”Amy,” the documentary about Amy Winehouse’s life and career, received a warm critical reception upon its release this summer. Filmmakers obtained home videos of the British singer’s early days — including the one above, showing her serenading a friend at age 14 — likely thanks to the initial support of the Winehouse family. (They later condemned the finished product as “unbalanced.”)
Even in her early teens, Winehouse’s voice glimmered with the smoky, retro-flavored stylings that would someday win her six Grammy awards and scores of others. That success, however, started the singer on a rise-and-fall narrative that’s become too familiar when a young talent rockets to fame. After years of well-publicized struggles with alcohol, drugs and an eating disorder — the singer even performed at the 2008 Grammys from a London rehab center — Winehouse was found dead from alcohol poisoning at age 27 in July 2011.
“I’m not a girl trying to be a star; I’m just a girl who sings,” she remarks in a clip at the end of Amy‘s poignant trailer.
Winehouse would have celebrated her 32nd birthday on Monday.
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