No Winehouse autopsy before Monday

NEW: Winehouse's family says it "has been left bereft by the loss of Amy"An autopsy will not be scheduled before Monday morningThe death is being treated as "unexplained"Her official website Sunday morning carries only a black-and-white photo of her

London (CNN) -- An autopsy to determine what killed singer Amy Winehouse will not be scheduled before Monday morning, London's Metropolitan Police said Sunday.

"Inquiries continue into the circumstances of the death," police said in a statement. At this stage, the 27-year-old's death "is being treated as unexplained and there have been no arrests in connection with the incident," police said.

The singer, beloved for her talent but infamous for erratic public behavior, arrests and drug problems, was found dead at her apartment in London on Saturday, police and her publicist confirmed.

Winehouse's family said in a statement Sunday it "has been left bereft by the loss of Amy, a wonderful daughter, sister, niece. She leaves a gaping hole in our lives. We are coming together to remember her and we would appreciate some privacy and space at this terrible time."

"We are trying to come to terms with the death of a dear friend and colleague, the most amazing artist and talent," her management company, Metropolis Music, said Sunday. "We will always remember Amy as a vibrant, funny, caring young woman who made everyone around her feel welcome. We have lost a very special person, part of our family."

Winehouse's soulful, throaty vocals brought the British musician stardom in 2007, but her troubled off-stage life -- chronicled in her Top 10 hit "Rehab" -- won her notoriety. Her death came less than two months after her latest release from a rehabilitation program and weeks after she was booed offstage by disappointed fans in Serbia.

Winehouse died at the same age as four other music legends. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison each died of drug overdoses when they were 27. Kurt Cobain was 27 when he committed suicide, soon after his release from rehab.

Police were called to Winehouse's Camden Square apartment just after 4 p.m. Saturday in response to report of "a woman found deceased," police said.

"Everyone who is involved with Amy is shocked and devastated," Winehouse spokesman Chris Goodman said. "Our thoughts are with her family and friends."

Her father, MItch, got word of his daughter's death Saturday while in New York preparing for a Monday night show with his band at the Blue Note club, his publicist said. He immediately canceled the performance and caught a flight back to London, the publicist said.

Winehouse's official website on Sunday carried nothing but a black-and-white photo of the singer.

On Saturday, a statement on the site had said Winehouse was "withdrawing from all scheduled performances."

"Rehab," in which she sang "They tried to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no," helped form the public's view of Winehouse. But she told CNN in a 2007 interview, "I don't care enough about what people think of me to conform to anything."

The London-born singer became a picture of a tattooed teenage rebel after she was expelled from a prestigious performing arts school. Her first album, "Frank," debuted in 2003, when the singer-songwriter was 19.

International success came with her 2007 album "Back To Black." She dominated the 2008 Grammys, winning five awards that night and delivering, via satellite from London, a strong performance of "Rehab."

Winehouse's volatile marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil took a toll on the singer's career. The couple divorced in 2009 after a stormy two years filled by drug addiction and arrests.

Winehouse's parents went public with their efforts to help their daughter, telling the London Telegraph in 2009 that she was on the road to recovery.

"A gradual recovery, which is good," Winehouse's father told the Telegraph. "With slight backward steps -- not drug backward steps, more drink backward steps if you follow my drift. I think that will be the pattern of recovery."

The organization that awards the Grammys issued a statement Saturday calling Winehouse "a dynamic performer and musician who seamlessly blended rock, jazz, pop, and soul and created a sound all her own."

"Her rich, soulful and unique voice reflected her honest songwriting and earned her a devoted fan following, critical acclaim, and the genuine respect and admiration of her musical peers," the Recording Academy statement said. "She will forever be remembered for her immense talent, and her music will live on for generations to come. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family, friends, and fans during this difficult time."

CNN's Bharati Naik, Denise Quan and Alan Duke contributed to this report.

