SINGAPORE — Soul singer Joss Stone is at the top of her game. At age 16, the British singer-songwriter achieved both critical and commercial acclaim with her debut album The Soul Sessions. Her next six albums, including last year’s Water For Your Soul, also sold millions of copies worldwide, leading to awards and nominations at the Brit and Grammy Awards.

Still, Stone seems to prefer a life away from the headlines. In an e-mail interview with TODAY, she spoke of feeling most comfortable in her kitchen with her cats and dogs — “as long as they are not killing each other”.

“Yes, I’m happy in life at the moment. I’m free to do musically whatever I choose, and anything I am unhappy about I deal with myself,” said the 28-year-old, who will be headlining this year’s Singapore International Jazz Festival. “It’s not something I’d tell a reporter.”

“I’m not a fan of fame, really. I find it mostly annoying,” she continued. “But being successful with your dreams in life is a beautiful thing. Regardless of whether it is making music or making a great cake, it is nice to achieve a goal.”

Stone’s life has not been without its challenges. In 2009, the singer reportedly paid millions to put an end to her contract with EMI, which she says was the “best decision” she has made in her career. And when she does get a bad review, Stone has also learnt to take it in her stride.

“It depends on who the critic is. If the critic is someone I listen to — a fellow musician or a singer — then I listen. If the critic is someone who purely writes about music, but doesn’t play, and has never been on my radar for any reason, then I wouldn’t really be affected by their review,” she said. “People generally send me good reviews so I read them over bad ones.”

For the rest of this year, Stone plans to continue with her world tour, with scheduled stops in Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

“This is really my passion project right now. I am enjoying seeing parts of the world I have never seen before, and very much enjoying visiting the beautiful people of our world. We mostly find these people when we do charity visits in each country, and the fun part is the local musical collaborations,” Stone said. “It is very interesting for me to hear and be part of these different styles of music.”

And if you were wondering how she plans to take care of her magnificent head of blonde hair in humid Singapore when she performs at Sing Jazz, Stone says she has no idea.

“It’s a mess. I style it so you think it’s gorgeous, but it’s a mess,” she quipped. Hon Jing Yi

Sing Jazz Festival 2016 will be held from March 4 to 6 at the Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza. More details are found at http://www.sing-jazz.com.