Joss Stone

A little lady with a lotta soul, British singer Joss Stone has performed with some of the music industry’s most influential legends and found chart success on her own - all by age 21. Jocelyn Eve Stoker was born on April 11, 1987, in Kent, England, and spent her childhood being inspired by 1960s and 1970s R&B and soul artists such as Dusty Springfield and Aretha Franklin.

In 2001, at the age of fourteen, Joss auditioned for and won the BBC talent show Star for a Night. In 2002, Joss went to New York, where she signed a deal with S-Curve Records, who released her debut album, The Soul Sessions, on September 16, 2003. The album tore up the UK album charts and, thanks to her reworking of the White Stripes’ enigmatic ‘Fell in Love with a Girl,’ cracked the U.S. top 40. Joss’ second album, 2004’s Mind, Body & Soul, earned her British accolades and three nominations for the 2005 Grammys—Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for 'You Had Me,' and Best Pop Vocal Album.

Joss didn’t let the Grammy elude her for long; at the 2007 ceremony, Joss shared the award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for her collaboration with Sly & the Family Stone, John Legend and Van Hunt on ‘Family Affair.’ Joss’ third album, Introducing Joss Stone, was released on March 12, 2007, and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 118,000 copies in its first week, making it the highest debut for a British solo female artist on the U.S. chart, beating out the previous record holder, Amy Winehouse for Back to Black. Joss is experimenting with film, taking on a role as a witch in 2006’s fantasy Eragon. After performing with James Brown, Melissa Etheridge, Blondie, Tom Jones and Rod Stewart, it’s Joss who's become the music industry legend.