Nobody compares to Amy Winehouse.
Who could ever forget the utter sincerity of “Rehab”?
The heart-wrenching melancholy of “Back To Black”?
Her jazzy take on The Zutons’ classic “Valerie”?
Winehouse was the most graceful anti-diva we could ask for. This pop artist could raise the middle finger against mainstream music and still have the critics raving. She was a singing tragedy, a prima donna who could sweep anyone off their feet with her soulful grace. Hearing her feels like melancholy at its best, an ache that punctures our stomach but also pleases us with the pain. Her untimely death in 2011 left a void in modern music that can’t be filled easily. Nevertheless, there’s some relief for those who have ached from her absence. Several artists can help you miss her a little less, even if it’s just a bit. These are some of the most distinctive among them.
Estelle
You may recall Estelle from her glamorous grammy-winning single with Kanye West, “American Boy”. This sassy British singer knows the precise recipe to combine R&B, rap, and reggae with a sincere pop flair that could stir anybody to the bone. Like Amy, she knows how to combine class with spunk, giving her music just about the right amount of honesty to shake us to the core.
Wild Child
Through the punctual combination of gypsy melodies and folk vibrance, Wild Child’s lead singer Kelsey Wilson sings with the same smokey but captivating demeanor that distinguished Amy from her peers. The Austin folk band is here to please the ear for anyone bold enough to listen to a fusion of simple Southern acoustic harmonies and jazzy melodies.
Alessia Cara
Alessia Caraciollo is an artist from Ontario, Canada, and she’s got an alluring hazy voice that reminisces of Amy’s brassy pipes. Although most of her music disregards jazzy tunes and goes more for a mainstream electronic esthetic, one can tell this up-and-coming pop artist has learned from the best.
Quadron
Danish duo Quadron is comprised of two members with offbeat names: Coco O and Robin Hannibal. They regard their style of music as “electronic soul”, and the truth is that they sound exactly as their description. Coco’s voice has the same gospel vibrance that distinguished Amy’s, but instead of going for dark jazzy harmonies, this band gives us pumping techno beats that have the power of shaking our bodies like a five-year-old who drank an energy drink by accident. Isn’t that something you would want to experience?
Lily Allen
Just like Winehouse, Lily Allen has based career on a careless but captivating attitude. Blending pop, hip hop and reggae, she’s perhaps the only artist who has as much of a fancy caché in her persona as Winehouse. Like her, she sings with a soulful recklessness that could wreck bodies made of stone. It’s an understatement to just imply that Allen and Winehouse are sisters born from other mothers. Amy’s gone, but at least we still have Lily around to nurture our need of a bold, saucy and compelling anti-diva.
Also check out:
20 Songs Perfect For Those Who Know How To Love Intensely And Differently
10 Songs That Will Make You Cry And Free You From Pain
