Second Cup Café: Joss Stone

She's not quite 20 years old, but when Joss Stone opens up her mouth to sing, out comes the soulful voice of a wise, worldly woman who can teach you a thing or two about the blues.

The British-born singer visits Second Cup Café to sing songs from her third album, "Introducing Joss Stone."

How she got her amazing voice is as much of a mystery to Stone as it is to everyone else.

"Where did my voice come from? I don't know," she told The Guardian. "I think it was just the music I listened to. I had an Aretha Franklin CD when I was 10 and I listened to Lauryn Hill a lot. It's not something that you learn. It's something you just do."

Stone's first brush with fame was winning on the BBC television talent show "Star For A Night" when she was 14. Her song was Donna Summer's "On The Radio."

In 2002, the confident teen traveled across the pond for an audition with S-Curve records in Los Angeles. She says her audition lasted all of four minutes before the label offered her a contract on the spot.

The record label paired Stone with soul legend Betty Wright as a mentor. Stone's first disc, 2003's EP "The Soul Sessions," was recorded in only four days.

Her sophomore effort, "Mind Body & Soul" came out in 2004; she wrote or co-wrote the majority of the tracks.

Stone was nominated for three Grammy awards in 2005: best new artist, best female pop vocal performance for "You Had Me" and best pop vocal album for "Mind, Body, & Soul."

She earned her first Grammy award this year, sharing best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals for her work with Sly & The Family Stone, John Legend and Van Hunt on "Family Affair."

During her career, Stone has appeared onstage with James Brown, The Rolling Stones and John Mayer, and has performed at the 2005 Live 8 concert in London.

In only three years she has sold more than 7.5 million albums worldwide.

In 2006, Stone made her feature film debut, playing the witch Angela in "Eragon."

Stone has written all the songs on her new album, released March 20. In press materials she describes the album as "truly me. That's why I'm calling it 'Introducing Joss Stone.' These are my words, and this is who I am as an artist."