Amy Winehouse Underwhelms at Post-Rehab Concert
June 2 2008, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
So much for a comeback.
In her first performance since leaving rehab, Amy Winehouse was an embarrassment of sorts, to put it mildly, at the Rio Festival in Lisbon, Portugal over the weekend.
Failing to start off the night on the right foot, the troubled Brit showed up to the venue nearly an hour late and performed a short 55-minute set littered with the twitchy and wired uneasiness that overwhelmed her performances the past year pre-rehab.
Also overwhelming? Numerous cuts and scrapes on her arms, including a heavily wrapped right hand.
During the erratic set, Amy chatted with her band, played with her microphone wire, ate lozenges for her supposed "sore throat" and ran off and back on the stage. She also failed to resurface for an encore, leaving fans unamused.
Still, the 24-year-old had the good manners to apologize to the 90,000-member crowd for her tardiness, though not much else.
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''Hey Lisbon,'' she said as she took to the stage. ''I'm sorry I'm late.''
The Grammy winner's rep, though, explains Amy was too "overwhelmed" by the occasion.
"Amy was overwhelmed by the goodwill shown by the audience in Lisbon and even apologised for her below par vocals on stage, after suffering from a sore throat all week.
She was given the option to cancel, but was determined to take her first step back on to the live scene and although her throat was not at 100 percent, Amy felt it important for fans to see that she is back working at her craft.
She will continue to her comeback at events throughout the summer."