Booking Estelle

Estelle Biography

The British singer known as Estelle was born in 1980 in West London, England. Estelle’s family, which had immigrated from Senegal, was fairly large – she was the second of eight children total. Largely due to her family’s religious foundations, Estelle’s early introduction to music was largely limited to traditional African music and American gospel, and occasionally her parents’ reggae records.

Eventually, Estelle was exposed to hip hop through a family member, and by the time she was out of high school she’d decided to pursue a career as a musician. After taking a chance at a series of open mic opportunities, Estelle began to perform at larger clubs, until the performer known as Skitz invited her to appear on his 2000 album. Shortly after that, a chance meeting with Kanye West led to a meeting with John Legend, who went on to produce Estelle’s debut album.

Estelle’s debut album, The 18th Day (2004), was a huge hit in the UK, rising into the top forty. But it was her sophomore effort, Shine (2008), which became her big breakthrough, rising into the top twenty internationally and into the top forty in the United States. The album spawned Estelle’s first top ten international hit, “American Boy,” featuring Kanye West; the single also earned Estelle a 2009 Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Since that time, Estelle has released the additional albums All of Me (2012) and True Romance (2015.) She has also appeared as a feature artist on the singles: “World Go Round” (with Busta Rhymes); “One Love” (with David Guetta); and “Rollacoasta” (with Robin Thicke.) Additional award nominations for Estelle include two BRIT Award nominations for British Female solo and British Single and additional Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Performance and Song of the Year.