Amy Winehouse should have been basking in glory yesterday, triumphant in the knowledge that, with three MTV nominations to her name and an album rocketing up the US charts, she had achieved the kind of success that most British artists can only dream about.

Instead the jazz singer-songwriter was engulfed in a flurry of speculation about her increasingly unpredictable behaviour – amid growing concerns for her health – after abandoning yet more gigs and ending up in hospital.

In the most worrying mishap to befall the 23-year-old singer’s career so far, Winehouse cancelled a string of performances after being admitted to University College Hospital, London.

Although her management blamed “sheer exhaustion”, there were reports last night that Winehouse, whose best-known hit is titled Rehab, had been taken to casualty after a drug overdose.

The latest episode – on the back of admissions about drug use, disturbing weight loss and rumours of self-harm – fuelled concerns that one of Britain’s hottest young singing talents is on a dangerous downward spiral.

Unlike any other artist in her generation, Winehouse has electrified the music industry with a voice as distinctive as the influential 1960s rock singer Janis Joplin, and a personality just as distinctive.

Encapsulated by her trademark towering beehive, thick eyeliner and tattoo-adorned arms, Winehouse has captivated audiences across the country since the release of her hugely successful second album Back to Black.

The album reached No 1 in the UK and Winehouse was voted Best British Female at the Brits, before Back to Black entered the American charts at No 7 – a record for a British artist.

Her meteoric rise seemed assured when she was nominated for three top gongs at the MTV Video Music Awards, including Female Artist of the Year and Best Newcomer.

But only hours after the announcement, Winehouse was engulfed in controversy yet again, and recovering in hospital following her collapse.

Fast emerging as the female rock world’s answer to Pete Doherty – the unreliable and controversial lead singer of the Babyshambles – Winehouse disappointed her fans by cancelling planned performances in Europe at the Oya music festival in Oslo and a concert in Copenhagen.

It was the latest in a string of gigs that Winehouse has abandoned this year, from the Liverpool Summer Pops event to the Shepherds Bush Empire in London and the T In The Park festival in Scotland.

Ever an artist of extremes, the period also marked a high point in her career when she appeared alongside the Rolling Stones at the Isle of Wight festival.

A spokesman for her record company Island confirmed that Winehouse had been admitted to UCLH yesterday, and said she was “suffering from severe exhaustion”.

“Amy was discharged from the hospital this afternoon and has been advised to take complete rest.

Scheduled performances in Norway and Denmark this week have been cancelled.”

However The Sun reported last night that Winehouse was dragged through the A & E unit’s double doors before collapsing from a drug overdose at 1am.

Witnesses told the newspaper that Winehouse, who was believed to be accompanied by her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, was stumbling around and was rushed straight inside.

Close friends of the singer had cautioned that she had “lost the plot”. “We’ve been terrified something like this would happen for months,” said one. “Amy has lost the plot and her partying is out of control. We are praying that this is the wake-up call she needs.”

Winehouse burst on to the music scene four years ago with a curvy size 12 figure, but has lost considerable weight and now appears almost waif-like.

She has admitted to having weight problems and dabbling in drugs.

The singer, who married in a secret ceremony two months ago, has a reputation for hard drinking, with Rehabdocumenting her unwillingness to get help.

Winehouse has also admitted beating up her partner when drunk. “I have a really good time some nights but then I push it over the edge and ruin my boyfriend’s night. I'm an ugly drunk, I really am,” she said recently.

Rise and fall

October 2003 Her first album, Frank, is released to critical acclaim

September 2006 Winehouse is reported to have dropped three dress sizes

October 2006 Back to Black is released and the first single is Rehab, a song about her past refusal to attend an alcohol rehabilitation centre

November and December 2006 Winehouse appears regularly in the press over alleged alcohol-induced behaviour, including heckling Bono at the Q Awards. She admits: “I’m an ugly . . . drunk, I really am"

Jan 2007 Back to Black reaches No 1. Winehouse ends a gig at Soho nightclub GAY part way through her first song

February 2007 Wins Brit Award for Best British Female

March 2007 Back to Black enters the US charts at No 7, the highest debut position for a British female artist at the time. Winehouse cancels sell-out shows at Shepherds Bush Empire in London but is seen drinking on one of the nights in her local pub in Camden

May 2007 She marries Blake Fielder-Civil in a ceremony in Miami, Florida

June 2007 Admits in an interview that she beats Blake when she is drunk

July 2007 Cancels more gigs but is spotted out drinking

August 2007 Is admitted to hospital after collapsing, soon after announcement that she has been nominated for three MTV awards

Source: Times database

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