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Andrea Seput

Dr. Iain Ellis

English 203

1 May 2017

Amy Winehouse Youth Rebellion

The interplay between Ms. Winehouses life and art made her one of the most

fascinating figures in pop music since Kurt Cobain, whose demise in 1994 also at age 27 .

(Sisario, Ben. "Amy Winehouse, British Soul Singer With a Troubled Life, Dies at 27." The New

York Times. The New York Times, 23 July 2011. Web. 02 May 2017.) Amy was not your typical

pop star who loved fame and all the attention that was given to her, instead she was the complete

opposite. She did not care what people thought of her she lived in her own world. She was a

candid truth teller, hated fame, had body issues, and drug and alcohol problems. All of these

problems showed her rebellion against being a pop star because all of this was in the public eye.

Amy Winehouse started out as a small singer but soon became one of Americas most

famous pop singers. This did not stop her from being herself and saying what she wanted to say.

Comparing Amy to other pop singers like Beyonce they both have very different ways of putting

themselves out there. When people think about pop stars they think of someone they can look up

to but Amy was a pop singer parents did not want their younger kids to see in the news. Amy was

something else when it came to pop singers she wrote real music that was personal to her. She

wrote poems when she was younger and they were very personal. Everything she wrote came

from her own life.(Amy. Dir. Asif Kapadia. Prod. James Gay-Rees. Perf. Amy Winehouse. 2015.

IMBD. Web.) Some people believe that pop singers do not write their own music and this is what

makes Amy a youth rebel. Pop singers will not talk about their own problems that go on in their
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lives, they want to keep it personal but this is how Amy could express herself and show the

world she did not care. In her song Rehab she says They tried to make me go to rehab but I said,

'No, no, no.' Yes, I've been black but when I come back you'll know, know, know I ain't got the

time and if my daddy thinks I'm fine He's tried to make me go to rehab but I won't go, go,

gotalks about how people tried to make her go to rehab, but she did not. (Winehouse, Amy. By

Amy Winehouse. Rehab. Amy Winehouse. Mark Ronson, 2006. CD.) When you first see the title

of the song you would assume Amy is going to talk about how rehab had helped her as a person

and get better but it turned out to be the complete opposite. Amy instead is telling a story in this

song when her father and other family and friends had wanted her to go to rehab to get better.

She repeats the word no multiple times to get the point across. Entertainment Weekly said

"smartass, aching, flirty, and often straight-up nasty" lyrics "raise this expertly crafted set into the

realm of true, of-the-minute originality". (Hermes, Will. "Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black': EW

Review." EW.com. Time Inc, 09 Mar. 2007. Web. 02 May 2017.) This is where Amy stood out

she was original she rebelled against other pop singers to bring out her own problems. Amy

wrote about her ex-boyfriend as well and did not hold back about how she felt. We only said

goodbye with words I died a hundred times You go back to her And I go back to (Winehouse,

Amy. By Amy Winehouse. Back to Black. Amy Winehouse. Mark Ronson, 2005. CD.) Amy

rebelled and wrote this song about her ex-boyfriend. She says and I go back to and switches

the lyrics although she is referring how she goes back to alcohol. This song brought out the pop

singer side of Amy that did not care. Not only did she put all of her feelings into a song she

showed it in person. She stopped taking care of herself and her drinking habits became worse.

Her rebellious side showed tremendously here she did not care how she dressed or how put
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herself out in the public eye. Amy spoke the truth and did not care what people thought of her.

She rebelled against being a pop singer but was still stuck being in the pop singer area.

Although Amy was a candid truth teller she also hated being in the spotlight and having

becoming famous. Amy knew she was a good singer but believed that being famous was not for

her, she wanted to be a stay at home mom and take care of her husband. Most pop singers will

never admit that fame was not for them but Amy did not care. Once Amy hit that high point in

fame she stopped caring. When being out in public pop singers and celebrities like to present

themselves by looking put together. This was different for Amy she would come out with torn

clothes, makeup on from the night before, and just not put together. After fights with her

boyfriend Amy would come out covered in blood or other wounds and paparazzis would take

pictures of her but it did not phase her. When Amy did dress appropriately she was still rebelling.

