Amy Winehouse is dead - is anyone really surprised by this?

I didn't know her music. I did know her reputation. I also knew (from YouTube) what a sorry state she was in when she attempted to open her European tour in Serbia. Just how bad do you have to be to be booed off the stage by your own fans?

So am I surprised that she died young? Not really. Although it won't be made official until after an autopsy, does anyone have any doubt that this death was self-inflicted (by drug or alcohol overdose, or something else)?

The last death of a star that took me by surprise was that of Karen Carpenter. I wept openly at her death - unaware that she even had an eating disorder. Her talent was real and unique.

There are other current stars whose deaths wouldn't come as a shock. But I'll leave those thoughts on the back burner - until the proper time to pull them out.