designer_label

You could even do everysong shes ever done lol

Feel free to do a survivor! Its down to you guys we got to number 2 in the AF League tables this week - so post as much as you want/start as many games as you wanna!

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c134/simon14/Sophie_Ellis_Bextor_426699a.jpg http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x239/DTM0719/2008_0129MyBro0002.jpg http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/resources/imgs/Media/5751_rhfull.jpg

http://i10.tinypic.com/82l1gcm.jpg http://i19.tinypic.com/89hzeb6.jpg http://i5.tinypic.com/6pousec.jpg http://i15.tinypic.com/6srcmrq.jpg http://i8.tinypic.com/72az88p.jpg http://i1.tinypic.com/6pssqqx.jpg

Arctic Monkeys are set to dominate this year's NME Awards - while Amy Winehouse could end up being the biggest loser. Winehouse, currently undergoing a stint in rehab, has been nominated for Villain of the Year alongside Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his predecessor Tony Blair and US President George Bush. She will also battle her friend Pete Doherty for the Worst Dressed title. There is some good news, however, in the form of nominations for Best Solo Artist and Best Music DVD.

Amy Winehouse’s husband Blake Fielder-Civil sent a letter from prison to his father. Blake refers to his dad as “Daydream” because of his laid-back attitude and shares his fears that Amy will die before he gets out of prison. He’s hoping rehab will get her off coke and crack which they used to do $1000 worth of everyday, according to News of the World: "I want Amy to grab this opportunity in rehab so we can have a marriage and future together. Because the way she's going I really fear I will come out of prison to no wife. "I dread my cell door being opened and the chaplain informing me, ‘Amy's dead.' "I have that nightmare three or four times a week. I’m assuming $1000 worth of blow is a lot. I dunno, I’m more of a meth man. Anyway, if I ever called my dad “Daydream,” he’d chain me to the garage door then hit me repeatedly with his truck. He prefers “Buttercup.” FASHION.IE

