Grammy Award-winner Duffy is making a slow return to the limelight.
The “Mercy” singer performed a secret gig in London’s Hoxton Hall on July 5th, six years after she revealed the horrific kidnapping ordeal that led to her departure from the public eye. The performance came after the singer, whose real name is Aimee Anne Duffy, 42, was spotted at Caffi Largo in Pwllheli, Wales, U.K., last month—her first public appearance since 2011.
Duffy performed in an intimate setting before a small crowd in Hoxton, reports the Daily Mail. On X, a fan praised the performance, writing, “I was just front row to experience Duffy performing Warwick Avenue live in 2026. I’m GAGGED! That voice is insane!”
The singer announced the gig herself last month, declaring her comeback in an Instagram story. “I’m doing a secret intimate gig in London on the 5th July… and I would love nothing more than for some of you to attend,” she wrote, adding a link for fans to sign up. Duffy said she would be singing “some new songs” for the exclusive audience.
Prior to her 16-year hiatus, Duffy experienced a meteoric rise in the pop scene in 2008, when her hits “Mercy” and “Warwick Avenue” climbed the charts, and the former topped the U.K. Singles Chart that year.
On Instagram in 2020, the award-winning artist publicly revealed a life-changing ordeal in which she was kidnapped and raped over the course of “some weeks.” Duffy then outlined what she went through on her website, telling fans that it took her a decade to recover but that she is now “free.”
In a brutally honest essay, she revealed horrific details of what she experienced, including fears that the perpetrator would kill her.
In March, Disney+ announced an upcoming documentary about the Welsh singer-songwriter, in which she is set to divulge her story in more detail. Angela Jain, Disney+’s head of content for EMEA, called it a “powerful project.”
“She has entrusted us with her story, so we really have a huge responsibility to handle this with care and sensitivity, because she’s speaking about what happened to her for the first time,” Jain said.
Duffy addressed her comeback with fans, writing in an emotional Instagram post, “If only I could find the right words to explain how much I’ve missed you all. Working on coming back to you. Duffy x.”
