Amy Winehouse

Eric Burdon live at the River Rock Theatre in Richmond on November 29, 2008

"Winehouse" redirects here. For the first coffee house in London, see Jamaica Wine House.

Amy Winehouse

Amy Jade Winehouse (born 14 September 1983) is an English singer-songwriter, known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including soul, jazz, rock & roll and R&B. Winehouse is best known for her soulful, powerful contralto vocals.

Winehouse's 2003 debut album Frank did well, both commercially and critically, in her native Britain. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album Back to Black led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made Winehouse the first British singer to win five Grammys, including three of the "Big Four": Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. On 14 February 2007, she won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. She has won the Ivor Novello Award three times, one in 2004 for Best Contemporary Song (musically and lyrically) for "Stronger Than Me", one in 2007 for Best Contemporary Song for "Rehab", and one in 2008 for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for "Love Is a Losing Game", among other prestigious distinctions.

Winehouse has received media attention apart from her singing. Her distinctive style, most notably her signature beehive hairstyle, has spawned imitators and been the muse for fashion designers, as Karl Lagerfeld. The singer's problems with drug and alcohol addiction, as well as self-destructive behaviour, have become regular tabloid news since 2007. She and her husband have been plagued by legal troubles that have led to the cancellation of several tour dates.

In June 2008, Winehouse's publicist reported that she had developed early signs of what could lead to emphysema, while her father relayed reports of an irregular heartbeat, stating these conditions were brought on by smoking cigarettes and crack cocaine.

Early life

Amy Winehouse was born in the Southgate area of Enfield, London to a Jewish family who shared her love of jazz music. She was raised in a family of four: her father Mitchell (a taxi driver), her mother Janis (a pharmacist), and her older brother Alex. Mitchell would constantly sing around the house, often singing Frank Sinatra to young Amy, who also took to a constant habit of singing to the point that teachers found it difficult keeping her quiet in class.

At the age of nine, her grandmother, Cynthia, suggested she attend the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School for further training. At age ten, Winehouse founded a short-lived rap group called Sweet 'n' Sour with childhood friend Juliette Ashby. She stayed at the Earnshaw school for four years before seeking full time training at Sylvia Young Theatre School, but was allegedly expelled at fourteen for "not applying herself" and for piercing her nose. With other children from the Sylvia Young School, she appeared in an episode of The Fast Show in 1997. She later attended the BRIT School in Selhurst, Croydon.

Career

Early career

After toying with her brother's guitar, Winehouse received her first guitar when she was thirteen, and began writing music a year later. She began working soon after, including as a "showbiz journalist" for the World Entertainment News Network in addition to singing with a jazz band. Her sometimes boyfriend at the time, soul singer Tyler James, sent her demo tape to an A&R person. The tape led to her signing with record label Island/Universal under Simon Fuller's company 19 Management, and to a publishing deal with EMI.

Major label success

File:Amy Winehouse 2.jpg

Performing at the Bowery Ballroom, New York City

Amy Winehouse's debut album, Frank, was released on 20 October 2003. Produced mainly by Salaam Remi, many songs had jazz-influences and, apart from two covers, every song was co-written by Winehouse. The album received positive reviews with compliments over the "cool, critical gaze" in its lyrics and brought comparisons of her voice to Sarah Vaughan, Macy Gray and others.

The album entered the upper levels of the UK album chart in 2004 when it was nominated for BRIT Awards in the categories of "British Female Solo Artist" and "British Urban Act". It went on to achieve platinum sales. Later in 2004, she won the Ivor Novello songwriting Award for Best Contemporary Song, alongside Salaam Remi, with her contribution to the first single, "Stronger Than Me". The album also made the short list for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize. In the same year, she performed at the Glastonbury festival, on the Jazzworld stage, and at the V Festival.

