"Flashbacks" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for her seventh studio album, Heartbreaker (2020). It was written by Inna and Minelli alongside its producers Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan, David Ciente and Alexandru Cotoi. On 20 January 2021, the song was serviced as the lead single of the album to Romanian radio stations. An electropop and EDM-inspired electro dance and dance-pop track, it is driven by a piano loop and slap bass. Lyrically, the song talks about a woman struggling to let go of her love interest who is far away.

"Flashbacks"
Single by Inna
from the album Heartbreaker
Released20 January 2021
RecordedNovember 2020
Genre
Length2:57
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Sebastian Barac
  • Marcel Botezan
  • David Ciente
  • Alexandru Cotoi
Inna singles chronology
"Read My Lips"
(2020)
"Flashbacks"
(2021)
"Cool Me Down"
(2021)
Music video
"Flashbacks" on YouTube

Two music critics gave positive reviews of "Flashbacks" upon release, with one singling it out as his favorite track on Heartbreaker. An accompanying music video was directed by Bogdan Păun and uploaded to the singer's YouTube channel on 26 February 2021. Filmed at the Palazzo Versace Dubai and at Domeniul Manasia in Romania, it portrays Inna in various settings, wearing a sparkling silver outfit. Commercially, the song experienced success, reaching the top position in Russia, and the top ten in Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Background and release

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"Flashbacks" was written by Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu (Inna) and Minelli alongside its producers Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan, David Ciente and Alexandru Cotoi.[1] It is part of Inna's seventh studio album Heartbreaker,[2] which was recorded during a three-week period in November 2020 at a rented Bucharest mansion with two recording studios in which Inna resided with the songwriters and producers mentioned.[3][4][5][6]

"Flashbacks" was released as part of the album for streaming to YouTube and SoundCloud by Global Records on 27 November 2020, while being issued to fellow platforms and released for digital download a week later under the same label.[2][7][8] On the later occasion, Global Records also released all of the album's songs—including "Flashbacks"—as promotional singles.[9] On 20 January 2021, the track was sent to Romanian radio stations as the lead single of Heartbreaker by Global.[10] It was eventually serviced to Italian radio stations on 19 March 2021 by CDF Records.[11] Eleven remixes of the song were further made available.[A]

Composition and reception

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Music critics described "Flashbacks" as an electro dance and dance-pop song with elements of electropop and EDM.[12][13] Dance-Charts' Manuel Probst singled the track out as his favorite song on Heartbreaker and noticed "atmospheric" sounds, a piano loop and slap bass in its composition.[13] Zangba Thomson from Bong Mines Entertainment described the song as a "heartfelt tune" containing "ear-welcoming vocals" and "tuneful melodies", while saying it tells an "intriguing" tale about an insecure and confused woman who struggles to let go of a special person in her life that she is miles apart from and shares memories with.

Lyrics from the song include: "I'm on the road, empty and cold to a distant destination I don't know / Been thinking about you, we back in days of all / It's hard to admit it, I still miss you, miss you so" and "Flashbacks of our memories, the past is my enemy, and I'm drowning in a sad melody / Flashbacks of our memory, the past is my enemy / It keeps holding, holding on me / Come break the silence."[12] Upon entering the Shazam chart in Russia,[14] the song experienced commercial success on the radio ranking in the region, peaking at number one.[15] It also reached number two in the Commonwealth of Independent States,[16] number three in Ukraine,[17] number four in Romania,[18] and number seven in Bulgaria.[19]

Music video and promotion

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A music video for "Flashbacks" was uploaded to Inna's YouTube channel on 26 February 2021,[20] with it being sent to Romanian television channels on 24 March 2021.[10] It was directed by Bogdan Păun and filmed in early 2021 at the Palazzo Versace Dubai and at Domeniul Manasia in Romania. The production was handled by Loops Production, while Alexandru Mureșan acted as the director of photography.[21] Make-up, hair and outfits were done by Anca Buldur, Adonis Enache and RDStyling, respectively.[22] The video switches between color and sepia scenes and shows Inna wearing a sparkling silver dress and boots in different settings—lying on a couch and in a bathtub, walking inside a hotel, placing her head outside of the window of a moving car in traffic, and frustratingly screwing up her make-up in front of a mirror.[20] For further promotion, Inna performed "Flashbacks" live for Radio ZU on 15 April,[23] as well as during her Summer Live Sessions series on YouTube on 3 August 2021.[24] For Pro TV's 2021 New Year's Eve televised event ProTevelion, Inna performed the track live along with "De dragul tău" (2021).[25]

Track listing

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  • Official versions[A]
  1. "Flashbacks" — 2:57
  2. "Flashbacks (Maesic Remix)" — 2:33
  3. "Flashbacks (Robert Cristian Remix)" — 3:13
  4. "Flashbacks (DJ Tuncay Albayrak Remix)" — 2:46
  5. "Flashbacks (Nomad Digital Remix)" — 3:31
  6. "Flashbacks (SYDE x NVRMIND Remix)" — 3:23
  7. "Flashbacks (Yalçın Aşan Remix)" — 2:58
  8. "Flashbacks (Gldn, Five and Last60 Remix)" — 2:14
  9. "Flashbacks (Suark Remix)" — 2:44
  10. "Flashbacks (Danny Burg Remix)" — 2:55
  11. "Flashbacks (Asher Remix)" — 3:32
  12. "Flashbacks (DFM Remix)" — 3:47
  13. "Flashbacks (CoDjo Remix)" — 3:26

Charts

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Release history

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Release dates and formats for "Flashbacks"
Country Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various 4 December 2020[B] Global [9]
Romania 20 January 2021 Radio airplay [10]
Italy 19 March 2021 CDF [11]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b This acts as a summary of all digital versions of the single.[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]
  2. ^ Released as a promotional single.

