International Singer- Joss Stone

Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist. Her second album, the similarly multi-platinum Mind Body & Soul (2004), topped the UK Albums Chart for one week and spawned the top ten hit “You Had Me”, Stone’s most successful single on the UK Singles Chart to date. Both the album and single received one nomination at the 2005 Grammy Awards, while Stone herself was nominated for Best New Artist, and in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2004, was ranked fifth as a predicted breakthrough act of 2004. She became the youngest British female singer to top the UK Albums Chart. Stone’s third album, Introducing Joss Stone, released in March 2007, achieved gold record status by the RIAA and yielded the second-ever highest debut for a British female solo artist on the Billboard 200, and became Stone’s first top five album in the US.

She released her fourth album, Colour Me Free!, on 20 October 2009, which reached the top 10 on Billboard. Stone released her fifth album, LP1, on 22 July 2011, which reached the top 10 on Billboard. Throughout her career, Stone has sold 15 million records worldwide, establishing herself as one of the best-selling soul artists of the 2000s, and the best-selling British artists of her time. Her first three albums have sold over 2,722,000 copies in the US, while her first two albums have sold over 2 million copies in the UK.

Stone has earned numerous accolades, including two Brit Awards and one Grammy Award out of five nominations. She also made her film acting debut in 2006 with the fantasy adventure film Eragon, and made her television debut portraying Anne of Cleves in the Showtime series The Tudors in 2009. Stone was the youngest woman on the 2006 Sunday Times Rich List—an annual list of the UK’s wealthiest people—with £6 million. In 2012, her net worth was estimated to be £10 million, making her the fifth richest British musician under 30. The Soul Sessions Vol. 2 (2012) is her fourth consecutive album to reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, with Australian producer Cam Noble.

Career

2011–2018: LP1, The Soul Sessions Vol. 2 and Water for Your Soul

On 14 June 2011, police arrested two men in Cullompton, Devon, near Stone’s home, for plotting to rob and murder her. After a trial at Exeter Crown Court for conspiracy to rob, murder and commit grievous bodily harm against her, they were found guilty and convicted on 3 April 2013.

Stone partnered with Surfdog Records to release LP1 on 26 July 2011, through her own label Stone’d Records. The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee in six days, where Stone co-wrote and co-produced the album with Eurythmics co-founder, David Stewart The lead single, “Somehow”, was released on 24 June 2011. Stone also joined the supergroup SuperHeavy which was formed by Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, together with Dave Stewart (credited by Mick with the original idea of SuperHeavy), Damian Marley (the youngest son of Bob Marley) and the Indian musician and producer A.R. Rahman. The album was recorded at Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles and was released on 20 September 2011 by A&M Records. The debut single, “Miracle Worker”, was released on 19 July 2011.

Released in July 2012, The Soul Sessions Vol. 2 saw Stone return to her original label, S-Curve Records, who released the album jointly with the artist’s Stone’d Records, and features production from Steve Greenberg (producer of the first “Soul Sessions”). The album finds Stone largely covering lesser-known soul songs from the 1970s and 1980s by acts including the Chi-Lites, the Honey Cone, the Dells, Sylvia, Labi Siffre and Linda Lewis. The album reached the top 10 on the US Billboard 200 and the UK album chart. In the UK it was her first top 10 album since 2004’s Mind Body & Soul. In 2013 she performed live shows including Indonesia and the Philippines. She also made an appearance on UK series Top Gear.

Stone announced to newspaper La Vanguardia back in July 2012 that she would work on a reggae album. She stated that it would be recorded and produced by her and Damian Marley, who previously worked in SuperHeavy. In March 2014, she elaborated that the new album would be a little bit different and “more eclectic” with a “little bit more hip-hop and reggae”. On 31 July 2015 her album Water for Your Soul was released, and was the number-one reggae album the week it came out. In April 2014 she began The Total World Tour with the intention of performing in as many countries as possible. In November 2017 Stone, along with Nitin Sawhney, Jonathan Shorten, Jonathan Joseph and Cameroonian multi-instrumentalist Étienne M’Bappé released the Project Mama Earth, an 11-track EP comprising full-length songs and interludes, inspired by Mother Nature concept and African rhythms. In the same month, she was co-headliner in Night of the Proms in Nederland and Belgium. In October 2018, Stone was cast as a guest-star in season 5 of musical drama television series Empire.

2019: 5 years – 200 gigs, result of The Total World Tour

At the beginning of 2019 Stone sang with James Morrison on the song “My Love Goes On”, making it four years since both singers last released studio albums.

In March 2019 Stone embarked on her first full world tour alongside producer Cam Noble. As part of her Total World Tour to perform in every country of the world, she crossed into Syria illegally to perform at Al-Malikiyah. Later the same month, she performed in North Korea. In July 2019, Stone was denied entry into Iran, the last stop on her tour.