What happens when two British soul singers who exude the power of vulnerability collaborate?
Hopefully, a heart-rending song or two written in sync along the duo's January and February U.S. tour, Joss Stone said.
She and Corinne Bailey Rae have talked about touring before, but it's finally coming to fruition with a stop at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center on Jan. 29.
Stone, who at age 13 auditioned for the BBC Television talent show "Star for a Night in London," remembers Rae, who released her debut album at age 30, from festivals they've both played across the years.
"She's one of the coolest girls I've met in this style of music," beamed Stone. "We're both R&B, soul and blues, so we're similar, but she's more calming than my music. We complement each other, within the same genre bring different elements."
Rae said she remembers Stone from a Gladys Knight show in which Stone climbed into Knight's limousine to gush over their mutual idol.
Corinne Bailey Rae will perform at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. Provided
"We're both British girls who have managed to get to play all over the world," Rae said. "We wanted to come out and, you know, present our music together."
Rae, perhaps, is most famous for her 2006 hits "Put Your Records On" and "Like A Star," off her debut album. But since then, she's released two other records — "The Sea" in 2010, after her first husband unexpectedly died, and "The Heart Speaks in Whispers" in 2016, after she met and married current husband and producer Steve Brown.
She's working on a solo album, along with a side project influenced by archives of African American sculpture, literature and history at the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago.
Rae's father is from the West Indies, while her mother is White.
"People have always been like: ‘Do you like Black music or White music? Do you like soul or indie stuff?’ It’s like, aren’t I allowed to like all of it?" she once told The New York Times.
Stone, whose soulful vocals are often compared to another extraordinary Brit, Adele, said her first CD was "Aretha Franklin: Greatest Hits." The early soul music influence shows in her hits that span from 2003's "Super Duper Love" to last year's "Breaking Each Other's Hearts."
Joss Stone talks making music in the Bahamas, the joys of motherhood, her surprising foray into country music and offering her first VIP experience tour. Kristin Burns/Provided
She compares songwriting to a therapy session, where emotions that "aren't appropriate for everyday" might slip out and resonate. In her writing style, Stone also prefers to go with her gut, her first instinct.
"When you start to really pick away at one song and work on it and work on it, it's almost like picking away at your very self," she shared.
When she wrote for her upcoming album with Dave Stewart in the Bahamas, it was all about riffing and having fun, feeling joy from an idea and running with it.
"Writing songs is just making stuff up," she said with a laugh.
The pandemic has brought an unexpected solace to both performers, despite the fact they're both itching to get back on the road again.
Quarantined in her hometown of Leeds, Rae remembers when she was only allowed to leave her house once a day for a 20-minute exercise. It's one of the first times since she began touring life that she's been in the same place for almost two years.
"I've watched the seasons go 'round and gotten to know the names of the trees in our local park and notice when they're flowering and notice the scent of the flowers and things that I haven't really tuned into," she said. "I've been surprised by the way that our world has shrunk."
For Stone in Nashville, she's unexpectedly grown to love pop country music.
"Good Time" by Nico Moon is one of her favorites, which she has to laugh about. The lyrics involve sitting around a campfire and drinking moonshine. "And here I am in Tennessee with a fire pit outside I barely use and a jar of moonshine in the corner, and I'm just thinking: 'This is so funny, Joss, what are you doing here?' "
They both feel settled, shifted in a sense, and even more vulnerable in their lyrics and emotions — and part of that change has been motherhood. Rae is the mom of two young daughters, almost 2 and 4, while Stone just had her first daughter last January.
"So many people expect their life to be as it was, but it's not as it was," said Rae.
She remembers on vacations rolling out of bed and the day being consumed with eating, dancing and reading at the beach. Now, it's about watching her daughters build sandcastles and search for shells in the surf.
"Life just slows down," Rae said. "It's a bit like holding water in your hands. It trickles through, and you're really aware that every and any moment you're in is fleeting. It really reminds me of the fleeting nature of life and joy, and it helped me really fully taste a thing when I’m in it. It won’t last forever, and that kind of adds to the beauty of it."
For Stone, being a mom to her 1-year-old is "the best gig I've ever had."
"You're My Girl" from her upcoming album "Never Forget My Love" was actually written when she was pregnant and still didn't know the sex of her baby. Subconsciously, she said, she knew it would be a girl.
"Now it's her song," Stone said.
Both singers are touring with their daughters. Rae's 4-year-old has already been to South Africa, Japan and Brazil. Rae's mother also tagged along for those shows.
"It's a total joy to be there with three generations of my family," said Rae. "To see my kids in the crowd at a festival; it feels really like winning, if you can manage to do the thing you love but have a family as well."
Rae clings to the beautiful random moments and connections that weave together each of our storylines, just hoping she continues to get to grow in what she loves and watch her children grow in that world, too.
Stone imagines a life one day where she picks her daughter up from school every day and attends all her school plays and sports games. But summer and winter break could be for touring, she imagines.
In a way, Stone was always made to sing because she was told "it makes other people happy." The important thing she hopes to do is surround her daughter with options — but no pressure.
