Duffy Latest to Give Motown a UK Twist

A 23-year-old Welsh singer is the latest in a wave of pop artists—female, British ones—to channel 1960s Motown, the Wall Street Journal reports. Duffy, who storms the US this week with TV talk-show appearances and a performance at the Apollo tonight, is already a hit across Europe, her soul sound coming on the heels of fellow Brit Amy Winehouse’s multi-platinum success.

Although Duffy’s music has a distinctly Aretha vibe, the small-town ingénue had never even heard the Supremes until recently, when the producers of her new album, Rockferry, gave her a Motown primer. The first time she listened to You Keep Me Hangin’ On, she says, “I thought I’d have a heart attack.” (More Duffy stories.)