After the release of the album, Winehouse commented that she was "only 80 percent behind [the] album" because of the inclusion by her record label of certain songs and mixes she disliked. Upon the release of her second album, she stated "I can’t even listen to Frank any more — in fact, I’ve never been able to. I like playing the tracks live because that’s different, but listening to them is another story." She later clarified this, saying: "I listen to it differently now. I am still really proud of it, I still think it's a great album. But, with hindsight, there are some things I would have done differently... Just because I would do things a bit differently now doesn't mean I don't like what's on that album."

International success

In contrast to her jazz-influenced former album, Winehouse's focus shifted to the girl groups of the 1950s and 1960s. In an interview, Winehouse explained, "After Frank I didn’t write for 18 months but when I met Mark [Ronson] I pretty much wrote the album in six months — he was so inspiring." Winehouse hired New York singer Sharon Jones's longtime band, the Dap-Kings to back her up in the studio and on tour.In early 2006, Winehouse's demonstration tracks such as "Wake Up Alone" and "Rehab" appeared on Mark Ronson's New York radio show on East Village Radio. These were some of the first new songs played on the radio after the release of "Pumps" and both were slated to appear on her second album. The 11-track album was produced entirely by Salaam Remi and Ronson, with the production credits being split between them. Promotion of Back to Black soon began, and in early October 2006, Winehouse's official website was re-launched with a new layout and clips of previously unreleased songs.

Back to Black was released in the UK on 30 October 2006. It went to number one on the UK Albums Chart numerous times, and entered at number seven on the Billboard 200 in the United States. By 25 October, the album was approaching 5x platinum in the UK, making it the best-selling album of 2007 and the top iTunes album in the UK in 2007.

The album spawned a number of singles. The first single released from the album on 23 October 2006 was the Ronson-produced "Rehab". The song was a number-seven single in the UK, and the Ivor Novello award for best contemporary song. "Rehab" peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of 21 June, shortly after a performance of it on the 2007 MTV Movie Awards. Time magazine named "Rehab" one of the 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at number one. Writer Josh Tyrangiel praised Winehouse for her confidence, opining, "What she is mouthy, funny, sultry, and quite possibly crazy" and, "It's impossible not to be seduced by her originality. Combine it with production by Mark Ronson that references four decades worth of soul music without once ripping it off, and you've got the best song of 2007."

The album's second single, "You Know I'm No Good" was released on 8 January 2007 with a remix featuring rap vocals by Ghostface Killah. It ultimately reached number 18 on the UK singles chart. Back to Black was released in the United States in March 2007, with "You Know I'm No Good" as its lead single. The title track, "Back to Black", was released in the UK on 30 April 2007 and peaked at number 25. A deluxe edition of Back to Black was also released on 5 November 2007 in the UK. The bonus disc features B-sides, rare, and live tracks, as well as "Valerie". Winehouse's debut DVD I Told You I Was Trouble: Live in London was released the same day in the U.K. and 13 November in the U.S. It includes a live set recorded at London's Shepherds Bush Empire and a 50-minute documentary charting the singer's career over the previous four years. On 10 December 2007, the final single from Back to Black, "Love Is a Losing Game", was released in the United Kingdom and U.S.

Frank was released in the United States on 20 November 2007 to positive reviews. The album debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Winehouse's tour, however, did not go as well. In November 2007, the opening night of a 17-date tour was marred by booing and walkouts at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. A music critic for the Birmingham Mail newspaper said it was "one of the saddest nights of my life...I saw a supremely talented artist reduced to tears, stumbling around the stage and, unforgivably, swearing at the audience." Other concerts ended similarly, until she announced on 27 November 2007, that her performances and public appearances were cancelled for the remainder of 2007, citing doctor advice to take a complete rest. A statement issued by concert promoter Live Nation blamed "the rigours involved in touring and the intense emotional strain that Amy has been under in recent weeks" for the decision.

