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Trivia / Amy Winehouse

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  • Creator Backlash: According to Amy film director Asif Kapadia, Winehouse disliked her hit song "Rehab" because she believed it was "dark" and "a cry for help". "People wanted her to sing it, and she's singing it with a drink in her hand.
    "Every time she says 'No', she's saying, 'Yes.'"
  • Creator Breakdown:
    • Got too heavy into Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll and only cut two albums, the last one five years before her untimely death.
    • Winehouse wrote the album Back to Black after a period of depression, heavy drinking, and weight loss. Songs such as "Rehab", "Wake Up Alone" and "Love is a Losing Game" were written about real experiences during her breakup from Blake Fielder-Civil.
  • Died During Production: She was working on a third album when she died.
  • Follow the Leader: To say that Winehouse idolized Ronnie Spector would be an understatement. Not only did she aim to imitate Spector's sound and singing style, but her clothing choices, beehive hairdo and distinctive makeup were all done to emulate Spector's physical appearance. She also had a picture of of a woman who resembled Spector tattooed on her arm. Ronnie Spector stated she first learned of Winehouse by seeing her picture in a magazine and mistaking it for being one of her younger self until she put on her glasses and read the caption.
    • Ronnie Spector approved! She only spoke positively of Winehouse and regularly covered "Back to Black" in concert, later releasing a version as a single in tribute to Winehouse upon her death. While the two of them didn't have any meaningful contact, she developed a relationship with Winehouse's family and contributed to multiple retrospectives. Spector stated she drew inspiration of her own from Winehouse because she showcased to Spector that her work was meaningful.note 
  • Keep Circulating the Tapes: The original "Back to Black" music video, which features an ending slate of "R.I.P. the Heart of Amy Winehouse", was edited out following Amy's passing in 2011. It is on Youtube, but it's rare to find.
  • One-Hit Wonder: Technically, in the U.S. her only Top 40 hit is "Rehab". But she's hardly referred to as such, with the other singles from Back to Black being easily as well-known.
  • Short-Lived, Big Impact: She was a key influence in revitalizing the stagnated British music scene, and for resurrecting soul music. Dead at age 27.
    • Her existence encouraged Lady Gaga to be herself when she finally released music in 2008.
      • Adele also referred to Winehouse as her "role model" and said in her moving tribute to her on her website that Amy made everyone excited about British music again.
      • Jessie J also dedicated her win at the Mobo awards to Winehouse and said that without her she and Adele would never have been signed.
    • Really her career was even shorter lived than you might think, considering that her second and final album was released 5 years before her passing and due to her personal problems she hadn't started making another (which became Lioness) until 2011. She avoided disappearing into obscurity due to performing at least once a month during even her lowest points, and the press following her near constantly waiting for some minor scoop to happen.
  • What Could Have Been:
    • Winehouse was originally supposed to be the musical guest for a Saturday Night Live episode that aired in November 2007 with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson hosting. The episode ended up being canceled as November 2007 was when the Writers Guild of America went on strike over not receiving residuals for their programs when said programs were being put out on DVD and the Internet. Even worse, The Rock got a chance to host on SNL's 34th season, only the musical guest was Ray LaMontagne. Winehouse was never a musical guest, and now that she's dead, she never will be.
    • Upon meeting Winehouse, Sia (whom Winehouse grew up listening to) expressed interest in working together, although Winehouse declined because she felt intimidated by Sia. Sadly, following Winehouse's death in 2011, this collaboration will never happen.

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