I like Amy Winehouse. I’ve always liked her even on the days when she was the most talked about singer hooked on a crack pipe.
Amy needed a hug. Amy needed prayers, Amy needed love but more importantly, she needed help, and the truth is, she never wanted it. I know some people are going to see the headline and probably spit out a few profanities (like I care) because someone decided to remember Amy.
Someone here, that is. I had my beat-up-on-Amy days and I remember writing about her when she dominated the Grammys, saying how misguided the whole thing seemed. “Why give this junkie a Grammy when she really needed a wake-up call?” I remember thinking and I was unapologetically against the recognition.
But I wasn’t against Amy. Heck, I loved her but something in me said she needed the wake-up call more than the recognition. Amy Winehouse was the kind of singer who couldn’t escape recognition even if she tried; the girl was simply too good (Grammy or not).
The defiance in her tragic yet great song, Rehab resonated with me not because I had my own personal problems with drugs – I like the tough talk. I like the ‘don’t tell me what to do attitude’ probably because I feel the same way and I sometimes have to fight people in my life to convince them that if I screw up, its part of the process.
Thankfully, the only screw-ups I can recall were relationships (but moving on). Amy was like the ‘bad-ass,’ really cool sister I wished I had except for the drugs thing. Any sister of mine that decides to go junkie on me would beg to go to rehab because I would be the sister who drags her there consent or no consent.
I used to look at Amy and see raw talent locked away in a physical being that was slowly dying, and I empathized. I played her song, ‘You know I’m no good’ about a hundred times one day, literally, and I cried a good cry. I believe the tears were for my own personal struggles at the time and also for Amy, who I realized was an enormous talent.
I’m no music critic but I know she was special. I knew her vocal ability was rare and that she had a gift. She was a soulful, powerful singer who knew how to channel her pain and her emotions in a way only she knew how.
People have been mean to Amy Winehouse (maybe for good reason) and even in death she couldn’t escape the beat-downs. I signed into facebook and remember reading stuff like, “She died so what?” and “Please no more Any Winehouse death news on my newsfeed” and I ignored them.
This Amy Winehouse fan wanted to read everything about her on that day and was happy to see people on my newsfeed celebrating her. At least there were folks in my small circle that recognized what a great talent she was!
I’ve also heard the argument about how celebrities are not there for us to mourn when they die and that Amy had money and fame while many of us are still trying to make it. I’m allowed to disagree and I do.
Amy Winehouse was no different than me. She was human, she had a family, she went after her dreams and sadly, she died young because she made grave mistakes. I’ll mourn her, I will also learn from her and I will ignore those who only saw her celebrity.
(ianaseales@yahoo.com)