In addition to her own album, she has collaborated with other artists on singles. Winehouse was a vocalist on the song "Valerie" on Ronson's solo album Version. The song peaked at number two in the UK, upon its October single release. The song was nominated for a 2008 Brit Award for "Best British Single". Her work with ex-Sugababe Mutya Buena, "B Boy Baby," was released on 17 December 2007. It served as the fourth single from Buena's solo debut album Real Girl.

Performing at Eurockéennes 2007

By year's end, Winehouse had garnered numerous accolades and awards. The singer won 2008 Grammy Awards in the categories of 'Record of the Year', 'Song of the Year', and 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance' for the single "Rehab", while her album Back to Black was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and won the 'Record of the Year' award. Producer Mark Ronson's work with her won the award in the Producer of the Year Non-Classical category. The singer also earned a Grammy in the 'Best New Artist' category. This earned Winehouse an entry in the 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records for Most Grammy Awards won by a British Female Act. She performed "You Know I’m No Good" and "Rehab" at the awards ceremony on 10 February 2008 via satellite, as her visa approval came through too late for her to travel to the U.S. She said "This is for London because Camden town is burning down," in reference to the Camden Market fire. The nominations, announced in early December, led to a 48 percent increase in the sales of Back to Black in the United States. Post Grammy Awards, album sales increased by 368 percent over the prior week, to the number 2 position in the United States.

On 13 January 2008, Back to Black held the number one position on the Billboard Pan European charts for the third straight week. By the end of January 2008, Universal Music International reported that total sales had reached 3.4 million copies and that it believed there was a correlation between that figure and the extensive media coverage the singer has received.

On 20 February 2008, Winehouse performed at the 2008 BRIT Awards, performing "Valerie" with Mark Ronson, followed by "Love Is a Losing Game". She urged the crowd to "make some noise for my Blake."

File:Amy Winehouse Eurockeennes 2007.jpg

Performing at Eurockéennes in Belfort, Territoire de Belfort, France on 29 June 2007

A special deluxe edition of "Back to Black" topped the UK album charts on 2 March 2008. The original edition of the album resided at the number 30 position, in its 68th week on the charts, while "Frank" charted at number 35. By 12 March, the album had sold a total of 2,467,575 copies, 318,350 of those in the previous 10 weeks, putting the album on the UK's top 10 best-selling albums of the 21st century for the first time. On 7 April, "Back to Black" was residing at the top position on the pan-European charts for the sixth consecutive and thirteenth aggregate week..

In Paris, she performed what was described as a "well-executed 40 minute" set at the opening of a Fendi boutique.

"Back to Black" was the bestselling album in the worldwide during the first half of 2008 selling 3.67 million copies. By September, the album had sold more than 11 million copies worldwide, helping keep Universal Music's recorded music division from dropping to levels experienced by the overall music market.

At the 2008 Ivor Novello Awards, Winehouse became the first artist to receive two nominations for the top award, best song, musically and lyrically. She won the award for "Love Is a Losing Game" and was nominated for "You Know I'm No Good". "Rehab", a Novello winner for best contemporary song in 2006, also received a 2008 nomination for bestselling British song.

Amy Winehouse - The Girl Done Good: A Documentary Review a 78 minute DVD was released on 14 April 2008. The documentary features interviews with those who knew her at a young age, helped her gain success, jazz music experts, as well as music and pop culture specialists.

A wax sculpture of Winehouse went on display at the London Madame Tussauds on 23 July 2008. The singer did not attend the unveiling, although her parents did.

Current Projects

According to a newspaper report Universal Music pressed her regarding new material this year. According to that same report Winehouse as of 2 September had not been near a recording studio. It was noted that she had touring obligations during the summer and also that if an album was quickly recorded, it would be at least a year before an album could be released.

