Photos courtesy Steven Trumon Gray and Chad Wagner Out artist John Duff on why ‘iconic’ is overused, being understood and Paula Abdul calling him ‘strange’ In his 2018 debut music video “Girly,” singer-songwriter-director John Duff is seen imitating some of music’s biggest pop icons, replicating the shot-by-shot choreography of Madonna’s “Hung Up” video and Mariah Carey’s gesticulations and eyelash-batting in “Heartbreaker.” It was impressive, like Duff had been practicing his whole life.