LONDON (AFP) - British soul singer Amy Winehouses career has soared higher than her trademark beehive hair-style in 2007, but her off-stage antics plunged to a new low this week when she was questioned by police.
Amid growing concern among her fans, the 24-year-old was arrested Tuesday in connection with an alleged attack on a barman by her husband Blake Fielder-Civil and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
She was held for several hours then released on police bail until March next year.
Winehouse, from north London, is one of the most distinctive figures in the increasingly homogenous world of modern-day pop.
With a gravity-defying birds nest of jet-black hair, thick make-up around doe eyes and extensive tattoos on a painfully tiny frame, the performer stands out from the crowd like a grunge Betty Boop.
Her powerful, smoky voice has earned her plaudits, including six nominations for the 50th Grammy Awards in February, the most prestigious music prize in the United States.
She has laid her soul bare in two albums, "Frank" (2003) and "Back to Black" (2006), impressing critics with her wide-ranging repertoire taking in everything from rap to Motown.
But one song -- "Rehab", with its lyrics "They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, no, no, no" -- has become a signature tune for the very public battle with her demons.
Speaking to The Observer newspaper in 2004, Mark Ronson, the DJ who produced more than half of the songs on "Back to Black", said Winehouse was a refreshing antidote to bland pop.
"Amy is bringing a rebellious rock and roll spirit back to popular music," he said, as her star rose on the back of a nomination for Britains Mercury Music Prize, which identifies new talent.
But what was once seen as refreshing rebelliousness is now viewed with concern, as Winehouse fights alcohol and drugs, self-harm and eating disorders in the public eye.
Earlier this month, she was pictured barefoot and in her bra outside her London home, clearly the worse for wear, in the early hours of the morning.
In November, she was booed by the audience after a rambling, off-key performance, leading to the cancellation of 17 concerts on health grounds.
In one photograph, she and Fielder-Civil, her husband since May who has been on remand in prison since November, were seen leaving a hotel, dishevelled, covered in dried blood, cuts and with apparent injection marks.
Another has shown Winehouse in close-up, the insides of her nostrils covered in a suspicious white powder.
In an interview for a new tour DVD Winehouse described herself as "insecure", giving a possible reason for her excessive behaviour.
"Im very insecure about the way I look. I mean, Im a musician Im not a model. The more insecure I felt, the more Id drink."
Elsewhere, she has called Madonna "an old has-been" and once told U2 singer Bono to shut up as he launched into a speech on good causes.
Musically, Winehouse cites black American female singers like Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington as influences. Elvis Presley is also mentioned.
Born on September 14, 1983, Winehouse grew up in a jazz-loving household. Her taxi driver father, Mitch, is an aficionado while uncles on her mothers side were professional musicians.
At the age of 12, Winehouse created a rap duo with her best friend, received her first guitar at 13 and began singing soul.
"Back to Black" was the best-seller of 2007 and she was also named female artist of the year.
Seduced by her sassy style, Prince and fellow north London boy George Michael said they wanted to work with her.
But she opted instead to sing with Pete Doherty, the troubled lead singer of Babyshambles with whom she has frequently been compared.
Doherty told music weekly the NME earlier this month they had collaborated on a song "You Hurt The One You Love". A third album is said to be in the pipeline for 2008.
