A Teenage Amy Winehouse Crushes "Happy Birthday" in New Clip From 'Amy'
The forthcoming documentary Amy is a heartbreaking — and at times, downright depressing — account of the short, tormented life of singer Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011 at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning. Much of the film, directed by Senna’s Asif Kapadia, is devoted to the sudden fame Winehouse experienced (but seldom seemed to enjoy) after the release of her smash album Back to Black — all of which swiftly led to a heavily documented drug and alcohol-fueled decline.
Related: Cannes Report: ‘Amy’ Is Heartbreaking Portrait of a Lost Soul Singer
But the immersive Amy also has a wealth of priceless, never-before-scene archival material for viewers to mull over, including a brand-new clip, which you can watch above. The shaky, homemade video opens the documentary, and depicts a 14-year-old Winehouse and her London pals at a birthday party. They’re shoving lollipops in each other’s faces, mugging for the camera, and generally clowning around. But in the middle of a sloppy rendition “Happy Birthday,” the friends suddenly fall silent, and Winehouse — whose otherworldly voice was by then already highly developed — expertly croons the last line by herself. Even as a teenager, she knew how to wow a crowd.
Amy debuts in New York and LA on July 3 before opening in theaters nationwide on July 10.
Watch a trailer for ‘Amy:’