Touring and appearances

Amy Winehouse performing at the Bowery Ballroom, 2007

Winehouse toured in conjunction with the Back to Black album's release. She performed headlining gigs in September and November 2006, including one of the Little Noise Sessions charity concerts at the Union Chapel, Islington. On 31 December 2006, Winehouse appeared on Jools Holland's Annual Hootenanny and performed a cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" along with Paul Weller and Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. She also performed Toots and the Maytals' "Monkey Man". She began a run of another fourteen gigs beginning in February 2007. During the summer of 2007, Winehouse performed at various festivals, including UK's Glastonbury Festival, Chicago's Lollapalooza festival, Rock Werchter and Baltimore's Virgin Music Festival. However, Winehouse cancelled her appearance at Provinssirock in Seinäjoki, Finland on 17 June 2007, citing a sore throat. Amid controversy surrounding her health, drug use, and her husband, in October 2007, she cancelled her tour dates for the remainder of the year.

Although her father, manager and various members of her touring team reportedly tried to dissuade her, Winehouse performed at the Rock in Rio Lisboa festival in Lisbon, Portugal in May 2008. Although the set was plagued by a late arrival and problems with her voice, the crowd warmed to her. In addition to her own material she performed two Specials covers.

Winehouse performed at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday Party concert at London's Hyde Park on the 27 June. and the next day at the Glastonbury Festival.. On the 12 July at the Oxegen Festival she performed a well received 50 minute set which was followed the next day by a 14 song set a T in the Park. On 16 August she played at the Staffordshire leg of the V Festival the following day played the Chelmsford leg of the festival. Organizers said that Winehouse attracted the biggest crowds of the festival. Audience reaction was reported as mixed. On 6 September she was the headliner at the Bestival festival. She performed what was described as a polished set which ended with her storming off the stage. Her hour late arrival caused her set to be cut off at the halfway point due to a curfew. According to a July statement by Winehouse's father, Bestival was her last live performance "for the foreseeable future" because of her health problems.

Club nights

On 10 July 2008, Winehouse launched her own club night, Snakehips at the Monarch, in the Camden Monarch venue in London. Although billed as a DJ battle between her and another DJ, she stayed behind the decks swaying as another person actually spun 1960’s music. She appeared at another Snakeships event at the Monarch on the night of 11 September. After reportedly arriving two hours late she spun music and played a short acoustic set.

Personal life

On 18 May 2007, Winehouse married on-off boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil in Miami, Florida. Fielder-Civil was a grammar school dropout who moved to London at aged 16 from his native Lincolnshire. In a June 2007 interview, Winehouse admitted she could be violent towards Fielder-Civil when she had been drinking. In a July 2008 interview Winehouse said her marriage is not an open one and she would like to have at least five children.

Substance abuse and mental health issues

Winehouse's battles with substance abuse have been the subject of much media attention. In various interviews, she has admitted to having problems with self-harm, depression and eating disorders. During a visit with Mitch Winehouse at the prison in July 2008, Fielder-Civil reportedly said that he and Winehouse would cut themselves to ease the pain of withdrawal. In 2005, she went through a period of drinking, heavy drug use, violent mood swings and weight loss. People who saw her during that fall and early 2006 reported a rebound that coincided with the writing of Back to Black. Her family believes that the summer 2006 death of her grandmother, who was a stabilizing influence, set off a free fall into addiction.

Her husband's attorney testified in court that for over half his life Blake Fielder-Civil has had a "intimate relationship with drug addiction" including heroin and cocaine as well as a history of self-harm and suicide attempts. In August 2007, Winehouse cancelled a number of shows in the UK and Europe, citing exhaustion and ill health. She was hospitalized during this period for what was reported as an overdose of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol.. Winehouse told a magazine that the drugs were to blame for her hospitalization and that “"I really thought that it was over for me then". Soon after, Winehouse and her husband were photographed, bloodied and bruised, in the streets of London after an alleged fight, although she contended her injuries were self-inflicted. Winehouse's parents and in-laws publicly reported their numerous concerns, citing fears that the two might commit suicide, with Fielder-Civil's father encouraging fans to boycott her music. Winehouse's father commented that when he had made public statements regarding her problems, he was using the media because it seemed the only way to get through to her.

