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Amy Winehouse · S1 E5
Sylvia Young
A theatre school scholarship for a girl who can outsing everyone in the room. She's asked to leave at 14 for piercing her nose and not applying herself
Marylebone, London, 1995. Twelve-year-old Amy Winehouse auditions for the Sylvia Young Theatre School, opens her mouth to sing, and the vocal teacher puts down her pen and just listens.
Amy Winehouse performing Know You Now. Quiet confidence and razor-sharp observation, the same qualities that made Sylvia Young's teachers realize they had someone extraordinary on their hands.
Know You Now
From Frank (2003). A quietly powerful track about seeing someone clearly for the first time. Amy sings with a focus and self-possession that belies her age. For a girl who was told she was not applying herself, this song tells a different story: someone who was paying very close attention to the world around her, storing every observation for later use.
“She was one of the most talented students we ever had. But she was also one of the most challenging. She knew exactly who she was, and she wasn't going to let anybody change that.”
— Sylvia Young
TAP TO REVEAL: Why was Amy really asked to leave Sylvia Young?
Sylvia Young Theatre School
Marylebone, central London. The performing arts school where a twelve-year-old Amy won a scholarship, stunned the vocal teachers, and broke every dress code rule they had.
Know You Now
From Frank (2003). A quietly powerful track about seeing someone clearly for the first time. Amy sings with focus and self-possession that belies her age. The kind of discipline and observation that Sylvia Young's school tried, and failed, to contain.
Amy was asked to leave Sylvia Young at fourteen. What was the final straw?
Amy leaves Sylvia Young at fourteen with no qualifications and a voice that nobody can ignore. Next: the BRIT School in Croydon, and the classmates who will reshape British music forever.
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