Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse (1983–2011) was a British singer and songwriter whose scorched contralto and unflinching emotional directness made her one of the defining artists of the 2000s. Born in Southgate, London, she emerged from jazz clubs with a sound steeped in Motown, Stax, and the Ronettes, filtered through a distinctly British sensibility. Her debut Frank (2003) showcased precocious talent, but Back to Black (2006) was the cultural detonation: a suite of torch songs about romantic devastation set to Daptone-produced retro-soul that became the UK's bestselling album of the 21st century for years after. She won five Grammys in one night and influenced everyone from Adele to Lana Del Rey, proving confessional songwriting could be commercially potent without softening its edges.

Her legacy remains inseparable from her struggles with addiction and mental health, which the tabloid press exploited mercilessly. She died at 27, joining rock's most infamous cohort. Yet her voice, that remarkable instrument capable of honeyed warmth and raw anguish within a single phrase, endures as singular. She made vulnerability sound defiant.