I didn't want to bury this in the Tour section as it is an article from The New York Times...
"June 16, 2008, 2:29 pm
Amy Winehouse’s Russian Windfall
By Sara Rhodin
Though her star seemed to drastically dim during her public struggle with drugs, the British pop star Amy Winehouse just scored an impressive pay day in Russia
Ms. Winehouse took a very short break from her legal dramas in London to perform at the opening of a new Moscow art space, run by the girlfriend of Roman Abramovich, one of Russia’s most well-known and powerful oligarchs. The singer flew from London to Moscow, performed at the opening of the couple’s new arts space for under an hour last Thursday, and then flew directly home. Her pay: $2 million.
Paying rock stars seven-figure stipends for private performances is nothing new among Russia’s elite. In 2007, an unnamed oligarch reportedly paid George Michael $3 million dollars to perform at a New Year’s Eve bash, and the September 2005 wedding of Andrei Melnichenko, a billionaire banker, featured performances by Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, and Whitney Houston. And in what the BBC termed “somewhat of a dream come true†for Dmitri A. Medvedev, then Russia’s future president, Deep
Purple performed at the 15th anniversary celebration of Gazprom, the state-owned gas company.
For Mr. Abramovich, the billionaire owner of London’s Chelsea soccer club, garage metal and 1980s pop would hardly suffice for the opening of the abandoned bus station-turned-cultural center created by the oligarch’s 26-year-old girlfriend, Daria Zhukova. More appropriate for the 300 elite guests, it seems, was the 24-year-old, soul singer with the notorious beehive bouffant and drug problem.
The concert (and the hefty price tag) recalled the outcry that ensued after Ms. Winehouse seized five Grammy awards this year. (She accepted her honors, incidentally, via satellite from London because the United States initially refused to grant her a visa). Following the awards show, Natalie Cole called on the music industry to “stop rewarding bad behavior,†echoing comments from a United Nations anti-drug panel a month later.
“It’s not right for her to be able to have her cake and eat it too,†Ms. Cole said.
Right or not, Ms. Winehouse, like countless troubled musicians before her, will likely prove that there’s nothing preventing her from doing just that.
She has a fully booked summer ahead, including a gig at Nelson Mandela’s birthday party in London. She is also on the bill of England’s prestigious sure-to-sell-out-Glastonbury Festival this year.
“It’s her personal life,†said Emily Eavis, one of the concert’s main organizers, defending the decision to book Ms.Winehouse, despite all of the controversy. “We all know she’s a brilliant performer and I think that’s what we should be focusing on.â€
http://thelede.blogs...ssian-windfall/
that Natalie Cole can still get press off Amy gets under my skin, so I posted this comment (couldn't help myself)..."then by the same token Natalie, give back your Grammys when you were having your cake and eating it too!! Amy wrote a brilliant album and you got over singing your father’s songbook. get over yourself!!
— Posted by kev
Amy Winehouse's Russian Windfall
Started by
kevd7
, Jun 17 2008 02:56 PM
6 replies to this topic
#6
malaroda
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Never miss a night
Posted 17 June 2008 - 06:12 PM
I don't know what to think about Moscow gig. First reports said she was in good shape, there was nothing wrong with her. And then after few days stories emerge that she was a mess, it took her two hours to get herself together, and their sources are "people who heard it from someone who was at the show"...
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