Atlanta Music Scene Has Moved To WordPress
Slowly but surely, the Atlanta Music Scene blog has been transitioning to WordPress - a bigger and better blogging and commenting experience!
See you there, at http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-music-scene/
Home > Atlanta Music Scene > Archives > 2009 > February > 06 > Entry
Grammy nominated Brit singer Estelle (“American Boy”) in Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
cREDIT: Katie Jacobs
Estelle, the striking British R&B singer, opened for her buddy John Legend at the Fox Theatre Tuesday.
At a downtown publicist’s office (KEF Media) where she was doing a satellite interview tour, I spent a few minutes with her talking about her Grammy nominated song “American Boy” and her career thus far.
Q: How was the show last night at the Fox Theatre?
A: Pretty cool. We had fun. It looks like a real old-school theater. I kept thinking Robin Hood. Look at the castles! The acoustics are beautiful in there. It’s built for projecting I’m sure. How big were those voices back in the day?
Q: How did ‘American Boy” come about?
A: It took an hour to write the lyrics. two hours to do the vocals. The beat had been written two years before.
Q: So was this almost a throwaway song for you?
A: I didn’t take it seriously at all. I was thinking, “This is a joke.” I was really messing around. It turns out the world loved it. In my case, I’m an overnight sensation that was 10 years in the making. I work on my career my whole life. All of a sudden, I have a hit!
Q: What’s your thoughts about Kanye West [who is featured on “American Boy’ with her.]?
A: I met him six years ago. He heard the song and loved it. His girlfriend love it. I have his girlfriend to thank! He appreciates good music. He had just come out with “Stronger” so it made sense. He was in the U.K. a lot. He got where I was coming from with the music.
Q: Did you have an American boyfriend at the time?
A: No, not at the time. But I was hanging with John Legend and his mates in Miami. It was the Super Bowl. There were American guys everywhere. What else was I going to rap about?
Q: What was your reaction to getting nominated for song of the year with “American Boy”?
A: A moment of complete joy, like wow! Everyone is losing their minds!
[She takes a break from talking with me to talk to an R&B station in Los Angeles. She hears Stevie Wonder is an owner of the station and is a big fan of hers.]
A: I feel famous! Stevie Wonder! Wow!
Q: Do you think you have a shot against Coldplay [“Viva La Vida”] for song of the year?
A: Hell yes! Sure, it was one of those songs you hear every hour on every station in the world. At the same time, I can’t even complain. I feel like this is a blessing. You write a great song, you have to sing and hear it forever. I’m blessed people want to hear it.
Q: Who do you think will win Record of the Year? [I read the nominees.]
A: I wish I was in that category! I like ‘Viva La Vida.’ That song is just beautiful. It just felt like it’s in the freaking sky. You feel encapsulated when you hear it. You want a song that gives you that great feeling. You want it to grab you so you feel something. That’s one of those songs. Next to “American Boy,” that did it this year.
Q: How about album of the year?
A: Lil Wayne. That’s the one I listen to the most. I wasn’t a Lil Wayne fan until I heard that album. My two favorites were “Comfortable” and “Tie My Hands.” Those had the most feeling.
Comments
By The Queen
February 6, 2009 3:25 PM | Link to this
what a beautiful girl….and her voice is georgoeus!…..American Boy is one of my favorites….i hope she wins….