Amy Winehouses Life - Essay Example

Insert Amy Winehouse Synopsis and early career Amy Winehouse born in London, England, on 14 September 1983 and passed away o 23 July 2011 was a singer and songwriter. She was born to a cab driver, Mitch Winehouse, and a Pharmacist, Janis her mother. She grew up surrounded by jazz musicians including most of her uncles from the mothers side and Ronnie Scott, British jazz legend who had a relationship with her grandmother. At the age of ten, she got interested in the Salt-n-Pepa including other American acts of hip-hop and R&B and formed an amateur rap group, Sweet and Sour. At the age of twelve, she joined the Sylvia Young Theatre School and earned her first guitar a year later. She was later expelled for piercing her nose and not applying herself. She ventured into the music career at the age of sixteen after her classmate, Tyler James a pop singer, passed her demo tape to A&R recording label. After signing her first recording deal as a jazz vocalist; her music developed into an eclectic mixture of pop, jazz, R&B and soul. After her 2003 album, Frank, hit double platinum status Amy Winehouse began showing up to club and TV performances while too drunk to perform for the whole set and ruined her reputation. She also got into on and off relationship with Blake Fielder, Music video assistant, who introduced her to hard drugs. The couple often fought in public, and their private life involved doing drugs, alcohol and causing self-harm. Her 2006 album Back to Black won her five Grammy awards and earned commendation for her songs including Rehab, Back to Black and Valerie. She passed away at the age of twenty-seven after an accidental poisoning from alcohol. In 2006, she dumped her management company, after the company suggested that she should enter rehab for alcohol abuse. She turned the experience into the song Rehab in her second album, Back to Black. She expressed her refusal to accept treatment for substance abuse. The song remained in top ten list in United Kingdom for some time and earned her an Ivor Novello award for the best contemporary song. The album also won her two BRIT awards for the best female solo artist and the best British album in 2007. The album also hit platinum levels in America in less than a month after winning the BRIT award. In April 2007, she got engaged to Blake Fielder and married in May 2007. She returned to her old habits of substance abuse and on Agust8, 2007 she went into a coma after an overdose of several drugs. Her health began to deteriorate despite her success in music and at a concert in London in June 2008, she punched James Gostelow. She was diagnosed with emphysema and an irregular heartbeat that was caused by smoking cigarettes and crack cocaine. Her marriage ended before the end of 2008 and divorce proceedings started in January 2009. Her album Back to Black won her entry into the Guinness book of Worlds records for having the Most Grammy Awards as a British female. People have different opinions about Amy Winehouse because naturally, human beings are designed to arrive at different conclusions; there are those who liked her music but did not like her way of life. There are also those who liked both her music and personality and there are also those who did not like her music and her personality. The three groups of people will have different opinions bases on their preferences.This paper summarizes the different opinions people have about Amy Winehouse. Her life was messier than music by Jon Pareles Jon Pareles describes Amy Winehouses life as being messier than music. She had just started her music career and had only two albums into her career, which was derailed by substance abuse including drugs and alcohol and having bad choices. He describes Amys song Rehab from the album Back to Black as being prophetic, insolent and savvy. The song won her a Grammy award but may not be the best song in the album. He writes that Back to Black would have made the foundation for a maturing catalog if its circumstances were better. He says that she could not bring herself to notice its potential. He describes her performances as being erratic. From her photos and videos, she appeared stumbled, bleeding and taking drugs. She was arrested and fined for being in possession of marijuana during her European tour in 2007. Her husband was also arrested in the same year in November for trying to bribe a bartender whom he had assaulted in June the same year. He describes her schedule as being inconsistent, but she could sell. He states that she had to plan and cancel shows and also visited hospitals on a regular basis. He states that Amy destroyed herself and it was a deep loss to her listeners. He defines her as being a genuine musician among the British singers. The British singers music had a flair and gutsiness beyond what could be studied. He states that Amys album, Frank, which she made while a teenager showed her as a disciple with a tangy voice. He states that Amy Winehouse used to show off and swooped around melimastically. She sounded nonchalantly willing in the way she bends phrases down towards slight dissonance. Amy Winehouse and acerbic and unsparing eye for people she observed and herself. Her lyrics showed someone who looked like her boyfriend and tried to explain how there was no infidelity. Back to Black album perfected friction between the retro music and the blunt lyrics. She appeared more amused and in control due to her beehive hairstyle and the out-to-there eyelashes (Pareles). Amy Winehouse changed the music scene by Sophie Heawood Sophie Heawood describes Amy Winehouse as being funny, difficult, gifted and charming, and her insecurity resulted from her troubles. She states that although Amy Winehouse death had been speculated, she finds it hard to believe that she is dead. She explains that Amy Winehouse destroyed herself by taking many hard drugs, drinking excessive liquor and punishing her young flimsy body. She states that AmyWinehouses death was not inevitable, and it was tragic. She thought that Amy would live through the physical self destruction or her to tell the tale, but she passed away. Sophie Heawood explains that Amy Winehouse was a mess but was also funny and had razor sharp London wit. She was smart, and the awards, accolades, and the artistic attention were justified. According to Sophie, nobody should find something to blame on her because no