[VIDEO] JILL SCOTT ON CHRISTINA AGUILERA: 'I LIKE WHAT SHE CAN DO WITH HER VOICE'

Jill Scott fills her stylish new album, The Light Of The Sun, with smart, confident songs like “Shame”. But it took her roughly a year-and-a-half to write and record, and during that time, she listened to virtually no other music. Now that she’s wrapped up in the studio, whose voice is capturing her attention? In an exclusive interview, Jill told us she’s awakened to Frank Ocean (the R&B crooner in wildcard rap act Odd Future and no friend of Chris Brown), and she’s all about angelic The Voice coach Christina Aguilera. Check out why Jill’s so in love with them in our chat below.

Jill told us that the songwriting process for The Light Of The Sun started only after she endured “a dark moment, a very dark moment.” (Bear in mind that since her previous album, 2007’s The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3, she announced and then broke off her engagement to the father of her child). “When the light hit me again, it was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. Everything started from that point.” The result is a sassy, savvy album that’s earning rave reviews.

In our interview, Jill walks us through the fabulous vintage soul artwork by Gomillion and Leupold and the spontaneous style with which she writes her lyrics.

But we were especially intrigued to hear her weigh in on current music after locking herself away for so long. In addition to her “So In Love” duet partner Anthony Hamilton, Jill’s been listening to Frank Ocean (who’s scored an emerging hit with “Novacane”). Of Ocean, Jill says: “I think he’s very thoughtful, I think he’s soulful.”

And she reserved special praise for Christina, whom she describes as “one of the prettiest birds I’ve heard in a while… I like what she can do with her voice. I would love to play with it.”

Who knows, maybe Jill can land herself a spot on The Voice and fly alongside that little blonde bird next season.

Watch the complete interview below.

@2:52