Quoting : CNN.com

Singer Amy Winehouse dead at 27

It's too soon to know if Winehouse died of a drug overdose, a police official saysWinehouse spokesman: "Everyone who is involved with Amy is shocked and devastated"The death is "unexplained," police sayWinehouse canceled a European tour last month after being booed off stageHow can someone so talented be so self destructive? Tune in to "Dr. Drew" on HLN Monday night at 9 ET for a look into the life of Amy Winehouse.

(CNN) -- Singer Amy Winehouse, infamous for erratic public behavior, arrests and drug problems, was found dead at her apartment in London Saturday, police and her publicist confirmed. She was 27.

Her death came less than two months after her latest release from a rehabilitation program and weeks following a disastrous performance where she was booed off a Belgrade, Serbia, stage by disappointed fans.

Winehouse died at the same age as four other music legends. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison each died of drug overdoses when they were 27. Kurt Cobain was 27 when he committed suicide, soon after his release from rehab.

London Police Superintendent Raj Kohli said at this "early stage" of the investigation the death remained "unexplained."

"I am aware of reports suggesting this death is the result of a suspected drugs overdose, but I would like to re-emphasise that no post-mortem examination has yet taken place and it would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause of death," Kohli said.

Police were called to her Camden Square apartment just after 4 p.m. Saturday in response to report of "a woman found deceased," he said.

"On arrival officers found the body of a 27-year-old female who was pronounced dead at the scene," he said. She was later identified as Winehouse.

Winehouse spokesman Chris Goodman confirmed her death for CNN Saturday.

"Everyone who is involved with Amy is shocked and devastated," Goodman said. "Our thoughts are with her family and friends. The family will issue a statement when ready."

The "Rehab" singer had a history of battling drugs and alcohol and recently left a British rehab program that a representative said was intended to prepare her for scheduled European concerts.

But she cut short the European concert tour last month following a concert in Belgrade, where she staggered around the stage and stumbled through several songs.

Audience members booed Winehouse off the stage that night just a few songs into the concert, the first of the tour.

Winehouse spokeswoman Tracey Miller told CNN at the time that the singer "agreed with management that she cannot perform to the best of her ability and will return home."

"Everyone involved wishes to do everything they can to help her return to her best and she will be given as long as it takes for this to happen," representative Chris Goodman said in a statement in May.

A new, but almost identical, similar statement appeared on her website Saturday, saying "Amy Winehouse is withdrawing from all scheduled performances." None of her representatives immediately responded to CNN requests for comment.

Winehouse's soulful, throaty vocals brought the British musician stardom in 2007, but her off-stage life gained her notoriety. The lyrics of her songs, especially the hit "Rehab," chronicled her troubled life.

The song, in which she sang "They tried to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no," helped form the public's view of Winehouse.

"I don't care enough about what people think of me to conform to anything," she said in a 2007 CNN interview.

Winehouse, born in London in 1983, became a picture of a tattooed teenage rebel after she was expelled from a prestigious performing arts school.

Her first album, "Frank," debuted in 2003, when the singer-songwriter was 19.

International success came with her 2007 album "Back To Black," which included the single "Rehab." She dominated the 2008 Grammys, winning five awards that night and delivering, via satellite from London, a strong performance of "Rehab."

Winehouse's volatile marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil took a toll on the singer's career. The couple divorced in 2009 after a stormy two years filled by drug addiction and arrests.

Winehouse's parents went public with their efforts to help their daughter, telling the London Telegraph in 2009 that she was on the road to recovery.

"A gradual recovery, which is good," Winehouse's father, Mitch, told the Telegraph. "With slight backward steps -- not drug backward steps, more drink backward steps if you follow my drift. I think that will be the pattern of recovery."

Her father got word of his daughter's death Saturday while in New York preparing for a Monday night show with his band at the Blue Note club, his publicist said. He immediately canceled the performance and caught a flight back to London, the publicist said.

The organization that awards the Grammys issued a statement Saturday calling Winehouse "a dynamic performer and musician who seamlessly blended rock, jazz, pop, and soul and created a sound all her own."

