At the end of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, it’s clear that everything means nothing if young Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio) and young King George (Corey Mylchreest) don’t have each other. Come the falling of the heavens — or an especially inviting wall — nothing can get in the way of their love. It only makes sense, then, that Alicia Keys went back into the studio to rerecord a brand-new version of her classic love song “If I Ain’t Got You,” 20 years after its debut — and now featuring a 70-plus-piece orchestra of women of color. 

Now you can fall even more deeply in love with the song thanks to a music video that mixes the timeless yearning of the track with the Bridgerton world’s Regency glam sensibilities. 

“It’s so incredible because this song has a life of its own,” Keys told Netflix in a behind-the-scenes interview celebrating the music video. “And now fast-forward to being able to reimagine it with all women of color tied to the Netflix show Queen Charlotte? It’s literally a dream come true.” 

Cellist Jay Émme was one of the women who joined Keys for that fateful day of music video production; her trusty 203-year-old instrument, Sid, came along for the ride. 

Despite 38 years playing the cello, and experiences playing with 100 other musicians, this was the first time Émme was surrounded by more than three other people of color in an orchestra. Today, she feels like she manifested the moment, after dreaming just this past Christmas of seeing more women of color make incredible things happen. Émme assumed it wouldn’t happen in her lifetime. 

“I’ve always felt outnumbered,” she tells  Tudum. “So the first thing that hit me [on set] was seeing so many Black women. I’m not going to lie… It was so beautifully overwhelming.”

Émme says she spent a “good half an hour” processing the “force of nature” atmosphere in the room. Eventually, it was time for hair and makeup, and the musician was styled to the height of Bridgerton universe glam. The orchestra “knew we had to be absolutely flawless,” Émme says. Her dreadlocks were affixed with “really cutesy loops and bows” — which left her finding string in her hair for ages — and her face was dusted with neon pink rouge. “The Bridgerton blush was fire,” she says. 

Soon enough, the orchestra was performing along with Keys, playing a new arrangement of “If I Ain’t Got You,” as arranged by British composer Bobbie-Jane Gardner, who’s also in the BTS video.  

“It was a real honor and privilege to be able to handle such beautiful material that’s so special and significant to so many people across the world,” Gardner tells Tudum. “I had to really exert a lot of care and due diligence when orchestrating and adding to this. The pressure was on.” 

The pressure was particularly high, since Gardner had only a matter of days to arrange the piece after getting her first email about the opportunity. Soon enough, she was chatting with Grammy winner Keys about the recording. “What was lovely was her humility, her grace and her kindness,” Gardner says. “Alicia told me about the catalyst for the piece,” namely, the sudden death of R&B pop star Aaliyah in 2001. 

Gardner explains that knowing about the grief that originally pushed Keys to write “If I Ain’t Got You” led her to make the intro for the rerelease in a minor key. “It’s a little bit more melancholy,” she explains. “It was amazing to hear it 20 years later and to be able to embellish it in the way that I strived to and also connect it to the story of Farmer George.” 

But Queen Charlotte isn’t only about the trauma of a struggling royal. It also celebrates passion and “pure love,” as Gardner says — just like the song. “The story for me is just about showing up for someone, no matter what,” she continues. “That’s what Alicia’s talking about: The material doesn’t matter. It’s the treasures of the heart, as we call it in Nichiren Buddhism — that’s the most important thing. The biggest treasure is love.” 

To convey that emotion, Gardner tapped into her own love stories and the guidance of Keys and Bridgerton universe composer Kris Bowers. Keys wanted to showcase the horns this time around, giving them a “sense of triumph.” The choruses leading up to the big finish also now have a bit more “sparkle.” A solo cello also starts the piece. Just thinking about the “romantic” sound chosen by Gardner nearly brings cellist Émme to tears. 

All of Gardner’s hard work culminated in the real-life recording of the “If I Ain’t Got You” rerelease at London’s Air Studios. It was the first time she’d ever seen more than 70 other women of color, Émme included, play a piece of hers at once. 

“To see a space full of global women [of color] was just knockout,” Gardner says. “It was just joyful. I found myself so emotional.”

Her fellow musicians shared in the sentiment. “There were conversations from the musicians saying, ‘Oh my goodness. I didn’t know there was another professional oboist who was Black or Asian in the UK. I thought it was just me,’ ” Gardner recalls. Others were happy they didn’t need to code-switch, since everyone was surrounded by peers. “It was beautiful,” Gardner says. 

Émme agrees. “We were queens from start to finish,” she says. “The fact that it was tied into the circumstances of it being an all-female orchestra, and then everyone being a woman of color, just brought so much to the space and just shifted the whole song into a brand-new level that I don’t think any of us were prepared for.” 

Turning emotional, Gardner sends gratitude to an unexpected source for the experience: Bridgerton’s spitfire second daughter, Eloise Bridgerton. Or, at least, the woman who portrays her, Claudia Jessie. Years ago, Gardner and Jessie held a Buddhist chanting session in the UK’s West Midlands together. 

“Claudia said to me, ‘Come on, Bobbie. Let’s chant to be artists for world peace. Let’s do it!’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah, we can do that, can’t we?’” Gardner says. So they shared a prayer together. Two years later, Jessie was making a splash as Eloise. Now Gardner is sending love around the globe with Alicia Keys. And nothing in the whole wide world means more than that. 

Music Video: 'If I Ain't got You' (Orchestral Version)