I just recently read on some magazine that Joss Stone fired four of her managers in the past five years.Which led on of her managers to speak out about her and say her diva like attitude may derail her career

Article:
She's only 20 but Joss Stone has already had four managers and said this week that she 'hates them all'.

Now The Mail on Sunday has tracked down two former aides thrust aside by the young star after furious clashes and they warn that her diva-like behaviour could derail her career.

At first glance, it might seem like the easiest task in showbusiness: take a beautiful, charismatic teenager with the extraordinary voice of a 40-year-old delta blues diva and turn her into a superstar.

Yet despite the efforts of some of the world's top music managers, Joss Stone is still struggling to find the same level of success abroad as she enjoys in Britain.

For her, the reason is simple. With the supreme confidence engendered by youth and success, she vowed last week: "I'm never having a manager ever again. I've had four in the past five years and I hate them all."

But two of those discarded aides have spoken exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, and they paint a portrait of an ingenue whose self-belief may yet prove misplaced.

Alex Cole is a leading Hollywood business manager and Ron Stone – no relation to the star has worked with legends including Bob Dylan, The Eagles and Joni Mitchell.

Both men claim Joss is naive, unwilling to take advice, surrounded by sycophants and heading for disaster if she does not begin listening.

"She's making a lot of wrong decisions at the moment," says Stone from his offices in Studio City, California.

"If she's not careful she could derail her career. Joss wants to manage herself but you have to consider her lack of understanding of the challenges in front of her. There's no way she can make the sophisticated choices demanded because her life experience is so very limited.

However, Stone says that Joss is fixated on becoming a commercial success rather than building a long-term career. "She needed to sell records to persuade people to see her perform but the real money is in concerts, not in record sales. That's why the long-lasting artists the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen love to tour. Joss thought success was measured only in selling records and her parents thought the same. I was a lone voice in the wilderness. I was thinking long-term for her everyone else was looking at the short term."

'On her last concert tour, she played Los Angeles twice in a few months. The second time more than 1,000 seats were empty. That was a serious mistake because you always want your audience and promoters wanting more, scrambling to buy tickets when you next come to town.

*She has even fired soul legend Betty Wright who guided her through the very beginning of her career.
[Edited 1/19/08 8:40am]
[Edited 1/20/08 12:27pm]

That's really BS. I know Joss personally and we are currently planning to do some work together. She's very far from acting like a Diva. In fact, for a 21-year-old she's very mature and considering her success, she's really down to earth. She'll come up with some things this year that will be pretty unusual for your average young pop star, but she'll do some stuff that'll take her back to the roots of Soul music, even if it compromizes the acceptance of her mainstream listeners.

Seems like her managers have some beef to grind because she kicked them out when they got greedy. Currently, she's managing herself, and that deserves respect. Yes, maybe she'll make a few wrong choices along the way, but it's not like she can't afford it. At least she'll be able to say that the mistakes are her own and that she will learn from them.
[Edited 1/20/08 13:29pm]

That's really BS. I know Joss personally and we are currently planning to do some work together. She's very far from acting like a Diva. In fact, for a 21-year-old she's very mature and considering her success, she's really down to earth. She'll come up with some things this year that will be pretty unusual for your average young pop star, but she'll do some stuff that'll take her back to the roots of Soul music, even if it compromizes the acceptance of her mainstream listeners.

That's really BS. I know Joss personally and we are currently planning to do some work together. She's very far from acting like a Diva. In fact, for a 21-year-old she's very mature and considering her success, she's really down to earth. She'll come up with some things this year that will be pretty unusual for your average young pop star, but she'll do some stuff that'll take her back to the roots of Soul music, even if it compromizes the acceptance of her mainstream listeners.

Seems like her managers have some beef to grind because she kicked them out when they got greedy. Currently, she's managing herself, and that deserves respect. Yes, maybe she'll make a few wrong choices along the way, but it's not like she can't afford it. At least she'll be able to say that the mistakes are her own and that she will learn from them.

cool for you...but i still can't stand the poser.

You should see her new video, she really acts like a bitch in that one. lol

sosgemini said:

And you are entitled to that. I have to admit, I've never even owned any of her records, and I still don't. What I know about her is solely based on my personal experiences (which includes hearing her sing live).

2freaky4church1 said:

Maybe. I haven't see it. But acting like a bitch and actually being one in real life are two different pairs of shoes. I've met a lot of stars because of my work, and I have to say that Joss is among those who are most down to earth, friendly and really easy going.

yeah, im sure she is a nice person and i will admit to not seeing her live but i can't help but think she has yet to find her own voice...i know she's received competent training but theres something about her that doesn't ring true to my ear.

