Has it really been more than six years since Joss Stone burst onto the music scene with The Soul Sessions, an album of obscure soul songs performed by a 16-year-old girl from Ashill, England who had the voice of 50-year-old-blues legend?

Over the past half-decade, music fans have seen the singer-songwriter release Mind, Body & Soul (her second album which the singer often refers to as her real debut which was an even bigger success than The Soul Sessions), and Introducing Joss Stone, which was produced by Raphael Saadiq and included guest appearances from Common and Lauryn Hill.

Yet, while Stone has grown as an artist on each of her releases, her last disc was not as successful commercially as her previous efforts and there were those, including some at her record label, who wondered whether Stone had reached the peak of her popularity.

The discontent from those at her label is understandable. In April 2008, it was reported that Stone was going to try to extricate herself from her three-album deal with EMI. At the time, she told Starpulse that she was “not at all happy with EMI.” Accordingly, it is also not a surprise that EMI not only delayed the release of her new album, Colour Me Free, but also changed the album’s cover art from a scene which displayed Stone caged behind bars to a purple cover with plain text and no picture of Stone.

Fortunately, Stone’s discontent appears not to have distracted her too much. She continues to prove that she is one of the finest soul artists on the scene. She insists on working with and learning from great producers, and performing with talented artists like Nas, Jeff Beck, and Sheila E.

It is worth remembering that Stone is still 22. That she maintains her focus on her singing and songwriting should offset her well-publicized battles with EMI. Those who try to stifle her desire to split from the label might need to tread carefully to ensure that they do not also retard her creativity and evolution as an artist. It is a fine line; one made finer when her age is taken into consideration truly. At the same time, because she is so young Stone will have the time to correct any mistakes she might make. And for a woman as talented as she is, so long as her produced work continues to be of the level which it has been throughout the early phase of her career, people will forget everything but the music.