Winehouse Scraps Awards Gig, Heads To Rehab

January 24, 2008, 3:15 PM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Troubled pop star Amy Winehouse has canceled a Saturday (Jan. 26) appearance at the NRJ Awards in Cannes, France, after opting to enter a rehab clinic at an undisclosed location.

According to a statement, Winehouse is still planning to attend the Feb. 10 Grammy Awards, where she is nominated for six trophies.

"Amy decided to enter the facility today after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors," reads a statement from the Universal Music Group. "She has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addiction and prepare for her planned appearance at the Grammy Awards."

The statement adds that Winehouse checked into rehab "by mutual agreement."

This week, the artist became the subject of an investigation by Scotland Yard over a video that allegedly shows her smoking crack.

source: Billboard.com

West, Winehouse Lead Grammy Nominee Field

December 06, 2007, 12:15 PM ET

A Billboard staff report

Kanye West leads the field for the 50th annual Grammy Awards with eight nominations, followed by Amy Winehouse with six and the Foo Fighters, Jay-Z, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and T-Pain, each of whom received five nods.

Nominations were announced this morning (Dec. 6) in Los Angeles; the Grammys will be handed out Feb. 10 at Los Angeles' Staples Center.

Winehouse's "Rehab" and the Foo Fighters' "The Pretender" were nominated for record of the year, while their "Back to Black" and "Echo, Silence, Patience & Grace" will vie for album of the year.

For record of the year, the additional nominees are Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," Rihanna's "Umbrella" featuring Jay-Z and "What Goes Around ... Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake. Other album of the year nominations went to West ("Graduation"), Vince Gill ("These Days") and Herbie Hancock ("River: The Joni Letters").

"Umbrella" and "Rehab" also garnered nods for song of the year, as did Corinne Bailey Rae for "Like a Star," Plain White T's' Tom Higginson for his band's "Hey There Delilah" and the team behind Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats."

"Can someone wake her up around six and tell her?" said comedian George Lopez when announcing Winehouse's nominations, poking fun at the singer's recent troubles.

In the best new artist category, Winehouse appears yet again, along with Feist, Paramore, Taylor Swift and Ledisi. Bruce Springsteen has three nominations in rock categories, while Tim McGraw leads the country field with four.

When a clearly overwhelmed Swift was announced as a nominee for best new artist, she approached the podium and hugged Foo Fighters members Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, starting a trend. From then on, anyone who got a nomination proceeded to hug each other.

There were a number of eclectic nominees in the best alternative album field, which includes Lily Allen's "Alright, Still," the Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible," Bjork's "Volta," the Shins' "Wincing the Night Away" and the White Stripes' "Icky Thump."

In the film-related categories, "Babel" (composer: Gustavo Santaolalla), "Blood Diamond" (James Newton Howard), "The Departed" (Howard Shore), "Happy Feet" (John Powell), "Pan's Labyrinth" (Javier Navarrete) and "Ratatouille" (Michael Giacchino) will vie for best score soundtrack album.

The nominees for best original motion picture, television or other visual media song are Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova for "Falling Slowly" from "Once," Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder for "Guaranteed" from "Into the Wild," Siedah Garrett and Henry Krieger's "Love You I Do" from "Dreamgirls," Prince's "The Song of the Heart" from "Happy Feet" and Chris Cornell and David Arnold's "You Know My Name" from "Casino Royale."

iTunes is partnering with the Grammys this year to provide samples of the nominated songs in a password-protected area, presumably for voters to listen to the songs.

Amy Winehouse Booed in Concert as Crowd Bolts

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2007 08:40 AM EST

By Caris Davis

For the first time since her husband's arrest, Amy Winehouse performed Wednesday night in the U.K. in a controversial comeback that resulted in her storming off stage after being booed by the audience, the BBC reports.

Sporting a shiny silver top and short black skirt – paired with her trademark beehive – the 24-year-old slurred her words and was a little unsteady on her feet during the performance at the Birmingham Indoor Arena, but she did make it through her hits "Back to Black," "Tears Dry on Their Own" and "Rehab."

The troubled chanteuse dedicated her song "Wake Up Alone" to Blake Fielder-Civil, who is currently in a London prison awaiting trial on charges of witness tampering. "This is for my husband," Winehouse said from the stage.

As disgruntled fans headed for the exits, Winehouse reportedly announced: "To them people booing, wait 'til my husband gets out of incarceration. And I mean that."

Drops the Mic

Her closing number, a cover of The Zutons' "Valerie," descended into chaos when she stopped singing, dropped the microphone and walked off stage.

"When she did sing she sounded phenomenal," one fan, Zoe Giorgio, told the BBC, "but she was not ready to be up on that stage. She was so weak, so vulnerable."

The gig marked the first night of the headliner's 17-date U.K. tour. In August, Winehouse canceled her summer shows amid reports of drug and alcohol abuse.

Source: People Magazine