Amy Winehouse's Posthumous Album to be Released in December

 Image by wenn.com

Amy Winehouse's legend lives on.

On December 5, a brand new Amy Winehouse album featuring 12 tracks by the singer will be released. Winehouse's father issued the following statement to The Sun:

"I spent so much time chasing after Amy, telling her off, that I never realized what a true genius she was. It wasn't until I sat down with the rest of the family and listened to this album that I fully appreciated the breadth of Amy's talent. From jazz standards to hip-hop songs, it really took my breath away."

The album, titled Lioness: Hidden Treasures, will be produced by her longtime collaborators, Mark Ronsona and Salaam Remi. It will released under Island Records.

A statement released from Amy's label said:

"It was said by all who worked with Amy that she never sang or played a song the same way twice. It quickly became apparent to Salaam and Mark that they had a collection of songs that deserved to be heard, a collection of songs that were a fitting testament to Amy the artist and, as importantly, Amy their friend."

The album features songs titled Between the Cheats and a more mellow version of Winehouse's hit, Valerie. The disc is supposed to be a "chronicle of her musical development." Wake Up Alone andTears Dry on Their Own will also be rereleased in a more mellow version. Her recently released duet with Tony Bennett, Body & Soul, will be included on the album as well.

There are a few other unreleased songs, like Halftime and The Girl From Impanema. Those were cut during sessions of Winehouse's debut album. Impanema was actually the first song 18 year-old Winehouse sang when she came to Miami to record with Remi.

Remi said in the release:

"I was dealing with a very special talent. Her approach to the song was so young and fresh, it really inspired the rest of our sessions."

There's also a collaboration on the album with rapper Nas, a friend of Amy's. The song was recorded in May 2008 and titled Like Smoke.

This album was meant to be a follow up to Black, and Amy had ben working on it for two years before her death. It's not yet known if this album includes all of the music she recorded at this time, or if there are plans to record another album sometime in the future.

Either way, fans are eagerly awaiting Amy's posthumous album. Some of the proceeds from the album sales will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation.