Adele: Amy Winehouse "Paved the Way for Artists Like Me"

"Rolling in the Deep" star remembers fellow artist as someone who "made people excited about British music again"

By Natalie Finn Jul 25, 2011 9:42 PMTags
Amy Winehouse, AdeleStefan M. Prager/Redferns, POL EMILE/SIPA

Thanks to Amy Winehouse, Adele is no longer just chasing pavements.

The "Rolling in the Deep" singer paid tribute to her fallen countrywoman today, appreciating the way Winehouse would do what she wanted and "say f--k off" to the rest.

"Not many people have it in them to do something they love, simply because they love it, with no fuss and no compromise," the hitmaker wrote on her blog in a piece titled "Amy Flies in Paradise." "But she knew what she was capable of and didn't even need to try."

Adele, who the British press dubbed the "next Amy Winehouse" when she hit the scene with her soulful pipes, told WENN in 2008 that a girl group consisting of her, Winehouse, and British singer-songwriters Kate Nash and Katie Melua "would be the best band ever."

"We're not afraid to speak our minds, [and] you don't need to be a doll with tanned legs, blonde hair, big boobs and good lips," Adele said.

PHOTOS: Amy Winehouse: Fans Pay Tribute

And her opinion of Winehouse doesn't appear to have changed since then.

"If she wanted to do something she would and if she didn't she'd say fuck off," Adele wrote. "It came easy to her and that's why we all loved her so much. We believed every word she wrote, and it would sink in deep when she sang them. Amy paved the way for artists like me and made people excited about British music again whilst being fearlessly hilarious and blase about the whole thing.

"I don't think she ever realised just how brilliant she was and how important she is, but that just makes her even more charming. although im incredibly sad about Amy passing im also reminded of how immensely proud of her i am as well. and grateful to be inspired by her. Amy flies in paradise xx."