Pyroradio.com: What’s going on Estelle the ‘American Boy’ track is happening right now!
Estelle: It’s moving, it’s a lot of work but it’s moving, I’m happy!
Pyroradio.com: The ‘American Boy’ track explain it to me I saw the video and all your dance moves !
Estelle: (Laughs) The track is just fun, we weren’t even serious about using the track, me and Will I Am were messing about trying to make John Legend like house music and he kept saying keep your house music. Then when we made the American Boy beat we left it on and when John came back in he was like ooh! We were like you like it now init (Laughs)
Pyroradio.com: Did you have to convince Kanye West to do it at all? I’m hearing him with the London Slang with the wags!
Estelle: Not at all, he said all that on his own with the wags, London blokes. I was like you been to London a lot huh, which he has, but as far as the Ribena it was all me (Laughs). He was always gonna do the track he was just finishing his album and starting his promo. Actually the first thing he done after mastering his album was come to the studio and record American Boy, he’s like John’s label manager and CEO so it’s kinda like uncle Kanye (Laughs)
Pyroradio.com: Who else would you wanna feature with because I know on this album you’ve got Wyclef, Swizz Beats, Mark Ronson, Will I Am, Kanye West, is their any other people you’d wanna feature with or is there things in the pipeline?
Estelle: I wanna do something with Mary J Blige, she’s one of my idols, I wanna do something with Busta Rhymes which is in the pipeline, there are a lot of people I respect and admire.
Pyroradio.com: John Legend said he’s thrilled to be apart of your career, how does that make you feel? Does that put pressure on you at all?
Estelle: Na no pressure, it makes me happy, he’s an amazing artist. Look at the dude he’s won five Grammy’s he’s thrilled to be apart of my career! That’s some fantastic wording I’m not mad (Laughs)
Pyroradio.com: You know I have to speak on the rumours! Was then any ever dating going on?
Estelle: No, every time someone asked me that I think you see me work this hard, why would he be dating me to see me do all this and get signed. I’m extra single right now. I’ve worked HARD physically and emotionally people saying she got her deal because of that is insulting. People in general when they say that I think you’ve seen me work this hard and your saying that.
Pyroradio.com: What’s the reception been like in the states?
Estelle: Some of them are amazed a Black girl speaks British (Laughs) and after they get past that they are like you are you, you are real, I like that, your classy about it, your not just showing your titties about.
Pyroradio.com: But we wouldn’t mind seeing that!
Estelle: No (Laughs) don’t get it twisted I wear low cut tops and that but not in the way that’s distasteful, that’s not my marketing tool, it’s not what I want, I want people to hear what I’m saying . If I dress like that, that’s how I would dress to a party not to say look at my joobies (laughs)
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Pyroradio.com: Would you say this albums do or die? Do you feel added pressure and expectations?
Estelle: Nah it’s the next step in the career. I think everyone has pressure. Everyone’s feedback to me is that it’s a great album whatever way it goes you made a classic, my thing has never been to sell reh reh, trust me if it was like that I’d be super depressed from the first album (Laughs). My thing is about the shows and making the fans feel me and making sure I have a career in touring because trust me music isn’t selling anything anymore, so I’m not too bothered about sales and I’m not judging my career on the sales, I’m more judging it on how many shows can I rack up in a year and how much of that can I keep going until the next album cycle.
Pyroradio.com: In the past there has been a lot of comparisons between you and Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse how does that feel?
Estelle: They said in Rolling Stone magazine I was Amy and Lauryn minus the crazy that was funny considering I don’t look like either of them. You know what their amazing artists their music will last the test of time so I can’t be mad at it and if they listen to my work in ten years time how they listen to Lauryn put me in that lane all you want.
Pyroradio.com: Your album Shine was meant to come out in Febuary but now it’s coming out in March (April 29th US)
Estelle: Yeah we pushed it back because Kanye was featuring on the single and we wanted to shoot a video and give it more promotion. About the time we were gonna shoot the video was when his Mum passed away so we had to put everything on hold, out of respect as well until he wanted to get back at it and give it his all, the thing I respect about Kanye is that he’s amazing with his vision and what he see’s so were weren’t like just come in and shoot the video, it’s a sensitive thing. I came out on tour with him in the UK the week his Mum died and buried his Mum and I tell you watching this guy on stage I had a whole different level of respect for him, something happened to one of my family members quite similar when I was doing the tour and I had to sing ‘1980’ I was borderline teared up the whole song, he done a whole show no crying nothing, five nights in that week, I was up there like you are special. My family member didn’t even die but was real close and I didn’t even know what to do with myself I was sitting in the show changing rooms loosing my mind and this guy got up there and did a two hour show just after burying his Mum, who was real instrumental in his life, I have a whole different level of respect for him, we put everything on hold and were like as soon as your ready. I’m a human being first of all so we have to respect, so we done the video in January and we got back on it, so we needed more time to promote so now here we are.
Pyroradio.com: So what can the people expect from the album?
Estelle: The album is a lot of Soul music, Reggae, Hip Hop, Dance it’s a big mix up. The thing with me is I’m not one to do one genre of music and be happy, I thought I’d do them all and fit it on one album. It’s a lot of real talk too, there is a lot of me cursing out people who irritate me, boys, extra single! (laughs) ‘Substitute Lover’ may be the next single , there’s some love songs because for every crazy guy there were one or two that were good and then just life songs like ‘Shine’ which is like a continuation of 1980 and the real me, with the fact I’m scared of having kids because I’m scared of pain! I don’t want to be bad as a Mum cos I’m scared of pain and that was me being real, sometime I’m tired and have to act extra happy but I don’t want to talk to no one but their like you should be good right now, but I’m like I’m PMS’ing don’t talk to me and I have to still be a certain way, so I made tracks from every experience and everything I go through!
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