When Back to Black arrived 10 months ago, critics and fans hailed Amy Winehouse as the future of soul music. Now they wonder whether she has a future. The album generated six Grammy nominations for the eyelinered, tattooed R&B sensation, whose reckless lifestyle has turned a rising star into popular prey for paparazzi and, increasingly, a punch line. "The danger of all this bad publicity is that she looks not just like a tragedy in the making, which would actually bolster the sad aura of the songs, but that she's also being made into a cartoonish figure," says Entertainment Weekly music critic Chris Willman. "That keeps people from taking the music seriously. The album is still a classic, no matter what happens in her personal life or how sad or ridiculous her image becomes." Winehouse, 24, entered rehab Thursday after video of the disheveled British singer supposedly smoking crack sparked a Scotland Yard investigation. Disclosed last week by U.K. tabloid The Sun, the 19-minute clip follows months of stumbles: a pot bust in Norway, a canceled tour, disturbing photos of Winehouse bruised and bloodied or wandering the street distraught, barefoot and in a red push-up bra. Husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who was arrested last June in the beating of a bartender and then again in a suspected attempt to bribe the victim, awaits trial on charges of assault and witness tampering. Winehouse has confessed to struggles with eating disorders and self-mutilation. She skipped out on a detox stint in August after being diagnosed as alcoholic, she told Blender. Her hit single Rehab ("They tried to make me go to rehab/I said no, no, no") reflects her controversial posture on sobriety. By contrast, reformed bad girl Courtney Love seems hatched from a Jane Austen novel. Record label Universal said in a statement last week that Winehouse realizes "she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addiction." Yet her father, Mitch Winehouse, told BBC Radio: "She doesn't think she's got a problem. She thinks she can do what she does recreationally and get on with the rest of her life." Were it not for her titanic gifts, Winehouse's slide into YouTube's gallery of imploding celebrities might feel less pathetic. Few pop ingénues have displayed such enormous promise or been met with such breathless accolades. Frank, the snarky, slurry 2003 U.K. debut that hit the USA in November, revealed the soul siren's stunning ability to mimic Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday. But it was Black's brave lyrics and retro-hip R&B that unveiled the breadth of Winehouse's instrument and songwriting skills. After 45 weeks on the Billboard chart, Black has sold 1.5 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Frank has sold 89,000 copies in nine weeks. She has racked up 1.7 million digital track sales. "It starts with that amazing, ridiculous, showstopping voice," says Mark Ronson, who co-produced Black with Frank's Salaam Remi. "And she writes songs that come from an honest and painful place. You get that darkness in rock bands like Radiohead, but in modern soul, you get generic lyrics across the board. Amy's lyrics are fresh and modern. Rehab resonates because it could only have been written today. For better or worse, she's bringing back a spirit of rebellion to pop music." Winehouse's insolence and candor appealed to fans who are weary of calculation and slick marketing, says Monte Lipman, president/CEO of Universal Republic, which introduced Black to U.S. audiences via urban radio. "We're living in a world of sell, sell, sell, and here's a girl who just didn't care," Lipman says. "People found that refreshing. We decided not to press so hard on the commercial aspects. We've found that urban and crossover formats are more aggressive and adventurous. So here's this little Jewish girl on (hip-hop station) Hot 97 in New York singing You Know I'm No Good. "The public responded to her honesty on this album. She and Blake were having rough times, and she exposed her heart in such a vulnerable way that she could say 'I'm no good' and 'I'm not ready for rehab.' I was so happy to see the Grammys acknowledge her. It's difficult to pick up those tabloids and see her in such distress." The troubled chanteuse has Grammy nominations for pop album and pop vocal, plus in all four marquee categories: new artist, best album, record and song (both for Rehab). Though her visa status and rehab duration remain unclear, Winehouse has said she intends to appear at the Grammy Awards, which air on CBS Feb. 10 from Los Angeles. She's scheduled to perform. Will she pick up any trophies? Her likelihood of being crowned best new artist has faded with each lurid headline, says Tom O'Neil, columnist for awards insider TheEnvelope.com. "Amy's arguably the breakout artist of the year, but the music industry is a drug-sensitive world," he says. "Her rebuke of rehab may seem cool over the airwaves, but it strikes a scary chord with Grammy voters. If they excuse it as part of the back story of great artists like Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin, she still has the problem of being British." The last British singer named best new artist was Nigerian-born Sade in 1985; the last non-American act to win was Milli Vanilli in 1990. Before scandals struck, Winehouse was headed for a deserving sweep, poised to lure older voters with her respect for soul-pop tradition and younger ones with her independence, EW's Willman says. "If there's anything the Grammys love, it's a cool, young female singer who puts a new spin on classic styles, like a Norah Jones," Willman says. "But as much as the Grammys like to have a belle of their ball, they want to have one who's likely to show up to be coronated, not just make it to Staples Center, but be beaming and coherent when posing with all those statuettes. "Amy doesn't have a real hunger for awards (and) doesn't lust after increasingly massive success the way most singers do. That's admirable, but there is always a subconscious impulse for most voters in any field to want to give a prize to somebody who actually wants it." The Recording Academy's support for substance-abuse programs might give voters pause about handing "top honors to the major artist who's been in the news the most for alleged drug use," Willman says. "The only thing that might save her from a shutout is the fact that voting closed (Jan. 9) before the alleged crack-smoking video showed up. "Let's face it: Sympathy goes down when you not only appear to be smoking crack, but you're openly allowing someone to film you, knowing you're posing for the YouTube video of the week." Winehouse's chemical escapades may not factor into Grammy ballots if voters face the music, says Joe Levy, Blender's editor in chief. "This is not a business unfamiliar with the problems Amy Winehouse has struggled with," he says. "Who knows better than the people who make and sell records that great musicians aren't always stable? Also, she has the good fortune of going through this while Britney Spears is making her look like Annette Funicello." Also in Winehouse's favor: Back to Black "is what the Grammys absolutely love, a record that sounds like an old record," Levy says. "It's a very smart update on classic sounds, applying a hip-hop DJ's logic to old soul and R&B grooves, very simple and effective. "She connects with songs about the pains of living and loving, songs that all too evidently have to do with her real life," he says. "She's the closest thing to a musical and cultural sensation we have. Whether she wins or loses, she's the story of the Grammys." Her trophy count isn't a pressing issue. "The real question is what happens next. The Grammys are about a record she's already made. What about the next one?" Provided Winehouse defeats her demons to carry on, "she's going to challenge herself and try to reach new heights," Lipman says. "She's always working and constantly collaborating with new musicians." She won't go back to Black, Ronson promises. "We hung out a bit in England recently, playing new songs she's writing. She doesn't want to make the same record, and I wouldn't want to revisit Back to Black. It cheapens the original." Describing Winehouse as a "warm person with a sharp sense of humor and a painfully nonchalant Sudafed demeanor," Ronson declined to discuss her personal crises but expressed faith in her career prospects. "She changed the direction of modern pop music, and she'll continue to break barriers," he says. Willman concurs. "If she emerges from whatever psychological and substance-abuse tangle she is in and gets help from people who help her shine as a person as well as an artist, she could be one of our greats, for years or even decades to come," he says. When Willman saw her perform an acoustic set at an L.A. radio station, "it was as if all the emotions in the universe suddenly were coming out of her mouth. It was almost like this enormous depth of feeling had nothing to do with her, the tiny figure in ballet slippers and a wife-beater shirt, but that she was somehow channeling it. "I would never lose confidence in her ability to keep doing that." By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY

