At the recent Brit Awards in London, UK soul singerJoss Stone’s new American accent caused a bit of astir. Her publicist later told the media that Joss Stone’s odd behaviour was due to ‘nerves’ pure and simple, regardless of the other nasty insinuations floating around. Gaynor Flynn spoke to the 19-year-old at theSundance Film Festival in January, where the singerrevealed that nerves did indeed often get the best ofher.

The Sundance festival has lined up a series ofintimate music concerts in small venues. What’s moredifficult, performing to a small or large crowd?

Joss Stone: Smaller is scarier, because its moreintimate. But I’m always scared so the size of thevenue doesn’t make much of a difference. Plus in asmaller venue they’re all quiet so you feel moreattached to them in a smaller venue but that’s whatmakes it scarier for me because they see you so muchcloser than they would on TV, or than they would 50feet away. Its like wow this person is looking at meand the world is judging you.


You haven’t had a song out in Britain for a while,have you been concentrating on America?

Joss Stone: No I’ve been busy writing and I’m not evergoing to come out with a shit album again I promise. I swear, because now I get to make it. Before it wassomebody else’s vision and I was just kind of helpingthem out which was nice and everything but this timeI’ve got to make it and I’ve got to take my time withit as I should, I’m only 19, I haven’t hit 20 yet so Ihave a lot of time.


How would you describe your new album?

Joss Stone: Its' difficult to describe really andthat’s a good thing I think because I don’t want toput it in any genre. I don’t want to call it soul,R&B, hip hop I don’t want to call it anything I justwant people to listen to it.


Do you think it’s good?

Joss Stone: I think its good. I like it but I don’tknow but I like it, its kind of cool.


What do you make of the Sundance Film Festival as amusician?

Joss Stone: I like that it’s all about art, and that’swhat I’m really about in my life just everythingrevolves around art and wherever there is art you willfind me so this is another section of that so its niceto combine music, with film with photographs witheverything, with scripts its all somebody expressingthemselves and I think its beautiful to bringeverybody together and if we can just sort of mash itup and make it all one muddle that will be lovely.


You’ve been acting this year any plans to make moremovies?

Joss Stone: It was an interesting moment. It wasfunny though and it was a bit of a laugh. You know I’ma singer, well I do my best, that was an accident initself but it ended up happening but now people cometo me and ask me to be their lead in their movies. Why? Really why? When I ask I’m not joking becauseyou’ve never seen me act so it’s the craziest thing tome. You know they come to me and say we have thisscript and we have all these people in it and we wantyou to be the lead in it. Why? I wouldn’t want to bethe reason for somebody’s movie messing up. So whenthey came to me with Eragon I liked it because it’s areal fantasy adventure film, its not real whatsoeverwhich is great and I love that, you know to go into acompletely different world, not just somebody else’slife but a completely different world that doesn’teven exist and plus it was one scene so I thoughtalright, I’ll do it because then it’s a laugh, it’snot so much pressure so I did it and it was fun.


Would you like to do it again?

Joss Stone: Maybe if they come up with somethingthat’s worth having a bash at why not? I just don’twant it to be like way too much pressure because I’mnot an actress quite yet if ever I get good at itmaybe I’ll turn into one of those but right now I’mjust working on the music and I just like to have funyou know if it sounds like a good idea I’ll do it. Ifnot I won’t.


You said before, you don’t want to categorise yourmusic is it upsetting when others categorise it?

Joss Stone: No it’s really interesting because I getto see what people really think of it. What I say tothem is this, they’re like so what type of music is itand to call something soul music is very vague I meanbecause rock can be soul, jazz can be soul, countrycan be soul, classical can be soul because we can allfeel it and we all have a soul so to categorise it isimpossible. So what I do when people ask me what Ising I say you know what honey I just sing and I hopethat you like it and that’s all I do and you call itwhatever you want. Once you’ve heard it you decidewhat it sounds like and she’ll decide somethingdifferent to what he decides and that’s what’s sobeautiful about it because there are no limits thereare no pigeonholes, there’s no box, I don’t fit and Idon’t want to fit.


You mentioned before that this new album is all youand you’re not relying on other people’s opinionanymore. How long did it take you to realise that youshould rely on your own intuition?

Joss Stone: Well I was 14, and imagine this thatyou’re like a CEO of a big record company, you’re like40 years old you earn millions every year and you’reputting millions into this little girl and she comesup to you and says ‘alright I want my beats to be likethis, I want the melody to go like this, I want to saythis, I want to work with him’. You’re going to lookat that 14 year old little girl and you’re going tosay, bless you’re little cotton socks no, you’re goingto do what I tell you to do and that’s what happenedon the last two albums and that’s fine because itbought me to a great place and I was lucky enough tosign with somebody with passion for music thank godbecause otherwise I’d be f*****. So he inspired me tomake this one really great. You know it pissed me offfor four years so that just really made me want tomake this one perfect.


Will this new album be really different to the others?

Joss Stone: Yeah this one is me, this is what I madeand yes its different but people are saying you knowits not you but the thing is I called it IntroducingJoss Stone and the reason I did that is because itslike me putting my hand out and saying nice to meetyou I’m Joss because you didn’t meet me yet becausethere was no chance to. So its exciting but its soscary also because this year I’m going to find out ifI’m good enough


Gaynor Flynn