Diggin' on you

Bare-footed soul pixie Joss Stone is on the comeback trail, with a new album and a daft new barnet.

We should all be very thankful for this, because Joss nearly gave it all up after being pushed around by 'the man'.

"It's no secret that I don't really like my first two albums," Joss says. "I told my manager: 'Let me make the album I want to or I'll quit and start a new life.'"

Her manager agreed and, free to pursue her own musical goals, Joss has made an album of ambient whale noises accompanied by the sound of tennis balls being thrown into jam.

Not really, of course. She has actually hired the ultra-talented R&B producer Raphael Saadiq (Mary J Blige, TLC, Kelis, The Bee-Gees (?)) and recorded a whole shedload of self-penned tracks - as well as a duet with former Fugee and current recluse Lauryn Hill.

"The theme of the album is music," says Joss in a rare moment of insight.

The album will be called Introducing Joss Stone when it arrives in March, but there are reports that it has leaked already. Mind you, I've downloaded about seven different "previews" so far and all of them are fake. If you've got a genuine copy of any of the tracks, it would be wonderful if you could hook me up.

A copy of the album wouldn't be bad, either.

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