Joss Stone

Joss Stone is spoiled. She lunches with Tom Cruise, plays Elton John’s Oscar party, and now gets to hit the stage with the Rolling Stones for their latest tour. Then again, it’s probably to be expected considering the preternatural pipes she was blessed with; her smoky voice cleans the clocks of every one of her so-called peers, which is probably why she’s made a habit of duetting with giants like Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, and, most recently, Melissa Etheridge. A devotee of the Everything Old Is New Again school, her work resurrects the golden age of Seventies R&B — you know, back when the sex was in the voice and bedroom rhythms, not in how you took it off and shook your ass. The teenage Stone might look like she belongs in the Mickey Mouse club, but she sings with her soul like, ahem, a natural woman.