Endlessly (album)
Encyclopedia
Endlessly is the second studio album
by Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy
. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2010 by A&M Records
(under Polydor
) and in the United States on 7 December 2010 by Mercury Records
. Duffy worked almost exclusively with Albert Hammond Snr.
on the album, with all but one of the album's songs being written by Hammond and Duffy. Four of the songs received additional or co-production by Stuart Price
. Music is also provided by The Roots
and Questlove. Musically, the album follows the soul stylings of her first album Rockferry
(2008), although Duffy drew inspiration from a variety of other genres, including disco
and soft rock
, and was compared to pop
singers like Kylie Minogue
. It has been said that Duffy wrote the album in three weeks, although recording sessions lasted between 2009-2010.
The album received mixed reviews, with critics stating that Duffy faltered outside of her comfort zone, although it was called a "proper sophomore effort" and "Effortlessly", and was often compared to Rockferry, in terms of both commercial and critical performance. Vocally, Duffy's falsetto
and vibrato
were both criticised and praised, being called "delicious to some and cloying to others." Commercially, it did not replicate Duffy's success with her debut, reaching just number 72 on the US Billboard 200
. Nevertheless, Endlessly reached the top ten in Denmark, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It has been certified gold in three European countries thus far.
The first and only single
from Endlessly, titled "Well, Well, Well
", did not perform well on national charts, and was only a modest European success, reaching a peak of 37 on the European Hot 100 Singles chart and number 41 in the UK. The single features a rhythm section by United States hip hop
group The Roots
. Duffy promoted the album extensively throughout the world, performing on many television shows and conducting an array of print interviews. A live extended play
(EP) of songs from the album was released in Germany in 2011 and plans for a concert tour are listed as "coming soon" on Duffy's website. However, since releasing the album, it has been announced that Duffy is taking an extended break from the music industry to work on her third studio album, and the planned second single from Endlessly - "My Boy" - was cancelled, though a single mix of the title track was digitally released.
The album has sold around 200,000 copies worldwide.
under the mononym Duffy. Fueled by five successful singles including number-one hits "Mercy
" and "Warwick Avenue
", several successful concert tours and festival live performances, as well as an album re-release and several live extended play
s, the blue-eyed soul
album went on to be the best-selling album of 2008 in the UK. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry named it the fourth biggest seller worldwide of that year, having sold over six million copies in one year. With the album, Duffy became the first Welsh woman to top the UK Singles Chart
in over 25 years, and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
at the American 51st Annual Grammy Awards
, as well as three BRIT Awards. Following the release of the album's final single, "Rain on Your Parade
" in November 2009, Duffy began work on her second album, aiming to enlist the help of different producers from Rockferry, aiming to create a different sound than she had previously used.
In late January 2010 Rough Trade Management, who with Jeanette Lee had managed Duffy throughout the course of Rockferrys release, announced that they and the singer had parted amicably with the company. Duffy's new management said that "professional relationship between Duffy and Rough Trade management has run its course." Duffy was quoted by Billboard
as saying "It just felt as though the relationship [with Lee] had run its course, [as] what we had set out to do, we'd done—I was developed, established, and I had to think: 'OK, so what now?'". Duffy was then represented by Angela Becker of London-based Becker Brown Management. That same month, one Billboard article reported on the development of the record, being the first to reveal that Duffy was working with "veteran songwriter" Albert Hammond
as well as The Roots
drummer Questlove. The magazine stated that the material it had heard "feels like it was born in 1963 and is much in the vein of the Dusty Springfield-inspired soul [...] [on] Rockferry".
The album was primarily recorded at recording studio
s MSR Studios NYC, Cake Studio, British Grove Studios
and the Sotogrande Studios in New York, London and Spain over the course of three weeks, although sessions took place throughout 2009 and 2010. Duffy had formed a songwriting partnership with Albert Hammond for the record, which resulted in nine of the ten final songs released being written, composed and produced by Duffy and Hammond together. Duffy talked to MusicOMH
about her collaboration with Hammond, saying,
Aside from her partnership with Hammond, Duffy also forged collaborative efforts with other musicians who she felt reflected the sound change she was aiming for, including hip hop group The Roots
. Duffy said in an interview that their involvement would be limited to "a rhythm section" going on to say "if you know The Roots you will know just how cool [that] is. I love them and they are so cool."
Billboard reported in November later that year that Duffy had experimented with a new dance sound, confirming that neither Bernard Butler
nor Steve Booker
, who produced the bulk of Duffy's debut album, Rockferry
, had returned for the record. The magazine said that highlights of the album included what it called the "funk
-fueled" "My Boy", disco
-esque "Lovestruck" and string-fueled pop of "Keeping My Baby".
Endlessly consists of ten songs which take influence from a variety of genres across different musical spectrums. Allmusic said that the album is "Pop/Rock
", noting that the album contained around six different styles within the genre itself. The album's reviewer for that site noted that Endlessly marked a transition from "Dusty Springfield
-like ingenue" on Rockferry to "Kylie Minogue
-ish diva". This point of view was echoed by several other reviewers. Inkeeping with this, Endlessly was said to have experimented with a new dance sound, "rigorously maintain[ing] a 1:1 ratio between dance tracks and ballads". The album's first single, "Well, Well, Well", was said to have achieved this particularly well, as it emulates "a sassier, brassier Duffy". Uncut
noted that the album could be split into two halves according to the "opposing moods" it contains–"saucy, sexed-up spin[s] around the dancefloor" and "soaring, superior ballads".
" at her mum’s funeral. I now realise my lyric comes from seeing my friend at the school disco, shaking, her face in her hands, while the other kids were smooching to this song". The following track, "Keeping My Baby" was written in a similar way, as Duffy only released the song is about the fact that "one aunt told her she’d end up a single mother on benefits", as it is "sung from the point of view of a pregnant girl". "Too Hurt to Dance" was called a "grand glitterball ballad
", in contrast to the disco music displayed in "Keeping My Baby", which again received comparisons to the music of Minogue.
Single "Well, Well, Well" is followed by three downtempo
ballads, called "the kind of songs you wouldn’t want to listen to at all: the lyrics are boring at best and completely cliché at worst" by one reviewer. The first, "Don't Forsake Me" is a torch song
that was frequently compared to "Too Hurt to Dance" due to its lyrics about heartache. The song follows the retro
sound Duffy had been previously known for and was called "indebted to the pre-Beatles
era". It was received negatively for "paint[ing] too much of a resemblance" to "Warwick Avenue
". The title song, which follows, is a love song
that was again said to contain 1950s music
references. The song features vinyl
sounds and is sung to the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar
. The final song in the trio of ballads is "Breath Away", a 1960s-inspired ballad about love. Contactmusic.com
implied that the song is boring, saying that "[it] hardly does anything to take our breath away", although it was said to "showcase" her vocal talents.
