Duffy is already a huge star in England, with both her album “Rockferry” (Mercury) and her single “Mercy” currently atop the charts there.
But the 23-year-old Welsh singer is still introducing herself to America and at her New York debut last week, she offered some confessions to explain her songs. “I fell in love once,” she says, introducing the lovely “Stepping Stone.” “And I never told him, so I wrote a song about it.”
Like much of “Rockferry,” “Stepping Stone” combines her distinctive, soulful vocals with a mix of ’60s R&B and a touch of rock. Duffy is the stylistic midpoint between Amy Winehouse and Corinne Bailey Rae - applying Winehouse-ish vocals to Bailey Rae’s sweeter sentiments.
Duffy has a bit of Dusty Springfield in her delivery in pretty, laid-back soul like “Warwick Avenue” and there’s a touch of Ronnie Spector (as well as Phil Spector production) in “Rockferry’s” title track and the closer “Distant Dreamer.” The gorgeous “Serious,” which she says is a lighthearted summertime song and “Mercy,” which sounds like a cross between Aretha Franklin’s “See Saw” and Winehouse’s “Rehab,” should end up making her a success on both sides of the Atlantic.
“Rockferry” isn’t set to arrive in America until May 13, but smart money would make Duffy, who’ll relaunch Universal’s Mercury label, a breakout star, as well as the early favorite in the best new artist Grammy category alongside British sensation Leona Lewis.
