What's her sound?
Estelle's urbane blend of funky hip-hop and smooth R&B has earned her the tag of Britain's answer to Lauryn Hill, updated for the new generation.
What the hell does that mean?
Tracks from Estelle's second album, "Shine," cover a panoramic range. Her international hit "American Boy" has ignited dance floors with silky vocal melodies, an upbeat Will.i.am beat and a tight guest verse from Kanye West. She teams up with Cee-Lo for the perky Motown pop of "Pretty Please (Love Me)" and duets with John Legend (who signed Estelle to his Homeschool Records label) on the jazzy swing of "You Are."
Is her game tight?
Besides running with an enviable cavalcade of industry heavyweights (Mark Ronson, Wyclef Jean), Estelle already has a mantel full of awards, including three best female artist accolades from the U.K. Hip-Hop Awards and a best newcomer honor from the 2004 Music of Black Origin ceremony.
X-factor:
This British chanteuse is unafraid to speak her mind. Estelle recently called out the U.K. music media's "blindness to black talent" after watching Amy Winehouse, Adele and Duffy garner far more press than she—even after "American Boy" dethroned Duffy from the top of the charts. "I'm not mad at them," she mused to the Guardian. "But I'm wondering—how the hell is there not a single black person in the press singing soul? Adele ain't soul. She sounds like she heard some Aretha records once, and she's got a deeper voice—that don't mean she's soul."
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Scott T. Sterling is Music editor for Metromix Los Angeles.
