Shine (CD)

• Category:  Music  »  Rap & Hip Hop  »  Rap & Hip Hop/General
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: March 31, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic
• UPC: 075678995422
• WAPI (Tower ID): 111931886
• Average Customer Review:    (1 customer review)
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #231 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #9 in Rap & Hip Hop (See Top 100 Rap & Hip Hop Bestsellers)
• #9 in Rap & Hip Hop/General (See Top 100 Rap & Hip Hop/General Bestsellers)

•  [Estelle - Official Websitethis link opens a new window] 
  
•  [Estelle - Wikipedia Entrythis link opens a new window] 
  
•  [Estelle - MySpace Pagethis link opens a new window] 
  
•  [Interview - Britishhiphop.co.ukthis link opens a new window] 
  
•  [Estelle - Music at Last.fmthis link opens a new window] 
  

Q (Magazine) (p.107) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's quality urban pop that achieves its goal..."

The debut album from British R&B ing‚nue Estelle (the first artist signed to John Legend's Homeschool label) is delightfully difficult to pigeonhole. The effervescent single "American Boy" harks back to party-hearty, Chic-era disco, while other tracks ("More than Friends," "Back in Love") showcase Estelle's rich, emotional voice. "Pretty Please Love Me" (featuring Cee-Lo) is a slice of classic Philly soul, while reggae-tinged songs like "Magnificent" suggest Rihanna's wiser older sister. Most remarkable is how Estelle's lady-like moxie shines through on every track, providing consistency and announcing a major new R&B talent.

Shine - Estelle

With names such as Will.I.Am, Wyclef Jean, Mark Ronson, Cee-Lo, Swizz Beatz, and John Legend combining their musical minds to create Estelle’s major record label debut, Shine, something magical is bound to occur.

Estelle, the 28-year-old West Londoner, recently moved (May 2007) to NYC in an attempt to launch herself into the North American music scene. Essentially, there was never any doubt that her work would surface to the top of the pile and would hastily be played on the radio nation wide.

Unlike her 2004 debut album, The 18th Day, Estelle decided to include other producers and artists in the creative process of creating Shine. As a result, the album leaves nothing out; it plays from start to finish smoothly and fuses many varying genres of music into a genus of its own.

Shine is the first release on John Legend’s Homeschool label (in partnership with Atlantic Records) and is destined to sky-rocket up the charts. The album, unique in sound and styles, is a melting-pot of R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, house and world music. In addition to her powerful-but-mastered vocal technique, Estelle exudes R&B-star qualities and commands each lyric that emerges from her mouth.

The super-smash hit “American Boy”, featuring Kanye West, has already reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart and can be heard nation-wide tearing-up the charts. Other featured artists include: Kardinal Offishall (Magnificent), John Legend (You Are) and Cee-Lo (Pretty Please).

Wonder what John Legend sees in his protégée? "I believe the world is going to fall in love with her album, as I already have. Estelle is an amazing talent, and she's going to do big things."

Favorite Songs: “American Boy”, “Back in Love”, and “Magnificent”

-Thom, Tower Pulse 05/09/2008

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