White Chocolate

Hall and Oates. Teena Marie. George Michael.

We’ve loved blue-eyed soul artists for years, and now there’s someone new on deck.

Hailing from Chewelah, Wash., Allen Stone may look like Middle America–meets– Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but the origins of his soulful vocal stylings are more a mix of Al Green’s cornbread crooning and Marvin Gaye’s ’70s urgency. Stone’s self-titled sophomore album (MBK Entertainment/ Sticky Stones) has already laid claim to several critics lists as a must-have for any lover of R&B.

Robin Thicke, watch yo’ back.