SONG OF THE DAY
“Wikked Lil’ Grrrls” by Esthero (Wikked Lil’ Grrrls, Reprise/ WEA, 2005).
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– Wikked Lil’ Grrrls is Canadian American singer Esthero’s second album, her first full-length in seven years.
– Esthero (born Jenny-Bea Englishman, December 23, 1978 in Stratford, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
– The name Esthero, pronounced /É›sˈtÉ›roÊŠ/ es-stair-oh, refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself and producer Doc McKinney. She claims to have got 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 movie from Sylvia Plath’s novel, The Bell Jar.
– Esthero’s sound characteristically features her voice over a mix of mellow bass lines, jazzy trumpets, Spanish guitar and hip-hop. She is sometimes compared to artists Björk, Portishead and Sade. Later female artists who count Esthero among their influences include Res, Fergie and fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado.
– On April 20, 2004, without Doc’s assistance, Esthero released “O.G. