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Esthero
Esthero (/ɛsˈtɛroʊ/ es-TERR-oh; born Jenny-Bea Englishman on December 23, 1978) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who lives in Los Angeles, California. The name Esthero refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself and producer Doc McKinney. Esthero is a portmanteau of "Esther the hero"; she claims to have gotten the name by combining the name of the heroine (Esther) and last line ("If I am to be the hero, then I cannot fly from darkness") of the film from Sylvia Plath's only novel, The Bell Jar (1963).
Esthero's sound characteristically features her voice over a mix of mellow bass lines, jazzy trumpets, classical guitar and hip-hop. She is sometimes compared to artists Björk, Portishead, Billie Holiday, and Sade. She has co-produced the majority of the material she performed. Later female artists who count Esthero among their influences include Res, Fergie and fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado.
Esthero's brother, Jason Englishman, is also a musician.
At the age of sixteen, Esthero moved from the small town of Walkerton, Ontario on her own to Toronto, Ontario, where she began singing at open-mic nights while supporting herself by working at different jobs. She was seen singing at the Free Times Cafe by manager Beau Ovcaric who set up a showcase for his partner Zack Werner. They introduced her to EMI Publishing Canada president Michael McCarty, whom she charmed so well during their first meeting that without hearing her sing a single note he set up and paid for recording sessions with Martin "Doc" McKinney, a producer, songwriter, guitarist, programmer and engineer.
The young duo quickly began recording together, and six demos in were being courted on the presidency level by almost every major label in the US. Thanks to then EMI publishing US president Rick Krim their demos reached the ears of the heads of the Work Group (a subsidiary of Sony). Their debut album, Breath from Another, was released to critical acclaim in Spring 1998.
Following the dissolution of the WORK label, Esthero was released from her contract. She signed with Reprise in 2000. In 1998, after a remix of one of her songs ("Country Livin'") was used included on the soundtrack for Slam, many hip-hop and rap artists requested collaborations with her. Some such collaborations were fruitful, such as her work with the Black Eyed Peas on "Weekends", which was an international hit.
In 2001, Esthero collaborated with German producer Ian Pooley on "Balmes (A Better Life)", which reached the Top 75 of the UK Singles chart and gave Esthero her first entry on the US Dance charts.
On April 20, 2004—without Doc's assistance—Esthero released O.G. Bitch, a standalone EP featuring six alternate remixes of the title track, plus the B-side "I Love You". The song topped the club charts in the US. The following year, she released a second EP, titled We R in Need of a Musical Revolution. The EP spawned a hit of the same name and led the way to Esthero's 2005 full-length album on the Warner Bros. label, Wikked Lil' Grrrls, seven years following her debut album, to mixed critical reaction. The album features contributions from Sean Lennon, André 3000, Jemeni, Jelleestone, and Cee-Lo Green of Goodie Mob.
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Esthero
Esthero (/ɛsˈtɛroʊ/ es-TERR-oh; born Jenny-Bea Englishman on December 23, 1978) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who lives in Los Angeles, California. The name Esthero refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself and producer Doc McKinney. Esthero is a portmanteau of "Esther the hero"; she claims to have gotten the name by combining the name of the heroine (Esther) and last line ("If I am to be the hero, then I cannot fly from darkness") of the film from Sylvia Plath's only novel, The Bell Jar (1963).
Esthero's sound characteristically features her voice over a mix of mellow bass lines, jazzy trumpets, classical guitar and hip-hop. She is sometimes compared to artists Björk, Portishead, Billie Holiday, and Sade. She has co-produced the majority of the material she performed. Later female artists who count Esthero among their influences include Res, Fergie and fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado.
Esthero's brother, Jason Englishman, is also a musician.
At the age of sixteen, Esthero moved from the small town of Walkerton, Ontario on her own to Toronto, Ontario, where she began singing at open-mic nights while supporting herself by working at different jobs. She was seen singing at the Free Times Cafe by manager Beau Ovcaric who set up a showcase for his partner Zack Werner. They introduced her to EMI Publishing Canada president Michael McCarty, whom she charmed so well during their first meeting that without hearing her sing a single note he set up and paid for recording sessions with Martin "Doc" McKinney, a producer, songwriter, guitarist, programmer and engineer.
The young duo quickly began recording together, and six demos in were being courted on the presidency level by almost every major label in the US. Thanks to then EMI publishing US president Rick Krim their demos reached the ears of the heads of the Work Group (a subsidiary of Sony). Their debut album, Breath from Another, was released to critical acclaim in Spring 1998.
Following the dissolution of the WORK label, Esthero was released from her contract. She signed with Reprise in 2000. In 1998, after a remix of one of her songs ("Country Livin'") was used included on the soundtrack for Slam, many hip-hop and rap artists requested collaborations with her. Some such collaborations were fruitful, such as her work with the Black Eyed Peas on "Weekends", which was an international hit.
In 2001, Esthero collaborated with German producer Ian Pooley on "Balmes (A Better Life)", which reached the Top 75 of the UK Singles chart and gave Esthero her first entry on the US Dance charts.
On April 20, 2004—without Doc's assistance—Esthero released O.G. Bitch, a standalone EP featuring six alternate remixes of the title track, plus the B-side "I Love You". The song topped the club charts in the US. The following year, she released a second EP, titled We R in Need of a Musical Revolution. The EP spawned a hit of the same name and led the way to Esthero's 2005 full-length album on the Warner Bros. label, Wikked Lil' Grrrls, seven years following her debut album, to mixed critical reaction. The album features contributions from Sean Lennon, André 3000, Jemeni, Jelleestone, and Cee-Lo Green of Goodie Mob.
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