Amy Winehouse has been watching Marilyn Monroe films to help her through rehab, claims her father. Winehouse is reportedly a huge fan of the legendary '50s actress and has been viewing the films on repeat since being admitted to rehab last week. Taxi driver Mitch Winehouse told The Sun: "Amy is very ill and is suffering horrific withdrawal symptoms - shivering and constantly throwing up. Her body is expelling all the rubbish. "One thing helping Amy is her Marilyn Monroe films. Amy loves Some Like It Hot. She’s a huge fan of Monroe and thinks she’s wonderful." Winehouse has been undergoing treatment at London's Capio Nightingale Hospital following the publication last Tuesday of a video, showing her smoking crack cocaine. Digitalspy

Beat me 2 it Now we have to beat number 2 next week lol

Amy winehouse - Rehab Leona Lewis - Bleeding love And I totally agree with a few of you saying Sophie Ellis=Bextors - Murder on the Dancefloor will be a classic

London, Jan 28: Amy Winehouse seems to have started making efforts to get her life back on track as she is delighting doctors with her progress. The 24-year-old singer, who checked into rehab after a video emerged which showed her smoking from a crack pipe, completed her fourth day at The Capio Nightingale Hospital in central London on Jan 27 and seems to be making sincere efforts to sort herself out. “Although Amy is still taking each day at a time she has done the hardest thing in the world by going into rehab,” The Sun quoted a pal, as saying. “She has been ill and is withdrawing but at least she is sticking with it as she detoxes. “With her family’s support we are hopeful that there is finally light at the end of the tunnel as she weans herself off drugs. “She will stay in rehab for as long as it takes even if it is three or four weeks. “Nobody is saying it will be easy, but things are looking good at the moment and doctors are encouraged,” the pal added. (ANI)

Since today Amy Winehouse new album Back in Black is available for download on Amazon's new mp3 service. You can download the entire album for $7.99. Best of all, its 256kbps and DRM free so there are no restrictions on your download. Its a great service and it will play on any mp3 player, including iPod. http://i28.tinypic.com/9auxky.jpg

why you closed it!?!

PIC 1 - http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/09tF7NY6MK0vI/340x.jpg PIC 2 - http://i28.tinypic.com/ibfa6f.jpg

Back to Black: 9+ Love Is A Losing Game: 168- He Can Only Hold Her: 12

Hows everyones weekend been?

