Joss minds the Gap
Joss Stone is the hippy-chick singer more at home in bare feet and denims than treading the red carpet. But the teenage sensation is clearly growing into her reputation as a soul diva. The Devon-born star has appeared in her first Vogue shoot - swapping those boho threads and her usually cheeky demeanour for a £3,500 couture dress and a sultry pout.
And her appeal is now so huge in the US she has just been signed as the new face of the Gap TV advertising campaign.
Stone, 17, will be following in the footsteps of international icons such as Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker, Madonna, Missy Elliott, Ray Liotta and Carole King.
"I've just signed so I'm not sure what I'll be doing yet - whether I'll be singing or not - but I'm so thrilled that they've asked me," says Stone.
"Considering all the other people who have done the Gap campaigns it's really exciting. I can't quite believe it!"
Stone received a standing ovation after performing a medley of Janis Joplin classics with Melissa Etheridge at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles last month. And she is poised to begin a sellout tour of the US in May.
Despite the acclaim, the double Brit Award-winner, who performed a duet at this year's ceremony with Robbie Williams, is determined to keep her feet on the ground.
She had her pick of glamorous designer frocks for Vogue - posing in a frothy Galerie Gaultier number as well as a £5,500 white floor-length Valentino dress and £3,000 gold chiffon evening gown - but refused to abandon her preference for performing in bare feet.
"I won't wear any shoes, by the way," she announced as she arrived at the shoot.
Stone, whose new single Spoiled is released today, says: "I don't deserve this attention. It makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm not a celebrity. All I do is hold a mic up to my mouth and sing, it's nothing special.
"People freak out if I make my own cup of tea or carry my own bag. It drives me nuts."
She adds: "If something good happens to me everyone around me gets so excited. My mum jumps up and down saying, 'You met Robbie Williams!' I try to ignore it. I think fame affects the people around you most."
The full feature appears in the April issue of Vogue, on sale now.
