In the Observer, 17 year old Jemima Owen from the UK explains why the young folks love the drug fuelled, bruised and troubled rock and roll star Amy Winehouse:
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 fucking 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? …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… 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.
Jemima Owen: Yes, she’s a mess - so why do we teenagers still love Amy? | Society | The Observer
