Estelle

Estelle
Estelle in 2008
Born	Estelle Fanta Swaray (1980-01-18) 18 January 1980 (age 44) London, England
Nationality	British
Occupations	Singer songwriter rapper actress
Years active	2004–present
Musical career
Genres	R&B[1] hip hop soul[2] reggae neo soul grime
Labels	V2 Atlantic Home School Records London New Records 1980 Records
Member of	Black Jays
Website	estelledarlings.com

Estelle Fanta Swaray, known by her mononym Estelle (born 18 January 1980)^[3] is an British singer-songwriter, rapper and actress. She was born in Hammersmith, London, England.^[3]

Career

In 2004, two of Estelle's singles made it into the charts. These were "1980" and "Free". She also won a MOBO Award for "Best Newcomer".^[4] The videos to both of her songs were directed by Andy Hylton.^[5] "Free" was written by Estelle. It was produced by Jimmy Hogarth. Her first album,The 18th Day, reached number 35 in the UK Albums Chart.^[6]

In 2008, Estelle worked with rapper/producer Kanye West on her song "American Boy". This song reached the top 10 in many countries. It was number one on the UK Singles Chart^[6][7] and in Belgium^[8] and Israel. The song won many awards. These included a Grammy Award for best Rap / collaboration. The song was also nominated for the Grammy for "Song of the Year". "American Boy" reached number 7 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.^[9] Her album Shine was released after the single. It was on the albums chart in most countries. It was number 6 in the UK.^[6] Estelle also released a new single with rapper Busta Rhymes. It is called "World Go Round". The single was on Rhymes' album Back on My B.S., which was released on 19 May 2009.

Estelle's third album All of Me was released on 28 February 2012 in the US.

Estelle does the voice of Garnet, one of the main characters in the cartoon Steven Universe.^[10]

Discography

Studio albums

• The 18th Day... (2004)
• Shine (2008)
• All of Me (2012)
• True Romance (2015)

EPs

• iTunes Live: London Sessions (2008)
• Estelle Live @ LiveDEMO Berlin (2008)
• Love & Happiness (Volume I: Love Jones) (2013)
• Love & Happiness (Volume II: Waiting To Exhale) (2013)
• Love & Happiness (Volume III: How Stella Got Her Groove Back) (2013)

References

1. Case, Wesley (21 February 2012). "Estelle interview: R&B singer/rapper discusses heartbreak, working with Chris Brown". Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
2. Egere-Cooper, Matilda (7 December 2007). "Estelle: Britain's hip-hop queen is making her second bid for power". The Independent. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
3. "Estelle | MTV UK". Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
4. "BOBO Awards 2004". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
5. "Andy Hylton". Andy Hylton. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
6. "Estelle UK Chart Positions and Trajectories". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
7. "Estelle & Kanye West hold on to Number One spot". New Musical Express. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
8. "Estelle feat. Kanye West - American Boy Belgian Charts/Worldwide". Ultratop/ultratop.be. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
9. "The 100 Best Songs of 2007" Archived 2009-05-05 at the Wayback Machine Rolling Stone (25 December 2008) Retrieved 25 December 2008
10. http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/PR/pr-stevenuniverse/

Other websites

• Official website Archived 2013-11-19 at the Wayback Machine