On July 11, 2004, one of the world’s greatest artists died on account of alcohol poisoning that caused her heart to stop. It is sad that when most people hear the name Amy Winehouse, they think of some artist that threw away their gift by allowing drugs and alcohol to consume their life. Early on, Amy had a difficult upbringing; her mother, Janis Winehouse, never took on a parental role and raised Amy and her siblings all on her own. Her father, Mitchell Winehouse, left their family when Amy was young; her parents divorce and the lack of her father’s presence would impact Amy’s future relationships in ways that ultimately consumed her life. She moved out of her home at age sixteen as soon as she got offered a deal to perform at various bars and night venues throughout London. Basically, this extremely talented young jazz singer had the potential to be great, but without a mature adult figure in her life to keep her on the straight path it was short lived. She had to define various elements of her life on her own and was always influenced by the people she loved, which was everyone, even if they did not benefit her in any way.
After watching the movie AMY at Cornell Cinema this past Thursday, it really caused me to reflect on the life one leads when they are considered famous. From the very beginning, not only did Amy say that she did not see herself being sucked into the pop culture of the time, but she also said that her passion and greatest talent was “doing the music” and no other aspect of her life came close to being as important as that. It seemed like all of a sudden, Amy was an extremely popular figure – especially after her song Rehab came out – and every second of her life needed to be recorded and shared with the world. The amount of pressure that fell on this incredibly talented, humble, love seeking girl was just unbelievable.
She fell in love with a man named Blake Fielder and their love was toxic, passionate, and harmful. They met at a night club that he ran and to her he became the world; she would have done anything for this man. After meeting him, Amy feel into hard drugs such as cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroine, on top of being an alcoholic, and because of her petite body and lifestyle choices, these items all had detrimental affects on her career and loved ones. It is sad that this girl was looking for love and affection from anyone who would give it to her, and ultimately gave up on the idea of happiness and the hope that she would one day escape all the pressures that were put on her. Never before have I listened to a truer, unique vocalist perform her own jazz songs with the amount of emotion to her work as Amy Winehouse did. She will always be remembered and her story will serve as a warning to fame seekers for a very long time.