Amy Winehouse

Despite of being so young, Amy Winehouse has already earned the reputation of one of the brightest soul and R&B stars. Famous musician was born in 1984 in Britain. Her father was a taxi driver and her mother was a pharmaceutist. However Amy's parents divorced when she was nine and her brother was thirteen years old. Her elder relatives were the ones who inculcated in Amy a love to music: her mother was often listening to Frank Sinatra and Dinah Washington and her brother taught her to play the guitar. When she was twelve, Winehouse had entered the theatre school, from which she was expelled due to the conflicts with the teachers. Soon after that she began to write her own songs. But before she managed to get to the scene, she had changed lots of jobs, including a job of a journalist in World Entertainment News Network. Finally she began to sing in a jazz band. After one of the concerts a producer came to her and suggested recording some songs in a studio. This way the creation of the album Frank began.

This album was released in 2003 and became platinum. Songs in retro-R&B style made the songstress famous. The sound was chosen according to Amy's personal tastes: The Ronnettes, Frank Sinatra, Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye among others. The main themes of her songs were the difficult relations with men and the alcohol. But the true fame came to Winehouse after her second album Black To Black recorded in similar style was released in 2006. The legendary musician Prince proclaimed himself an Amy's fan and recorded a cover version of her song Love Is A Losing Game and offered her to take part in his tour. Also the popular rapper Jay-Z made a remix on the single Rehab.

Amy is well known for her looks and outlandish actions no less than for her singing. The most striking in Winehouse is the combination of a strong voice and not very prominent build. Another distinctive feature of hers is a high coiffure made of the black coarse strands, gathered in a pony-tail, and the aggressive "black" make-up. Shocking actions are a norm for her – for instance, once during an interview she took a piece of glass and carved on her skin "I love Blake", as a proof of the earnestness of her relationship with her boyfriend. In November 2007 Amy will begin the recording of her new album. Her producer Mark Ronson said that it should be "older or more morbid or like really wall-of-sound".