Most soulful female vocalist


What female vocalist can sing soul like no other , and why .
tmsorosk
Joan Osbourne. Truly one of the most underappreciated female artists going. She has a voice that is one of the most beautiful, gale-force instruments I've ever heard in the pop idiom.
Don't know about the "most", but the Afro/Spanish singer Concha Buika deploys a smoky, sandpaper voice suffused with flamenco-like passion. Check out "La Nina De Fuego" and her collaboration with the great Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes "El Ultimo Trago".
To clarify, do you mean a female vocalist who sings in the genre usually referred to as "Soul," or one who sings soulfully?