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

[whatsthatsound]

wassup with Huffpo and Winehouse? Last year about this time it was all Tom Cruise all the time, as if anyone cared. How do they decide which celebs they hate so much they want to tell us about every little flaw and foible?

[ClydeSloppers]

She and that Keith Richards are truly children of the Devil.

[bigfro]

Abd your just a child believing in fairie tales like the Devil

[mimsnpips]

Ok just FYI it is YOU'RE, as in "you are" abbreviated. This mistake is everywhere. E101.

[Nobrun]

I'm sure other people drink on stage. But Amy's wine sip is news?

[TroubleNYC]

What's worse than a train wreck?

[christieZ]

"Winehouse the Wino"? What is this? The New York Post? Christ.

[Mexitli]

Mexitli understand addiction and alchoholism.

pobrecita. my heart goes out to her and all addicts / alcoholics.

[larry278]

While Amy may be a troubled person, she isn't the only entertainer who drank on stage. Frank Sinatra & his rat pack often staged drinking bouts for the benefit of the audience in Vegas. Since Amy is a solo act & younger the media's old maids of all genders pick on her. Yes, yes, it sells papers but it does nothing for Amy. It's probable that Amy has no desire to give up juice or drugs & won't listen to anybody. Besides, it's an easy story to write & a great photo-op. The majority of media people like to avoid work. Those of us who lap up the stories & pix must accept our share of blame because we keep looking at it. It has been said that people are no damned good. We now have abundant proof of that.

[andvoodoo2]

Frank Sinatra and "his rat pack" were pros who showed up to work every night on time and gave consistently spectacular shows. We all know that isn't the case for Winehouse.
BTW, back in those days, much of their onstage drinking and drinking related antics were either fully staged or greatly exaggerated. Back then, drinking was still seen as "cute" and "funny". (Back then, if you got into stopped by a cop or into an accident while drunk, they patted you on your back and, usually, sent you on your way.) Dean Martin, a Rat Pack member, had his own television show for years. He always played a bit of a lush, with drink in hand. Years later, I read that the "drink" was almost always non-alcoholic - it was an act. And, back then, it was funny.
But, Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack weren't giving themselves emphysema at 24, they weren't getting arrested for illegal drugs and violent, abusive drunken antics toward their fans and, they were working full time, doing shows, making movies and recording albums. Finally, they all lived fairly long lives.

[gumbygirl]

I don't know about the "not giving themselves emphysema at 24" part, although it's true they lived fairly long lives, I think damn near every one of them died from smoking related illnesses, and I'm sure they were all smoking at 24. And Frank Sinatra's well documented behavior to women can certainly be described as abusive.

[MemphisBuffalo]

She is just going public with her drinking.

[darthdarcy]

Billie Holiday used to drink Champagne on stage and then share it with her toy poodle from her high heel...mor­e than one guy who played for her shared that story with me...

[Jinxykb]

The sun rises every morning, the earth turns on its axis, and Amy Winehouse gets wasted. What's the story?

[Tropiholic]

I guess her "fans" won't be happy until she's dead.

[geobushono]

rather than throwing stones, try to remember that alcoholism is a sickness. If she can't or won't stop drinking, it is no reason to kick her while she's down, unless of course it makes you feel better.

[andvoodoo2]

I disagree.
Everyone SHOULD "kick her while she's down" if by "down" you mean while she is a disgusting, abusive, violent, no show and late show performer and person who apparently will drink and smoke anything and everything to the point of nearly giving herself irreversable lung disease. Keep coddling her and she will never quit.
The flu is a "sickness". Hepatitis is a "sickness". You can't quit the flu or hepatitis. You CAN quit drinking and drugs. I should know.

[geobushono]

do you feel better now? Do you want to take a short nap after that?

[AgentMacGyver]

Yeah being a crackhead is a sickness. So a celebrity crackhead and drunk isn't newsworthy?

[shedances]

In some ways, Amy Winehouse reminds me of Edith Piaf ... both incredibly talented, but also very personally messed up. I hope her story doesn't end the way Piaf's did.

K

[cBc]

It is a little creepy for her to sing "Rehab", something she needs more than anything else at the moment.
A recent Rolling Stone interview really shows the depths she has fallen to. Her short performance at the Nelson Mandela Tribute concert was pretty shaky, she was mostly slurring the words. Hopefully she comes to realize that only her herself can make things better.

[PatA]

Ms/ Winehouse has addictive diseases. These diseases could be genetic. Generally we don't get up one day and quit drinking or using. She needs treatment in the worst way. Just like you would if you were in renal failure.
Obesity is a disease that kills. Yet, we never see the coverage of obesity that we see of famous people who are addicted to drugs/alcohol.
Why don't we criticize Rush Limbaugh's girth for awhile?
Lay off. Until you've walked a mile in any ill person's shoes, you don't have a clue.

[Felicty]

Maybe, but because I don't drink, I at least could WALK in those stilletto heels.

[cheneyhasafeathermachine]

No doubt you could walk the streets all night in stiletto heels without having to lean against a lamp post once.