Joss Stone (real name Joscelyn Eve Stoker) is an English soul, R&B, and blues singer, songwriter, and occasional actress. She was born on April 11, 1987 in Dover, Kent, England.

She made her first public appearance at the Uffculme Comprehensive School - which she attended in Uffculme, Devon, with a cover of Jackie Wilson's 1957 "Reet Petite". Because of her dyslexia, Stone left school at age sixteen with just three GCSE qualifications.

Stone grew up listening to a wide variety of music including American R&B and soul music performed by such artists as Dusty Springfield and Aretha Franklin; as a result, she developed a soulful style of singing like her idols. In 2001, at the age of thirteen, she appeared on the BBC Television's talent show Star for a Night singing Donna Summer's 1979 "On the Radio". She told MTV News, "I kind of clicked into soul music more than anything else because of the vocals. You've got to have good vocals to sing soul music and I always liked it ever since I was little".

In 2002, she decided to back her ability by flying out from England for an audition in New York City with S-Curve CEO Steve Greenberg. She also signed a global music publishing deal with BMG Music Publishing in the UK. Since then, she has performed with artists such as Blondie and Gladys Knight.

Joss Stone emerged to fame in late 2003 with her debut album “The Soul Sessions”, which was certified triple platinum by the BPI, and was announced as one of the twelve albums on the shortlist of Mercury Prize nominees. Her second album, the also-triple platinum-selling “Mind, Body & Soul”, topped the albums chart in the United Kingdom for one week and spawned the hit single "You Had Me", which made the top ten of the UK Singles Chart. Both album and single each received a nomination for Grammy Awards in 2005.

Throughout her career, Stone has sold over ten million albums worldwide, and has won two BRIT Awards and one Grammy Award.

www.jossstone.com

www.jossstone.co.uk