In a musical world dominated by hip teen idols like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, Joss Stone is something of an anomaly. While the music of Spears and the like has defined contemporary pop, Stone’s music is a throwback to 1960s and 1970s soul. Although sceptics wondered whether a teenager from Britain could sing classic soul with conviction, her album The Soul Sessions quickly silenced all doubts. Stone’s breathy, restrained, yet passionate performance is in perfect pitch with the romance-on-the-edge lyrics. With a voice beyond her years and her choice to work within a tried and true genre, she has brought a new element to the contemporary music scene. “She’s arguably the best white female soul voice to emerge in Britain since Dusty Springfield more than 40 years ago,” wrote Alan Jackson in the British Times Magazine.