Endlessly continues with two more up-tempo songs with a dance-orientated sound: "Lovestruck" and "Girl".
outlets in the UK, with a physical CD
to be released the following day. It was also announced that the Endlesslys first single "Well, Well, Well
" would be released one week prior. Mercury Records
president David Massey said of the album's release, "Her fans will see it as a natural evolution of her last record. The strength of the record, the fan base that she has already adopted and the opportunity to have multiple singles means we can go further with this record than the last." Fifteen seconds of "Well, Well, Well" were released onto the internet in anticipation of its release, whilst the song leaked in full in October 2010. The title track, "Endlessly", was made available for download before the album's release in North America after it was made available for streaming online, and a "single mix" of the track also came to fruition. The album was released in Germany on 26 November 2010 by both Polydor and Universal Music
, and in the United States by Mercury Records
on 7 December. The Japanese release, scheduled for 2011, was expected to include bonus tracks.
The album's cover and its associated promotional images were shot by photographer Lachlan Bailey. The cover image itself is cropped from a larger version, in which Duffy is seen to be in a cafe holding a coffee cup. Sputnik Music said that "the crimson themed cover will draw in curious listeners one after another" and that it "can be nice to stare at". musicOMH
was more negative, saying that it "looks like it ought to be adorning the latest Littlewoods
catalogue", noting that it did not fit with Duffy's plan to "move her sound away from the middle of the road."
, which assigns a normalised
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 59, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". John Bush from Allmusic, giving the album three stars, stated that the album did not have "anything close to the power and elegance of Rockferry." Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly commended her choice to collaborate with Albert Hammond, stating that he was able to bring out "her inner pop star" on the record. Maerz noted "Lovestruck" and "Girl" were amongst her favourite tracks. Will Dean of The Guardian
held a similar position, in one of the more positive reviews for the album arguing that "Albert Hammond's production [...] make[s] the LP a pleasant listen." Similarly, a BBC
reviewer praised the "rich, crisp production values" but ended by saying it is "too slight and uneven to impress unconditionally" and that Hammond's collaboration with Duffy "reaps only minor rewards." Rolling Stone
called the collection "tasteful, well-made and kind of dull." Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine, giving the album one and a half stars out of five, said that "after 10 tracks of Endlessly, I was just begging her to stop", referencing her earlier hit "Mercy
".
However, some critics were more positive towards the album. Okayplayer noted that the songs "capture a retro American sound reminiscent of sock hops and drive-ins so subtly, that the album could have been called Effortlessly." Uncut
said that it is "sharp, commercially astute pop music" that is "cool and clever without being contrived." Ann Powers of The Los Angeles Times notes that Duffy "tries several different ways to celebrate her unique talents without abandoning the vintage settings that won her such acclaim", calling the lead single a "reggae-tinged rocker" and complementing the return to Rockferry-like Northern Soul
on tracks like "Too Hurt to Dance." However, she goes on to write that "Duffy has said she wrote the songs in a mere three weeks, and it shows."
Many were critical about Duffy's voice on the record. John Bush of Allmusic said that "Duffy's voice [...] has not improved with age, or simply isn't portrayed well here." He goes on to say that it is "clearly not her most potent weapon", criticising her choice to "build an album out of it." Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine said that "the bigger problem with Endlessly is that Duffy compensates for her lack of a star persona by overdrawing her syrupy rasp, already noted for its acquired tastiness, into a cartoonish oddity." Spin
noted that ultimately, it's the vocals that carry Endlessly. There's no whitewashing of the singer's eccentricities, which feel more pronounced here—she can be gruffly nasal (the oft-repeated chorus of "Well, Well, Well
" never stops sounding like "whale, whale, whale") while remaining wholly beguiling." However, Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone, Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly and Will Dean of The Guardian were more complementary, with Dean calling it "beautiful" and "sweet" and Rosen applauding it for being "smoky and touched with grit." Ann Powers of The Los Angeles Times said that her voice is "delicious to some and cloying to others." Duffy was compared to several female pop
singers such as Kylie Minogue
, Debbie Harry
of Blondie
and Madonna
.
in what Billboard called a "somewhat muted entry" the following week (11 December 2010) at number nine, which would go on to be its peak on the chart. The following week, it fell to number 19 and then number 25, where it remained for two weeks. It spent a total of 15 weeks in the top 100, spending its last week on the chart at number 75 on 19 March 2011.
The album also performed well in Europe, reaching the top ten in Denmark, Sweden (number four), the Netherlands, Finland (number nine) and Switzerland (number 10), as well as on the German Digital Albums Chart
. Endlessly performed best in Denmark, where it reached a peak of number two on the Danish Albums Chart
, spending 13 weeks on the top 40. The album also spent 24 weeks on the Dutch Albums Chart
, but reached only a peak of number six. It has since been certified gold in Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, indicating sales of 10,000, 20,000 and 15,000 respectively.
Elsewhere, the album entered and peaked on the Irish Albums Chart
at number 27 on 3 December 2010. This peak was equalled on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart
, although the album performed moderately better in New Zealand, where it reached number 19 on the RIANZ Albums Chart, spending six weeks on its top 40. In the United States, Endlessly debuted and peaked at number 72 on the Billboard 200
, with first-week sales of 18,000 copies. The album performed better digitally
, reaching number 23 on Billboards Digital Albums chart.
Media outlets worldwide reported the relative commercial failure of the album. The BBC
reported that it had "failed to make the top five", comparing it to the success of Rockferry as "the best-selling album in the UK in 2008." In one article, Orange, calling Duffy a "Welsh one-album wonder
" said that "it must have been a kick in the teeth when Duffy's second album [...] charted at an underwhelming No.9. Not least for her record label A&M, who have gone under after throwing large amounts of cash". The article went on to say that the commercial failure was a result of Duffy's adamance "[the album] was released before Christmas". British tabloid newspaper the Daily Mirror reported that Duffy would quit music as Endlessly "didn't sell well and charted terribly and she isn't trying again and making a comeback." The article was repeated by many news outlets and music publications worldwide. The BBC once again reported Rockferrys success as "the top international seller of 2008", noting that Endlessly had "sold very poorly".
