The call of a new career?

Joss Stone wants to quit singing to train as a midwife! "It must be the nicest job," she says. Rami Jaber profiles the 18-year-old's meteoric rise to fame

It was 2002, when English singer Joss Stone left her family back home in Devon and took a chance with the music industry. A year later, at 16, Stone successfully positioned herself among the biggest pop and rock artists of our time.

Joss Stone was born in 1987 as Joscelyn Eve Stoker and grew up listening to American soul and R&B. Stone's idol at the time was none other than Aretha Franklin.

With vocals that are filled with depth and emotion, Stone felt it was time to take a chance during an audition held in New York before S-Curve CEO, Steve Greenberg. Stone instantly landed herself a deal.

Soul/R&B pioneer Betty Wright joined Stone in her first recording and became her friend and mentor. In addition to Wright, Angie Stone and The Roots assisted Stone in producing her first album The Soul Sessions.

In early 2004, Stone presented her hit single Fell in Love with a Boy on MTV. The song is a rework of The White Stripes' Fell in Love with a Girl. Over two million copies of The Soul Sessions were sold.

Following the huge success of her first album, Stone released Mind, Body and Soul in 2004 in which 12 of the 14 tracks were either written or co-written by her.

"For me, personally, Mind, Body and Soul is my real debut. I think my singing is so much better on this album," Stone was quoted as saying. "Your voice can't ever be the same, once you've started singing live as much as I have over the past year."

In the Mind, Body and Soul, you will surely love listening to the fresh feverish single You Had Me, the playful dance track Don't Cha Wanna Ride and the passionate Killing Time.

Contributors to the album include guitarist AJ Nilo, multi-instrumentalist Angelo Morris and drummers Cindy Blackman and David Hill. You can hear guitarist Nile Rodgers of CHIC in You Had Me as well as The Roots on drums in Sleep Like A Child.

Stone's success branched out to reach popular television series such as ER, West Wing and Third Watch, which couldn't resist including her songs. Who can blame them?

Stone has really proved herself, positioning herself successfully among the more established artists such as Norah Jones, Jill Scott, and Nikka Costa.