Attempting hip hop for the first time, Williams was met with confusion upon the release of the track. He has now shared his embarrassment surrounding “Rudebox” in his new 4-part Netflix documentary.

Williams said, “My biggest regret is putting that out as the first single. If I’d have put it out third and explained properly [that] it’s daft – I know! I’m not trying to be a grime artist. I know it’s daft.”

He continued, “In the documentary, the biggest cringe point for me is explaining to an audience who are about to listen to ‘Rudebox’ for the first time that this is gonna be the biggest single since ‘Angels’. Then I had another thought about it, that it’s my second most important single because ‘Angels’ gave me the career and ‘Rudebox’ heralded the end of my imperial phase. So in a way I was right, but not in the way I wanted to be.”

The documentary series, simply titled Robbie Williams, explores the highs and the lows of Williams’ career since his debut with boy band Take That in 1990. Williams addresses many hot topics throughout, including his relationship with Geri Haliwell, also known as Ginger Spice of The Spice Girls, and his feud with bandmate Gary Barlow.

The show also touches on the raw topic of mental health struggles, with Williams candidly sharing his history of self-harm and depression. He opened up saying, “Thank God mental health is being talked about in a different way. I read something that triggered me, somebody talking about ‘celeb washing’ of mental illnesses. And celebs making mental health issues sexy.”

He continued, “[people] need to be careful about what we say and how we say it.”

“It felt like, every day, I would read in print what an abhorrent person I was.”

Robbie Williams opens up on his battles with the media. pic.twitter.com/ZQD2g9fE7J

— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) November 12, 2023

The series has already received rave reviews, with fans sharing their opinions on social media.  

The Robbie Williams doc was compelling. Two things stood out. 1. Robbie is a self aware, genuine and decent man. 2. The British press are fucking scum. They’ve driven many of Britain’s best and most talented people to despair, suicide and addiction. They need to be stopped. — Supertanskiii (@supertanskiii) November 12, 2023

Robbie Williams documentary on Netflix – hats off to him for being so open and honest, owning his own shit and somehow finding a way through the madness of superstardom. But what the tabloids tried to do to him was absolutely appalling. #RobbieWilliamspic.twitter.com/aHWTisepRu

— James Melville (@JamesMelville) November 11, 2023

Watch Robbie Williams on Netflix now.

The talented artist appeared on ITV’s This Morning on a live video call from LA to share the cover. She spoke to one of the UK’s favourite television duos, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, on why she decided to share her version of the song. She said, ‘I wanted to record a tribute because I’ve been seeing all the amazing work the healthcare workers are doing. Seeing their dedication and seeing how much they’re putting on the line for us really just moved me to record a cover version of this song.’

After a short chat between the three, the programme showed the full video recorded by Lewis as she sings the extremely moving and emotional Angels. The track is accompanied with a video of herself singing from her home studio and is at first surrounded by clips of the band who have helped Lewis perform the cover. As the video goes on, images of healthcare workers wearing masks are shown as a montage in order to share just a handful of the faces who have worked endlessly to help save the lives of thousands across the UK.

Since airing the cover, fans have taken to social media to share their thoughts. Many have been asking if the cover is available to purchase as it just sounds so beautiful, while others are completely overwhelmed and feel emotional listening to it.

#ThisMorning @ITV
Watching Leona Lewis sing Robbie Williams Angel’s and it made me cry, so, so beautiful

— LouBeLou (@lynnych) July 1, 2020

Lewis’ angelic voice has not been a stranger to our television screens as she first appeared on the X Factor in 2006. She won the show with her powerful cover of Kelly Clarkson’s A Moment Like This, which became the Christmas number one for that year. She has since released a number of heartfelt and sensational singles, including Bleeding Love, Run, You Are The Reason and even another catchy Christmas song, One More Sleep.

Click the video below to watch the full mesmerising cover of Angels and tribute to all healthcare workers performed by Leona Lewis.