Estelle's time to Shine - page 2

05-04-2008 13:28

Despite being hailed in the US as a "new act", Estelle is by far an overnight sensation.

Trying to break into the music industry before the emergence of social networking website MySpace.com, Estelle did it the old-fashioned way - with a lot of hard graft.

Following several knock backs, she decided she was better on her own and started her own label, Stellar Ent, through which she released her own mixtapes.

Putting her talent where her mouth is, she then returned to the execs with a completed album and she was eventually offered a deal with V2 in 2003.

In 2004, Estelle released her debut autobiographical single '1980', named afer the year of her birth, at a time when black musicians such as Dizzee Rascal, Ms Dynamite, Jamelia and Mis-Teeq, were enjoying a takeover of the British charts.

Although her fresh and funky tale about growing up in west London to a Senegalese mother and a father from Grenada only scored a modest 14th position in the UK charts, her song received rave reviews, heavy radio play and support from underground DJs across the country. Estelle's follow up single, 'Free', had equal mixed success.

Unfortunately and perhaps, more aptly, unprecendently, her third single 'Go Gone', released in March 2005, only limped into number 32 in the charts, while her debut album 'The 18th Day' peaked at 35, despite five star reviews across the board.

In the fickle world that is the music industry, it seems the UK weren't quite ready for Estelle and she seemed to fade away.

What followed was months of depressive analysis of exactly why, despite stacks of critical acclaim and support, she had been unfairly brushed aside, along with many of her black contemporaries.

But luckily for Estelle there was one man who had not lost faith in her.

John Legend saw the potential in this sassy Londoner when he featured on two tracks on Estelle's debut album, 'Hey Girl' and 'Freedom' and vowed never to give up on her.

Estelle explained: "It seemed to me like things went to a certain level, then it went past that level, and I don't think the V2 had the know-how or the capacity to deal with it. We went to some labels after we left V2, and everybody was on some bulls**t. Straight-up bulls**t.

"The minute I said to John Legend, 'I'm leaving this label,' he said to me straight up, 'I'll sign you.' "

With a renewed determination and self-confidence, Estelle moved to the US on her own, stayed on a friend's couch and worked out the deal with Legend

The singer joked her transatlantic move was like "a job offer" and said doors started opening left right and centre with a hip hop superstar hoping to collaborate behind every one.

Behind one of those doors was Kanye West, who invited Estelle to support him on the UK leg of his 2007 tour.

Their partnership was recreated for the 'American Boy' single, accompained by a typically slick West video, featuring a newly glammed-up and groomed Estelle.

Describing her new US-ified image, she said: "I first switched when I hit 25 and thought you know what? My boobs are going to drop in five years, and my legs are going to have cottage cheese all over them - something I cannot stop. So I thought, let me show that s**t off real quick. I feel like I'm beautiful, and every woman should feel like that."

Beautiful, sassy and talented to boot, it seems Estelle's time to shine has finally arrived.

By Kate Sole