I agree perception of people is a strange thing because you will always get conflicting views, especially from their persona, but most tend to be approachable and then others are not. I remember last year i heard someone saying they though Norah Jones "had an ego" and things like that, and i mainly told them you are basing it on an article, interview, or a soundbyte of something a person said. I have hung out with norah and her band before she was even signed and blew up and i still have hung out with them after, and no one has changed one bit, down to earth, friendly, funny etc..

sosgemini said:

Her color maybe?
I know that you are not saying that. But she gets a lot of heat for being a white girl and singing the music that she does. Now in regards to what you said, homegirl is just 21. She has plenty of time to find her true style. Remember, they made her big when she was only 16. A lot of other girls that age would have turned into arrogant, greedy bitches after all that attention.

sosgemini said:

Her color maybe?
I know that you are not saying that. But she gets a lot of heat for being a white girl and singing the music that she does. Now in regards to what you said, homegirl is just 21. She has plenty of time to find her true style. Remember, they made her big when she was only 16. A lot of other girls that age would have turned into arrogant, greedy bitches after all that attention.

and how insulting to even hint that i have issue with her being a white girl..your talking to the one of the world's biggest teena marie and lisa stansfield fan.

sosgemini said:

Her color maybe?

lastdecember said:

There's nothing wrong with having an ego as long as you still treat your people right.

sosgemini said:

Read my post again, bro. I said specifically that this isn't your issue .. but it's an issue that she's dealing with.

In regards to her "going away" until she "finds that voice", well how would that work? I recommend that in that case you always have the option of going away, or better: changing the channel.Nobody forces you to listen to her music,and it's easy to avoid it if you want to. I've never even heard her sing until last summer.

MrSoulpower said:

Her suckiness possibly?

She pretty much blows(lots of producers), and it's not because of her color or genre. There are plenty of melanin-challenged people that are soulful, in every genre.

Her suckiness possibly?

She pretty much blows(lots of producers), and it's not because of her color or genre. There are plenty of melanin-challenged people that are soulful, in every genre.

Dance said:

You seriously dont want me to run down the list of Producers that have slept with their artists, well considering we are on a PRINCE forum, a man that slept with all his proteges (who all kindly get a PASS here as talented artists) and the ones that didnt sleep with him, strangely their albums just didnt come out.

MrSoulpower said:

how would it work? well, how about she work the club circuit and live life. and your right, nobody is forcing me to listen to her...but i am still free to share my opinion on what i have heard.

how would it work? well, how about she work the club circuit and live life. and your right, nobody is forcing me to listen to her...but i am still free to share my opinion on what i have heard.

sosgemini said:

Of course you have the right to voice your opinion. And she has the right to sing in public, make records and appear on TV. Bottom line, if you do not like her singing, you should walk away. You shouldn't ask that of her because you happen to not like her.

I don't like most modern pop acts. But I don't ask them to walk away from me. I understand that they are free to do as they do, and if I don't like it, I just avoid them. And it works pretty well for me.

if she has the right to sing in public then i have the right to comment on her...

and just because your mary poppins and your philosophy works for you don't expect others to not critique...that comes with the job. but hey, i understand your going to defend her...after all, you are going to work with her.

side question: would you work with someone that you didn't respect as an artist?

sosgemini said:

Once again, I never suggested that you don't have the right to comment on her. I don't understand why you keep bringing that up. You vehemently insist on your right to speak up (which I did not want to take away from you and isn't even the topic of this thread), yet you expect her to walk away from you because you don't like her singing. It's easy. She can sing whenever and wherever she wants and you can critize her as much as you want. Cool? I totally understand the job and that critizim comes with it.

But the initial topic of this thread had little to do with criticizm .. it was about a media article that labeled her as a diva and failure, based on the accusations of her former managers and without asking her to present her side of the story.

To answer your side question - no, I don't ever work with artists I don't respect. I know that this is not a smart economical choice, but I happen to truly believe in the music that I work with.

sosgemini said:

Once again, I never suggested that you don't have the right to comment on her. I don't understand why you keep bringing that up. You vehemently insist on your right to speak up (which I did not want to take away from you and isn't even the topic of this thread), yet you expect her to walk away from you because you don't like her singing. It's easy. She can sing whenever and wherever she wants and you can critize her as much as you want. Cool? I totally understand the job and that critizim comes with it.

But the initial topic of this thread had little to do with criticizm .. it was about a media article that labeled her as a diva and failure, based on the accusations of her former managers and without asking her to present her side of the story.

To answer your side question - no, I don't ever work with artists I don't respect. I know that this is not a smart economical choice, but I happen to truly believe in the music that I work with.

well, i would say her failure has more to do with her not being respected by an audience that looks at her as a poser...

and its cool that you wouldnt work with someone that you don't respect...so now i must ask you, how in the world can you respect a poser like joss stone?



i kid...i kid.