As multiple sources are now confirming, Amy Winehouse, 27, has died. She was found in her London home at about 4pm local time.
While not unexpected — she’s famously battled a severe substance abuse problem for years — the news is still incredibly sad. In an age of the manufactured pop star, Winehouse was a truly gifted singer and songwriter.
Her 2007 Grammy-winning break-through album, “Back to Black,” showcased a 60s Phil Spector-like vibe, and Winehouse herself maintained the image with a signature beehive hairdo and heavy black eyeliner, set off by an array of thoroughly modern tattoos.
At some point, though, it all went off the rails. Winehouse’s drug of choice was reported to be crack cocaine, and there are loads of unflattering photos of her looking alarmingly thin with the telltale missing teeth and self-inflicted wounds on her face.
A press release from the Metropolitan Police, which doesn’t specifically name Winehouse, says:
“Police were called by London Ambulance Service to an address in Camden Square NW1 shortly before 16.05hrs today, Saturday 23 July, following reports of a woman found deceased.
On arrival officers found the body of a 27-year-old female who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Enquiries continue into the circumstances of the death. At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained.“
Holiday dinners at the Knowles household just got super awkward.
TMZ is reporting the reason superstar Beyonce severed her longtime professional relationship with her father (and former manager) Mathew is because he was pilfering her bank accounts. He denies those allegations and has filed court papers to get to the bottom of them.
The little 13-year-old yodeling sprite burst onto the scene years ago and everyone was all “she’s Patsy Cline reincarnated!” and she had a nice voice and she was a nice girl who eventually married a nice boy and had a very nice career.
Remember that? It was nice.
But that was before she had a hand in wrecking two marriages when she cheated on her husband with the then-married (and then-unknown) Eddie Cibrian while the two of them were off together shooting some shittastic TV movie no one ever saw.
If this keeps up, she’ll be walking out to stony silence.
After Tom Petty served GOP presidential candidate (and Tea Party darling) Michele Bachmann with a cease and desist order, demanding she quit using his song “American Girl” during campaign stops, Katrina & The Waves had a little something to say as well.