in the video for her next single, "A Woman's Worth;" both videos marked Keys' first collaboration with director Chris Robinson, who would become a regular collaborator later. In 2004, another regular, American director Diane Martel, directed the accompanying music video for the second single from the singer's second album The Diary of Alicia Keys, "If I Ain't Got You", which featured rapper Method Man as Keys' love interest. It won the Best R&B Video accolade at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.
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Queen of Katwe is a 2016 American biographical sports drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by William Wheeler. Starring David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, and Madina Nalwanga, the film depicts the life of Phiona Mutesi, a girl living in Katwe, a slum of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. She learns to play chess and becomes a Woman Candidate Master after her victories at World Chess Olympiads.
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