Users on the TellYouGov website have been expressing their opinions on the life of successful jazz singer Amy Winehouse, who was found dead in her North London home at the weekend, aged just 27. Panellists have also been discussing the singer’s well-documented drink and drug addictions, some of which she chronicled in her ground- breaking 2006 album Back to Black.
Lauded for her powerful and emotional voice, as well as her trademark beehive hairstyle, Winehouse won numerous awards during her short career, including the Ivor Novello song writing award in 2004 for single Stronger Than Me. As her popularity soared amid collaborations with top producer Mark Ronson and the stratospheric success of her second album, Winehouse very publically spiralled into alcohol and drug addiction. It has not yet been confirmed what exactly killed the star – although it has been reported that alcohol may have been to blame.
- Several users have expressed their sadness at the loss of an ‘extremely talented’ musician, an ‘amazing singer’ and an artist who ‘will be much missed’, stating ‘she was genuinely talented regardless of her personal problems’
- Others have focused on her torrid relationship with alcohol and drugs, reminding those who berate her lifestyle that ‘alcohol and drug addiction is an illness’ and ‘hard to comprehend’
- One expressed hope that the singer’s untimely death could be a ‘wake-up call to even one drug/alcohol abuser’
- Users have spoken of Winehouse’s ‘great, soulful voice’ and though some have labelled her a ‘bad role model’, a number of people have asked why singers should be looked upon to set an example in the first place, preferring to focus on her talent instead
Fans across the world have propelled Winehouse’s music back into the charts following her death. According to the official midweek chart update, Back to Black has leapt nearly 60 places to settle at number two in the current album charts, while seven individual tracks are back in the top 40, including the poignant singles Rehab, Tears Dry On Their Own and Love Is A Losing Game.
While fans gathered around the singer’s Camden home to pay respects, many friends and colleagues of the star have flocked to give their condolences publicly, with reality star and singer Kelly Osbourne tweeting ‘I love you forever Amy’; acquaintance and fellow former-addict actor and TV presenter Russell Brand publishing a moving tribute to the singer and her problems with addiction, and Mark Ronson paying respects to Winehouse in his first gig since her death.
‘Conquered’ her addiction
Winehouse’s father, taxi driver and jazz singer Mitch Winehouse, has revealed plans to set up a foundation for people struggling with addition in his daughter’s name. At her funeral he said that the singer had ‘conquered’ her drug addiction prior to her death, and that she had been ‘trying hard to deal with her drinking’.
