Winehouse's vocals on "Rehab" were compared to those of Ella Fitzgerald. Hathaway", in reference to Ray Charles and Donny Hathaway. In the lyrics Winehouse mentions "Ray" and "Mr. Later on was a different story altogether, which gives a totally, completely different meaning to what I said." In an appearance on the British talk show Loose Women, Mitch clarified the comments he made in the film, saying that Kapadia misinterpreted what he actually said to Winehouse: " I say that Amy didn't need to go to rehab, right? What I actually said was – referring to 2005 – Amy didn't need to go to rehab at that point. In the film Amy, director Asif Kapadia showed an interview with Mitch in which he explained that "he didn't believe needed treatment ". The book says that was the moment when the song "came to life". After Ronson heard the line during his and Amy's conversation in New York, he suggested they turn it into a song. He writes that Ronson and Winehouse inspired each other musically, adding that Amy had written that line in one of her notebooks years before and told him that she was planning to write a song about that day. Mitch Winehouse, Amy's father, confirms Ronson's story about the origins of the song in his biography, Amy, My Daughter (2012). And she was like, "He tried to make me go to rehab and I was like, 'Pfft, no no no.'" And the first thing I was like, "ding ding ding ding ding." Like, I mean I'm supposed to be like, "How was that for you?" and all I'm like is, "We've got to go back to the studio." but she hit, like, a certain low and her dad came over to try and talk some sense into her. I feel bad, like, talking about a friend like this, but I think I've told this story enough times. She wanted to buy a present for her boyfriend and she was telling me about a specific time in her life that was. We were in New York and we'd been working together for about a week and we were walking to some store. Ronson expanded on the songwriting process when interviewed by DJ Zane Lowe for the BBC Radio's Radio 1's Stories, in an episode broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on Monday 18 July 2011.: The song addresses Winehouse's refusal to attend an alcohol rehabilitation centre after her management team encouraged her to go. "Rehab" was produced by Mark Ronson and released as the album's lead single in 2006 in the UK. The song has been covered by a list of artists, such as Hot Chip, Lea Salonga, Seether, and the Jamaican mento band The Jolly Boys.
Winehouse's public battle with drug and alcohol addiction, and subsequent death, have contributed to the song's continuing popularity and appearance in the media. It also won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song.
It won three Grammy Awards at the 50th ceremony, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. "Rehab" became an international critical and commercial success, and has been referred to as Winehouse's signature song. "Rehab" was released as the lead single from Back to Black in 2006, and it peaked at number 7 in the United Kingdom on its Singles Chart and number 9 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Winehouse's only top 10 hit in the US. Produced by Mark Ronson, the lyrics are autobiographical and address Winehouse's refusal to enter a rehabilitation clinic. " Rehab" is a song written and recorded by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, from her second and final studio album Back to Black (2006).