Estelle (musician)

Estelle
Estelle in 2011
Estelle in 2011
Background information
Birth nameEstelle Fanta Swaray
Born (1980-01-18) 18 January 1980 (age 44)
London, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • rapper
  • record producer
  • actress
DiscographyEstelle discography
Years active2000–present
Labels
Member of

Estelle Fanta Swaray (born 18 January 1980) is a British singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actress. She is known for her eclectic blending of musical genres including R&B, soul, reggae, grime, hip hop and dance.[2] She has collaborated with prominent American artists including Chris Brown, Kanye West, will.i.am, Nas, Akon, Tyler, the Creator, Robin Thicke and Rick Ross, among others.[3][4]

After signing with V2 Records, Estelle released her debut studio album The 18th Day (2004). A moderate critical and commercial success, it peaked at number 35 on the UK Albums Chart. She then signed with American singer John Legend's Homeschool Records, in a joint venture with Atlantic Records to release her second album, Shine (2008), which effectively tailored to international audiences by entering the US Billboard 200, as well as other worldwide charts. It was preceded by the single "American Boy" (featuring Kanye West), which peaked atop the UK Singles Chart, peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Her third album, All of Me (2012) solely entered American and Australian charts, and was supported by the single "Thank You"—which received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance. The album served as her final release on a major label.

Estelle provided both the speaking and singing voice for the character Garnet in the animated series Steven Universe (2013–2019), a role she reprised in Steven Universe: The Movie (2019) and Steven Universe Future (2019–2020).[5] She also made cameo appearances in the films Beyond the Lights (2014) and Girls Trip (2017), and appeared as Linda in the Netflix original film Fatal Affair (2020). Estelle hosts and presents The Estelle Show on Apple Music,[6] which has run for over 500 episodes.

  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. ^ McGrit, Ellen (14 November 2017). "Music Star Estelle: "I Was Very Clear About Who I Wanted To Be"". Fortune. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Estelle". www.mtv.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  4. ^ "How Estelle headed to the US and scored her first No. 1". Daily Mirror. 5 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Estelle-IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Get millions of songs. All ad-free". Apple Music. Retrieved 8 November 2022.