Aside from being one of the most talked-about celebrities around the world for her risqué public image and habit of showing up to performances too drunk to perform, the rebellious R&B singer Amy Winehouse is an incredibly talented singer/songwriter. Already garnering five Grammy Awards by age 25, the vixen's jazz-inspired R&B/soul music has shocked both her hometown of Middlesex, England, as well as the entire U.S.Winehouse grew up in the U.K., the daughter of a taxi-driver father and pharmacist mother. Jazz music runs in her blood naturally, as several of the singer's uncles (on her mom's side) were professional jazz musicians. Brought up in the safety net of smooth jazz, Winehouse's penchant for rebellion even as a child eventually led her away from the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, straight to the scandalous ‘90s acts of TLC and especially Salt-N-Pepa. By age 16 Winehouse had been expelled from London's Sylvia Young Theatre School, yet her incredible vocal talent supported her, leading her to a contract with Island Records through her schoolmate Tyler James (now a well-known pop singer.) In 2003, Winehouse released her debut album Frank, which exploded onto the R&B scene worldwide. Refusing to shake her bad-girl attitude, Winehouse endured a series of ups and downs, both personally and with her record label. She abandoned her management when they suggested the singer enter rehab for alcohol abuse, and proved her worth shortly thereafter by releasing her sophomore album, Back to Black in 2006. Back to Black shifted from jazzy music to more of a ‘50s/'60s soul-inspired rock & roll, featuring a song about (what else?) not needing to go to rehab. The hit song "Rehab" climbed all over the charts, catapulting the young starlet even more into the spotlight. Although Winehouse cancelled her North American tour in 2007 due to severe exhaustion, she is now rested and ready to make more headlines.
