"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 David Ciente (born 9 July 1989) is a Romanian composer and producer. In 2012 and 2013, he attempted to represent Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest with his band Electric Fence, finishing in second place on both occasions. Having signed a re ...

and Alexandru Cotoi. On 20 January 2021, the song was serviced as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release ...

of the album to Romanian radio stations. An

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

and

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstra ...

-inspired

electro dance French Electro dance (otherwise known as Tecktonik and Milky Way) is one style of frenetic and quirky form of street dance typically performed to electro house music. It is based on, although is not limited to, a blend of different dance styles, ...

and

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

track, it is driven by a piano

loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, ...

and slap bass. Lyrically, the song talks about a woman struggling to let go of her love interest who is far away. Two

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

gave positive reviews of "Flashbacks" upon release, with one singling it out as his favorite track on ''Heartbreaker''. An accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

was directed by Bogdan Păun and uploaded to the singer's

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channel on 26 February 2021. Filmed at the Palazzo Versace Dubai and at Domeniul

Manasia Manasia is a commune located in Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Manasia. The commune is located in the wester part of the country, on the left bank of the Ialomița River. It is crossed by the DN2A road th ...

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

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Background and release

"Flashbacks" was written by Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu (Inna) and Minelli alongside its producers Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan,

and Alexandru Cotoi. It is part of Inna's seventh studio album ''Heartbreaker'', which was recorded during a three-week period in November 2020 at a rented

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

mansion with two recording studios in which Inna resided with the songwriters and producers mentioned. "Flashbacks" was released as part of the album for streaming to

and

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

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. On the later occasion, Global Records also released all of the album's songs—including "Flashbacks"—as

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

s.Citations regarding the release of the songs as promotional singles: * * * * * * * * * * On 20 January 2021, the track was sent to Romanian radio stations as the

of ''Heartbreaker'' by Global. It was eventually serviced to Italian radio stations on 19 March 2021 by CDF Records. Eleven remixes of the song were further made available.

Composition and reception

Music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

described "Flashbacks" as an

and

song with elements of

and

. Dance-Charts' Manuel Probst singled the track out as his favorite song on ''Heartbreaker'' and noticed "atmospheric" sounds, a piano

and slap bass in its composition. 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." Upon entering the

Shazam Shazam () may refer to: Comic book franchise * Captain Marvel (DC Comics), also known as Shazam, a superhero character published by Fawcett Comics and DC Comics ** Shazam (wizard), a character from the ''Shazam!/Captain Marvel'' comics, who give ...

chart in Russia, the song experienced commercial success on the radio ranking in the region, peaking at number one. It also reached number two in the

, number three in Ukraine, number four in Romania, and number seven in Bulgaria.

Music video and promotion

for "Flashbacks" was uploaded to Inna's

channel on 26 February 2021, with it being sent to Romanian television channels on 24 March 2021. It was directed by Bogdan Păun and filmed in early 2021 at the Palazzo Versace Dubai and at Domeniul

in Romania. The production was handled by Loops Production, while Alexandru Mureșan acted as the

director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

. Make-up, hair and outfits were done by Anca Buldur, Adonis Enache and RDStyling, respectively. 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. For further promotion, Inna performed "Flashbacks" live for Radio ZU on 15 April, as well as during her Summer Live Sessions series on YouTube on 3 August 2021. For Pro TV's 2021 New Year's Eve televised event ''ProTevelion'', Inna performed the track live along with "De dragul tău" (2021).

Track listing

*Official versions #"Flashbacks" — 2:57 #"Flashbacks (Maesic Remix)" — 2:33 #"Flashbacks (Robert Cristian Remix)" — 3:13 #"Flashbacks (DJ Tuncay Albayrak Remix)" — 2:46 #"Flashbacks (Nomad Digital Remix)" — 3:31 #"Flashbacks (SYDE x NVRMIND Remix)" — 3:23 #"Flashbacks (Yalçın Aşan Remix)" — 2:58 #"Flashbacks (Gldn, Five and Last60 Remix)" — 2:14 #"Flashbacks (Suark Remix)" — 2:44 #"Flashbacks (Danny Burg Remix)" — 2:55 #"Flashbacks (Asher Remix)" — 3:32 #"Flashbacks (DFM Remix)" — 3:47 #"Flashbacks (CoDjo Remix)" — 3:26

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Notes

References

{{Inna Inna songs English-language Romanian songs Songs written by Inna 2020 songs 2021 singles Number-one singles in Russia Songs written by Alexandru Cotoi