Duffy promoted the album by appearing on various television programmes worldwide throughout the latter stages of 2010 and early 2011, often performing songs featured on the tracklisting of Endlessly, occasionally together with songs from Rockferry
. A&M Records
' Orla Lee noted that the campaign would focus around "major TV moments", continuing "The thing with Duffy is it's about the voice," she adds. "Live, you really see that." Duffy's first live performance for Endlessly took place on the UK's Later Live... with Jools Holland on October 19, 2010, where she performed single "Well, Well, Well
" as well as album track "Endlessly", opening and closing the show, respectively. Two days later, on October 21, 2010, Duffy performed an "Album Showcase" at the Café de Paris
in London
. Fans of Duffy's could enter a competition to win tickets to the show and members of the press were invited to preview songs from Endlessly. The Guardian
reported a six-piece band and "string sections [...] crammed on to a balcony, adding cute choreographed handclaps." The News of the World
, giving the performance five stars out of five, reported that "Duffy previews six new songs and she exudes star quality [...] Looking stunning in a sheer black dress slashed to the thigh, Duffy has a pre-rock 'n' roll glamour on timeless ballad "Too Hurt To Dance" before her first disco- tastic songs, "Lovestruck" and "My Boy"". Yahoo! Music
said that Duffy's vocals "resonate with the warbling vibrato of someone far beyond her 26 years". Live visual recordings of seven of the songs performed at the show were later released as music video
s to promote the album. The following month, she later visited the set of Strictly Come Dancing
to perform "Well, Well, Well" on November 21, 2010 complete with backing dancers and background specially assembled for the broadcast. The performance coincided with the release of the song to digital outlets that day. The same week, Duffy was interviewed and performed on breakfast show This Morning
as well as light news and entertainment programmes The One Show
and T4
. In December, Duffy returned to the UK to perform at Capital FM
's Jingle Bell Ball
, where she performed three songs including a cover of Mariah Carey
's "All I Want for Christmas Is You". Later that month, Duffy returned to the Strictly Come Dancing series eight
finale on 20 December 2010 to perform "Mercy
" from Rockferry. The Guardian
said that "Duffy wanted all attention on her genius arm-flinging dance."
Internationally, Duffy made several appearances in many countries, especially in the United States. Duffy performed a similar concert to her previous "album showcase" in the UK at The Roxy Theatre
in Hollywood, California. Mercury Records
invited fans to enter a competition to win tickets for the event. The Hollywood Reporter
said that there was a 13-piece band and that Duffy performed five songs from Endlessly, saying that "progress sounds so good". She later performed another showcase to a private audience in New York City
on November 3, 2010 at the P.C. Richard & Son Theater for Iheartradio
. The performance included a cover of the Freda Payne
song "Band of Gold
". Duffy made an appearance "beautifully croon[ing]" "Well, Well, Well" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
on 4 November 2010. Later that week, Duffy sang "Endlessly" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
. Duffy later performed "Well, Well, Well" on American daily talkshow The Ellen DeGeneres Show
on 7 December 2010 (the day of Endlesslys American release). Duffy was backed by a complete brass section. Idolator
said that "we never really tire of watching the blonde Grammy winner belt out this tale of suspicious love". Duffy made a further performance on The Today Show
where she performed "Endlessly". Duffy also played an "intimate acoustic set" at the offices of Rolling Stone
in America, performing "Well, Well, Well" and album track "Don't Forsake Me". The appearance also included an interview and showcased "the integral role that an empty beer bottle plays in ["Well, Well, Well"'s] arrangement".
Outside of the UK and the United States, Duffy's record label revealed plans for the singer to visit Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Spain before the end of 2010. In Germany, Duffy performed "Well, Well, Well" on TV total Turmspringen, and Popstars
and in France on Le Grand Journal
. Duffy appeared alongside fellow British soul singer Adele
on the finale of The Voice of Holland
on the evening of 21 January 2011, singing "Well, Well, Well". She also performed a duet of "Warwick Avenue
" with finalist Ben Saunders
, who later won the programme.
Television adverts for Endlessly were released in territories worldwide in different languages. Although an international concert tour was expected, and despite tour dates listed as "coming soon" on her website, and Billboard reporting that "European and U.S. dates are expected in early 2011", this never materialised.
" was released as the album's lead single
worldwide in October 2010. It was the album's only commercially-released single, reaching peaks of number 41 on the UK Singles Chart
and 37 on the European Hot 100 Singles chart. In mainland Europe, it managed to chart in the top twenty in Finland, Belgium and Switzerland, reaching number 11 in the former. A music video
was filmed in Oxford
and directed by Chris Cottam to complement the release. The single was promoted extensively as part of a campaign of "major TV moments", taking in the UK, the United States as well as seven countries around Europe in 2010 and 2011. Although praised by many, some thought that it "is possibly the weakest of the new tunes." A single mix of "Endlessly" was released as a promotional single and was available for download from the album prior to Endlesslys release in North America only.
A second full single release was planned for the songs "Endlessly", "Keeping My Baby" and finally "My Boy" in 2011, and a music video
was filmed for the latter in February 2011. A clip of the prospective B-side to the "My Boy" release, "Tell Me", was released on the internet and a single edit of "My Boy" was produced for the release by Tom Elmhirst
. The release was scheduled for 13 March 2011 in the UK. However, the single was removed from pre-order on digital outlets and the release was cancelled following Duffy's announcement of a career hiatus. The song's music video or B-side have not been released.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2010 by A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
(under Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
) and in the United States on 7 December 2010 by Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
. Duffy worked almost exclusively with Albert Hammond Snr.
Albert Hammond
Albert Hammond OBE is a British singer, songwriter and record producer from Gibraltar.-Birth and early success:Hammond was born in London, England, where his family had been evacuated to from Gibraltar during World War II. His family returned to Gibraltar shortly after his birth, and there he grew...
on the album, with all but one of the album's songs being written by Hammond and Duffy. Four of the songs received additional or co-production by Stuart Price
Stuart Price
Stuart Price is a three time Grammy-winning British electronic musician, songwriter, and record producer whose remixing and production skills are in demand by artists including New Order, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Missy Elliott, Scissor Sisters, The Killers, Pet Shop Boys, Brandon...
. Music is also provided by The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
and Questlove. Musically, the album follows the soul stylings of her first album Rockferry
Rockferry
Rockferry is the debut studio album by Welsh blue-eyed soul singer Duffy, released on 3 March 2008 in the United Kingdom by A&M Records. It was released in the United States by Mercury Records. Duffy worked with several producers and writers on the album, including Bernard Butler, Steve Booker,...
(2008), although Duffy drew inspiration from a variety of other genres, including disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
and soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
, and was compared to pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singers like Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
. It has been said that Duffy wrote the album in three weeks, although recording sessions lasted between 2009-2010.
The album received mixed reviews, with critics stating that Duffy faltered outside of her comfort zone, although it was called a "proper sophomore effort" and "Effortlessly", and was often compared to Rockferry, in terms of both commercial and critical performance. Vocally, Duffy's falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
and vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
were both criticised and praised, being called "delicious to some and cloying to others." Commercially, it did not replicate Duffy's success with her debut, reaching just number 72 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. Nevertheless, Endlessly reached the top ten in Denmark, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It has been certified gold in three European countries thus far.
