Lenny Kravitz, Leon Thomas, und Joss Stone

Known for his unique blend of just about every music genre including rock, soul, reggae, psychedelic rock, R’n’B and ballads, Lenny Kravitz is a multi-talented artist whose craft has been perfected since 1978 (when he was just 14 years old). He won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for four consecutive years (1998-2002), which broke the record for most wins in that particular category and most consecutive wins in one category by a male artist.

He has been nominated for and won awards from the likes of BRIT Awards, American Music Awards and MTV Video Music Awards to name but a handful. Since 2011, Kravitz has also been an Officer of the Odre des Arts et des Lettres in France. His penchant for producing music that spans a plethora of genres and cultures could be attributed to his multi-cultured heritage (his mother, who played Helen Willis on the TV show The Jeffersons, was of Afro-American and Afro-Bahamian descent and his father, from a Russian-Jewish family originating from Ukraine). Then again, it could simply be down to growing up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York, with his parents taking him to concerts form an early age. These live concerts included a Madison Square Garden performance from The Jackson Five, which quickly became Kravtiz’s favorite group.

Other influences on his musical style are James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. Following the family moving to the west coast from New York, Kravitz was exposed to rock music from Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, which then influenced his music further, later joined by inspiration from John Lennon and Bob Marley.

Kravitz’s refreshingly retro style (against the general brashness of the 80’s) saw the success of his debut album, “Let Love Rule” (1989) with its radio-hit title track responsible for its triumph. Kravitz also wrote Madonna’s hit single, “Justify My Love” and has collaborated with Guns ‘n’ Roses guitarist, Slash on “Always on the Run.” His most widely recognized album success is third album from 1993 named “Are You Gonna Go My Way” which saw radio hit singles like “Heaven Helo” and “Believe.”

Kravitz is famous for his elaborate stage performances and music videos, and has recently acted in The Hunger Games film series as Cinna.

Inspired by Aretha Franklin’s ‘Greatest Hits’, Stone began her rise to stardom in 2001 at the age of 14; she won the Star for a Night talent show on BBC, before signing to S-Curve Records and releasing her multi-platinum and critically acclaimed debut album ‘The Soul Sessions’ in 2003. Miss Stone won the Capital FM accolade of London’s Favourite UK Album with the release of ‘Mind, Body & Soul’ a year later, which featured the hit single ‘You Had Me”, charting at number nine in the UK.

Between the years of 2007 and 2009, Stone released two more albums - ‘Introducing Joss Stone’ and ‘Colour Me Free!’ - before starting up her own record label - Stone’d Records - in 2010 and releasing the album ‘LP1’ on her own label. The vintage soul-artist then recorded an album with SuperHeavy, a supergroup consisting of Mick Jagger, Damien Marley and A.R. Rahman, before releasing ‘The Soul Sessions Vol 2’ in 2012.

Stone has utilized her musical talents for various campaigns, such as the Save the Music Foundation in 2004, where she performed along the likes of Jessica Simpson and Ashanti, and Band Aid 20, recording alongside Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin and U2 singer Bono. Stone also lead a campaign for Hear The World, which focused on raising an awareness for the victims of hearing loss, and was the first non-model to feature as the Flake girl for Cadbury Schweppes in 2008.

A worldwide superstar, Joss Stone has performed at reputable events such as the Live 8 Concert in 2005 and the Best of Blues Festival in 2014, highlighting the huge following she has maintained since her early teenage years.