"I don't think she should have won," the veteran Grammy winner says of Winehouse.

Dr. Phil, move over. There's a new advocate for tough love on the circuit: Natalie Cole.

The multiple Grammy winner – her first win, in 1975, was for best new artist of the year – told PEOPLE at Sunday's Warner Music Group post-Grammy party that she took a dim view of Amy Winehouse's awards sweep at the Grammy ceremony earlier in the evening.

"I don't think she should have won. I think it sends a bad message to our young people who are trying to get into this business, the ones who are trying to do it right and really trying to keep themselves together," said Cole, 58. "We have to stop rewarding bad behavior."

Of Winehouse, 24, who is currently in rehab in England, Cole says: "I'm sorry. I think the girl is talented, gifted, but it's not right for her to be able to have her cake and eat it too. She needs to get herself together."

On the seriousness of Winehouse's troubles, Cole – who over the years has battled her own substance-abuse problems, successfully – observes, "I mean, she could die. This isn't something that's cute and fun just to throw around in the press. The girl really has a problem, and I think for those of us who have been in the business long enough, we know the sacrifice it takes. This is about discipline and hard work, and you don't get to just do your drugs and go onstage and get rewarded."


Performance 'Fine'
In all, Winehouse won five Grammys – including record of the year, song of the year and best new artist. She also rocked the crowd inside Los Angeles's Staples Center with a live-via-satellite rendition of "You Know I'm No Good" and "Rehab."

"Her performance was fine," surmised Cole. "I don't take anything away from her talent, but I just feel like she's stepping into a place that she hasn't earned yet."

As for whom Cole, whose new jazz CD will be out in August, would have lavished with Grammy gold, the singer replied, "Rihanna, even Beyoncé. "I just feel like they're ready to go the long haul. You can tell how hard they work, they're great people, their heart is in the right place. These are the people we should be praising, these are the people we should be encouraging."

She added, "And the others, we need to help them."

http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20173658_20177511,00.html

OMG another former drug user not having any empathy for those who are struggling with addiction. :rolleyes:

Amy won for her work in music, not what she does in her private life. It is not like she is a pedophile or a murderer for God's sake. If Ike Turner can be honored in the music business, if other people who have a bad reputation can win a Grammy, why not Amy? I lost some respect for Natalie Cole.

I have a Solid Gold episode from 1980 that I got from a friend where she co-hosted with Dionne Warwick and Natalie was stoned out of her mind and slurring her lines when talking. She's one to condemn someone else's drug use :lol:

She says Amy is stepping into a place she hasn't earned yet. WTF does that mean??? And I suppose the American Idol winners earned their spots and paid their dues?

All this PC posturing is stepping on my last nerve. If everyone who won a Grammy had it rescinded because of substance abuse issues, Debbie Boone would be the only performer to receive one each year.

The artists are being rewarded for their musical abilities, not because of their pharmaceutical abilities.

Nat King Cole is probably rolling over his grave hearing what his own daughter has to say. :crazy: Get over it, Natalie...you weren't all that.

And who should have won Natalie?

Kanye West is a loudmouth egotistical jackass who thinks he invented popular music and never has had a nice thing to say about any other artist.

I'll take drug addict Amy over him any day.

;)

I believe Natalie saying, "It's gotta be me to win the award" with a crazed look in her eyes.

If everyone who won a Grammy had it rescinded because of substance abuse issues, Debbie Boone would be the only performer to receive one each year.
Funniest line I've read in a while, with TJL's Kanye West's crack and 88survivor's joke very close ties for second. :lol:

Debby Boone...was her song, You Light Up My Life, about God? Did she ever say? It was always rumored to be that.

how do we know that You Light Up My Life wasn't really about smoking crack? :rofl:

how do we know that You Light Up My Life wasn't really about smoking crack? :rofl:
Good point, we don't know, now do we. :lol:

She sounds bitter.

Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson put together one of the best albums in recent history. Their recognition is deserved.

how do we know that You Light Up My Life wasn't really about smoking crack? :rofl:

That's a good one.:lol:

Nat King Cole is probably rolling over his grave hearing what his own daughter has to say. :crazy: Get over it, Natalie...you weren't all that.

