Joss Stone |
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Tue. November 25.2003 12:00 AM EST |
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Joss Stone: The Do Right Girl16-year-old soul sensation has a killer voice, and wants her music, not her image, to sell her album. by C. Bottomley |
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(Karen Fuchs) |
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There are two Joss Stones. The first one you can hear on her album The Soul Sessions. Shes a woman who has been through the wringer and expresses her tribulations and triumphs in songs like Victim of a Foolish Heart and Dirty Man. Her
Then there is the real Joss Stone, a 16-year-old from the south coast of England. With her blonde hair and apple cheeks, she should be sitting in the front row of a Justin Timberlake concert. Instead she was discovered by Steve Greenberg. The S-Curve label boss had worked with both Hanson and the Baha Men, but he was also a rabid soul fan who compiled a Grammy-nominated Otis Redding box set. After Stone sang (Sittin on) The Dock of the Bay for him, he decided she needed an education. First Stone teamed with a squad of crack musicians. Betty Wright, the Miami singer responsible for 1972's "Clean Up Woman, became her vocal mentor. Her band consisted of old pros like Little Beaver - a 70s guitar vet turned Amtrak employee. They set to revitalizing R&B gems so arcane many of the original artists had probably forgotten them. Stone makes them live again - ripping into the unknown Sugar Billys Super Duper Man and bringing the Isley Brothers For the Love of You to a boil. Her slow burn take on the White Stripes recent Fell in Love With a Girl, though re-titled Fell in Love With a Boy, , should get her schoolmates approval. The rare groove enthusiasts can applaud Stones mature tastes and technique. For the rest of us, Sessions is one hell of an introduction - to both the singer and her songs. Stone can turn it on live, too, as she proved at the VH1.com Studios. In conversation, though, this old soul turned out to be a charming girl quick to giggle, in love with Carla Thomas and the Isleys, and still hoping to catch Timberlakes eye. VH1: Tell me about the guy that broke your heart. Joss Stone: [Laughs.] The guy that broke my heart?! VH1: No one could make a record like this without having their heart broken. JS: Whos to say its a guy? Whos to say its a boyfriend even? Theres a lot of mystery in that. [Laughs.] VH1: Wow. Who is this person? JS: Well, [Laughs.] its not just one person. Ive come across a lot of people, in my life, that have just been like & not very nice. But then again, Ive come across hundreds of people that are really cool. So its like, I dont wanna focus on those people that are just & mean. I dunno, theres a good side to every person, so I have to look at that rather than look at the bad side, cause theyre just bad vibes. VH1: So, if I ask you whos sexier, Justin Timberlake or David Beckham - is that a bit of a redundant question? JS: Thats a hard one. Justin Timberlake. Because he can sing. Oh my God - he has soul! [Gasps.] I love his album. I really want to sing with him. Hes really cute, yeah. [Watch Clip] VH1: You couldnt even tell you were 16 from the CD cover. JS: Well, its about music, not image. Thats the whole idea of the cover. You dont wanna be buying a CD just because someone looks good. Whats the point? It might sound sh*t - sorry! [Laughs.] Its weird, but music has been labeled as a color. People say black music or white music. It shouldnt be labeled at all, because its sound. You cant see my voice. You just have to listen. VH1: How did you get from England to singing Isley Brothers songs in Miami? JS: I got my management deal from a talent show in England. Then we came to America and were going around to record companies. I happened to meet up with Steve Greenberg. Hes a crazy soul freak, so were kinda on the same page, and he pushed me in the right direction! VH1: But you dont have a load of Carla Thomas 45s back at your house. JS: [Laughs.] I listened to a lot of Aretha Franklin and Al Green, because my parents had really good taste in music. I leaned towards soul and R&B cause of the voice. When I listen to something, the first thing I listen to is the voice. With womens soul, its like theyre not just singing, theyre telling a story. So I think its more special than any other type of music. I was kinda drawn to it. [Watch Clip] VH1: When you signed with your management deal, did they try to turn you into a pop singer? JS: I didnt wanna go do the usual pop princess kind of thing, because its not me. When I was listening to Aretha, I would think, Why dont we make this music anymore? Pop and contemporary R&B and hip-hop and country, theyre all good and everything, but slowly its got more image-conscious and manufactured. Its, like, so boring now. Theres some good stuff out, but theres a lot of crap. So I was like, why would you stop making something thats like amazing and start making something that isnt? [Watch Clip] VH1: At the same time, you havent gone for the most obvious selections. JS: Id known a couple of the songs before, but, as soon as I was signed with Steve, he would have me in his office, playing song after song. He was educating me with stuff that I had never heard of! [Laughs.] I was like, Im not sure I wanna do covers, because when Ive listened to some covers of originals that I love, Im like, Why did you cover that? Steve was like, Well do obscure tracks that nobodys heard of, and theyll have to think whether its original or not. So Im like, Okay, well try it. VH1: Who was the biggest vocal discovery you made? JS: Carla Thomas. When I heard her live version of Ive Fallen in Love With You, I was like, Oh my God. That was one of the first songs Steve played me. It was amazing. I had the version that she did on her album, and her live one was so much better. Its like theres a little bit of magic in that one. I loved it then, but I dont think I did it justice. I think she does it better! VH1: As a performer, whats running through your head, when youre singing something like, Dirty Man? Thats requiring a lot more experience out of you than we might expect from a teenager. JS: Yeah. A lot of people think that. But I wouldnt sing anything if I couldnt relate to it. The thing is, its my business. Im like, Im not gonna tell the world my experiences, because other people are involved. Its not very fair. I didnt write those songs, but I can relate to every one of them. Its soul music. I have to feel it, in order to sing it with a little bit of soul. VH1: Do you feel physically exhausted by the time that youre done with For the Love of You? JS: It goes on for a while. But I like that song. Oh my God & The Isley Brothers. If I had that song; that was one where I was just like, Okay, were doing that. I have to do this. I love it! Its wicked. VH1: Whose idea it was to cover the White Stripes Fell in Love With a Girl? JS: Oh, that was Steve. He has his little visions. Hes a funny guy. He plays me this song and Im like, What? I dont know how Im gonna do this, cause its really fast. I dont know how Im gonna breathe! And Miss B. [Betty Wright] was just laughing, cause she didnt know what he was talking about, either. But he was like, Well, well do it with the Roots. I was like, Ah, okay. And Miss B. had done a scratch vocal, so I could hear what they were talking about. It definitely worked out alright. VH1: When you get a day off, what is it that you like to do? JS: Sleep! [Laughs.] I just chill out with my friends. When Im at home, I suck up my friends as much as I can, because I miss them so much. VH1: Did you actually play back your record for them? JS: No. I didnt. [Laughs.] My friend Sarah, she bought the album, cause Im not gonna give it to her - its too embarrassing. She likes it. She likes Fell in Love With a Boy, because we changed the name Billy to Sarah in it. Shes like, That songs about me! Im like, Yeah, Sarah! Its all about you! VH1: Do you like to shop at all? JS: No. Im not really a typical girl like that. I cant stand shopping! Its like, youre walking around for hours, you cant find what you want, and you have to spend money? Nuh-huh. It aint right. [Laughs.] VH1: Guys, she sings Aretha Franklin songs and doesnt like to shop. Ladies and gentlemen, Joss Stone. JS: & and I like football! VH1: But youd still pick Justin Timberlake over David Beckham? JS: Yeah, but I dont support Manchester United. I support Liverpool. Theyre like rivals. David Beckham is cute but - wrong team. [Watch Clip] |
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