#9- 10 White Singers We Once Thought Were Black

Joss Stone

Many British singers with deeper voices tend to get the “blue-eyed soul singer” card thrown at them whether they love it or hate it. Joss and her heavy voice, known for being breathy one minute then growling the next, was someone I assumed was of the black persuasion when I first heard the song, “Fell in Love With a Boy.” Well, she wasn’t of course, and since then, she’s garnered a lot of success and love, including some big ups from iconic singers like Patti Labelle and the chance to sing alongside The Roots, James Brown and more. And if kick-off-your-shoes Patti likes her, you’ve got to love her!

Jocelyn Eve Stoker^[1] (born 11 April 1987), better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist. Her second album, the equally multiplatinum Mind Body & Soul, topped the UK Albums Chart for one week and spawned the top ten hit "You Had Me", Stone's most successful single on the UK Singles Chart to date. Both album and single each received one nomination at the 2005 Grammy Awards, while Stone herself was nominated for Best New Artist, and in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2004^[2] was ranked fifth as a predicted breakthrough act of 2004.^[2] She became the youngest British female singer to top the UK Albums Chart in history to have her first album at number one. In early 2009, she joined the eclectic supergroup SuperHeavy.

Stone's third album, Introducing Joss Stone, released in March 2007, achieved gold record status by the RIAA and yielded the second-ever highest debut for a British female solo artist on the Billboard 200, which became Stone' first Top 5 album in the United States and first non-Top 10 album in the United Kingdom. Stone released her fourth album, Colour Me Free!, on 20 October 2009, which did reach Top 10 on Billboard. Stone released her fifth album, LP1, on 22 July 2011, which did reach Top 10 on Billboard. Throughout her career, Stone has sold eleven million albums, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time, best-selling soul artists of the 2000s and best-selling British artists of her time.^[3] Her first three albums have sold over 2,722,000 copies in the United States, while her first two albums have sold over 2,000,000 copies in United Kingdom. Stone has won two BRIT Awards and one Grammy Award. She also made her film acting debut in late 2006 with the fantasy adventure film Eragon, and made her television debut portraying Anne of Cleves in the Showtime series The Tudors in 2009.^[4] Stone was the youngest woman on the 2006 Sunday Times Rich List^[5][6]—an annual list of the UK's wealthiest people—with £6 million

#8- 10 White Singers We Once Thought Were Black

When Vison of Love dropped in the 90's everybody was wondering "who is this new voice sounding like a version of Whitney?"  We all sang along to the radio and anticipate this sister dropping the whole album.  Oh but, when the single released for sale and we got a glimpse of this beautiful soulful vocal, we where all confused.  What is really going on?? Are they pulling another stunt like Black Box and C&C Music Factory did to Martha Wash??  With here black sounding vocal music interpretation and her white looks, Maria Carey was an instant vocal icon, and who could hit those high notes anyway??

Mariah Carey^[1] (born March 27, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and released her self-titled debut studio album, Mariah Carey. The album went multi-platinum and spawned four consecutive number one singles, on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. After the success of the album, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1991. Following her marriage to Mottola in 1993, a series of hit records established her position as Columbia's highest-selling act. Music Box (1993), was certified diamond and became one of the best-selling albums of all time and Merry Christmas (1994), eventually became the most sucessful holiday album. Daydream (1995), made music history when the lead single "Fantasy" debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, making her the first female artist to accomplish a number one debut in the U.S. The second single, "One Sweet Day" a duet with Boyz II Men, spent a record sixteen weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100, and remains the longest running number one song in US chart history. During the recording of the album Carey began to deviate from her pop background, and slowly traversed into R&B and Hip-hop. After her separation from Mottola, this musical change and personal transformation was clearly evident with the release of Butterfly (1997), which she personally considered her best album.
Carey left Columbia in 2000, and signed a record-breaking $100 million recording contract with Virgin Records. In 2001, Carey ventured into film with Glitter (2001). Before the film's release she suffered a physical and emotional breakdown and was hospitalized for severe exhaustion. Following the film's poor reception, she was bought out of her recording contract for $50 million, which led to a decline in her career. She signed a multi-million dollar contract deal with Island Records in 2002, and after a relatively unsuccessful period, returned to the top of music charts with The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). It became the best-selling album by a solo artist globally of that year, marked by the success of "We Belong Together", which became the most successful solo single of her music career, and was later named "Song of the Decade" by Billboard. Following Carey's success with The Emancipation of Mimi, she once again ventured into film, and starred in Precious (2009). Her role in the film was met with critical acclaim, she was awarded the "Breakthrough Performance Award" at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and a NAACP Image Award nomination.
In a career spanning over two decades, Carey has sold more than 200 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. In 1998, she was honored as the world's best-selling recording artist of the 1990s at the World Music Awards. Carey was also named the best-selling female artist of the millennium in 2000. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the third best-selling female artist in the United States, with 63 million certified albums. With the release of "Touch My Body" (2008), Carey gained her eighteenth number one single in the United States, more than any other solo artist. Additionally, she remains the best-selling international artist in Japan, and holds the top four best-selling albums by a non-Asian artist. Aside from her commercial accomplishments, Carey has won five Grammy Awards, seventeen World Music Awards, eleven American Music Awards and twenty-eight Billboard Music Awards. As part of her artistry, she is often cited as one of the most influential voices in pop music, and is credited for her five-octave vocal range, power, melismatic style and signature use of the whistle register.

#4 - 10 White Singers We Once Thought Were Black

Christina Aguilera

LOVE her. Maybe songs like “Genie in a Bottle” didn’t have you thinking her melanin count was up, but for years, I’ve heard older people who’ve heard her sing say they thought she was a black woman. To many, she has the compelling voice of a modern day soul singer who just happens to not “look” like one. Stepping out from the teeny-bopper pack with their rail thin voices, Aguilera’s pipes have acquired her a lot of love and recognition. She was ranked number 58 on the 100 Best Singer’s of All Time list by Rolling Stone,  making her the youngest singer on the list.

 

Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection",^[5] the theme song for the animated film Mulan (1998).

In 1999, Aguilera came to prominence following her debut album Christina Aguilera, which was a commercial success spawning three number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100—"Genie in a Bottle", "What a Girl Wants", and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)."^[6] Her sophomore and her debut Latin-pop album, Mi Reflejo (2000), a Christmas third studio album, My Kind of Christmas (2000), and several collaborations followed which garnered Aguilera worldwide success, though she was displeased with her lack of input in her music and image.^[7] After parting from her management, Aguilera took creative control over her fourth studio album, Stripped (2002).^[8] The album's second single, "Beautiful," was a commercial success and helped the album's commercial performance amidst controversy over Aguilera's image.^[9][10][11] Aguilera followed up Stripped with the soul, jazz and blues inspired, Back to Basics (2006), released to positive critical acclaim.^[12] The album had three commercially successful singles: "Ain't No Other Man", "Hurt" and "Candyman".^{[citation needed]} Four years later Aguilera released her sixth studio album, Bionic (2010), which incorporated aspects of R&B, electropop, and synthpop and was met with mixed reviews and low sales