Natalie is a great singer but what she ain't is The Grand Exalted Mystic Poobah. So yes, she should get over it. And fast.

That's a good one.:lol:

Dean, you really do have a great sense of humor.:lol:

I am not a fan of Amy's, I don't get the hype with her, to me her music lacks anything catchy to it. But at least Amy won the Grammy for her own songs. Natalie was the big winner at the Grammys 15 years or so back for basically remixing her dad's songs and adding new vocals to them, making them "duets" between Nat and Natalie. I mean, how daring, taking proven classics your father made and making them your songs too.

I think Natalie is a talented singer and has some good stuff but why single Amy out? Yes, Amy is a trainwreck (and part of me still wonders if Sarah Silverman is pulling a joke on everyone. Have you ever seen them in the same room together? It seems likely that being known to poke fun of trainwreck pop stars, that Sarah would create an alter ego that is the trainwreckiest of them all :lol: ) but why is she any less worthy of winning an award than any other Grammy winner in the past who has been known to snort, smoke and shoot?

Natalie is a great singer but what she ain't is The Grand Exalted Mystic Poobah. So yes, she should get over it. And fast.
Natalie had her day and her moments, now she is not in the spotlight and she needs to just keep her mouth zipped. Even if she was still a hot-selling artist, I just think it is a shame that someone who was a drug abuser herself would knock someone else with the same problem. Sad.

She sounds bitter.

Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson put together one of the best albums in recent history. Their recognition is deserved.
GOd,How could u say that Amy had put out a good albulm, I really don't like her I geuss I am from the old school of music and Natilee had the right to say what she feels when Amy was on stage she looked like she was stoned out of her mind, she will be a nother Brittney Spears, and yes,,Natilee had some hard times like most of us, she lived it and she's doing great, as for Amy I do hope she is getting help for her attiction. She should'nt have won, thats just my opinon.

^ well, Natalie is well-known for her past drug addiction too, that it sounded like she was throwing stones in a glass house. I don't like Amy much either (I credit her for being different, but I think that's why she's so hyped, because she's different) but her drug addiction doesn't mean she should be any less worthy of winning an award when many of the best-revered artists in history have had problems with addiction.

GOd,How could u say that Amy had put out a good albulm, I really don't like her I geuss I am from the old scholl of music.

I am old school too when it comes to music, but you got to give credit where credit is due. Amy's music has some 60's R&B, Blues sound to it. It could easily be a 70's song if I didn't know better. When I first heard her songs I thought it was a black older woman singing. Amy has a distinct voice. She is like Joss Stone with that unique voice. Joss and Amy should hook up musically.

Amy has a talent and I really hope she gets her life straightened out. You don't have to like her music or her for that matter, but you can't deny the woman deserved those Grammy wins. By the way, she is in rehab and she came out of rehab to do the performance you saw on the Grammys, so if she was shaky or exhibiting herself in a way that seems odd, it is because she is obviously dealing with the effects of sobering up. Kudos to her for giving the best performance she could under her circumstances.

I am old school too when it comes to music, but you got to give credit where credit is due. Amy's music has some 60's R&B, Blues sound to it. It could easily be a 70's song if I didn't know better. When I first heard her songs I thought it was a black older woman singing. Amy has a distinct voice. She is like Joss Stone with that unique voice. Joss and Amy should hook up musically.

Amy has a talent and I really hope she gets her life straightened out. You don't have to like her music or her for that matter, but you can't deny the woman deserved those Grammy wins. By the way, she is in rehab and she came out of rehab to do the performance you saw on the Grammys, so if she was shaky or exhibiting herself in a way that seems odd, it is because she is obviously dealing with the effects of sobering up. Kudos to her for giving the best performance she could under her circumstances. Thats true I geuss people can change and I should not pass judgement on them(or Amy) Any how I even forgot who she was up against. It's just that she re minds me of another Brittney Spears,her song Rehab, I just don't get her music.

