Amy Winehouse - cupid

AMY WINEHOUSE: UNPLUGGED

Upon the launch of her new fashion collection, the controversial superstar said she was happier than ever. Read the October 2010 interview below and then see images from the BAZAAR photo shoot as well as photos of her looks through the years.

By POLLY VERNON

Even from a distance, and despite the fact that she is really very small indeed, Amy Winehouse, 27, is unmistakable. I recognize her instantly: that diminutive frame adorned with the beehive of black hair, the big mouth (which, in the tradition of Mick Jagger, seems designed to draw attention to the very point of Winehouse: her big and beautiful voice), and the pronounced curve of her bosom, which may or may not be cosmetically enhanced. (Winehouse has not commented on the rumors of breast-augmentation surgery that surfaced in October of 2009, but the bosom certainly appears much larger than it did a few years ago.)

The singer fiits about the minimalist shell of the Harper's Bazaar photo-shoot location in London, barefoot, extravagantly tattooed, and dressed in only a cotton halter-neck sundress—part of a collection Winehouse has created with the British brand Fred Perry. Today she's modeling the clothes for rock star turned photographer Bryan Adams.

They are partway through the shoot when I arrive; Adams has taken a break to eat some food. He's trying to convince Winehouse to eat too by offering her vegan rice balls. "No, Bryan!" she says grandly. She is very loud and very theatrical. "I need protein, Bryan!" She dispatches a member of her not-inconsiderable entourage to track down a Pret A Manger crayfish salad. Also: "A cucumber, so I can hit Bryan with it."

Amy Winehouse - rehap

Interview with amy winehouse

Amy Winehouse: the final interview

"I’m quite shy, really," Amy Winehouse told Neil McCormick in March, in what was to be the last interview she gave before she died.

In March this year, I did what turned out to be the last interview with Amy Winehouse. We didn’t talk about drugs, or rehab, or her unhappy love life, or cancelled tours and interrupted recording sessions. It wasn’t about her well-publicised troubles at all. It was about music, about jazz and singing, the things that really motivated her, the things that made her great.

I was privileged to watch her record a duet with legendary crooner Tony Bennett in Abbey Road studios. It was a magical experience, watching these two great talents sing together, voices wrapping around each other, rising and falling, scatting and blending in jazzy cadences, as they worked up a version of the classic ’Body And Soul’, each take getting better than the last.

Back to Black

Amy Jade Winehouse - Biography

Amy Jade Winehouse (born 14 September 1983 in Southgate, London, died 23 July 2011 in Camden, London) was an English singer and composer, known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including soul, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues.

Her musical formation went through listening to such jazz divas as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday andSarah Vaughan; she was later influenced by contemporary metropolitan popular music as well. She represented a union of these aesthetics: a happy fusion of ’40s jazz, ’60s soul and hard texts inspired by daily life.