"Her rich, soulful and unique voice reflected her honest songwriting and earned her a devoted fan following, critical acclaim, and the genuine respect and admiration of her musical peers," the Recording Academy statement said. "She will forever be remembered for her immense talent, and her music will live on for generations to come. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family, friends, and fans during this difficult time."

CNN's Bharati Naik and Denise Quan contributed to this report.

Quoting : CNN.com

Winehouse: A self-destructive talent

Amy Winehouse enchanted people with her sunny rhythm-and-blues music, Gene Seymour writes.Amy Winehouse was found dead at the age of 27Gene Seymour says whatever her personal demons, her art was specialHe says her music was sunny and buoyantEditor's note: Gene Seymour has written about music, movies and culture for The New York Times, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post.

(CNN) -- Sad? Unbearably so. Shocking? Unfortunately, no.

As this is being written, no one is saying for certain how or why Amy Winehouse died Saturday. British authorities used the word "unexplained" to characterize the circumstances. Those with even casual knowledge of who she was, what she did and how she lived have their suspicions. The multitudes who loved her music are devastated, but the guess here is that precious few of them are surprised. Their worst fears have been affirmed.

Winehouse's death, at 27, climaxes a near-decade of meteoric success and willful self-destruction. There was always a vexing contradiction between the sunny, buoyant rhythm-and-blues music that enchanted millions and the dismal, exasperating public spectacle she made of herself in tabloids and onstage.

How can someone so talented be so self destructive? Tune in to Dr. Drew Monday night at 9 ET.

At times, these two strains would intersect; most notably, on the platinum-selling single, "Rehab," with its catchy refrain: "They tried to make me go to rehab/ I said, no, no, no..." It became, for better and worse, a signature tune, crystallizing her approach-avoidance relationship with relieving her drug and alcohol addictions.

She seemed so much in command of her art that it made one wonder even more why she seemed to have so little control of her life.
--Gene Seymour

It hasn't taken long for reporters to point out that Winehouse's death comes at the same age as those of Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones and Jimi Hendrix, all of whom remain iconic martyrs on the altar of self-destruction. Even those wishing to believe she could still escape such a fate tended to avert their gaze, especially in the last couple of years, from what seemed an inevitable collision.

But in the absence of hard facts (at least for the moment), there seems little point in dwelling or speculating on what killed Winehouse. And even less point in getting mired in maudlin or righteous recrimination. There are more than enough sob sisters lining up to bend our ears sideways with reprisals and cautionary lessons.

However the facts play out, I'd still rather talk about the music -- which, as with all the other young casualties cited earlier, will be all that really matters when assessing Amy Winehouse's long-term value to the world-at-large.

Her music was, as I noted earlier, sunny and buoyant. The songs could be mordantly funny and cheekily self-aware. "Rehab" was the most conspicuous example, but it was no less infectious or winning than the other tunes on 2006's "Back to Black" the multiple-Grammy-winning album that we must now -- alas -- acknowledge as her masterwork.

To listen to "Black," especially now, is to revel in a talent that seemed as enthralled with its own potential as its audience was. Winehouse's voice put forth a big sound, but it was also agile enough to evoke not only the African-American soul divas of the 1960s and 1970s, but also the jazz and cabaret singers of the 1940s and 1950s who grounded their ingenuity in bending or stretching notes rather than in multiplying or subdividing them. She seemed so much in command of her art that it made one wonder even more why she seemed to have so little control of her life.

Even that enrapturing voice couldn't overpower the sardonic, perhaps even ghoulish demons lurking within the lyrics. One thinks of the chorus to "You Know I'm No Good": "I cheated myself/ Like I knew I would..." There were on-line postings Saturday that made reference to this line from "Tears Dry on Their Own": "You walk away/and the sun goes down..."

No way anybody's going to stop the deconstructionists from having their ironic way with such lyrics -- and I'm kind of sorry I brought it up. Right now, I'd rather think about how she made me smile. Demons -- hers and everyone else's -- be damned.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gene Seymour.

Quoting : CNN.com