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LONDON - Amy Winehouse will not attend this
year's Grammy Awards because her request for a visa was denied, but
she will perform by satellite at Sunday's ceremony in Los
Angeles.Winehouse and her acclaimed "Back to Black" album are
nominated for Grammys in six categories. She will
perform material from the album, an executive close to the Grammys
told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity Thursday. |
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The Outside Organization, which counts the troubled retro-soul
sensation among its clients, said in an e-mail that Winehouse — who
shot to fame with the autobiographical single "Rehab" — was
disappointed that her request for a visa had been turned down by the
U.S. Embassy.
"Amy has been progressing well since entering a rehabilitation
clinic two weeks ago and although disappointed with the decision has
accepted the ruling and will be concentrating on her recovery," the
Outside Organization said.The statement didn't say why her
application was rejected. The U.S. Embassy in London and the State
Department in Washington declined to comment late Thursday. Shane
O'Neill, Winehouse's spokesman, said he had nothing to add.
Los Angeles immigration lawyer Bernie Wolfsdorf called it surprising
that Winehouse wasn't able to obtain a visa. Although she has a
marijuana arrest on her record that could be used for exclusion from
the United States, Wolfsdorf said it is commonplace for entertainers
to be granted a waiver for such an offense, particularly if they are
just making a quick visit to appear at an awards show.
"I am going to say it appears to be an aberration at this time
compared to the situation of many others. The list of British rock
stars with pot convictions is longer than my arm," said Wolfsdorf,
vice president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
He said it is possible, however, that Winehouse's drug
transgressions were so recent that authorities are reluctant to
grant her a visa until she demonstrates more fully that "she has
moved toward the path of rehabilitation."
Winehouse's potent blend of blues, jazz, pop and soul has won praise
from critics and fans, but her chaotic personal life has
increasingly upstaged her music. Concerned family members regularly
beg Winehouse to seek help in letters splashed across the pages of
British tabloid newspapers and magazines. |
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Since the album's U.S. release last year, she has
canceled a slew of appearances amid reports of drug use. Her
husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, is accused of attacking a pub landlord
and later conspiring with the landlord to have him withdraw as a
witness at the trial.
Last month, The Sun newspaper ran still images from a video that it
claimed showed Winehouse inhaling fumes from a small pipe. |
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