The first and only single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from Endlessly, titled "Well, Well, Well
Well, Well, Well (Duffy song)
"Well, Well, Well" is the lead single Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy's second studio album Endlessly , and the second single released was 'My Boy'. It is unknown if any more singles are to be released from the Endlessly Album. Well, Well, Well was Written and produced by Duffy and Albert Hammond, it...
", did not perform well on national charts, and was only a modest European success, reaching a peak of 37 on the European Hot 100 Singles chart and number 41 in the UK. The single features a rhythm section by United States hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
. Duffy promoted the album extensively throughout the world, performing on many television shows and conducting an array of print interviews. A live extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
(EP) of songs from the album was released in Germany in 2011 and plans for a concert tour are listed as "coming soon" on Duffy's website. However, since releasing the album, it has been announced that Duffy is taking an extended break from the music industry to work on her third studio album, and the planned second single from Endlessly - "My Boy" - was cancelled, though a single mix of the title track was digitally released.
The album has sold around 200,000 copies worldwide.
Background, recording and conception
In March 2008, Welsh singer Aimée Ann Duffy released her debut studio album, RockferryRockferry
Rockferry is the debut studio album by Welsh blue-eyed soul singer Duffy, released on 3 March 2008 in the United Kingdom by A&M Records. It was released in the United States by Mercury Records. Duffy worked with several producers and writers on the album, including Bernard Butler, Steve Booker,...
under the mononym Duffy. Fueled by five successful singles including number-one hits "Mercy
Mercy (song)
"Mercy" is a soul song performed by Welsh blue-eyed soul singer Duffy, released as the second single from her debut album, Rockferry . Co-written by Duffy and Steve Booker and produced by Booker, it was released over 2008 worldwide to critical acclaim and unprecedented chart success...
" and "Warwick Avenue
Warwick Avenue (song)
"Warwick Avenue" is the third single from the album Rockferry by Duffy. The title refers to Warwick Avenue tube station in London. It was written by Jimmy Hogarth, Eg White, and Duffy and produced by Hogarth. It was released in May 2008, but had already charted by March and April due to download...
", several successful concert tours and festival live performances, as well as an album re-release and several live extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s, the blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul is a media term that was used to describe rhythm and blues and soul music performed by white artists, with a strong pop music influence. The term was first used in the mid-1960s to describe white artists who performed soul and R&B that was similar to the music of the Motown and...
album went on to be the best-selling album of 2008 in the UK. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry named it the fourth biggest seller worldwide of that year, having sold over six million copies in one year. With the album, Duffy became the first Welsh woman to top the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in over 25 years, and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop music albums...
at the American 51st Annual Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
, as well as three BRIT Awards. Following the release of the album's final single, "Rain on Your Parade
Rain on Your Parade
"Rain on Your Parade" is a song by Welsh recording artist Duffy from her debut studio album, Rockferry. Written by Duffy and Steve Booker, the song was released as the first single from the album's deluxe edition, and fifth overall, on 9 February 2009, by A&M Records...
" in November 2009, Duffy began work on her second album, aiming to enlist the help of different producers from Rockferry, aiming to create a different sound than she had previously used.
In late January 2010 Rough Trade Management, who with Jeanette Lee had managed Duffy throughout the course of Rockferrys release, announced that they and the singer had parted amicably with the company. Duffy's new management said that "professional relationship between Duffy and Rough Trade management has run its course." Duffy was quoted by Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
as saying "It just felt as though the relationship [with Lee] had run its course, [as] what we had set out to do, we'd done—I was developed, established, and I had to think: 'OK, so what now?'". Duffy was then represented by Angela Becker of London-based Becker Brown Management. That same month, one Billboard article reported on the development of the record, being the first to reveal that Duffy was working with "veteran songwriter" Albert Hammond
Albert Hammond
Albert Hammond OBE is a British singer, songwriter and record producer from Gibraltar.-Birth and early success:Hammond was born in London, England, where his family had been evacuated to from Gibraltar during World War II. His family returned to Gibraltar shortly after his birth, and there he grew...
as well as The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
drummer Questlove. The magazine stated that the material it had heard "feels like it was born in 1963 and is much in the vein of the Dusty Springfield-inspired soul [...] [on] Rockferry".
The album was primarily recorded at recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
s MSR Studios NYC, Cake Studio, British Grove Studios
British Grove Studios
British Grove Studios is a recording studio located at 20 British Grove in Chiswick, West London, owned by musician Mark Knopfler.British Grove Studios was built by Mark Knopfler as "a monument to past and future technology". It has two studios...
and the Sotogrande Studios in New York, London and Spain over the course of three weeks, although sessions took place throughout 2009 and 2010. Duffy had formed a songwriting partnership with Albert Hammond for the record, which resulted in nine of the ten final songs released being written, composed and produced by Duffy and Hammond together. Duffy talked to MusicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
about her collaboration with Hammond, saying,
"It was good for me, because I really needed to prove to myself that I didn't get lucky. I needed to put pen to paper and see that I could do it all again, to see that it was easy for me, and I have to admit it was so reassuring. Albert and I wrote all these songs, about 25 songs in 12 days, pouring out of me. I needed that connection again, with what it is you know me for! I think he was quite fascinated with me, because he'd been introduced to me as a fan. He saw me on American television, and approached me appreciating what I did. He didn't treat me like an unknown, trying to tell me what he thought was best for me. Instead he met me as somebody established, and so it was like he instilled me with lots of faith and belief in myself, that I was good at what I did! Because he appreciated what I did, he encouraged me to bring out the best in myself."
Aside from her partnership with Hammond, Duffy also forged collaborative efforts with other musicians who she felt reflected the sound change she was aiming for, including hip hop group The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
. Duffy said in an interview that their involvement would be limited to "a rhythm section" going on to say "if you know The Roots you will know just how cool [that] is. I love them and they are so cool."
Billboard reported in November later that year that Duffy had experimented with a new dance sound, confirming that neither Bernard Butler
Bernard Butler
Bernard Joseph Butler is an English musician and record producer. He first emerged in the early Britpop era with Suede. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation, as well as one of Britain's most original and influential guitarists...
nor Steve Booker
Steve Booker (producer)
Steve Booker is an award-winning British music producer and songwriter best known for "Mercy", "Stepping Stone" and "Rain on Your Parade", three hits he produced and co-wrote for Duffy's Brit and Grammy award winning debut album "Rockferry"...
, who produced the bulk of Duffy's debut album, Rockferry
Rockferry
Rockferry is the debut studio album by Welsh blue-eyed soul singer Duffy, released on 3 March 2008 in the United Kingdom by A&M Records. It was released in the United States by Mercury Records. Duffy worked with several producers and writers on the album, including Bernard Butler, Steve Booker,...
