Note: This article contains descriptions of alleged assault.
Welsh singer Duffy, best known for her 2008 hit “Mercy,” has released a new song. She shared “River in the Sky” earlier today (June 18) via her Instagram account, with the caption: “For the better days to come.” Hear “River in the Sky” below.
In March, Duffy shared a new, still officially unreleased song called “Something Beautiful” with BBC Radio 2’s Jo Whiley, who played it on her program.
Duffy’s last studio album was 2010’s Endlessly. She shared her most recent single “Whole Lot of Love” in 2015. That single had “Dear Heart” as its B-Side. In February, Duffy opened up about her absence from the public eye, stating that she was “raped and drugged and held captive over some days” in the past, and that the “recovery took time.”
Duffy later wrote a lengthy post on her website detailing the assault allegations. Duffy explained that her absence was a result of trauma caused by a kidnapping and rape. “Rape stripped me of my human rights, to experience a life with autonomy from fear,” she wrote. “It has already stolen one third my of life. Deep down I do know it would have been a shame and done such an immense disservice to my existence to just delete myself and forget what I had experienced in music publicly.” Duffy added that in the years following the incident, “the thought of recovering was almost impossible.”
“It took so long for me to speak because after I was raped and held captive, I fled,” she wrote. “I moved five times in the immediate three years after, never feeling safe from the rapist, I was on the run for so long. I found somewhere to live, the 5th house, it was not as confined as the other houses, where I grieved silently, in townhouses or apartments. This place I would spend solitary years to find the stability to recover, I had stopped running and relocating. I felt he could not find me in the 5th house, I felt safe. I feel safe now.” Find her full remarks here.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence and need to talk, we recommend these resources:
RAINN
https://rainn.org
1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
Crisis Text Line
https://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741