Artists & Bands

Estelle | Tunes + Guitar Lessons

Estelle’s rise wasn’t instant—she spent years in the London scene before a chance meeting with Kanye in L.A. sparked the journey that led to international fame!

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From London to L.A.: How Estelle Found Her American Boy

In 2008, the relatively unknown Estelle came seemingly out of nowhere. Surrounded by some of the biggest names in the business, she dropped American Boy—and the world sat up and took notice.

Performed with Kanye West and produced by will.i.am, American Boy was written by Estelle, John Legend, Kanye, will.i.am, and Ethan Hendrickson.

The “backing track,” so to speak, was already complete and had been released a year earlier on will.i.am’s album Songs About Girls, under the name Impatient.

So how did Estelle end up rubbing shoulders with these superstars?

It all started in 2003 when she spotted Kanye West in a Los Angeles restaurant and simply introduced herself. Rather than ask to work with him, she enquired about John Legend.

This strategy paid off. Estelle and John ended up working together around 2004, releasing a few songs with minor success.

They clicked—and by 2008, John had signed Estelle to his new record label and gathered Mark Ronson, Wyclef Jean, and even CeeLo Green to work on the album that would contain American Boy.

They say it takes ten years to become an overnight success. For Estelle, it took five—after that fateful encounter with Kanye—to find her American Boy.