On 2 December 2007, images of the singer outside her home in the early morning hours, barefoot and wearing only a bra and jeans, appeared on the internet and in tabloid newspapers. In a statement, her spokesperson blamed paparazzi harassment for the incident. The spokesperson reported that the singer was in a physician-supervised program and was channeling her difficulties by writing a lot of music.

The British tabloid The Sun posted a video of a woman, alleged to be Winehouse, apparently smoking crack cocaine and speaking of having taken ecstasy and valium. Winehouse's father moved in with her, and Island Records, her record label, announced the abandonment of plans for an American promotion campaign on her behalf. In late January 2008, Winehouse reportedly entered a rehabilitation facility for a two week treatment program.

On 23 January 2008, the video was passed on to Scotland Yard, Metropolitan Police, who questioned her on 5 February. To date no charges have been brought.

On 26 March 2008, Winehouse's spokesperson said she was "doing well" and denied a published report in a British tabloid that consideration was being given to having her return to rehab. Her record company reportedly believed that her recovery remained fragile.

By late April 2008, her erratic behaviour, including an allegation of assault, caused fear that her drug rehabilitation efforts have been unsuccessful, leading to efforts by Winehouse's father and manager to seek assistance in having her sectioned.

Her disheveled appearance during and after a scheduled club night in September sparked new fears. Photographers were quoted as saying she appeared to have cuts on her legs and arms.

Health issues

On 23 June 2008, Winehouse's publicist corrected earlier misstatements by Mitch Winehouse that the singer has a small amount of emphysema, instead claiming the singer has early signs of what could lead to early-stage emphysema. Mitch Winehouse had also stated that his daughter's lungs are operating at 70 percent capacity and that she had an irregular heartbeat. Mr. Winehouse said these problems were caused by her chain cigarette smoking and crack cocaine use. The singer’s father also reported that doctors have warned Winehouse that continued smoking of crack cocaine will result in her having to wear an oxygen mask and will be fatal. In a radio interview, Mitch Winehouse said the singer is responding "fabulously " to treatment which includes being covered with nicotine patches. British Lung Foundation spokesperson Dr. Keith Prowse noted this type of condition can be managed with treatment. Prowse also said the condition is not normal for a person her age but "heavy smoking and inhaling other substances like drugs can age the lungs prematurely". Dr. Norman H. Edelman, Chief Medical Officer for the American Lung Association explained that if she stopped smoking her lung functions would decline at the rate of a normal person but continued smoking would lead to a more rapid decline in lung function. Photographs of the singer with a cigarette in her mouth, taken 23 June 2008, were widely published. Winehouse was released from The London Clinic 24 hours after returning from a temporary leave in order to perform at the Mandela 90th birthday and Glastonbury concerts, and is now being treated as an outpatient. On 23 July Winehouse stated that she "some areas of emphysema" and said she is getting herself together by "eating loads of healthy food, sleeping loads, playing my guitar, making music and writing letters to my husband every day".

Legal problems

On 8 September 2007, Winehouse settled a claim for copyright infringement over the song "He Can Only Hold Her", brought against her by songwriter and producer P-Nut. His lawyer stated that the songwriter would receive a share of the royalties from the song and payment of costs. Previously he had received a "thank you" for his contribution but no songwriter credit on the album.

In October 2007, Winehouse and her husband were arrested in Norway for possession of cannabis. The couple were later released and fined 3850 kroner (around £350). Winehouse claimed she was "duped" into confessing, but police denied the allegation, noting that fluent English speakers handled Winehouse when she signed the confession. A 27 February 2008 court appearance was postponed because of a legal conflict concerning an appearance Fielder-Civil was required to attend.

