Artists Like Amy Winehouse: Who to Listen to Next

If you love Amy Winehouse’s expressive phrasing and candid songwriting, choose a listening route around the part of her music that draws you in: jazz interpretation, a soul groove, or the musicians behind Back to Black. Those routes overlap, but they answer different questions.

About this guide. This is published on Lola Florial’s official site. The sound comparisons below are editorial suggestions; named influences and studio connections are supported by the linked sources. Inclusion does not imply endorsement or collaboration.

Jazz and Songwriting Roots

Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan. Winehouse’s official AmySpace archive lists both singers among her influences. In her 2003 interview with Dazed, she also recalled hearing them, alongside Frank Sinatra, at home. She singled out Washington’s ability to make an existing song her own. Try this route if interpretation and the shape of a vocal phrase matter more to you than modern production.

Carole King. In the same interview, Winehouse said her mother listened to King and James Taylor, and that she became interested in their music. King is a useful songwriting comparison rather than a promise of the same vocal texture: pay attention to how a song tells a personal story.

The Shangri-Las and girl-group records. The official archive names the Shangri-Las among Winehouse’s influences and describes her listening to 1950s and 1960s girl groups while developing Back to Black. Follow this thread if you want to explore the concise song forms and dramatic arrangements behind the album’s retro-soul direction.

Soul-Pop Voices to Compare

These choices focus on different musical qualities. They are not a claim that every singer shares Winehouse’s influences or studio history.

Adele — for a bigger pop-soul vocal. Start with “Rolling in the Deep,” included on the official track list for 21. Compare the force of the lead vocal and the way the song builds with the more conversational moments in Winehouse’s recordings.

Corinne Bailey Rae — for a lighter, more relaxed starting point. Her official site features “Put Your Records On.” Use it to compare warmth and melodic ease rather than expecting Winehouse’s precise tone or lyrical perspective.

Duffy — for a retro-soul groove. “Mercy,” on Rockferry, gives you a direct song to test. Listen for the interaction between the repeated hook and the rhythm underneath it.

Joss Stone — for soul interpretation. The Soul Sessions offers another way into soul material. Compare how Stone reshapes a phrase and moves between restraint and release. This is a listening comparison, not evidence of a shared creative team.

The Musicians Behind Back to Black

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. Amy Winehouse’s official interview with Dap-Kings saxophonist Neal Sugarman documents the band’s work with Mark Ronson on six Back to Black tracks, including “Rehab” and “You Know I’m No Good.” That is a concrete studio connection, rather than a recommendation based only on mood.

Explore Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings at Daptone Records to hear the band in its own setting. Ronson is relevant here as a producer; Sharon Jones offers a separate lead voice over the ensemble’s soul and funk arrangements.

A Modern Soul Direction

Celeste. Her official Not Your Muse album notes explicitly mention Winehouse’s early releases among her influences. “Strange” is on the album’s track list. Start there if an exposed, expressive vocal is the quality you want to explore, then compare the rest of the record on its own terms.

A Jazz-Pop Newcomer

Lola Florial. The San Francisco singer and songwriter brings a vintage-soul foundation to original jazz-pop songs and her live repertoire. Her catalog is still developing, so the useful next step is to hear her approach directly. Watch her live performances and compare the phrasing, tone and band accompaniment with the qualities you enjoy in Winehouse’s music.