Nobody Can Compare to Amy Winehouse, but Snoh Aalegra Comes Pretty Close

Updated on 6/12/2019 at 4:50 PM

Since Amy Winehouse's death, I've bristled at hearing emerging artists being compared to her, or positioned as "the next." If I want to listen to someone who sounds like Amy Winehouse, I'll listen to Amy Winehouse, I'll think to myself smugly.

Then I was introduced to the Swedish R&B soul singer and songwriter Snoh Aalegra, whose music immediately gave me the same warm, insulated feeling I got when I first listened to Winehouse over a decade ago. She released her debut EP There Will Be Sunshine in 2014 and has collaborated with hip-hop artists like Common, Vic Mensa, RZA, and Drake. The 31-year-old even resembles the late singer and has the same enigmatic, cool-girl vibe — it's pretty hard to ignore. After listening to more of Aalegra's work, I realized how nice it is to be reminded of Amy Winehouse and the connection I have to her music, and that maybe (in this case, anyway) making the comparison isn't such a bad thing.

Sometimes I think about what Winehouse's life and career would look like if she were still alive. Would she be doing collabs with Drake? Sitting front row at the Grammys with Beyoncé? Would she fire off sexy Instagram selfies? Who knows. But Aalegra's smooth, dreamy vocals and hip-hop tinged songs do give me shades of the late, great artist, and I like drawing the similarities between her music and Winehouse's. Here are the nine Snoh Aalegra songs that give me the Amy Winehouse fix I didn't think I needed.

"Time"

We'll start with "Time," as it's the first song of Aalegra's that I ever heard. It was sampled on Drake's "Do Not Disturb" from his More Life album in 2017, and was written about the death of Aalegra's father, who passed away in 2009.

"Paradise"

I love this upbeat, positive track about keeping your head up, following your dreams, and lighting the way with fire in your eyes.

"I Want You Around"

A breezy ode to falling fast and hard that will have you longing for a Summer fling.

"Emotional"

This achingly upbeat track is one that definitely gives me Winehouse vibes. It has a Motown flavor that also conjures images of '60s girl groups like The Supremes and The Ronettes, and soul singers like Aretha Franklin and Dusty Springfield. It's nearly impossible to hear this song and not grab the nearest hair brush, water bottle, or household pet and belt it out loudly and enthusiastically.

"Bad Things" feat. Common

The "You Know I'm No Good" vibes are strong with this one, from the gritty drum beat to the self-reflective vocals.

"You"

"You" reminds me of the type of sentimental slow jams I would stay up late recording from the radio when I was in grade school; it's one of those songs that either makes you desperate to fall in love, or wistful for relationships you never even had. On it, Aalegra opens up with a nod to the cautiously optimistic secrecy we often keep when embarking on a new romance:

"I keep it on the low until I know
That's it's you for sure, just to be safe
The people I have told, yeah
Say we can't love
I've said too much, I've said too much
To take it back."

"Feels"

You don't have to have had a Parisian rendezvous to love this song, but it damn sure helps.

"Chaos"

The final track on Aalegra's 2016 EP Don't Explain was actually written by Sia, and described by the singer as "a great closer that sums up everything perfectly." "You know how the end credits come after the movies? This kind of represents that in a sonic way," she told i-D.

"You Keep Me Waiting" feat. Vic Mensa

Most of us have been there: putting our all into a relationship only to be presented with crumbs in return. Aalegra channels that frustration in this song, which sounds like it should be performed in a smoky, dimly lit jazz club somewhere:

"You keep me waiting with the worst of you
And you call that love."