On 9 November 2007, Winehouse's husband and four other men were arrested on a charge of trying to pervert the course of justice in relation to an assault on a pub landlord in June 2007; On 6 June 2008, Fielder-Civil and his 3 co-defendants pled guilty to both the pervert the course of justice charge, as well as a charge of grievous bodily harm with intent. Winehouse was rebuked for her behaviour several times by court officials during the legal proceedings in the matter. In testimony before the court the prosecution revealed that the landlord, who suffered a broken cheek in the attack, accepted £200,000 as part of a deal to "effectively throw the [court] case and not turn up”. The prosecution testified that the money used to pay off the landlord belonged to Winehouse and that the plot began to unravel when a middleman involved in the plot recognising Fielder-Civil's notoriety tried to sell security camera footage of the attack to The Daily Mirror. The court was told that Winehouse pulled out of a October 2007 meeting with the men involved in the plot. The meeting never occurred because Winehouse had to attend an awards ceremony. The pub landlord in an interview said he has metal plates and bolts in his head as a result of the attack and that Fielder-Civil since pleading guilty has written him a letter of apology from prison. On 21 July 2008, Fielder-Civil was sentenced to twenty seven months in prison. Taking into account the nine and half months served prior to sentencing and his behaviour Fielder-Civil could be released by December if not sooner. The singer did not attend the sentencing.

Winehouse was initially denied a U.S. visa because of "use and abuse of narcotics", but was later issued one. The decision came too late for her to appear live at the 2008 Grammy Awards show, and she performed via satellite. Meanwhile, on 17 February 2008, Fielder-Civil reportedly was hospitalised after collapsing in prison from what was reported to be contaminated heroin.

On 26 April 2008, Winehouse was cautioned after she admitted to police she slapped the face of a man with her hand, a "common assault" offense. The incident, for which she has apologised, will stay on her record and could be used against her if she is charged with a similar offence at a future time. She voluntarily turned herself in and was held overnight. Police said, at her arrival she was "in no fit state" to be interviewed.

Winehouse was arrested on 7 May 2008 on suspicion of possessing drugs after a video of her apparently smoking crack cocaine was passed to Scotland Yard in January, but was released on bail a few hours later because they could not confirm, from the video, what she was smoking. The Crown Prosecution Service considered charging her with possessing a controlled drug and allowing her premises to be used for the supply by others of a controlled drug, but was cleared when the service could not establish that the substance in the video was a controlled drug. In reaction to the decision, former Scotland Yard commander John O’Connor said it is an "absolute scandal that nothing could be done" about Winehouse "cooking a snook at the law". Some Members of Parliament also reacted negatively. Two London residents were subsequently charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and ecstasy to Winehouse. On 1 July the pair appeared in court and were bailed to return in October.

Organizers of the Rock En Seine festival in Paris threatened Winehouse with legal action after the singer cancelled a scheduled appearance there. The organizers claimed they were given two hours notice and no exact reason for the cancellation. Winehouse’s spokesperson explained that the reason that she failed to appear at the festival was because she was taken ill at her home.

Other pursuits

Winehouse joined a campaign to stop a block of flats being built beside the George Tavern, a famous London East End music venue. Campaign supporters feared the residential development would end the spot's lucrative sideline as a film and photo location, on which it relies to survive.

As part of a breast cancer awareness campaign Winehouse appeared in a revealing photograph for the April 2008 issue of Easy Living magazine.

Winehouse has an estimated £10m fortune, tying her for tenth place in the Sunday Times listing of the wealth of musicians under age thirty. It was reported she earned about £1m singing at two private parties during Paris Fashion Week. as well as another £1m to perform at a Moscow Art Gallery for Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

Controversy

Winehouse's dichotomous public image of critical and commercial success versus personal turmoil has proven to be controversial. The New Statesman magazine called Winehouse "a filthy-mouthed, down-to-earth diva," while Newsweek magazine called her "a perfect storm of sex kitten, raw talent and poor impulse control." Karen Heller with The Philadelphia Inquirer summarized the maelstrom this way:

She's only 24 with six Grammy nods, crashing headfirst into success and despair, with a codependent husband in jail, exhibitionist parents with questionable judgment, and the paparazzi documenting her emotional and physical distress. Meanwhile, a haute designer (Karl Lagerfeld) appropriates her disheveled style and eating issues to market to the elite while proclaiming her the new Bardot.

