It’s a new year, and with it comes another British pop-soul diva to tempt us. You may recall that a very young Joss Stone turned up from out of nowhere (actually, the English midlands) a few years back, and under the guidance of soul legend Betty Wright she stole our hearts with a very authentic-sounding retro soul album. More recently there was Corinne Bailey Rae; I’m not going to comment on her since I haven’t heard that much of her music, but what I did hear wasn’t very appealing. The hugely popular Amy Winehouse is perhaps the biggest player in this particular sweepstakes. Now along comes Welsh songstress Duffy. My distaste for singers with one name is palpable, but can you blame me? Maybe you can come up with someone who’s deserving of praise, but please, don’t let it be Madonna or Cher. The only one I can think of who’s truly worthy is Dion, and he was doing it long before anyone else. Of course he had to contend with the likes of Fabian, so some things never change. Am I missing anyone? Sting? Not so much, thanks.

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