Respond to these rapid questions in our Amy quiz and we will tell you which Amy character you are. Play it now.
To see this raven-haired go-getter so full of life, possibilities, and self-confidence at such a young age is shocking. She can be seen in grainy home videos singing the sing-song refrain of “Happy Birthday” as if she were possessed by the ghost of an illustrious R&B diva, innocently munching on a lollipop with her female friends while sporting some teenage acne on her smooth face.
Few of us ever got to see the Amy Winehouse who exudes cheeky confidence and enjoys sharing her impressive talents. The spark that had blazed so brightly inside of her ultimately died, extinguished by the brutally intrusive flash-flash-flash of the paparazzi’s ubiquitous cameras.
What most people do know about Winehouse, an homage to the great jazz songstresses of yesteryear who was also influenced by hip-hop, reggae, girl-group pop, and soul, is that this North London-born chanteuse burst onto the scene and burned up the charts with her 2006 breakthrough album “Back to Black,” selling over 20 million copies and winning five Grammys. Her catchy theme song, the all-too-appropriate “Rehab,” was ubiquitous for a while and contributed to the development of her coquettish bad-girl character.
And nearly immediately after that, she fell victim to the ultimate showbiz cliche when she passed away in 2011 from accidental alcohol intoxication. Winehouse therefore became the first member of the “27 Club,” a reference to the age at which musicians like Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison reached their own way too soon.
Based on what is seen in “Amy,” a very captivating, delicately handled, and ultimately sad documentary directed by Asif Kapadia (“Senna”), Winehouse seemed to have the vocal prowess to have gone down in history as one of the all-time greats. Winehouse is revealed to be a natural-born entertainer with a raw sound and street style that borrowed from the past – a sultry Sarah Vaughan at the intersection of bee-hived Ronnie Spector and fragile Edith Piaf – while being her own person and true to her. Winehouse was busy scribbling her sexually-charged confessional lyrics in her girlish curlicue handwriting or wailing away at maximum strength without a backing track in
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Amy quiz.
But the movie also makes it painfully obvious that Winehouse was saddled with a number of dysfunctional characteristics that would eventually ignite into an inferno of public self-destruction. Before the explosive element of fame entered the picture, many of the warning signs were already present, including her addictive personality, her frequently grating passive-aggressive nature, her unhealthy appetite for drugs and alcohol, her love of reckless partying, her weakness for manipulative men, her long-standing struggles with depression, bulimia, and self-doubt.
Amy Quiz
Yes, cautionary Hollywood sagas frequently feature a heady steady ascent to prosperity followed by a stunning downward spiral. Following the Oscar victories for “20 Feet From Stardom” and “Searching for Sugar Man,” there are an increasing number of music-related documentaries, and this trend is continuing. The well-received documentary “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck” about the lead singer of Nirvana, who is also a member of the 27 Club and whose own troubles in the spotlight closely resemble Winehouse’s, was previously released this year.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Amy quiz.
However, there aren’t necessarily any brand-new insights in “Amy” that set it apart from other train disaster bio-docs. After all, the words to her song—which Kapadia deftly uses as captions onscreen to emphasize their impact—pretty much reveal the story’s core on their own. Instead, what jumps out is the almost overpowering sensation of voyeuristic intimacy created by a large assortment of old videos, some of which were recorded by Winehouse herself and many of which had never been seen before, along with brutally honest voice commentary from people who knew her best today. Sometimes it seems like we are listening in on ordinary conversations rather than just hearing the same old refrain of regrets and clichés.
“Amy” could not feel more intimate unless the director had also included X-rays of Winehouse in the mix. Kapadia and his team spoke with more than 100 subjects, ranging from important childhood friends like Juliette Ashby and first manager Nick Shymansky (a sweet guy who I am guessing harbored an unrequited crush on Winehouse) to professional collaborators like rapper Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) and producer Salaam Remi.
There are villains in every rise and fall narrative. Her father Mitch, who would introduce her to the vintage songs sung by Frank Sinatra and other jazz greats that impacted her, predominantly fills this position in “Amy.” But more often than not, it seems like the former cab driver was just a leech who basked in his daughter’s fame with little regard for her welfare (one event in 2009 when she was recovering from rehab on Saint Lucia sticks out, in which he visited her with his own video crew). It’s not shocking that he has cut ties with this endeavor. While this is happening, parent Janis is seen on camera describing how she simply dismissed her teen daughter’s admission that her diet consisted of bingeing and purging without any thought.
About the quiz
Blake Fielder-Civil, who was her husband for a number of years, is the public enemy number one, a very sleazy jailbird reprobate. He kept her addicted to heroin and crack cocaine so that he could continue to rely on her as his main source of income. The video of the battered couple following a fight appears to imply that they were the hipster equivalent of Sid and Nancy. She has her signature eyeliner all over her now-gaunt face, and he has blood trickling down his face. Positively, the most of the tracks on “Back to Black” were inspired by their destructive, on-and-off relationship.
Also, you must try to play this Amy quiz.
However, it is certain that Winehouse also had a significant hand in determining her terrible end, particularly after choosing Raye Cosbert, a concert promoter, as her manager just as she was about to become a household name. One interviewee made the point that a promoter is primarily concerned with keeping a client on the road because tours are his primary source of income. Which is probably why Winehouse was frequently compelled to perform live performances despite being emotionally unprepared to do so, rather than being given time to unwind and get her act together. A chorus of shouts and catcalls resulted when the out-of-it singer flatly refused to perform at a 2011 concert in Belgrade, the opening date of a later-cancelled European tour. She would be gone a month from now.
Fortunately, “Amy” concludes on a positive note with one of Winehouse’s heroes, Tony Bennett, praising her and comparing her to Dinah Washington, Billie Holliday, and Aretha Franklin. In earlier behind-the-scenes film of the two of them performing the jazz standard “Body and Soul” at Abbey Road for his Duets II album, the veteran should know better than most, based on his incredibly patient handling of Winehouse. Don’t worry, it always takes me a bit to warm up, too, the 80-year-old adds as a frightened Winehouse stumbles at first and haltingly requests a second chance. Warming up is necessary since what comes out of her mouth proves that Winehouse was the real deal.
For more personality quizzes check this: How Will I Die Quiz.