, had returned for the record. The magazine said that highlights of the album included what it called the "funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
-fueled" "My Boy", disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
-esque "Lovestruck" and string-fueled pop of "Keeping My Baby".
Style
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
", noting that the album contained around six different styles within the genre itself. The album's reviewer for that site noted that Endlessly marked a transition from "Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
-like ingenue" on Rockferry to "Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
-ish diva". This point of view was echoed by several other reviewers. Inkeeping with this, Endlessly was said to have experimented with a new dance sound, "rigorously maintain[ing] a 1:1 ratio between dance tracks and ballads". The album's first single, "Well, Well, Well", was said to have achieved this particularly well, as it emulates "a sassier, brassier Duffy". Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
noted that the album could be split into two halves according to the "opposing moods" it contains–"saucy, sexed-up spin[s] around the dancefloor" and "soaring, superior ballads".
Songs
The album's opening song, "My Boy", which opens to crowd noise, was said to be "one of the few songs to sound as though it emerged from the 21st century", referring to the "classic girl group sound" seen on Endlessly. It was said to be a combination of the two aforementioned styles. "Too Hurt to Dance" was subconsciously written about Duffy's friend who "lost her mum aged ten". Duffy continued, "she told me they played "Unchained MelodyUnchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....
" at her mum’s funeral. I now realise my lyric comes from seeing my friend at the school disco, shaking, her face in her hands, while the other kids were smooching to this song". The following track, "Keeping My Baby" was written in a similar way, as Duffy only released the song is about the fact that "one aunt told her she’d end up a single mother on benefits", as it is "sung from the point of view of a pregnant girl". "Too Hurt to Dance" was called a "grand glitterball ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
", in contrast to the disco music displayed in "Keeping My Baby", which again received comparisons to the music of Minogue.
Single "Well, Well, Well" is followed by three downtempo
Downtempo
Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
ballads, called "the kind of songs you wouldn’t want to listen to at all: the lyrics are boring at best and completely cliché at worst" by one reviewer. The first, "Don't Forsake Me" is a torch song
Torch song
A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affected the relationship...
that was frequently compared to "Too Hurt to Dance" due to its lyrics about heartache. The song follows the retro
Retro
Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...
sound Duffy had been previously known for and was called "indebted to the pre-Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
era". It was received negatively for "paint[ing] too much of a resemblance" to "Warwick Avenue
Warwick Avenue (song)
"Warwick Avenue" is the third single from the album Rockferry by Duffy. The title refers to Warwick Avenue tube station in London. It was written by Jimmy Hogarth, Eg White, and Duffy and produced by Hogarth. It was released in May 2008, but had already charted by March and April due to download...
". The title song, which follows, is a love song
Love song
A love song is about falling in love and the feelings it brings. Anthologies of love songs often contain a mixture of both of these types of song. A bawdy song is both humorous and saucy, emphasizing the physical pleasure of love rather than the emotional joy...
that was again said to contain 1950s music
1950s in music
For music from a year in the 1950s, go to 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1950s....
references. The song features vinyl
Vinyl
A vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group ,which are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...
sounds and is sung to the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
. The final song in the trio of ballads is "Breath Away", a 1960s-inspired ballad about love. Contactmusic.com
Contactmusic.com
Contactmusic.com is a Leeds UK based entertainment magazine/webzine. The site was launched in April 2000 by a small team and has now expanded to 12 fulltime staff and many freelance contributors from across the globe...
implied that the song is boring, saying that "[it] hardly does anything to take our breath away", although it was said to "showcase" her vocal talents.
Endlessly continues with two more up-tempo songs with a dance-orientated sound: "Lovestruck" and "Girl".
Release and artwork
On 16 September 2010, Duffy announced the release of the album, set for 28 November 2010 to digitalMusic download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
outlets in the UK, with a physical CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
to be released the following day. It was also announced that the Endlesslys first single "Well, Well, Well
Well, Well, Well (Duffy song)
"Well, Well, Well" is the lead single Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy's second studio album Endlessly , and the second single released was 'My Boy'. It is unknown if any more singles are to be released from the Endlessly Album. Well, Well, Well was Written and produced by Duffy and Albert Hammond, it...
" would be released one week prior. Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
president David Massey said of the album's release, "Her fans will see it as a natural evolution of her last record. The strength of the record, the fan base that she has already adopted and the opportunity to have multiple singles means we can go further with this record than the last." Fifteen seconds of "Well, Well, Well" were released onto the internet in anticipation of its release, whilst the song leaked in full in October 2010. The title track, "Endlessly", was made available for download before the album's release in North America after it was made available for streaming online, and a "single mix" of the track also came to fruition. The album was released in Germany on 26 November 2010 by both Polydor and Universal Music
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
, and in the United States by Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
on 7 December. The Japanese release, scheduled for 2011, was expected to include bonus tracks.
The album's cover and its associated promotional images were shot by photographer Lachlan Bailey. The cover image itself is cropped from a larger version, in which Duffy is seen to be in a cafe holding a coffee cup. Sputnik Music said that "the crimson themed cover will draw in curious listeners one after another" and that it "can be nice to stare at". musicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
was more negative, saying that it "looks like it ought to be adorning the latest Littlewoods
Littlewoods
Littlewoods is the name of a former retail and gambling company founded in Liverpool, Merseyside, England by John Moores in 1923.It started as a shopping catalogue company, processing orders by post in the early 1970s. In 1981, it expanded to a call centre, processing orders via telephone. At its...
catalogue", noting that it did not fit with Duffy's plan to "move her sound away from the middle of the road."
Critical reception
Upon its release, Endlessly received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalised
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 59, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". John Bush from Allmusic, giving the album three stars, stated that the album did not have "anything close to the power and elegance of Rockferry." Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly commended her choice to collaborate with Albert Hammond, stating that he was able to bring out "her inner pop star" on the record. Maerz noted "Lovestruck" and "Girl" were amongst her favourite tracks. Will Dean of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
held a similar position, in one of the more positive reviews for the album arguing that "Albert Hammond's production [...] make[s] the LP a pleasant listen." Similarly, a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reviewer praised the "rich, crisp production values" but ended by saying it is "too slight and uneven to impress unconditionally" and that Hammond's collaboration with Duffy "reaps only minor rewards." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
called the collection "tasteful, well-made and kind of dull." Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine, giving the album one and a half stars out of five, said that "after 10 tracks of Endlessly, I was just begging her to stop", referencing her earlier hit "Mercy
Mercy (song)
"Mercy" is a soul song performed by Welsh blue-eyed soul singer Duffy, released as the second single from her debut album, Rockferry . Co-written by Duffy and Steve Booker and produced by Booker, it was released over 2008 worldwide to critical acclaim and unprecedented chart success...
