diff --git a/amplify.yml b/amplify.yml
index e75547b..a7598c6 100644
--- a/amplify.yml
+++ b/amplify.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,10 @@
 version: 1
+backend:
+  phases:
+    build:
+      commands:
+        - npm ci
+        - npx ampx pipeline-deploy --branch $AWS_BRANCH --app-id $AWS_APP_ID
 frontend:
   phases:
     preBuild:
diff --git a/amplify/backend.ts b/amplify/backend.ts
index af6aac2..22abfd1 100644
--- a/amplify/backend.ts
+++ b/amplify/backend.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { defineBackend } from '@aws-amplify/backend';
 import { auth } from './auth/resource';
 import { data } from './data/resource';
+import { youtubeApi } from './functions/youtube-api/resource';
 
 /**
  * @see https://docs.amplify.aws/react/build-a-backend/ to add storage, functions, and more
@@ -8,4 +9,5 @@ import { data } from './data/resource';
 defineBackend({
   auth,
   data,
+  youtubeApi,
 });
diff --git a/amplify/functions/youtube-api/handler.ts b/amplify/functions/youtube-api/handler.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..402b3a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/amplify/functions/youtube-api/handler.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+import type { APIGatewayProxyHandler } from 'aws-lambda';
+
+export const handler: APIGatewayProxyHandler = async (event) => {
+  const apiKey = process.env.YOUTUBE_API_KEY;
+  
+  if (!apiKey) {
+    return {
+      statusCode: 500,
+      body: JSON.stringify({ error: 'YouTube API key not configured' }),
+    };
+  }
+
+  const videoIds = JSON.parse(event.body || '{}').videoIds || [];
+  
+  if (!videoIds.length) {
+    return {
+      statusCode: 400,
+      body: JSON.stringify({ error: 'Video IDs are required' }),
+    };
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const url = `https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/videos?part=snippet&id=${videoIds.join(',')}&key=${apiKey}`;
+    const response = await fetch(url);
+    
+    if (!response.ok) {
+      throw new Error(`YouTube API error: ${response.status}`);
+    }
+
+    const data = await response.json();
+    
+    return {
+      statusCode: 200,
+      headers: {
+        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+        'Access-Control-Allow-Origin': '*',
+      },
+      body: JSON.stringify(data),
+    };
+  } catch (error) {
+    return {
+      statusCode: 500,
+      body: JSON.stringify({ error: 'Failed to fetch YouTube data' }),
+    };
+  }
+};
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/amplify/functions/youtube-api/resource.ts b/amplify/functions/youtube-api/resource.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6eb3f31
--- /dev/null
+++ b/amplify/functions/youtube-api/resource.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+import { defineFunction, secret } from '@aws-amplify/backend';
+
+export const youtubeApi = defineFunction({
+  name: 'youtube-api',
+  environment: {
+    YOUTUBE_API_KEY: secret('YOUTUBE_API_KEY'),
+  },
+});
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/app/api/youtube/route.ts b/src/app/api/youtube/route.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22564ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/api/youtube/route.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';
+
+export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
+  try {
+    const body = await request.json();
+    const { videoIds } = body;
+
+    if (!videoIds || !Array.isArray(videoIds)) {
+      return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Video IDs are required' }, { status: 400 });
+    }
+
+    // In a real implementation, you'd get the Amplify function URL from amplify_outputs.json
+    // For now, let's fall back to direct API call with environment variable
+    const apiKey = process.env.YOUTUBE_API_KEY;
+    
+    if (!apiKey) {
+      return NextResponse.json({ error: 'YouTube API key not configured' }, { status: 500 });
+    }
+
+    const url = `https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/videos?part=snippet&id=${videoIds.join(',')}&key=${apiKey}`;
+    
+    const response = await fetch(url);
+    
+    if (!response.ok) {
+      throw new Error(`YouTube API error: ${response.status}`);
+    }
+
+    const data = await response.json();
+    
+    return NextResponse.json(data);
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('YouTube API error:', error);
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Failed to fetch YouTube data' }, { status: 500 });
+  }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/app/gallery/page.tsx b/src/app/gallery/page.tsx
index bdcb3d0..846d3e8 100644
--- a/src/app/gallery/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/gallery/page.tsx
@@ -32,29 +32,23 @@ const fallbackData: Video[] = [
 ];
 
 async function getYouTubeVideos(ids: string[]): Promise<Video[]> {
-  // Try multiple ways to get the API key
-  const apiKey = process.env.YOUTUBE_API_KEY || 
-                 process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_YOUTUBE_API_KEY || 
-                 process.env.AMPLIFY_YOUTUBE_API_KEY || '';
-  
-  if (!apiKey) {
-    console.warn("YOUTUBE_API_KEY environment variable not set. Using hardcoded video titles as fallback.");
-    console.log("Available env vars:", Object.keys(process.env).filter(k => k.includes('YOUTUBE') || k.includes('AMPLIFY')).join(', ') || 'none');
-    return fallbackData;
-  }
-
-  const url = `https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/videos?part=snippet&id=${ids.join(',')}&key=${apiKey}`;
-
   try {
-    const response = await fetch(url, { next: { revalidate: 3600 } }); // Revalidate every hour
+    // Use the Amplify function endpoint
+    const response = await fetch('/api/youtube', {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: {
+        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+      },
+      body: JSON.stringify({ videoIds: ids }),
+      next: { revalidate: 3600 }
+    });
+
     if (!response.ok) {
-      const errorData = await response.json();
-      console.error("YouTube API Error:", errorData.error.message);
-      console.log("Falling back to hardcoded video data.");
-      return fallbackData;
+      throw new Error(`API error: ${response.status}`);
     }
 
     const data = await response.json();
+    
     if (!data.items || data.items.length === 0) {
       console.warn("YouTube API returned no items for the given video IDs. Falling back to hardcoded data.");
       return fallbackData;