Dionne Bromfield, The 02 Islington

It is a blessing and a curse that Dionne Bromfield, a sweet young soul singer from Tower Hamlets, will always be associated with the late, great Amy Winehouse. A blessing because Amy took Dionne under her wing: the girl was catapulted to fame when a clip of the two performing Alicia Keys’ If I Ain’t Got You was posted to YouTube in 2009. Dionne was 12; Amy was her godmother.

That was five years ago. Since then, the video has been viewed almost half a million times. Dionne was subsequently signed to Amy’s Lioness label, which released Dionne’s 2009 debut album Introducing Dionne Bromfield and 2011‘s follow-up Good for the Soul. Introducing... was a compilation of covers, Good for the Soul a series of fun (original) songs that sounded like Motown pastiche. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff but, in 2011, Dionne was still only 15. It was in July of this same year that Amy joined Dionne at a Roundhouse concert. This would be Amy’s last public performance before she met her untimely death three days later.

Since then, the inevitable question has plagued Dionne: how does she compare to Amy? You can make up your own mind when she performs at the O2 Islington on December 19. Dionne has a powerful voice; when's she's giving it her all she even sounds like an identikit Winehouse. She’s got sass and looks. Dionne’s got all the raw materials she needs; it’s not her fault if she lacks experience.

Amy Winehouse was a fascinating creature because you knew the ragged edges in her voice were the product of both a tumultuous lifestyle and a troubled psyche. Thankfully, Dionne hasn’t yet had the sort of experiences that bring that sort complexity to a voice. But she’s only 17: give her a chance when she comes to the O2. Tease out your beehive, paint on the eye-liner, and get ready to groove. (Just make sure you don’t accidentally shout out Amy’s name when you meant to be giving Dionne the love).