At the age of 16, blonde, blue-eyed and incredibly bubbly Brit Joss Stone has released her first album. But before you lump her in with all the other teen pop princesses storming the charts, you should listen to her sing.
With a remarkably soulful voice, she is often compared to the late, great Janis Joplin and some of the legendary soul and blues singers. As it happens, Stone’s debut album, The Soul Sessions, is a collection of classic soul covers (with the exception of a slow-burn gender-bender version of the White Stripes’ “Fell in Love With A Girl”). Critics have expressed wonder that a white teenager from the U.K. can sing soul so effortlessly, and even celebs like Tom Cruise are big fans. So it’s surprising when asked if she thinks her voice can improve, Stone replies, “Oh God, yeah. By like a million. I’m in trouble if it doesn’t.”
In town this past fall on a promotional tour for the album (and a gig opening for Simply Red at Massey Hall), Stone sat down with the Varsity to talk about her rapid ascension in the music scene. It’s remarkable to find that the success has not gone to her head despite her young age. In fact, Stone seems very down-to-earth when talking about the sudden fame, saying, “It’s weird. It’s definitely strange to be thrown into this world. It’s not that overwhelming anymore. I think it’s meant to be. It’s definitely a good thing. It’s not like, ‘Oh, my God. I’m not sure I want to do this.’ I haven’t got any doubts in my mind that this is what I want to do.”
Is she afraid of being lumped in with all the other Britney wannabes? Stone is more headstrong than one would expect: “I don’t want to be pigeonholed into anything. I just want everybody to listen to [the album]. It’s not about what I look like. That’s why I like on the cover you can’t really see my face. Because the point is it doesn’t matter what I look like.”
Talking as if she is already a veteran, Stone notes of how she came to realize her own potential, “I always thought it would be cool to be a singer, but doesn’t every little girl think that? I never thought it was actually something I could do until I was, like, twelve.”
It was around that time that Stone got her big break on one of those television talent contests, a British version of Star Search called Star for a Night. Looking back, the memory of how lame the show was is not lost on Stone as she remarks, “It was horrible. It was really, really horrible.” She is thankful for the opportunity, however, as she scored her management deal out of the experience. “Jackie [her manager] saw me on TV and then rang up the people,” Stone explains. A record deal quickly followed and her music career was under way.
She began by working with noted ’70s R&B/soul singer Betty Wright, who turned into something of a mentor to the fledgling artist. “I was writing with her for my album,” Stone explains. “So we got along really well and I was like, ‘I really want to work with her again.'”
The album Stone is referring to is her ‘proper’ debut album that has yet to come out (it’s expected sometime this year). It was Wright suggested who suggested doing an album of covers, Stone says. “She got the idea to do The Soul Sessions to introduce my album. It was meant to be four or five tracks and then it turned into ten. So, like, a whole album.” Two of those songs were produced by popular American hip-hop band The Roots, an experience that Stone relishes. She gushes, “It was cool. They’re really nice people.”
Like any teenager, Stone is conflicted about superstardom, having some idea of what that encompasses. “I’m not sure what I want,” she admits. “On one hand, I want the fame because the only way I’m gonna get people to hear me is that way. But on the other hand, it’s not important, because it’s music.” The idea that millions of young fans around her own age might be looking up to her is scary, she confesses, but her response is mature and composed: “There’s a pressure. But, I’m never gonna try and be someone I’m not just because there’s a camera in my face. So what? I’m still gonna do what I’m gonna do. I’m human.”
