"Allow me to be blunt: Allen Stone has the best effing voice I've ever heard, and there's no two ways about it. Perhaps it's because Allen is literally the son of a preacher man or because he was raised on gospel music, but Stone seems to possess one of the most powerful set of pipes we've heard in a hot sec. And the public agrees: Allen's new self-titled album hasn't even been out a measly 48 hours, and it's already No. 2 on iTunes' R&B/Soul Charts. Oh, and did we mention he's still unsigned? Baller status."

"Allen Stone, a 24-year-old Seattle songwriter, was an unabashed throwback when he performed at a packed S.O.B.'s on Wednesday night. He talked about cellphones and social networks and sang about, among other things, the clout of the Christian right and a culture of greed. But his music reached back four decades to the late 1960s and early '70s, when songwriters like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway and Bill Withers brought introspection and social commentary to soul music."

"The 24-year-old former church boy from tiny Chewelah, Wash. has just self-released his third album on iTunes, and it's meant for those of us who like our R&B slightly unkempt and exceedingly feelingful. Stone's earning attention partly because his blond hippie-coder visage (he freely admits to being "kind of a peculiar looking human being") so drastically contrasts with his charged, virile vocalisms."

"Soul revivalism isn't exactly uncharted territory, but Stone puts a new spin on it, and not just through his wardrobe choices. The singer … does it so well that it feels fresh. Covering Bob Marley's "Is This Love" is almost always a hack karaoke move, but Stone and his band transformed it into a nearly unrecognizable funk scorcher with gospel undertones. Stone … sounds like a hybrid of Justin Timberlake, Anthony Hamilton and Sam Cooke."

"Buzz is forming around rising soul singer Allen Stone. He's drawn the inevitable comparisons to Stevie Wonder and Justin Timberlake. With his unconventional look -- long, curly hairy and glasses -- and smooth falsetto, he reminds us more of a pre-"Evolution" Robin Thicke."

"There is so much music at the forefront that really drops the ball", Stone said. "R&B and soul music has the power to change minds and affect people emotionally and spiritually. It has the power to ignite change. And that's where I get passionate. I miss music that stimulated like 'What's Going On' … songs about social change, what are we doing, what's our government doing, what are we doing as a country? I like music that says stuff besides I want to [expletive] you."

"Fast-forward 22 hours and I'm standing in the site of Allen's show. I'm looking around the room and the "salt and pepper" demographic of a NYC show that Allen described is as present as ever. People who I know only frequent hip-hop shows or only rock shows are not only present, but also excited. There's a rumor that someone from The New York Times is around. You can almost taste the buzz in the building."

"...a voice that astounds everyone who hears it, a rich caramel tone as full as it is limber, reaching back into the annals of soul's greatest hitmakers, rippling like Stevie Wonder, swaying like Bill Withers, ascending like Prince. It's a voice that has attracted his young, talented bandmates and the night's adoring crowd. It's a voice that shatters prejudice. And it's a voice that is trying to say something."

"If you like Mayer Hawthorne, Maxwell, Jamiroquai, Maroon 5 and maybe Joe Cocker remember this name: Allen Stone."

"The son of a preacher man, this diamond in the rough got his start at church picnics in Chewelah, Wash. (population 1,500). His voice, a pitch-perfect powerhouse, emotes confessional lyricism beyond his 24 years."

"...his voice and energy reminds listeners of music legends like Stevie Wonder and Prince."

Photos by Jason Tang. • Non-Commercial use permitted with credit.