Bump The Amy board has been REALLY busy with posts this week and so this keeps going onto the 2nd page where people dont see it so bumpppppppp!

LONDON–The weighty editorial page of The Times of London doesn't make a habit of devoting thought to the travails of pop singers, whose exploits now more than ever keep the red-top British tabloids afroth. It was moved to do so only once it the past 40 years, when, in the wake of Mick Jagger's imprisonment for unlawful possession of four amphetamine tablets it asked, "Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" The line, borrowed from poet Alexander Pope, helped win Jagger's release with the argument that the long, over-reactive arm of the British establishment was poised to destroy an artist simply as a means of cutting the whole of 1960s counterculture down to a diminished size. But the editorial page was moved again this week by the real-time train wreck that is Amy Winehouse, saying the British soul singer's drug-induced dance on the window ledge of life is "as iconic in its fashion as the Jagger affair was in 1967." The paper again invoked the words of Pope, pondering if "there be force in virtue, or in song." But this time, it concluded the opposite: that in this instance there is virtue in force, and that calls for action. The Times urged the government to force the singer into rehab – the very thing Winehouse refuses in the lyrics to her best-known song. Unlike America's Britney Spears, a great many people recognize a great arc of lasting talent in Winehouse, who confesses to grown-up heartaches and hangovers with an unforgettably velvety voice The New Musical Express once described as "a cement mixer of gravel and honey." Unlike Spears, Winehouse is only just arriving at the top, riding the international embrace of a breakout album, Back to Black that has Winehouse nominated for no less than six awards at next month's Grammys. But if Winehouse awakens memories of both Billie Holliday and the Artful Dodger, the 24-year-old north Londoner parallels Spears as postmodern spectacle. Both occupy that rarefied space atop the minute-by-minute lists of most-emailed nothingness. What drove the Winehouse saga onto the editorial pages of The Times this week was something more surreal still, even by the invasive standards of global celebrity obsession. The Sun newspaper acquired and published shocking video showing Winehouse in the midst of a private binge, reaching for a glass pipe to add crack cocaine to a cocktail of Ecstasy and Valium. The images, taken by a mobile phone by a source not yet revealed and most probably sold for a six-figure sum to The Sun, became instant Internet fodder. In a matter of minutes Winehouse fan sites began filling up with postings begging Winehouse to get help – or for someone, anyone, to intervene. What would Marilyn Monroe have done had her entire audience intervened in her final days? Or Cobain, Hendrix, Joplin, Belushi? Would it have made a difference? In the case of Winehouse, the fact that the entire world today is a camera appears to have left her little choice. On Wednesday, a police investigation was opened to explore the video evidence. And on Thursday, two days after the images were made public, Winehouse put her career on hold and was admitted to rehab "by mutual agreement" after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors. "Amy has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addiction," according to a statement from Universal Music. "All concerned feel that Amy must put her health before all considerations and will be by her side whenever and wherever they are needed." Thestar.com

