Mercury Prize odds downgraded for Winehouse
Last Updated: Friday, August 31, 2007 | 5:42 PM ET
CBC Arts
Embattled R&B singer Amy Winehouse has been overtaken by a relative unknown as the favourite to win the prestigious Mercury Music Prize, according to bookmakers.
Ladbrokes of England says Bat For Lashes, the stage name of performer Natasha Khan, has surpassed Winehouse as the favourite to win.
Amy Winehouse, pictured here in May at the Ivor Novello Awards in London, has cancelled her August concerts as well as her North American tour.
(Yui Mok/Associated Press)
"Amy's had a difficult time of it lately, and that's coincided with backers deserting her," Ladbrokes spokesman Nick Weinberg told BBC News.
The 23-year-old has had several stints in rehab over recent weeks as reports of rampant drug use have been splashed on British tabloids.
The singer has cancelled festival and award show appearances as well as her North American tour. Her latest video is being filmed in her absence.
Winehouse's soulful Back to Black album was in contention to capture the £20,000 ($42,700 Cdn) prize.
Her odds now stand at 11-4, compared to 9-4 for Bat For Lashes. The winner is to be announced on Sept. 4.
Singer in 'abject denial' about drug use: father-in-law
This week, Winehouse's father-in-law, Giles Fielder-Civil, said he believed the singer and his son Blake were in "abject denial" about their drug problems. The two were married at a quiet ceremony in Florida in May.
Fielder-Civil urged Winehouse fans to boycott her music as a message.
British press recently published photographs of the couple somewhat bloodied and bruised.
The singer's father, Mitch Winehouse, has called his daughter's situation " worse than sickening."
The Mercury Prize, established in 1992, honours the British or Irish artist or group that has produced the best album of the past year, regardless of genre. In the past, newcomers or little-known acts have won in competition with established artists.
The Artic Monkeys won last year's prize with Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Past winners have also included Franz Ferdinand, Primal Scream and PJ Harvey.
Other contenders this year are:
- Basquiat Strings, Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford.
- Dizzee Rascal, Maths and English.
- Fionn Regan, The End of History.
- Jamie T, Panic Prevention.
- Klaxons, Myths of the Near Future.
- Maps, We Can Create.
- New Young Pony Club, Fantastic Playroom.
- The View, Hats Off to the Buskers.
- The Young Knives, Voices of Animals and Men.