By 2008, her continued drug problems threatened her career. Even as Nick Gatfield, the president of Island Records, toyed with the idea of releasing Winehouse "to deal with her problems", he remarked on her talent, saying, "It’s a reflection of her status [in the U.S.] that when you flick through the TV coverage [of the Grammys] it’s her image they use." Post-Grammys, some questioned whether Winehouse should have been honored with the awards given her recent personal and drug problems, including Natalie Cole, who introduced Winehouse at the ceremony. Cole (who battled her own substance-abuse problems while winning a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1975) remarked, "I think the girl is talented, gifted, but it's not right for her to be able to have her cake and eat it too. She needs to get herself together."

In an opinion newspaper commentary, Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said that the alleged drug habits of Winehouse and other celebrities sends a bad message "to others who are vulnerable to addiction" and undermines the efforts of other celebrities trying to raise awareness of problems in Africa, now that more cocaine used in Europe passes through Africa. Winehouse's spokesperson called Costa a "ludicrous man" and noted that "Amy has never given a quote about drugs or flaunted it in any way. She's had some problems and is trying to get better. The U.N. should get its own house in order." Graeme Pearson, the former head of Scotland's drug enforcement agency, criticised Winehouse and Kate Moss for making going to rehab a badge of honour, thus giving the false impression that quitting drugs is easy, because many can not afford to go to clinics.

Winehouse has become a staple in popularity polls. The 2008 NME Awards nominated Winehouse in the categories of "Villain of the Year", "Best Solo Artist", and "Best Music DVD"; Winehouse won for "Worst Dressed Performer". In its third annual list, Glamour magazine named Winehouse the third worst dressed British Woman. Winehouse was ranked number two on Richard Blackwell's 48th annual "Ten Worst Dressed Women" list, behind Victoria Beckham. In an April 2008 poll conducted by Sky News, Winehouse was named the second greatest "ultimate heroine" by the UK population at large, topping the voting for that category of those polled under 25 years old. Psychologist Donna Dawson commented that the results demonstrate women like Winehouse who have "a certain sense of vulnerability or have had to fight against some adversity in their lives” receive recognition. Winehouse was voted the second most hated personality in the United Kingdom in a poll conducted one month later by Marketing magazine.

London's Mall Galleries opened an exhibit in May 2008 that includes a sculpture of Winehouse, entitled Excess. The piece has the singer sitting on top of a smashed champagne bottle, a pool of liquid beneath her feet. The body is covered with what appeared to be tiny pills, while one outstretched hand holds a wine glass.

June 2008 brought a report that Winehouse, singing a disparaging chant about blacks, the disabled, and homosexuals, and containing racial epithets about Pakistanis and Indians, was taped by husband Fielder-Civil, despite assurances to her that he was not filming. Winehouse denied allegations that she was a racist, saying "I don't want to play anything down, but I'm the least racist person going." Winehouse added that the film was taken during "really, really happy times."

Speaking at a discussion entitled Winehouse or White House?: Do we go too big on showbiz news? Jeff Zycinski head of BBC Radio Scotland said the BBC and media in general were complicit in the destruction of celebrities like Winehouse. He said that public interest in the singer's lifestyle does not make her lifestyle newsworthy. Rod McKenzie editor of the BBC Radio One program Newsbeat replied that "If you play [Amy Winehouse's] music to a certain demographic, those same people want to know what's happening in her private life. If you don't cover it, you're insulting young licence fee payers."

