Amy Winehouse

Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was a British singer and songwriter. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she is known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues, reggae, and jazz.

Winehouse was a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in her youth, signing to Simon Fuller's 19 Management in 2002 and soon recording a number of songs before signing a publishing deal with EMI. She also formed a working relationship with producer Salaam Remi through these record publishers. Winehouse's debut album, Frank, was released in 2003. Many of the album's songs were influenced by jazz and, apart from two covers, were co-written by Winehouse. Frank was a critical and commercial success in the UK, and beyond, and was nominated for the UK's Mercury Prize. The song "Stronger Than Me" won her the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

Winehouse released her follow-up album, Back to Black, in 2006. The album went on to become a huge international success and one of the best-selling albums of all time, as well as one of the best-selling albums in UK history. At the 2007 Brit Awards, it was nominated for British Album of the Year and Winehouse received the award for British Female Solo Artist. The song "Rehab" won her a second Ivor Novello Award. At the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008, she won five awards, tying the then record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night and becoming the first British woman to win five Grammys. These included three of the General Field "Big Four" Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year (for "Rehab"), as well as Best Pop Vocal Album.

Winehouse struggled throughout her life with substance abuse, mental illness and addiction. She died at her Camden Square home in London of alcohol poisoning on 23 July 2011 at the age of 27, prompting media references to the 27 Club. Her brother believed that bulimia was also a factor. After her death, Back to Black briefly became the UK's best-selling album of the 21st century. VH1 ranked Winehouse 26th on their list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. Her life and career was dramatised in a 2024 biopic, Back to Black, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson.