Singer Duffy returns to the spotlight with new name after 'unfathomable experience'
Singer Duffy has changed her name ahead of her long-awaited comeback, 16 years in the making.
The now 41-year-old burst onto the scene in 2008 with her debut album Rockferry, but just three years later she withdrew from public life.
Ahead of her comeback, it has been revealed that the singer, born Aimée Anne Duffy, has opted for a fresh start and filed for an official name change.
Duffy has changed her name as she prepares to make a comeback after 16 years. Getty
Two years after she withdrew from public life, she changed her name to Duffy Jones.
Official documents filed with Companies House on June 14, 2013 detail the change.
The Mercy singer is gearing up for a comeback signing a deal with Disney+ for a feature-length documentary film, diving into her rise to fame, as well as her retreat from public life following the "unfathomable experience", and her recovery. The singer has also signed with TaP Management.
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The kidnapping and rape ordeal caused her to withdraw from public life. WireImage
The project aims to give fans "new, unprecedented access" to Duffy through interviews with her friends, family, and music peers.
The Welsh singer has previously opened up and claimed that her retreat from the public eye was due to her being kidnapped and raped by an unknown man for weeks.
In a lengthy statement shared on her website in April 2020 she recounted the incident.
Her debut album Rockferry in 2008 consisted of her smash hit, Mercy. A&M
Duffy said she had been heavily drugged at a restaurant on her birthday, and later in her own home over four weeks. She was also kidnapped and taken to a foreign country, where she was sexually abused in a hotel room.
The singer did not report the crime at the time out of fear that the perpetrator would "dispose" of her, though she had since let police know more details.
Duffy pictured in 2011. WireImage
The incident resulted in a great depression that she recounted thoroughly in the post.
"When the ordeal happened, it destabilised me so severely, it took years and years, around 90,000 hours. I sometimes didn't know how I could make it through, it was hard and almost impossible," she wrote at one point.
"But I got here, as will you."
She added that the incident even prompted her to look into changing her identity.
"I also considered and explored human rights laws to change my name off public record and disappear to another country and maybe become a florist or something, so that I could put the past behind with a new life," she penned.
Duffy was seen for the first time in years in 2025 as she promoted her new house music track and remix of her song. @emotion.hq/E.motion/tiktok
"Because, although I was almost unfindable, I daydreamed of having a different haircut, a new name, a boyfriend, and become completely forever forgotten," the post continued.
"As time went on it then became about realising, I can't keep hiding, as thrilling as coffee in Paris seems."
Attempts at a comeback for the singer have been taking place since 2018 and 2019, reports claim, but nothing has materialised until now.
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression, contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
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