".
However, some critics were more positive towards the album. Okayplayer noted that the songs "capture a retro American sound reminiscent of sock hops and drive-ins so subtly, that the album could have been called Effortlessly." Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
said that it is "sharp, commercially astute pop music" that is "cool and clever without being contrived." Ann Powers of The Los Angeles Times notes that Duffy "tries several different ways to celebrate her unique talents without abandoning the vintage settings that won her such acclaim", calling the lead single a "reggae-tinged rocker" and complementing the return to Rockferry-like Northern Soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
on tracks like "Too Hurt to Dance." However, she goes on to write that "Duffy has said she wrote the songs in a mere three weeks, and it shows."
Many were critical about Duffy's voice on the record. John Bush of Allmusic said that "Duffy's voice [...] has not improved with age, or simply isn't portrayed well here." He goes on to say that it is "clearly not her most potent weapon", criticising her choice to "build an album out of it." Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine said that "the bigger problem with Endlessly is that Duffy compensates for her lack of a star persona by overdrawing her syrupy rasp, already noted for its acquired tastiness, into a cartoonish oddity." Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
noted that ultimately, it's the vocals that carry Endlessly. There's no whitewashing of the singer's eccentricities, which feel more pronounced here—she can be gruffly nasal (the oft-repeated chorus of "Well, Well, Well
Well, Well, Well (Duffy song)
"Well, Well, Well" is the lead single Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy's second studio album Endlessly , and the second single released was 'My Boy'. It is unknown if any more singles are to be released from the Endlessly Album. Well, Well, Well was Written and produced by Duffy and Albert Hammond, it...
" never stops sounding like "whale, whale, whale") while remaining wholly beguiling." However, Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone, Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly and Will Dean of The Guardian were more complementary, with Dean calling it "beautiful" and "sweet" and Rosen applauding it for being "smoky and touched with grit." Ann Powers of The Los Angeles Times said that her voice is "delicious to some and cloying to others." Duffy was compared to several female pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singers such as Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, Debbie Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
of Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
and Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
.
Commercial performance
Endlessly was physically released on 29 November 2010 in the United Kingdom (UK), and entered the UK Albums ChartUK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
in what Billboard called a "somewhat muted entry" the following week (11 December 2010) at number nine, which would go on to be its peak on the chart. The following week, it fell to number 19 and then number 25, where it remained for two weeks. It spent a total of 15 weeks in the top 100, spending its last week on the chart at number 75 on 19 March 2011.
The album also performed well in Europe, reaching the top ten in Denmark, Sweden (number four), the Netherlands, Finland (number nine) and Switzerland (number 10), as well as on the German Digital Albums Chart
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
. Endlessly performed best in Denmark, where it reached a peak of number two on the Danish Albums Chart
IFPI Denmark
IFPI Denmark is the Danish branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Denmark.-Gold and platinum awards:...
, spending 13 weeks on the top 40. The album also spent 24 weeks on the Dutch Albums Chart
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
, but reached only a peak of number six. It has since been certified gold in Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, indicating sales of 10,000, 20,000 and 15,000 respectively.
Elsewhere, the album entered and peaked on the Irish Albums Chart
Irish Albums Chart
The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically...
at number 27 on 3 December 2010. This peak was equalled on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
, although the album performed moderately better in New Zealand, where it reached number 19 on the RIANZ Albums Chart, spending six weeks on its top 40. In the United States, Endlessly debuted and peaked at number 72 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, with first-week sales of 18,000 copies. The album performed better digitally
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
, reaching number 23 on Billboards Digital Albums chart.
Media outlets worldwide reported the relative commercial failure of the album. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reported that it had "failed to make the top five", comparing it to the success of Rockferry as "the best-selling album in the UK in 2008." In one article, Orange, calling Duffy a "Welsh one-album wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
" said that "it must have been a kick in the teeth when Duffy's second album [...] charted at an underwhelming No.9. Not least for her record label A&M, who have gone under after throwing large amounts of cash". The article went on to say that the commercial failure was a result of Duffy's adamance "[the album] was released before Christmas". British tabloid newspaper the Daily Mirror reported that Duffy would quit music as Endlessly "didn't sell well and charted terribly and she isn't trying again and making a comeback." The article was repeated by many news outlets and music publications worldwide. The BBC once again reported Rockferrys success as "the top international seller of 2008", noting that Endlessly had "sold very poorly".
Promotion
| Duffy's "album showcase" UK setlist |
|---|
|
Duffy promoted the album by appearing on various television programmes worldwide throughout the latter stages of 2010 and early 2011, often performing songs featured on the tracklisting of Endlessly, occasionally together with songs from Rockferry
Rockferry
Rockferry is the debut studio album by Welsh blue-eyed soul singer Duffy, released on 3 March 2008 in the United Kingdom by A&M Records. It was released in the United States by Mercury Records. Duffy worked with several producers and writers on the album, including Bernard Butler, Steve Booker,...
. A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
' Orla Lee noted that the campaign would focus around "major TV moments", continuing "The thing with Duffy is it's about the voice," she adds. "Live, you really see that." Duffy's first live performance for Endlessly took place on the UK's Later Live... with Jools Holland on October 19, 2010, where she performed single "Well, Well, Well
Well, Well, Well (Duffy song)
"Well, Well, Well" is the lead single Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy's second studio album Endlessly , and the second single released was 'My Boy'. It is unknown if any more singles are to be released from the Endlessly Album. Well, Well, Well was Written and produced by Duffy and Albert Hammond, it...
" as well as album track "Endlessly", opening and closing the show, respectively. Two days later, on October 21, 2010, Duffy performed an "Album Showcase" at the Café de Paris
Café de Paris (London)
Café de Paris is a London nightclub, located in the West End, beside Leicester Square on Coventry Street, Piccadilly.It opened in 1924 and subsequently featured such performers as Dorothy Dandridge, Marlene Dietrich, Harry Gold, Harry Roy, Ken Snakehips Johnson and Maxine Cooper Gomberg...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Fans of Duffy's could enter a competition to win tickets to the show and members of the press were invited to preview songs from Endlessly. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reported a six-piece band and "string sections [...] crammed on to a balcony, adding cute choreographed handclaps." The News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
, giving the performance five stars out of five, reported that "Duffy previews six new songs and she exudes star quality [...] Looking stunning in a sheer black dress slashed to the thigh, Duffy has a pre-rock 'n' roll glamour on timeless ballad "Too Hurt To Dance" before her first disco- tastic songs, "Lovestruck" and "My Boy"". Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
said that Duffy's vocals "resonate with the warbling vibrato of someone far beyond her 26 years". Live visual recordings of seven of the songs performed at the show were later released as music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s to promote the album. The following month, she later visited the set of Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
to perform "Well, Well, Well" on November 21, 2010 complete with backing dancers and background specially assembled for the broadcast. The performance coincided with the release of the song to digital outlets that day. The same week, Duffy was interviewed and performed on breakfast show This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
as well as light news and entertainment programmes The One Show
The One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...
and T4
T4 (Channel 4)
T4 is a scheduling slot on Channel 4 from about 09:00 until 14:00 on Saturdays and 17:00 on Sundays. It also airs on weekdays in the school holidays. The slot has a separate station identification on screen graphic from Channel 4 and E4. The logo of T4 is noticeably the top right segment of the...