Discography

Main article: Amy Winehouse discography

• 2003: Frank
• 2006: Back to Black

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
2004	Ivor Novello Awards	Best Contemporary Song (musically and lyrically)	"Stronger Than Me"	Won
	BRIT Awards	Best Female Solo Artist		Nominated
		Best Urban Act		Nominated
	Mercury Music Prize	Album of the Year	Frank	Shortlisted
2007	South Bank Show awards	Best Pop		Won
	BRIT Awards	British Album	Back to Black	Nominated
		Best Female Solo Artist		Won
	Elle Style Awards	Best British music act		Won
	Ivor Novello Awards	Best Contemporary Song	"Rehab"	Won
	Greatest Britons	Musical Achievement		Won
	Mercury Music Prize	Album of the Year	Back to Black	Shortlisted
	Popjustice £20 Music Prize	Best British pop single of the year	"Rehab"	Won
	Q Awards	Best Album	Back to Black	Won
	MOBO Awards	Best UK Female		Won
	MTV Video Music Awards	Female Artist of the Year		Nominated
		Best New Artist		Nominated
		Video of the Year	"Rehab"	Nominated
	MTV Europe Music Awards	Most Addictive Track	"Rehab"	Nominated
		Album of the Year	Back to Black	Won
		Artist's Choice		Won
	World Music Awards	World's Best-Selling New Artist		Nominated
		World's Best-Selling Pop/Rock Female Artist		Nominated
	Vibe Awards	Breakthrough Artist of the Year		Nominated
	Vodafone Live Music Awards	Best Female		Won
2008	Grammy Awards	Record of the Year	"Rehab"	Won
		Album of the Year	Back to Black	Nominated
		Song of the Year	"Rehab"	Won
		Best New Artist		Won
		Best Female Pop Vocal Performance	"Rehab"	Won
		Best Pop Vocal Album	Back to Black	Won
	Brit Awards	Best British Single	"Valerie"	Nominated
	NME Awards	Villain of the Year		Nominated
		Worst Dressed Performer		Won
		Best Music DVD	"I Told You I Was Trouble"	Nominated
		Best Solo Artist		Nominated
	Ivor Novello Awards	Best Song Musically and Lyrically	"Love Is A Losing Game"	Won
		Best Song Musically and Lyrically	"You Know I'm No Good"	Nominated
		Best Selling Song	"Rehab	Nominated
	Vodafone Live Music Awards	Best Female		Nominated
	UK Urban Music Awards	Best neo-soul act		Nominated
2009	Guinness Book of World Records	Most Grammy Awards won by a British Female Act		Entry

Further reading

General

• Anderman, Joan. "Of course she should go to rehab." Boston Globe. 15 December 2007.
• Grimwood, Ben. "The Year of Amy Winehouse". Archived from the original on 2008-01-30.. CollegeNews.com. 29 November 2007.
• Gundersen, Edna. "Amy Winehouse's sobering transformation could hurt her musical credibility." USA TODAY. 28 January 2008.
• Hill, Emily. "Amy Winehouse: her own woman." The Guardian. 31 July 2008.
• Hoffman, Caire. "Up All Night With Amy Winehouse" Rolling Stone Magazine 10 July 2008 Issue
• Pareles, Jon. "In Real Time, Amy Winehouse’s Deeper Descent." New York Times 24 January 2008.
• Rosen, Jody. "Dark Star." Slate. 12 February 2008.
• Smith, Joan. "There's nothing poetic about Amy's self-destruction" The Independent. 26 June 2008
• Tyrangiel, Josh. "Trouble Woman." TIME. 24 January 2008.

Books

• Johnstone, Nick. Amy Amy Amy: The Amy Winehouse Story. Omnibus Press, 1 April 2008. ISBN 9780825636028
• Newkey-Burden, Chas. Amy Winehouse: The Biography. John Blake Publishing, 7 April 2008. ISBN 1844545636.

External links

• Official website

Template:Persondata