Joss Stone is a British pop artist, musician, and actor. He rose to international prominence in late 2002 with the release of his multi-million single, The Soul Sessions. Following its chart-topping success, Joss Stone went on to record several other hits including I miss You, Come As You Are, and Piece of Mind. Joss Stone is best known for his memorable portrayal of a fictional character in songs and films such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and Mary Poppins. Some of his other popular characters include Blondie, Slash, and Adam Sandler.
Joss Stone first began to develop his distinctive vocal style while still attending college, taking lessons from vocalist Paul Curreri while at the University of Manchester. Later, he formed the band featuring himself andmate Peter Spencer in the early to mid ’80s. They went through several lineup changes, first going from an acoustic group to a more pop vocalist band, before their classic album The Soul Sessions was finally released. The band’s popularity lasted until they parted ways with singer Peter Spencer in the middle of the ’90s.
Joss Stone’s next album, I Miss You, was released in the U.K. on July 25th, 2004. The album peaked at number six in the albums sold chart and was certified platinum by the RIAA. The singles on the album were “Reckless and Vicious”, “Give Me The Reason”, “Everything” featuring demos from past albums, and “I Miss You”. Joss Stone also contributed vocals to a handful of songs on the album. In addition, his bandmate Peter Spencer returned to the band, and they officially reformed the band in 2005.
The singer/songwriter also returns to the spotlight again with the release of his second album, This Time, which was released in the U.K. and is available in the rest of the world on June 3rd. Joss Stone returns to the lead vocalist role he has been known for, although he sings lead on this album. His style has not changed much from his earlier work, but the songs are not as diverse as some of his previous work. The ten songs on this album do not quite reach the heights of the debut album, but they are still very listenable.
Jeff Beck and Andrew W.K. have teamed up once again for the third studio album called Sunday, How Are They? which was released on May 4th, 2009. The band was formed by bassist/singer/keyboard player Geoff Barrow and drummers Jamie Cullum and Simon Scott. During the sessions for this album, the band considered the idea of writing and producing four singles instead of just one. While the result of this decision was not the same, the band still managed to create an album that received a number of positive reviews from music critics across the world.
Other acts that deserve mention on the list of this year’s Breakthrough Act contenders include Weezer, Kasabian and The Saturdays. Weezer was nominated for Best Rock Album (2000) and was one of the first British female solo artists to be nominated. Her song “I am a Walrus” went on to become one of the biggest single occurrences of the millennium. Kasabian was recently nominated for the MTV European Music Awards and has since exploded onto the scene with their self titled album. Finally, The Saturdays were a popular choice as a band, winning a string of awards including Album of the Year at the 2007 Brit Awards.