AMY Winehouse's tortured genius was eloquently revealed late last year. At news she had been nominated for six Grammys, the high point in the music industry, sad Amy looked at her friends, and with a gentle, all-too-honest humour, she said: "I'd rather have six grams." Exhibiting the denial that perhaps drives his sister, Winehouse's brother, Alex, blames it on creative force. "If you look through history, that's the way it is for artists," he said on British TV. "For many artists to achieve great works of art, they have to struggle. They're free spirits and you have to respect that, otherwise it would be a very dull world to live in." But the world got a look at the down side of that philosophy, the tortured drug addict, when British tabloid The Sun revealed hidden camera footage of Winehouse sucking in crack fumes from a glass pipe in the midst of a drug binge. Now, at last, she has gone into rehab and her fans hope she gets the care she so obviously needs. Winehouse was the woman who had impressed Elton John during her concert last May, the pop great entranced by her soulful voice. "Amy is an incredible performer," John said. "That was one of the most exciting and greatest shows I've seen in many years." But here, instead, was a bleached blonde crack addict in a stoned haze, her home a cesspit of dirt. It is widely considered Winehouse's descent into her drug hell was influenced by her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil. Winehouse's mother, Janis, said: "I think he introduced her to them and now she thinks, 'Oh, this is good, this is OK'. She's still a child and I think it has overtaken her a bit. Thank God he's gone inside." Fielder-Civil is in jail awaiting trial for assault and attempting to pervert the course of justice after a pub brawl in 2006. At one point police also considered charging Winehouse before declaring there was insufficient evidence. "Blake and Amy are like two separate accidents waiting to happen," said Blake's mother, Georgette Civil. " Their meeting simply exacerbated everything that was wrong in their lives to the verge of tragedy." In a bid to reverse the decline, Fielder-Civil's father, Giles, reported to police one of the couple's entourage for supplying them with cocaine last year. "Drink, drugs and a history of self-harm is a worrying cocktail," he said. "I'm going to point out the Sid and Nancy comparison to Blake." That was a reference to Sid Vicious, who murdered girlfriend Nancy Spungen in 1979 before later dying of a drug overdose. The couple's troubles began last August when Winehouse went on a bender of heroin, ecstasy, ketamine and alcohol, her husband alongside her. They were persuaded to check into the exclusive rehab clinic, the Causeway Centre and the treatment was expected to last six to eight weeks, but they checked out and headed to a pub. On August 16 last year they went in to rehab again, but lasted only three days. "My son didn't want to come out," Fielder said. "But if Amy's insistent, he wants to support her." Days after their second rehab stint, they were photographed walking through London's West End, the graphic horror of their lives all too apparent. Fielder-Civil had scratches on his face. Winehouse was sporting bruises, her trademark black make-up smudged across her face. Blood had seeped through the fabric of her ballet shoes, revealing where she had shot up between her toes. By December Amy's drug woes had accelerated so much her teeth were falling out. A concert photo showing her in full voice also revealed she was almost toothless. At another concert, the crowd turned on her. Amy was drawn into a slanging match and walked off. The tour was cancelled. About that time, her father, Mitch, admitted she had begun dabbling in drugs as early as 13. As if to emphasise her desperation, during an interview in the US after she met Fielder-Civil, she carved his name into her stomach with a shard of mirror. Heraldsun AU