. In December, Duffy returned to the UK to perform at Capital FM
The Capital FM Network
Capital is a radio network of nine Independent Local Radio stations in the United Kingdom which are owned and operated by Global Radio, launching on 3 January 2011. Capital was previously known as Mix, One, Galaxy and Hit Music at various times...
's Jingle Bell Ball
Jingle Bell Ball
The Jingle Bell Ball is a concert held every year in December, by Global Radio at O2 Arena. Headline acts have included superstars like Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas and Kylie Minogue...
, where she performed three songs including a cover of Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's "All I Want for Christmas Is You". Later that month, Duffy returned to the Strictly Come Dancing series eight
Strictly Come Dancing (series 8)
The eighth series of Strictly Come Dancing began with a red carpet launch show on 11 September 2010, and the competitive live shows began on 1 October. The series concluded on 18 December when Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev won the competition...
finale on 20 December 2010 to perform "Mercy
Mercy (song)
"Mercy" is a soul song performed by Welsh blue-eyed soul singer Duffy, released as the second single from her debut album, Rockferry . Co-written by Duffy and Steve Booker and produced by Booker, it was released over 2008 worldwide to critical acclaim and unprecedented chart success...
" from Rockferry. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
said that "Duffy wanted all attention on her genius arm-flinging dance."
| Duffy's "album showcase" US setlist |
|---|
|
Internationally, Duffy made several appearances in many countries, especially in the United States. Duffy performed a similar concert to her previous "album showcase" in the UK at The Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre is a famous nightclub, on the Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood, California. The Roxy is owned by Lou Adler and Adler's son, Nic, who operates the club.- History :...
in Hollywood, California. Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
invited fans to enter a competition to win tickets for the event. The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
said that there was a 13-piece band and that Duffy performed five songs from Endlessly, saying that "progress sounds so good". She later performed another showcase to a private audience in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on November 3, 2010 at the P.C. Richard & Son Theater for Iheartradio
Iheartradio
iHeartRadio is a Clear Channel Radio network to aggregate local radio brands, personalities and on-demand content. It is best known as a mobile application...
. The performance included a cover of the Freda Payne
Freda Payne
Freda Charcilia Payne Some sources give a birth year of 1945, but this appears to be an error as all sources agree that she is older than her sister Scherrie, born 1944. is an American singer and actress best known for her million selling, 1970 hit single, "Band of Gold". She was also an actress in...
song "Band of Gold
Band Of Gold (Freda Payne song)
"Band of Gold" is a popular song written by Holland–Dozier–Holland under the pseudonym Edythe Wayne, and Ron Dunbar, and first recorded by Freda Payne...
". Duffy made an appearance "beautifully croon[ing]" "Well, Well, Well" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
on 4 November 2010. Later that week, Duffy sang "Endlessly" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
. Duffy later performed "Well, Well, Well" on American daily talkshow The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
on 7 December 2010 (the day of Endlesslys American release). Duffy was backed by a complete brass section. Idolator
Idolator
Idolator is the third album by the Japanese, melodic death metal band, Blood Stain Child. Idolator combines melodic death metal similar to the more recent In Flames albums with electronic and trance influences, particularly on "Nuclear Trance". "Embrace Me", has a piano section both at the...
said that "we never really tire of watching the blonde Grammy winner belt out this tale of suspicious love". Duffy made a further performance on The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
where she performed "Endlessly". Duffy also played an "intimate acoustic set" at the offices of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
in America, performing "Well, Well, Well" and album track "Don't Forsake Me". The appearance also included an interview and showcased "the integral role that an empty beer bottle plays in ["Well, Well, Well"'s] arrangement".
Outside of the UK and the United States, Duffy's record label revealed plans for the singer to visit Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Spain before the end of 2010. In Germany, Duffy performed "Well, Well, Well" on TV total Turmspringen, and Popstars
Popstars (Germany)
Popstars is a German reality television series that began its first installment on the RTL2 network on November 14, 2000. Part of the international Popstars franchise, it originated from the same-titled New Zealand reality program....
and in France on Le Grand Journal
Le Grand Journal (Canal+)
Le Grand Journal is a French nightly news and talk show airing every weekday evening on Canal+. Debuting on August 30, 2004, it was created and hosted by Michel Denisot. Originally a one-hour program, it expanded to two hours in 2005. Even though the show is broadcast on the premium channel Canal+,...
. Duffy appeared alongside fellow British soul singer Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
on the finale of The Voice of Holland
The Voice of Holland
The Voice of Holland is a Dutch reality singing competition, created by media tycoon John de Mol, and currently airing on RTL4 in the Netherlands. Hosted by Martijn Krabbé and Wendy van Dijk it is currently the number 1 show in the Netherlands, with increasing ratings from 1.6 to 3.0 million viewers...
on the evening of 21 January 2011, singing "Well, Well, Well". She also performed a duet of "Warwick Avenue
Warwick Avenue (song)
"Warwick Avenue" is the third single from the album Rockferry by Duffy. The title refers to Warwick Avenue tube station in London. It was written by Jimmy Hogarth, Eg White, and Duffy and produced by Hogarth. It was released in May 2008, but had already charted by March and April due to download...
" with finalist Ben Saunders
Ben Saunders (singer)
Ben Saunders is a Dutch singer who won the first-ever title of the Dutch singing competition series The Voice of Holland broadcast on RTL 4. The final of 2010-2011 season was held live on 21 January 2011. Saunders is also a tattoo artist and a Mixed martial arts fighter. He is popularly known as...
, who later won the programme.
Television adverts for Endlessly were released in territories worldwide in different languages. Although an international concert tour was expected, and despite tour dates listed as "coming soon" on her website, and Billboard reporting that "European and U.S. dates are expected in early 2011", this never materialised.
Single
"Well, Well, WellWell, Well, Well (Duffy song)
"Well, Well, Well" is the lead single Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy's second studio album Endlessly , and the second single released was 'My Boy'. It is unknown if any more singles are to be released from the Endlessly Album. Well, Well, Well was Written and produced by Duffy and Albert Hammond, it...