She had a signature look that impacted other people's lives to dress how they want. Amys

signature look was winged eyeliner, beehive hair, floral dress, and other outfits that helped her

stand out. Winehouse's outfits were never totally "perfect," but they were always her own, and

her idiosyncrasy was what made her look both so compelling and so open to criticism. (Builder,

Maxine. "11 Amy Winehouse Outfits And Accessories That Defined Her Style And Solidified

Her Iconic Position." Bustle. Bustle, 25 June 2015. Web. 02 May 2017.) Continuing how Amy

had stopped caring, when she was becoming very famous it took its toll on her and how she

acted. Throughout the Amy documentary it shows Amy slowly becoming famous and you can

see how slowly she is becoming more and more depressed with the life she is living. Amy finally

started to give up and at a concert in Serbia she was booed off the stage. An internet video shows

Amy walking around the stage refusing to sing, hiding behind singers, laughing, taking her shoes

off, and drinking. She starts to sing but you can see she does not want to be there and is not
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trying. (Winehouse Booed Off Stage in Serbia. Perf. Amy Winehouse. Youtube. Associated Press,

20 June 2011. Web. 2 May 2017.) This happens with a few other shows and she just gives up

singing. The singer was tired of the life she was living. Pop singers today like Justin Bieber

began to do the same by cancelling shows because fans would not stop screaming and cancelling

meet and greets because it takes a lot out of him to meet everyone. Amy became overwhelmed

with the fame she was getting and was not afraid to tell people she was not meant to be famous.

Amy had body issues and also drug and alcohol issues. She suffered from bulimia since

she was young but alcohol and drugs came in play later on in her life. Alcohol and drugs played a

huge role in Amys career. She was always drinking during shows, recording sessions,

interviews, and when she was home. This was Amys way to escape the horrible life she believed

she was living. Amy drank alcohol like it was water and it was not something she kept a secret.

This helped Amy cope with everything that was going on in her life. Her body issues was

something she had been dealing with for awhile, but once her fame started to escalate more the

skinnier she was getting. Amy would eat her food in the recording studio and walk out to go

vomit all of the food up. Becoming famous was killing Amy Winehouse. Her drug addiction put

her into a coma and friends wanted to send her to rehab but she did not go. Amys life was an

open book to the world and she could not keep things to herself. In an interview Q&A: Amy

Winehouse by the Guardian she was asked What is your most unappealing habit and she

answered Being an abusive drunk. (Greenstreet, Rosanna. "Q&A: Amy Winehouse." The

Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 13 Jan. 2007. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.) Amy knew she was a

drunk but did not care and she did not care if the world knew also. Amy rebelled once again by

living her life as an alcoholic and not wanting to get help.

No pop singer has ever put themselves out there like Amy has. She was not a typical pop

singer who does everything right, she was the complete opposite. Telling the world her own

problems without a care sharing the real truth of what it is like being a depressed pop star. Amy

never put her guard up she let everything go for everyone to see because she did not care what

they had thought of her. Throughout her journey we can see that Amy was a youth rebel. From

when she was young up until her death. Her rebellion affected her family and friends but also the

world. She was a true original artist but her rebellious side had brought her down. Although it

affected some people she still impacted a lot of artist. Lady Gaga said Amy changed pop music

forever. I remember knowing there was hope, and feeling not alone because of her. She lived

jazz, she lived the blues. (Kaufman, Gil. "Amy Winehouse Remembered By Lady Gaga,

Russell Brand, Others." MTV News. Gill Kaufman, 24 July 2011. Web. 02 May 2017.) She

shared her story with the world either through her songs or from just how she presented herself

and her lifestyle choices. She was seen as a "a filthy-mouthed, down-to-earth diva,". (Rogers,

Jude (11 December 2006). "Year of the woman". New Statesman.) Although she was a rebel

with her choices she was still caring and cared for the people around her.

Work Cited

Amy. Dir. Asif Kapadia. Prod. James Gay-Rees. Perf. Amy Winehouse. 2015. IMDB. Web.
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Builder, Maxine. "11 Amy Winehouse Outfits And Accessories That Defined Her Style And

Solidified Her Iconic Position." Bustle. Bustle, 25 June 2015. Web. 02 May 2017.

Day, Elizabeth. "Growing up with My Sister Amy Winehouse." The Observer. Guardian News

and Media, 22 June 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Eliscu, Jenny. "Amy Winehouse: The Diva and Her Demons." Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, 14

June 2007. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Greenstreet, Rosanna. "Q&A: Amy Winehouse." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 13

Jan. 2007. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Hermes, Will. "Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black': EW Review." EW.com. Time Inc, 09 Mar.

2007. Web. 02 May 2017.

Kaufman, Gil. "Amy Winehouse Remembered By Lady Gaga, Russell Brand, Others." MTV

News. Gill Kaufman, 24 July 2011. Web. 02 May 2017.

Rogers, Jude (11 December 2006). "Year of the woman". New Statesman.

Wikipedia contributors. "Amy Winehouse." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The

Free Encyclopedia, 24 Apr. 2017. Web. 1 May. 2017.

Winehouse, Amy. By Amy Winehouse. Back to Black. Amy Winehouse. Mark Ronson, 2005.

CD.

Winehouse, Amy. By Amy Winehouse. Rehab. Amy Winehouse. Mark Ronson, 2006. CD.

Winehouse Booed Off Stage in Serbia. Perf. Amy Winehouse. Youtube. Associated Press, 20

June 2011. Web. 2 May 2017.