Duffy

A number of artists have recorded best-selling debuts only to crash and burn when the time comes to record that notoriously difficult second album. Duffy is the most glaring example of recent times. In 2008, the Welsh singer's debut, Rockferry, topped the charts, shifted two million copies and was Britain's biggest selling album of the year. She then sacked her manager and binned Rockferry producer Bernard Butler, and wrote the less soulful, more dance-inclined follow-up, 2010's Endlessly, in three weeks with 65-year-old Albert Hammond Sr. It sold 90% less than its predecessor; Duffy is now on an "extended break" from music.