" was released as the album's lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
worldwide in October 2010. It was the album's only commercially-released single, reaching peaks of number 41 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and 37 on the European Hot 100 Singles chart. In mainland Europe, it managed to chart in the top twenty in Finland, Belgium and Switzerland, reaching number 11 in the former. A music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was filmed in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and directed by Chris Cottam to complement the release. The single was promoted extensively as part of a campaign of "major TV moments", taking in the UK, the United States as well as seven countries around Europe in 2010 and 2011. Although praised by many, some thought that it "is possibly the weakest of the new tunes." A single mix of "Endlessly" was released as a promotional single and was available for download from the album prior to Endlesslys release in North America only.
A second full single release was planned for the songs "Endlessly", "Keeping My Baby" and finally "My Boy" in 2011, and a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was filmed for the latter in February 2011. A clip of the prospective B-side to the "My Boy" release, "Tell Me", was released on the internet and a single edit of "My Boy" was produced for the release by Tom Elmhirst
Tom Elmhirst
Tom Elmhirst is a British specialist music producer and mix engineer. He began his career at SARM studios in the early 90s at a time when digital audio was already becoming mainstream. Elmhirst’s experiences at SARM and with Trevor Horn have clearly influenced his current working methods...
. The release was scheduled for 13 March 2011 in the UK. However, the single was removed from pre-order on digital outlets and the release was cancelled following Duffy's announcement of a career hiatus. The song's music video or B-side have not been released.
Track listing
- All songs written and produced by Albert HammondAlbert HammondAlbert Hammond OBE is a British singer, songwriter and record producer from Gibraltar.-Birth and early success:Hammond was born in London, England, where his family had been evacuated to from Gibraltar during World War II. His family returned to Gibraltar shortly after his birth, and there he grew...
and DuffyDuffy (singer)Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
, except "Girl" (written by Don Paul and Paddy Chambers). - Additional production by Stuart PriceStuart PriceStuart Price is a three time Grammy-winning British electronic musician, songwriter, and record producer whose remixing and production skills are in demand by artists including New Order, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Missy Elliott, Scissor Sisters, The Killers, Pet Shop Boys, Brandon...
on "Keeping My Baby", "Don't Forsake Me" and "Lovestruck", with co-production on "Well, Well, Well".
Personnel
Adapted from Endlesslys liner notes and Allmusic.- Duffy – vocals, backing vocals, producer, handclaps
- Lachlan Bailey – photography
- Nick Banns – assistant
- Roger Beaujolais – vibraphone
- Owen Biddle – bass
- Adam Bishop – baritone saxophone
- Adam BlakeAdam Blake (musician)Adam Blake is an English musician and songwriter, best known as founder member, producer and drummer of the electronic music band Zoot Woman. He produces remixes under the alias Paper Faces with Stuart Price...
– programming - Dan Carpenter – flugelhorn, trumpet
- Jason Elliott – assistant
- Ben Epstein – bass, guitar
- Albert HammondAlbert HammondAlbert Hammond OBE is a British singer, songwriter and record producer from Gibraltar.-Birth and early success:Hammond was born in London, England, where his family had been evacuated to from Gibraltar during World War II. His family returned to Gibraltar shortly after his birth, and there he grew...
– acoustic guitar, background vocals, bottle, guitar, handclaps, percussion, producer - Tyrone Henry – backing vocals, crowd noise
- Matt Johnson – bass, keyboards, organ, percussion, piano, synthesizer, synthesizer bass, tambourine
- Jon KellyJon KellyJon Kelly is a British music producer who has produced albums and singles for Chris Rea, The Damned, Kate Bush, Pele , The Beautiful South, Prefab Sprout, Deacon Blue, Heather Nova, The Levellers, Fish, Lynsey De Paul and Nolwenn Leroy.-References:...
– engineer, mixing, sounds - Oliver KrausOliver KrausOliver Kraus born 1970 in Shepherd's Bush, London, is an English musician best known for his work as a cellist and string arranger/ producer and composer for film and television.-String Arrangements & Performance:...
– arranger, producer, string arrangements, strings - Mike Moore – guitar
- Mazen Murad – mastering
- John ParricelliJohn ParricelliJohn Parricelli is a jazz guitarist, appearing and recording mainly in the United Kingdom.Parricelli began his career as a guitarist in 1982 and was one of the founding members of the British big band Loose Tubes, with whom he recorded three albums...
– guitar, electric guitar, nylon string guitar - James PoyserJames PoyserJames Poyser in Sheffield, England is a multi-Grammy winning songwriter, musician and multi-platinum producer.Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists including Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Lauryn Hill, Common, Anthony Hamilton, D'Angelo,...
– glockenspiel, harpsichord, keyboards, organ, piano, synthesizer strings, wurlitzer - Owen Poyser – piano
- Becky Price – accordion
- Stuart PriceStuart PriceStuart Price is a three time Grammy-winning British electronic musician, songwriter, and record producer whose remixing and production skills are in demand by artists including New Order, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Missy Elliott, Scissor Sisters, The Killers, Pet Shop Boys, Brandon...
– additional production, mixing, producer - Questlove – drums, percussion
- Emre Ramazanoglu – drums, editing, engineer, programming, shaker
- Brendan Reilly – backing vocals, crowd noise
- Jon Smeltz – engineer
- Aaron Sokell – backing vocals, crowd noise
- Sam Swallow – keyboards
- Neal Wilkinson – drums
- David Willescroft – brass
- Simon Willescroft – saxophones
- David Williamson – trombone
Weekly charts
| Chart (2010–11) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
27 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 17 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Flanders) |
18 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Wallonia) |
24 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
63 |
| Danish Albums Chart IFPI Denmark IFPI Denmark is the Danish branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Denmark.-Gold and platinum awards:... |
2 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
6 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 9 |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
18 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
15 |
| Greek Albums Chart IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of... |
14 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
27 |
| Italian Albums Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
85 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
19 |
| Norwergian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
20 |
| Polish Albums Chart Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies... |
24 |
| Spanish Albums Chart | 40 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
4 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
10 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
9 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
72 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| Denmark IFPI Denmark IFPI Denmark is the Danish branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Denmark.-Gold and platinum awards:... |
Gold |
| Sweden | Gold |
| Switzerland | Gold |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| Danish Albums Chart | 34 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 61 |
Singles
| Single | Peak chart positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
AUT |
DEN |
IRL Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
NLD 100 |
SWE |
SWI |
|
| "Well, Well, Well Well, Well, Well (Duffy song) "Well, Well, Well" is the lead single Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy's second studio album Endlessly , and the second single released was 'My Boy'. It is unknown if any more singles are to be released from the Endlessly Album. Well, Well, Well was Written and produced by Duffy and Albert Hammond, it... " |
41 | 33 | 24 | 26 | 16 | 60 | 19 |
| "Endlessly" (promotional only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
External links
- Endlessly at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...