Amy Winehouse Drinks Onstage At Latest Show

ARGANDA DEL REY, Spain — Soul diva Amy Winehouse sipped from a glass of red wine and looked a bit unsteady on her feet as she appeared in front of a large audience at the Rock in Rio music festival southeast of Madrid on Friday.

Then, as tens of thousands cheered, she threw off a pair of high stiletto heels in favor of white moccasins, donned a white electric guitar and settled into an intense rendition of some of her best known songs, including "Rehab."

Winehouse delivered a strong vocal performance accompanied by her octet plus two male backing vocalists.

There was no hint of the controversy that saw the Grammy-winning singer scuffle with a fan at the Glastonbury festival in Britain and show up an hour late looking the worse for wear last May in Portugal.

The singer won five Grammy Awards, including best record, best song and best new artist, in early February, but her musical success has been overshadowed by her tumultuous private life and public struggles with drugs and alcohol.

Last month, her father said she developed emphysema from smoking cigarettes and crack cocaine, although her spokeswoman has said Winehouse only has pre-emphysema symptoms.

Once finished at Rock in Rio, she did not stay for an encore and left the outdoor concert venue by helicopter.

Winehouse's manager, Michael Jobson, told national broadcaster RTVE that the singer had looked forward to singing in Madrid after appearances in Portugal and Hyde Park, London.

English band Jamiroquai followed Winehouse on stage, with Colombian pop singer Shakira topping the bill.

The Police, Bob Dylan, Lenny Kravitz, Alejandro Sanz and Franz Ferdinand were all due to perform over the weekend.

Organizers said around 350,000 people were expected to have enjoyed music at the newly inaugurated concert site by the end of the festival.

Comments

[meanguy]

let us know when she DOESN'T drink onstage...THAT will be news

[goldcoastsailor]

Why is this person mentioned every day on huffpo? What is her publicist paying you guys?

[watchingthings]

Maybe she dosn't want to sober up. Maybe at some point she did sober up and the hangover she suffered made her decide to just stay drunk.

[BroMan]

Okay, I'll bite: Amy Wineglass

[LoriB]

Mediocre talent with a beehive. The world loves mediocrity.

[NotaBeliever]

She put on a good show after she took off the high heels, seems to be the story to me. Chasing after performers, pointing fingers at them, is a childish pursuit. She's old enough to drink, for the love of mike. If she were doing heroin or cocaine in public, that might be a story, but this one is strictly amateur night. I wish her the best in her recovery from whatever ails her. WHATEVER ails her, including an unforgiving press.

[eastutican]

sounds to me like the headline here should be that she sang well, is recovering, etc. having a sip of wine is a story ?

and, excuse me, but since when is singing soul the property of a particular race ?? some of the best R&B and soul music in the last thirty years has come from English artists.

[vshdst]

"soul diva?"

what's wrong with you people. She hasn't been around long enough to be considered a "diva."
And....she's not Black!

[ebanks84]

What a waste of a human being. She's the total pits!

[Felicty]

What a waste of good wine.

[TheBrizz]

I'm tired of the whole "alcoholism/addiction is a disease" excuse because to me, it is just that: an excuse. A crutch. I believe that if you really want to stop smoking, you'll stop smoking. If you really want to stop drinking, you'll stop drinking. And if you really want to stop smoking crack, you'll stop smoking crack.

[Changeling]

It IS a disease and lifelong struggle.

But it's a disease you give yourself.

[Budokan]

I don't give a hoot about Amy Winehouse or her problem, or non-problem with addiction. This is the kind of garbage I expect to see on Drudge or in the National Inquirer...or on HuffPo.

Oh, wait. Never mind.

[tablogloid]

Amy is no heroine and I am not addicted to her.

[bigfro]

Ohmy god she drank wine! You guys are pathetic. Some people think AA is BS. Quit the drug your addicted to. It is a biologival fact that all addicts aren't addicted to everything and everyone gets addicted to heroine

[tablogloid]

If "everyone gets addicted to heroine (sic)...", where will we get treatment?

[vshdst]

everyone who drinks isn't a drunk.

everyone who uses heroin is not a heroin addict.

believe it or not, there is such behavior as the responsible use of drugs and alcohol.

i am not speaking of winehouse, only in general.

[nyboomer]

Let her kill her self or survive. Harassing her will accomplish nothing much more than some blowback.

[jonthebru]

Give the girl a drink for god's sake. Lay off her, how would you handle it . I am not in her demographic in any stretch, but I have heard her music and she is good. Let her be.