'Back To Black'

Malcolm Gladwell contends in his book Outliers that there are a number of variables that go into an individual succeeding and another not.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, a lot of success can be chalked up to luck. Kind of being at the right place at the right time and, thus, taking advantage from that point.

Amy Winehouse's Back to Black has sold 10 million copies as she released probably one of the most well-regarded albums of the past decade and definitely of that year. And I think it was a set of insane circumstances that put her on that level.

For one, the album is tremendously unique (for the current day) mixing the blend of 1960s R&B and soul with modern pop and R&B. It's fresh and raw. It was something the public was not ready for being ready for. It was extremely accessible for being kind of an oddball album (British girl goes Motown). People listened to it and couldn't wait to say to someone else, "Have you heard this Amy Winehouse chick?" Also, it appealed to the hipsters and music snobs in addition to all the marginal music fans. It was a true crossover hit.

As soon as the album started to stick and the Brits were going bananas, all the personal baggage surrounding Winehouse's life comes out. The drugs, alcohol and partying. The dependent boyfriend who was just as bad a drug whore as she was. To a certain point, it made the album dangerous and completely legit. Like 50 Cent getting shot or T.I. going to prison. Also, it put her in the headlines. Over and over and over. You couldn't buy the press Winehouse was getting for smoking crack.

It also should be noted that Winehouse had style. The hair, the tattoos, the eyeliner, the emaciated crackwhore look. Yet, there's a major hint of sex and degradation that exists that we all want, as evidenced by our pornography.

Back to Black doesn't sell without Winehouse. If Duffy or some other tart records that album, it fails. The album needed her far more than she needed the album.