With her bird-like frame, collage of sailor-style tattoos and, most recently, the ever-present crust of suspicious white powder caked around one of her nostrils, it's safe to say that, for most parents, an Amy Winehouse poster would be an unpopular addition to their teenager's bedroom wall. However, in the past six months you'd be hard pushed to find a newspaper or magazine that has not featured Winehouse plastered (in every sense of the word) across the front pages as she hurtles at full speed towards self-destruction. Strangely, unlike other celebrities who have taken similar gambles with their health (Kate Moss, Britney Spears etc) Winehouse's career as one of Britain's greatest singing talents doesn't seem to have taken much of a bashing. In the same week she was rushed to hospital after a reported drink-and-drug overdose, her Back to Black was confirmed as the biggest selling album of 2007. Front-page photographs of her patrolling the streets in blood-soaked ballet shoes sat above captions listing endless award nominations. Where there might have been universal disgust, instead it seems the world is torn between pity for Winehouse's inability to take care of herself and admiration for her talent. While Winehouse is the first to admit that her behaviour is not an admirable example to impressionable teenagers - 'I'm not in this to be a f***ing role model' she told one interviewer - there does seem to have been an increase in the number of young women sporting her trademark heavy eyeliner, unkempt tangle of hair and even adorning their arms with the odd nautical tattoo. So what is it about Winehouse that makes her so captivating? The past year has seen several iconic figures nosedive into depression, addiction or an inability to abide by the speed limit, yet it's Winehouse who has kept our eyes peeled for news of her in the headlines, and Winehouse for whom many teenagers like myself sit with crossed fingers, hoping she'll pull herself together and bounce back. Perhaps part of her appeal is her honesty regarding her very obvious problems. So many celebrities appear to spend their lives trying to glaze over the rough patches in their lives to present a 'clean' image to the media - whether it be Victoria Beckham staunchly defending her 'healthy attitude towards food and weight' (though we've yet to see a photo of her tucking away a burger to put our minds at ease) or Lindsay Lohan rolling her Bambi eyes and moaning at how the press portray her as some kind of 'wild girl' when in fact she likes nothing more than a cup of tea and a good book. Winehouse, on the other hand, makes no attempt to cover up the mess her life is in, and you only have to read the pitiful interviews with her father to gain an uncomfortable amount of insight into the heartache that drug addiction, an eating disorder and a husband locked away in prison bring to her loving parents who wonder where on earth they went wrong. Honestly, I don't think any of us would want to swap our lives for Winehouse's. But maybe at times teenagers feel they can relate to some aspect of Winehouse's plight - whether they be going out with a guy Dad can't stand, or desperate to persuade Mum that a tattoo doesn't screw up your chances of getting a decent job. However big a mess Winehouse makes of things, hundreds of messages of support from her fans reinforce that there are still people rooting for her. For teens, it's a comforting message in a world that can often seem unforgiving - no matter how much you screw up, there will still be people who want you to shine. Whether she likes it or not, eyeliner sales have proved that Winehouse certainly has quite a bit of influence over her teenage fans. It might be easy for parents to view that influence as potentially dangerous or unhealthy, but perhaps the Back to Black album in their daughter's iTunes library doesn't reflect a desire to snort cocaine à la Winehouse, but to be recognised not only for the homework they didn't do and the pile of dirty plates and forks under their beds, but their talents and achievements as well. It may also reflect an appreciation of talent - yes it's been said a hundred times, but Winehouse has a talent that's far too rare, and hopefully one day soon she'll appreciate herself enough to make the most of it.

Back to Black: 7+ Love Is A Losing Game: 169- He Can Only Hold Her: 13

Looking forward to finding out who is singing for us this year I love Eurovision - even if I know we dont get many points lol

Back to Black: 6+ Love Is A Losing Game: 170- He Can Only Hold Her: 13

Sophie Ellis-Bextor will be Guest DJ! Friday, 1 February 2008 Circus: Sophie Ellis Bextor DJ set only: Sophie Ellis Bextor + Knights Of Sound DJs At Soho Revue Bar, London From 10:30pm until 3:30am Price: £10.00 / £5.00 with flyer until 11:30pm

Following Amy Winehouse’s husband exclusive interview in today’s tabs slamming her dad, now her mother’s done one criticising the singer's husband. Janice Winehouse has spoken to the Sunday Mirror about how recent footage of her singer smoking crack has crystallised her fears over the daughter’s life. She tells the paper, “I've known for a long time that my daughter has problems. But seeing it on screen rammed it home. I realise my daughter could be dead within the year. We're watching her kill herself, slowly. “I've already come to terms with her dead. I've steeled myself to ask her what ground she wants to be buried in, which cemetery. Because the drugs will get her if she stays on this road. "She's invited me to the Grammy awards next month, but part of me thinks she won't be alive by then. "I look at Heath Ledger and Britney. She's on their path. It's like watching a car crash - this person throwing all these gifts away." And as far as Janice is concerned, it’s one person’s fault - Amy’s husband Blake Civil-Fielder, currently in jail awaiting trial on GBH and perverting the course of justice charges. “What I hope most of all is that Amy lives to make another album - and that it's all about her divorce,” she quips. "She'd never taken class As before she met Blake. He's a penniless user. But Amy just says, 'I love him, he's the one for me.’ She doesn't see that he's using her. Everybody else does." However, the 53-year-old sees some hope for her strong-willed daughter. “I see Amy as a survivor,” she explains. “She's like me. I like to think that her living close to the edge is her saying, 'I'll get through this. You'll see.’ “But she's an addict - when it comes down to it, all that really matters to Amy is Amy.” ENTERTAINMENTWISE