Amy Winehouse's next album is "darker than ever." According to her friends, the troubled "Rehab" singer has been writing songs about death ever since she stopped going out in public.

Winehouse, 24, has been staying in her place after she has gotten a contagious skin disease called impetigo.

A friend reveals, "Her next album is darker than ever. Amy's got low self-esteem anyway but her skin has made her want to hide away from the rest of the world. And we have started noticing more and more cuts on her arms."

"Her problems are pushing her over the edge and she's turning into a depressed recluse. It's not good for her to stay in so much. People try to get her to leave the house and tell her not to worry about what people say. But she'd rather sit around her dingy flat all day writing about death."

The source adds to the British paper The Sun that her music is "very, very dark but she produces some of her best music when she's in pain - and the past few months have been hell for her."

"She might have all this fame and wealth but she's never been so down as she is now."

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