Joss Stone wanted to get Stevie Wonder’s “permission” before she covered ‘What Christmas Means to Me’.
The 35-year-old singer is releasing a cover of the ‘Superstition’ hitmaker’s festive track as the first song from her new seasonal album, ‘Merry Christmas, Love’ and she revealed she called the star to ask his advice about her recording, but he wasn’t available to speak to her.
While Joss has recorded the track anyway, she’s concerned he’ll think her take is “completely wrong”.
She said: “We’ve met a few times and every now and then we’ll talk on the phone.
“He’s the sweetest guy in the world. I wanted to talk to him before I recorded the song to ask his opinion and permission. I left him a voicemail… I hope he likes it.
“I really tried not to make it sound too R+B, which is what I’ve been doing for a long time.
“Maybe Stevie will give me a call and say, ‘Joss, why did you do that? That’s completely wrong!’
“I’ll hopefully see him around when we’re touring.”
Joss wanted the album to be “classy” and “magical” but she had to change her way of working.
She explained to Britain’s HELLO! magazine: “I tried to make it as classy, Christmassy and magical as I could.
“I wanted it to be like the old Frank Sinatra Christmas records or Dean Martin and Bing Crosby… what I like listening to.
“It wasn’t as simple as my more soulful records, which came from jams at night with my mates in Devon.
“Rather than singing harmonies from memory, which I normally do with my backing singers, everything was written down so it worked perfectly. It was a different world.”