Thats true I geuss people can change and I should not pass judgement on them(or Amy) Any how I even forgot who she was up against. It's just that she re minds me of another Brittney Spears,her song Rehab, I just don't get her music.
I certainly wouldn't go out and by her CD or download her songs, but I appreciate a person with a talent and the voice to back up that talent. She is original and unique and not going out sampling songs like Kanye and many other artists trying to earn a dollar the cheap way. She is different for sure and my only thing with her is that she gets the help she needs. I pity her for what she is going through.

I don't listen to Amy's music, either. I just think when a celebirty who was a Grammy winner and a history of drug use has the nerve to say something that is pretty stupid. Such as your past drug addictions, Natalie. I bet you don't want to say that, but that's the gift from the horse's mouth. Hypocrite.

LOL@Dean Winchester saying how do we know that Natalie's song You Light Up My Life isn't about smoking crack hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Natalie shouldn't be judging Amy because i guess she forgot that she used to be a drug addict. Entertainers need to keep their comments to themselves about people and stop telling the media stuff because the only thing the media are interested in is entertainers dissing each other because the media people have no life. So they get off on taking pictures of entertainers and writing stuff about entertainers personal lives that's really not the public's business.

I always think it's so interesting how whenever a celebrity takes a stand on something the trend here is always to cut them down to size. I'm not a fan of Winehouse so I can't say whether she deserved the awards or not, but I don't think there's anything wrong with this statement of Cole's:
"I don't think she should have won. I think it sends a bad message to our young people who are trying to get into this business, the ones who are trying to do it right and really trying to keep themselves together," said Cole, 58. "We have to stop rewarding bad behavior."
The music business happens to be one that is highly susceptible to drugs, alcohol, sex, addiction...what is wrong with someone actually suggesting they try to clean it up a little from the inside? No other business besides the entertainment business awards any recognition whatsoever to known addicts, illegal drug users and law-breakers...in fact in most other areas they are shunned and booted out of their business. I mean, we would never give Mary Kay Letourneau-- a person with a disease that caused her to engage in illegal activities-- teacher of the year no matter how good of a teacher she was. How many of us would be fired if we failed a random drug testing at work?
I understand that addiction is a disease but we don't have to encourage it. If we're going to profess a "war on drugs" then let's at least try to act like we mean it. Why shouldn't it apply to the music and entertainment business just like everything else...especially when these businesses seem to generate so many role models?

I think Amy Winehouse should get her drug problem taken care of before
she destroys herself. And Dean, why are you making fun of such a good
song as You Light Up My Life?

And Dean, why are you making fun of such a good song as You Light Up My Life?
out of curiosity, do you have any sense of humor? How can you go through life being so dense and drab? This isn't the first time you've responded to sarcasm and humor with this type of post. Seriously, lighten up, chill a bit, learn to develop a sense of humor. Life would sure suck without it.

And Dean, why are you making fun of such a good song as You Light Up My Life?

Uhhh, because it's patently and overtly melodramatic?


Debby Boone did record a number of fine albums in the 80's, rather polished, uptempo and even rocking numbers that leave her signature hit in the dust. The problem was that they were almost exclusive on contemporary Christian labels that most people who don't shop at Christian bookstores wouldn't know too much about.

I have a few of those albums as well: 'Surrender', 'Choose Life', and 'Friends For Life'.

Uhhh, because it's patently and overtly melodramatic?


Debby Boone did record a number of fine albums in the 80's, rather polished, uptempo and even rocking numbers that leave her signature hit in the dust. The problem was that they were almost exclusive on contemporary Christian labels that most people who don't shop at Christian bookstores wouldn't know too much about.

