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Amy Winehouse Album Sales Soar, Father Plans Foundation to Help Addicts, M.I.A. Tribute Track
Since Amy Winehouse was found dead at her London home last Saturday, a fever has rippled around the music world. With Winehouse's legacy already solidified by 2006's "Back to Black," which earned her five Grammys, her talent and voice is showing its resilience this week, even as fans, friends and family mourn her passing.
Amy had "just completed three weeks of abstinence" before she died, her father Mitch Winehouse said at her memorial on Tuesday, reports the BBC:
He added his daughter had spoken of her plans to get sober saying: "Dad I've had enough, I can't stand the look on your and the family's faces any more." "Knowing she wasn't depressed, knowing she... passed away happy, it makes us all feel better," he said.
Winehouse also announced plans to launch a foundation in Amy's name to help people fight drug addiction.Amy's mother, father and older brother are the three beneficiaries of the singer's fortune, estimated at more than $16 million (£10 million), according to the Daily Mail.
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That fortune is growing exponentially this week as "Back to Black" will reenter this week's Billboard Top 200 at number 9 and is topping iTunes download charts across the EU (it's at number 9 today in the U.S.). The album is expected to chart at number two in the UK this week and has sold more units this week (37,000 and counting) than it has in the past three years combined.
The outpouring of tributes from fellow musicians in recent days include a tribute track titled "27" from M.I.A. and inspired, emotional blog posts from Adele, Russell Brand and others.
MTV is rebroadcasting a 2007 Amy Winehouse performance from its Times Square studios tonight (Wednesday) at 6:30 p.m.
One rumor suggests that a final binge may have been spurred by a breakup with her boyfriend, director Reg Traviss.
No cause of death has been determined pending the results of toxicology tests. Amy Winehouse was 27.
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