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Amy Winehouse music biography continued...

family with a history of jazz musicians. At the age of 16, after she had been expelled from London's Sylvia Young Theatre School, she caught her first break when pop singer Tyler James, a schoolmate and close friend, passed on her demo tape to his A&R, who was searching for a jazz vocalist. That opportunity led to her recording contract with Island Records. By the end of 2003, when she was 20 years old, Island had released her debut album, Frank. The album, which featured a unique blend of jazz, pop, soul, and hip-hop, received rave reviews and was nominated for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize as well as two Brit awards, while its lead single, "Stronger Than Me," won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song.
As successful as her debut album was, Winehouse hit even greater heights with her sophomore effort, 2006's Back to Black, which garnered her six Grammy Award nominations including the big 4 for Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The album included such hit Amy Winehouse songs as "Rehab," about her refusal to enter a drug rehabilitation center and "You Know I'm No Good."" By October of the following year, Back to Black was approaching 5x platinum in the UK, making it the bestselling album of 2007. Winehouse's momentous accomplishments, however, were often overshadowed by reports of drug and alcohol abuse, leading the singer/songwriter to cancel tours in both Europe and the United States. In September 2007 the singer confirmed that she will return to the studio to start work on a new album set for release in 2008 and that she will be working with Mark Ronson, Timbaland and Missy Elliot, among others. No matter what Winehouse's trials and tribulations are, she already carved niche for herself in the jazz/R&B pantheon as one of the most gifted singer/songwriters of her generation.