British singer Amy Winehouse is seen here in a February 2008 file photo. Her comeback performance at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival was rained out on Friday. (Matt Dunham/Associated Press)

British jazz soul diva Amy Winehouse had to abandon her first performance of the year because of heavy rain.

She was halfway through a set at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival on Friday when a torrential downpour hit the Caribbean island. She tried to soldier on, but the show was called off when the rain started to flood the stage wings, and sound equipment and lighting began to fail.

Winehouse was disappointed because she had hoped to repay the residents of St. Lucia, where she is now living, for their hospitality, her spokesman Chris Goodman said in a news release Saturday.

But BBC News has reported that fans criticized her Friday performance. At one stage, the BBC said, Winehouse appeared to forget the words to a song and told the crowd, "Sorry, I'm bored."

Winehouse, 25, who received several Grammy Awards for her 2006 album, Back to Black, behaved erratically throughout 2008 and cancelled all performances from September. She has waged a public battle with drug addiction and has had several run-ins with the law.

Earlier this month, she was taken to hospital in St. Lucia after fainting. She was kept overnight for observation and was found to be dehydrated.

(With files from The Associated Press)