one helped her overcome her addictions and the demons. Sophie feels that Amy expressed what she was going through in her song Rehab and even attempted to quit the drugs and booze. She explains that Amy Winehouse suffered from self belief, which is why her attempts to quit drugs in United Kingdom and even overseas failed. The success of the Back to Black album made her insecure leaving her not sure of herself. Amy Winehouse did not know how to deal with success, she dealt with it by focussing in the things that brought her down and the people who cost her success. Amy did not want to lavish, and people are talking over her. She liked Amys self-awareness; Amy admitted to being addicted and having eating disorders. She says that Amy Winehouse was smart; she outwitted clever men on TV programmes including Never Mind the Buzzocks and the Russell Brand show. She was also on form even after being teased about her hair, boyfriend and the tabloid antics. Sophia states that she focused on the negative and insulted herself thus she had wit and there was also darkness. According to Sophie, Amy, did not care even of being briefed about the show hosted by Sophie Heawood and showed messy honesty. Amy referred to herself as a dirty little Jew and her fingernails were filthy, and the armpits not shaved (Heawood). Amy Winehouses killers by Sally Satel Sally Satel believes that Amy Winehouses talent was fierce as her heart. Her achievements included five Grammy awards. Sally believes that only few people would be surprised if its ruled that Amy Winehouses death is related to alcohol or drug abuse. The stardom culture ends the changeable behavior. Several professionals sought professional help for her but tabloids rejected to trumpet each step she took and her fans like it that way. She explains that Amy Winehouse used massive substance abuse which led to deeper and broader problems. She stated that Amy spent her life in psychic paper; struggling with depression as a teen, suffering from bouts of anorexia and bulimia and was also very shy. She drank to eliminate insecurity. She has the makings of a musician, a sad, short story by Teresa Wiltz Teresa Wiltz describes Amys voice as being the hottest, and that the more she drinks, the better she sings. She explains about a concert in United States where Amy Winehouse is performing, but her nerves are failing her. She has to drink for her to continue with the performance. She performs her song Rehab. Teresa states that witnessing Winehouse is like wondering why art and self-destruction match together. Teresa refers to Amy Winehouse as a self-proclaimed violent drunkard who once boasted that she would not listen to anyone other than her inner child. Teresa sees Amys career as going off the rail though she is launching her new album Back to Black. Thompson who performed with Amy Winehouse explains that he would rue for the day when she recollects herself and that he wanted to assist her. Teresa felt that it was not a coincidence that some of soul musics artists were tormented. The chronicles of rock, jazz and soul music, are filled with tragic tales of artists who have subjected themselves to self-destructive activities, doping and drinking. She states that Winehouse was curvier, rosier in her outlook and full of the weed and hip-hop mentality. She explains that Amys work in her first album, Frank, had a good rap influence filled with sardonic observations. Teresa states that she won two vital nominations including the best British female and the best urban artist in the Brit awards. Her career seemed promising, but she started drinking and fell in love between her first album, Frank, and her second album, Back to Black. She describes that listening to the lyrics from Back to Black ensued heartbreak. Teresa states that Winehouses voice got seasoned by pain in the period between her albums and deepened to sound like sad and an older woman. She describes that listening to her; one could feel the torment in her voice. Believe the Winehouse buzz by J. Freedom du Lac Lac states that Winehouse while other artists have whisky-soaked voices, Winehouse a whisky-soaked work. He describes that booze can be related to Winehouses music since her drunken behavior is a thing tabloid legend. Lac states that all her stories end with an affinity for alcohol. In my opinion, Amy Winehouse was very gifted and made a huge contribution to jazz music. Her boyfriend, Blake Fielder, ruined her life when he introduced her to hard drugs. Also, the people around her should have put more efforts to take to rehab. She would have lived her life right if she had not chosen the wrong path of drugs and alcohol and even falling in love. She fell in love with the wrong person, and she was still young. Her music was good, but her personality was not good. She did not care about other people and often punched her fans. Her death did not come as a surprise; It was expected since she did hard drugs, took alcohol for five consecutive days before her death and the self-destructive pain. References Amy Jade Winehouse. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 07:03, Apr 27, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/amy-winehouse-244469. "Biography." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. . Burden, Chas. Amy Winehouse: the biography : 1983-2011. Updated ed. London: John Blake, 2011. Web 28 Apr. 2014. < http://www.goodreads.com> Heawood, Sophia . "Razor sharp, Winehouse changed the music scene for ever ." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 24 July 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. . Lac, Freedom. "That Winehouse Buzz? Believe It." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 24 July 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. . Pareles, Jon. "Winehouses Own Warnings, Unheeded." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 July 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. . Sally, Satel. "American Enterprise Institute." Amy Winehouses killers. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. . "Why do people have different opinions?." Nolan Chart. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. . Wiltz, Teresa. " Amy Winehouse Has the Makings of an Incredible Musician. And Perhaps the Makings of a Sad, Short Story.." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 23 July 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. . Read More