Amy Winehouse Was Unsettled By the Rise of Adele, Pal Reveals

It’s undeniable that when Amy Winehouse hit the scene years before Adele, her husky, retro vocals and arrangements were a musical game changer for the time.

Amy Winehouse’s dominance in the genre she built out seemed like a given, because who could out Winehouse the petite singer with a very large voice (and hairdo?) Looking back, though, the way it panned out was tragic and as we know, ended with the 27-year-old singer’s death alone in her home in London.

Although Winehouse seemed unshakeable with her second and most notable album, “Back to Black,” she was quickly felled by a marriage that was by all accounts destructive, as well as crippling addictions to alcohol and serious drugs. Her later performances were painful to watch when she was alive- the singer was emaciated, unsteady on her feet and quick to forget her own lyrics as a rule– and in hindsight, even more sad.

Winehouse’s last days seemed to mark what then appeared to be a turnaround for the performer, and during that time, another young British chanteuse with a similar style was coming up in a big way- Adele. It was probably a bit difficult for Amy to be struggling so hard while Adele was at a part of the fame cycle Winehouse had already been through, charming critics and fans worldwide with her Motown-flavored vocals.

And as it turns out, a friend confirms that Adele’s rise to fame was unpleasant for Winehouse to watch. Producer Mark Ronson explains that he had plans to work with Amy Winehouse on a planned album, and that the singer was bothered by all the buzz around then up-and-comer Adele. Ronson said:

“…what little time we had, well, it was tense. She was in a bad state, God knows why… I think that the Adele thing had Amy freaked out. She liked her, but Adele’s success was making Amy feel upset, competitive, restless. Anyway, we lost touch briefly. And before she and I could really start the process of beginning a new album, it was too late.”

However, Adele and Amy Winehouse weren’t strangers- the pair even shared the stage at the Brit Awards in the clip below.