| Joss Stone spent her teen years in the rural town of | | | | hippy image and become a scarlet-haired siren for |
| Devon, where she bought her first album, Aretha | | | | this, her third studio album, but she appears to have |
| Franklin's Greatest Hits, which inspired her to become | | | | devoted more attention to her appearance than her |
| a singer. At the age of 14, she auditioned for a | | | | material. Despite skillful production by Raphael Saadiq |
| popular BBC show, Star for a Night. | | | | (Mary J. Blige, the Roots, TLC), Introducing... is an |
| Therein, Joscelyn thought that she could do better | | | | unremarkable collection that blends uptempo, |
| than the indistinguishable flock of pop star wannabes, | | | | Motown-esque beats with Stone's trademark |
| who were mangling the popular classics. Once | | | | crooning. The lead single "Tell Me 'Bout It" is typical of |
| onstage, the audience expected another squeaky | | | | this sound: Built from equal measures faux-vintage |
| blonde cutie to sort of entertain them; but out of | | | | production effects and sexually-amped lyrical |
| this giggly teenager came a vocal reincarnation of | | | | platitudes, it is pleasant, but wholly forgettable. |
| Gladys Knight rolled up with Janis Joplin and a dash of | | | | Typically, artists dispense with introductions after |
| Dusty Springfield, as she performed Aretha Franklin's | | | | their debut -- after all, that is an album designed to |
| classic "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." | | | | introduce them to the world -- but neo-soul singer |
| She was signed to an agent right away. | | | | Joss Stone defiantly titled her third album Introducing |
| Stone began working on her third studio album, | | | | Joss Stone, thereby dismissing her first two relatively |
| Introducing Joss Stone, at Compass Point Studios in | | | | acclaimed albums with one smooth stroke. She now |
| Nassau, Bahamas, in May 2006. It was released on 12 | | | | claims that those records were made under |
| March 2007 in the UK on Virgin Records, involving | | | | record-label pressure -- neatly contradicting the party |
| production by Raphael Saadiq and collaborations with | | | | line that her debut, The Soul Sessions, turned into a |
| Lauryn Hill, Common, and Joi. Virgin describes it as "an | | | | retro-soul project after Joss implored her label to |
| electrifying mix of warm vintage soul, '70s-style R&B, | | | | ditch the Christina Aguilera-styled urban-pop she was |
| Motown girl-group harmonies, and hip-hop grooves". | | | | pursuing -- but now as a young adult of 19, she's |
| Stone herself describes it as "truly me. That's why | | | | free to pursue her muse in her own fashion. All this is |
| I'm calling it Introducing Joss Stone. These are my | | | | back-story to Introducing, but Stone makes her |
| words, and this is who I am as an artist". She also | | | | modern metamorphosis plain on the album's very first |
| revealed on The Tavis Smiley Show that her | | | | track, where football-star-turned-Hollywood-muscle |
| break-up with Beau Dozier was a source of inspiration | | | | Vinnie Jones talks about change ("I see change, I |
| while writing Introducing Joss Stone. The album | | | | embody change, all we do is change, yeah, I know |
| debuted at number twelve on the UK Albums Chart. | | | | change, we're born to change" and so on and so |
| It also debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 | | | | forth), setting the stage for some surprise -- which |
| selling 118,000 copies in its first week, becoming the | | | | "Girl They Won't Believe It" kind of delivers, if only |
| highest debut for a British solo female artist on the | | | | because it isn't all that different from what Stone has |
| U.S. charts, surpassing the record previously held by | | | | done before. It's a sprightly slice of Northern soul |
| Amy Winehouse with Back to Black. It has sold | | | | propelled by a bouncy Motown beat that doesn't |
| 60,000 copies in the UK since its release, gaining silver | | | | suggest a change in direction as much as a slight shift |
| status on the charts. | | | | in aesthetic. |
| Joss Stone may have cast off her sunshine-sweet | | | | |