AMY WINEHOUSE
South by Southwest
It's hard to remember a world without Winehouse, but until this year, the bluesy British songstress was but a beehive and a dream — at least to most Americans. Then came a number of performances at the four-day music showcase South by Southwest that would introduce us to the Amy we know today: shambolic, unpredictable, and — when she was on her game — nearly transcendent. One day, she was acoustic and relaxed; the next, electric and visibly nervous. But when she hit the notes, as she did at a Universal showcase (one to which she was, customarily, more than an hour late), the whole room stood rapt. As she growled and purred through scorchers like ''You Know I'm No Good'' and ''Rehab,'' there was no better place to be than front and center, watching one of the industry's biggest talents living up to her full, if still uncertain, promise. — Leah Greenblatt