References

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  1. ^ "Heartbreaker / Inna". Tidal. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Heartbreaker by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (AU). 4 December 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Inchisa intr-o casa cu prietenii mei pentru 3 saptamani (turul casei)" [Locked inside a mansion with my friends for 3 weeks (house tour)] (in Romanian). YouTube. 3 November 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Recap of the last week in Dance Queen's House" (in Romanian). YouTube. 21 November 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  5. ^ Chirilă, Raluca (4 November 2020). "Inna s-a izolat în 'Dance Queen House'. Urmărește primul episod" [Inna has isolated herself in 'Dance Queen House'. Watch the first episode] (in Romanian). InfoMusic. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  6. ^ Chivu, Alexandra (25 November 2020). "Cum s-a descurcat Inna 3 săptămâni închisă într-o casă. Ce au făcut mama sa și iubitul Deliric" [How Inna managed to stay in a mansion for 3 weeks. See what her mother and boyfriend Deliric did] (in Romanian). Playtech. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  7. ^ Stănescu, Alex (27 November 2020). "Inna a lansat albumul 'Heartbreaker' pe YouTube: 10 piese noi pentru fani" [Inna has released the album 'Heartbreaker' on YouTube: 10 new songs for the fans] (in Romanian). InfoMusic. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Heartbreaker by Inna". SoundCloud. 27 November 2020. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  9. ^ a b Citations regarding the release of the songs as promotional singles:
  10. ^ a b c "Flashbacks". Media Forest. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  11. ^ a b "EarOne – Radio Date" (in Italian). EarOne. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  12. ^ a b Thomson, Zangba (18 December 2020). "Inna releases a heartfelt electro-dance tune, entitled, 'Flashbacks'". Bong Mines Entertainment. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  13. ^ a b Probst, Manuel (23 December 2020). "Inna - Flashbacks" (in German). Dance-Charts. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Piesa "Flashbacks" a Innei – pe locul 64 în top Shazam Rusia" [Inna's song 'Flashbacks' – number 64 on the Russian Shazam chart] (in Romanian). Top Românesc. 21 January 2021. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Russia Airplay Chart for 2021-04-09." TopHit. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  16. ^ a b Inna — Flashbacks. TopHit. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Ukraine Airplay Chart for 2021-09-10." TopHit. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  18. ^ a b Arvunescu, Victor (28 June 2021). "Top Airplay 100 - Lider nou, chiar din România, după 7 săptămâni!" [Top Airplay 100 – A new leader, even from Romania, after 7 weeks!] (in Romanian). Un site de muzică. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  19. ^ a b "PROPHON – Charts" (in Bulgarian). PROPHON. 16 April 2021. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Inna – Flashbacks | Official Video". YouTube. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  21. ^ Chirilă, Raluca (26 February 2020). "Videoclip: Inna – Flashbacks" (in Romanian). InfoMusic. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  22. ^ "Inna lansează videoclipul piesei "Flashbacks"" [Inna releases the music video for "Flashbacks"] (in Romanian). Europa FM. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  23. ^ "Inna - Flashbacks (Premieră Live la Radio ZU)" [Inna - Flashbacks (Live Premiere at Radio ZU)]. YouTube. 15 April 2021. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  24. ^ "Inna - Flashbacks | Summer Live Sessions". YouTube. 3 August 2021. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Inna ProTevelion 2022". YouTube. 1 January 2022. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  26. ^ "Flashbacks – Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (AU). Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  27. ^ "Flashbacks (Maesic Remix) – Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (Romania). Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Flashbacks (Robert Cristian Remix) – Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (Romania). Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  29. ^ "Flashbacks (DJ Tuncay Albayrak Remix) – Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (Romania). Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  30. ^ "Flashbacks (Nomad Digital Remix) – Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (Romania). Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  31. ^ "Flashbacks (SYDE x NVRMIND Remix) – Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (Romania). Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  32. ^ "Flashbacks (Yalçın Aşan Remix) – Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (Romania). Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  33. ^ "Flashbacks (Gldn, Five & Last60 Remix) - Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (Romania). Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  34. ^ "Flashbacks (Suark Remix) - Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (Romania). Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  35. ^ "Flashbacks (Danny Burg Remix) - Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (Romania). Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  36. ^ "Flashbacks (Asher Remix) - Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (Romania). Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  37. ^ "Flashbacks (DFM Remix) - Single by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (Romania). Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  38. ^ "Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021. Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
  39. ^ "Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021. Note: Select 'Songs – TV'. Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
  40. ^ "City & Country Radio – Top Month Hits - Музыкальные Чарты TopHit". TopHit. Archived from the original on 2021-07-24. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  41. ^ "City & Country Radio – Top Month Hits - Музыкальные Чарты TopHit". TopHit. Archived from the original on 2021-05-22. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  42. ^ "City & Country Radio – Top Month Hits - Музыкальные Чарты TopHit". TopHit. Archived from the original on 2021-08-25. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  43. ^ "Top Radio Hits Global Annual Chart – 2021". TopHit. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  44. ^ "Media Forest – Chart 2021". Media Forest. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  45. ^ "Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart – 2021". TopHit. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  46. ^ "Top Radio Hits Ukraine Annual Chart – 2021". TopHit. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  47. ^ "Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart 2022". TopHit. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  48. ^ "Top Radio Hits Ukraine Annual Chart 2022". TopHit. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  49. ^ "Top Radio Hits Ukraine Chart 2023". TopHit. Archived from the original on 2024-01-01. Retrieved 1 January 2024.