It’s been a busy few years for Joss Stone. The singer, 37, gave birth to her second child, a boy named Shackleton – whom she shares with her husband Cody DaLuz, along with three-year-old daughter, Violet – in October 2022. She also embarked on her “20 Years Of Soul” tour to mark two decades since the release of her platinum selling debut album The Soul Sessions and managed to win The Masked Singer, wowing fans as she revealed herself as the epic Sausage.
And in the middle of such a manic schedule she somehow managed to plan her wedding to Cody, tying the knot with her long-term partner in November.
It doesn’t look like the Devon-born star will be slowing down any time soon, either. Not only has she revealed that she’s started the adoption process in a bid to expand her brood, but she’s hit the road once again for her Ellipsis tour, performing in the UK this month and across Europe, the USA and South
America until the end of September. Phew!
Luckily, we managed to pin down the in-demand star between gigs for a chinwag about love, life, music and the challenges of being a working mum…
This month, you played the Royal Albert Hall for the first time – was it a career high?
My friend Ollie, who books my UK gigs, had been begging me to do the Albert Hall for three or four years. And I said to him, “No way. I can’t fill it.” I didn’t want to do it if I couldn’t get enough people there – I was basically being insecure. I finally gave in and I’m so glad I did, because I found out that it had completely sold out. It was wonderful.
You’ve done a few other UK gigs this summer – is it nice to be back on home turf?
Performing in the UK is more special than in any other place. But it’s more scary, too, because every gig is important. My friends and family come to these gigs and I want them to be proud of me. If I do a gig in Albuquerque [New Mexico] and it’s terrible, I’m never going to see those people again!
Is it hard to balance your work life with mum life?
It can be. It’s a constant juggling act. I don’t have much free time these days and any time I do have is spent with the kids. I go from recording music to singing Baby Shark! But being a mum is the best thing, I love kids. They’re so full of love and light.
You and Cody recently got married – congratulations! What’s the secret of your happy relationship?
He listens to me. I don’t have many people in my life who just naturally listen to me. They all think I’m a bit of a ditz and I find that really frustrating. And I’ve listened to what he wants and I give it to him, too. You can talk to somebody until you’re blue in the face and tell them what you want, and if they’re not really listening and if they don’t care enough to do it, it’s not going to work.
Do you and Cody make sure you have quality time for yourselves?
We often just find ourselves flaked on the sofa, after Violet has finally gone to sleep – which takes until 9pm some nights. And then by 9.30pm Cody has fallen asleep. But I’m usually up until 1am. That’s my creative time, where I find that I come up with my best ideas for my music.
So, a date night is basically just an episode of a good TV show?
Yes! If we do manage a bit of time together in the evening, we’ll probably just stick on an episode of Ted Lasso or some Bake Off reruns. I’m obsessed with Bake Off.