I have a few of those albums as well: 'Surrender', 'Choose Life', and 'Friends For Life'.
don't worry about Lee, he has zero sense of humor and gets too upset and literal over everything. I wonder his takes on the rumors that "Puff The Magic Dragon" and "Yellow Submarine" are about drug use. :crazy:

don't worry about Lee, he has zero sense of humor and gets too upset and literal over everything. I wonder his takes on the rumors that "Puff The Magic Dragon" and "Yellow Submarine" are about drug use. :crazy:
Why would you say that two awesome songs are about drug use? That is disrepectful to the writers of the songs and why would you assume that , I would never puff a magic dragon on a yellow submarine

;)

don't worry about Lee, he has zero sense of humor and gets too upset and literal over everything. I wonder his takes on the rumors that "Puff The Magic Dragon" and "Yellow Submarine" are about drug use. :crazy:Oh, I'm fully aware of that sense of humor (or lack thereof)! :nod: :lol:

I remember hearing "Puff the Magic Dragon" when I was five years old in headstart school. This one hip lady sang it, and I had no idea that it was an actual pop song that was popular then (in the late 60's), this was around 1967. So I heard it quite often. Which would explain a lot. :crazy:

Oh, I'm fully aware of that sense of humor (or lack thereof)! :nod: :lol:

I remember hearing "Puff the Magic Dragon" when I was five years old in headstart school. This one hip lady sang it, and I had no idea that it was an actual pop song that was popular then (in the late 60's), this was around 1967. So I heard it quite often. Which would explain a lot. :crazy:
Yeah, the lack of humor thing almost reminds me of the strict teachers in school who would point a finger with a serious look on their face. :crazy: Can't even be funny around here.

Anyhoo, could it be that "hip lady" was actually a "hippie lady"? Might explain why she loved to sing that song. ;) :lol:

Yeah, the lack of humor thing almost reminds me of the strict teachers in school who would point a finger with a serious look on their face. :crazy: Can't even be funny around here.

Anyhoo, could it be that "hip lady" was actually a "hippie lady"? Might explain why she loved to sing that song. ;) :lol:I think she may have been!
She was probably in her late teens/early 20's, I didn't recall seeing love beads or sandals on her, but I'm sure she was one! :cool:

I think she may have been!
She was probably in her late teens/early 20's, I didn't recall seeing love beads or sandals on her, but I'm sure she was one! :cool:
:lol:

Yeah, the funny thing about me when I was a kid was that I believed anything I was told. In addition to the (most likely) hippie chick teacher's assistant who sang "Puff the Magic Dragon", there was one young lady who was dressed up as a witch with an old fashioned broomstick for Halloween. She entertained us for a while, and when it was time for her to leave, the other teachers said she was going to fly off on her broomstick. So after she left, I went outside for a second to see if I could see her zooming off in the sky! :lol:

OMG another former drug user not having any empathy for those who are struggling with addiction. :rolleyes:

Amy won for her work in music, not what she does in her private life. It is not like she is a pedophile or a murderer for God's sake. If Ike Turner can be honored in the music business, if other people who have a bad reputation can win a Grammy, why not Amy? I lost some respect for Natalie Cole.

Exactly, well said :)

Yeah, the funny thing about me when I was a kid was that I believed anything I was told. In addition to the (most likely) hippie chick teacher's assistant who sang "Puff the Magic Dragon", there was one young lady who was dressed up as a witch with an old fashioned broomstick for Halloween. She entertained us for a while, and when it was time for her to leave, the other teachers said she was going to fly off on her broomstick. So after she left, I went outside for a second to see if I could see her zooming off in the sky! :lol:
Awwww that's a cute story. I too believed many things as a child. We all did. I have fun now with my 6 year old son and see the innocence in his eyes as he asks, "How small is the tooth fairy?" :lol:

there was one young lady who was dressed up as a witch with an old fashioned broomstick for Halloween. She entertained us for a while, and when it was time for her to leave, the other teachers said she was going to fly off on her broomstick. So after she left, I went outside for a second to see if I could see her zooming off in the sky! :lol:

:rofl: did you see her?

:rofl: did you see her?No, I looked all around, and when the skies were empty, I figured, "wow, she sure flew off in a flash!!"

No, I looked all around, and when the skies were empty, I figured, "wow, she sure flew off in a flash!!"
:rofl:

No, I looked all around, and when the skies were empty, I figured, "wow, she sure flew off in a flash!!"
well, it was Halloween, she had to fly off to another school so she was in a hurry :lol:

Well, considering this was 1967, the witch probably did "fly away" with the "hip chick." ;) "Puff the magic dragon..."