Remember Duffy? The British soul singer rose to prominence in 2008 with her debut album, “Rockferry,” which featured the Billboard top-40 single “Mercy.” The album was a major success, peaking in the top five in the US and becoming the number-one album of the year in the UK. Those feats tend to attract a lot of awards attention, so it’s no surprise that Duffy was up for a couple of Grammys, ultimately winning the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. However, “Rockferry” wasn’t the typical winner, making Duffy’s road to victory much more interesting, and making the album one of the most special winners in that category’s history.
Duffy was partly a product of the soul renaissance of the mid-to-late 2000s, led by artists like Amy Winehouse. It would be unfair to categorize Duffy as just a Winehouse dupe, but the reality is that Winehouse was a success story many wanted to replicate. As such, when Winehouse ruled 2007 and took home four Grammys, it was clear that her impact would be felt in subsequent years.
“Rockferry” started its success with its title track, which was a minor hit in the UK. But the next single, “Mercy,” would be the song to truly kickstart Duffy mania. The track didn’t take long to hit the top spot on the UK charts and went on to peak at number-27 in the US. With her success and similarity to Winehouse, it was not a surprise that she nabbed Grammy nominations. “Rockferry” wasn’t the biggest album of the year in the US by any means (it peaked at number-four on the Billboard 200), but it was right up the Grammys’ alley. When nominations came around, Duffy was up for three awards, getting into Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (“Mercy”), and Best Pop Vocal Album.
“Mercy” faced competition with far greater commercial success in the US, like Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl,” Leona Lewis’s “Bleeding Love” and the eventual winner, Adele’s “Chasing Pavements.” However, she had a good shot at both Pop Vocal Album and especially Best New Artist. If you want to read more about the latter race, you can do so here, but suffice it to say that Adele’s exposure due to her “Saturday Night Live” gig likely helped her trump Duffy and win BNA.
However, to Duffy’s advantage, Adele’s “19” had been passed over for Best Pop Vocal Album. Duffy’s competition instead was quite diverse. James Taylor’s “Covers” was nominated; while it sold well (it also peaked at number-four), there was likely not that much passion to award a covers album. Also nominated was Sheryl Crow’s “Detours.” Crow had long been a Grammy favorite, but by 2008 her pull with the Recording Academy was quite limited. “Detours” produced no major hits or additional nominations, so it was unlikely to win; Crow wouldn’t be nominated again for 14 years. The Eagles’ “Long Road Out of Eden” was in the running; it was the bestseller in the category, moving over 700,000 copies in its first week. However, it was more country-rock than pop, and its lack of hit songs paired with criticism of the album’s rollout and marketing likely cost them the win.
The race was really between Duffy’s “Rockferry” and fellow Brit Leona Lewis’s “Spirit.” Both were debut albums by highly talented British vocalists, but while “Rockferry” was more soul inspired, “Spirit” featured more ballads and standard pop songs. Ultimately, it all came down to the Grammys’ particular taste and respect. It’s likely that voters saw in Duffy the potential for a longer-lasting career, hence why Lewis wasn’t even nominated for Best New Artist despite getting into Song and Record of the Year for “Bleeding Love.” Style also probably mattered: after Winehouse, being a British soul singer was a tried and true formula.
“Rockferry’s” victory was a sign that the Grammys care as much about substance as they do about sales. To this day it remains a unique Pop Vocal Album winner, unlike previous champs that tended to be loaded with pop radio smashes. And it’s hard to deny just how deserved the win was, all the more gratifying now knowing the unfortunate events that would force Duffy out of the spotlight in the years to come. Along with Winehouse, Adele and Lewis, Duffy clearly helped usher in a new wave of British sensations to the Grammys, a tradition that continues to this day with artists like Dua Lipa and Harry Styles making an impact with academy members. So while Duffy couldn’t win Best New Artist or Best Female Pop Performance due to Adele’s massive appeal, at least the win for “Rockferry” remains a great “thank you” for her contribution to the industry.
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