Joss Stone
On 11/04/1987: Joss Stone was born in Dover, Kent. Her full birth name was Joscelyn Eve Stoker. She lived during her teens in Ashill, near Cullompton, Devon. Her early musical influences were mostly from 1960s/1970s R&B and soul music. Joss would make her first public performance at her school, the Uffculme Comprehensive School in Uffculme, Devon.In 2001, Joss auditioned for BBC TV show "Star for a Night" in London. She passed the audition and sang Donna Summer's "On the Radio". She would win the contest. Joss also starred on and won the TV show "Steps to the Stars". Whilst performing at a charity show, Joss was spotted by the Boilerhouse Boys, producers Andy Dean and Ben Wolfe. They contacted S-Curve Records founder Steve Greenberg telling him "they had just heard the greatest singer they'd ever heard from their country".
In 2002, Greenberg flew Joss to New York for an audition and he instantly signed her to his label.
At the age of 16, Joss left school with three GCSE qualifications, she didn't consider herself academic partly as a result of having dyslexia.
In 2003, Joss released her debut solo album called "The Soul Sessions" under her stage name of Joss Stone. She collaborated with Betty Wright, Benny Latimore, Timmy Thomas, Little Beaver, Angie Stone and the Roots. The album was produced by Steve Greenberg, Mike Mangini and Betty Wright. It reached number 5 on the UK album chart and the top 40 on the Billboard chart. The cover of the White Stripes' "Fell in Love with a Boy" from the album reached the top 20 of the UK singles chart as did the cover song of Sugar Billy's "Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin' on Me)".
In 2004, Stone released the album "Mind Body & Soul". It debuted at number 1 on the UK charts and just missed the top 10 of the US charts. She became the youngest female to top the UK albums chart. Her song "You Had Me" from the album reached number 9 in the UK. Also in 2004, Stone performed at the VH1 benefit concert for Save the Music Foundation. It also featured Ashanti, Cyndi Lauper, Gladys Knight, Jessica Simpson and Patti LaBelle. Stone also joined Band Aid 20 in 2004. The group included Chris Martin and Bono to re-record "Do They Know It's Christmas".
In 2005, Stone won "British Female Solo Artist" and "British Urban Act" awards at the BRIT Awards. By winning, she became the youngest BRIT award solo winner. She would also receive three Grammy Award nominations. Stone sang a duet with Melissa Etheridge of "Cry Baby/Piece of My Heart". The performance was released as a single and was Stone's first single to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 when it reached number 32. Also in 2005, Stone performed at "Save the Music: A Concert to Benefit the VH1 Save the Music Foundation". Stone performed at the Live 8 concert, Hyde Park, London in 2005. She would collaborate with Jonny Lang on a song for Herbie Hancock's album "Possibilities" released that year. Stone would also collaborate with Sean Paul on Santana's song "Cry Baby Cry" and cover the song "Stir It Up" for the "Chicken Little" soundtrack.
In 2006, Stone collaborated with Lemar on his album "The Truth About Love". She performed at the Super Bowl XL pre-game ceremonies with Stevie Wonder, India Arie and John Legend. Stone also performed at the Grammy Awards. She would make her acting debut in 2006 when she appeared in the film "Eragon".
In 2007, Stone released the album "Introducing Joss Stone". The album included collaborations with Lauryn Hill, Common and Joi. It reached number 12 on the UK albums chart and number 2 on the Billboard 200. Stone would go on a US tour to during the year. Also in 2007, Stone won the "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for her collaboration with John Legend and Van Hunt on the cover of "Family Affair" released in 2005. Stone was photographed by musician/photographer Bryan Adams for Phonak's "Hear the World" initiative to raise global awareness for hearing loss. In July, Stone performed at the Coca Cola Dome, Johannesburg as part of the Live Earth concerts to promote awareness of global warming. In November, Stone made a guest appearance at Jeff Beck's series of concerts at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, London. The performance was later released on DVD as "Performing This Week: Live at Ronnie Scott's". In December, Stone joined Annie Lennox along with 23 other female acts to record the song "Sing" for World AIDS Day.
In 2008, Stone starred in and produced the soundtrack for the film "Snappers". She also appeared in the TV series "The Tudors". During the year, Stone entered a legal battle to leave her record contract with EMI. In October, Stone performed the British national anthem before an NFL match at Wembley Stadium, London. In December, Stone performed at the Kennedy Center for the Kennedy Center Honors.
In 2009, Stone released the album "Colour Me Free!". It had been written and recorded within about a week in 2008 in Devon.
In 2010, Stone appeared on Ring Starr's album "Y Not" and on Jeff Beck's album "Emotion and Commotion". Beck and Stone's cover of "I Put A Spell on You" for the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Later in 2010, Stone's voice and likeness were used in the video game "James Bond 007: Blood Stone". She performed the theme song for the game called "I'll Take It All" which was co-written and performed with Dave Stewart. Also in 2010, Stone provided vocals for two songs on the charity audio drama "A Voyage For Soldier Miles". By August 2010, Ston had left EMI and she formed her own independent label called Stone'd Records.
In 2011, police arrest two men near Stone's home for plotting to rob and murder her. They were found guilty and convicted in 2013. Stone released the album "LP1" with Surfdog Records and her own label in July. It was recorded in Nashville in six days. She co-wrote and produced the album with Dave Stewart. Later in the year, Stone joined the supergroup SuperHeavy with Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart, Damian Marley and A. R. Rahman. They released the album "SuperHeavy".
In 2012, Stone returned to her original label S-Curve Records to release the album "The Soul Sessions Vol. 2". It reached number 10 on the US Billboard 200 and the UK Album chart.
In 2013, Stone went on tour, which included Indonesia and the Philippines.
In 2014, she went on a world tour with the intention of performing in as many countries as possible.
In 2015, Stone released the album "Water for Your Soul" which included more hip hop and reggae.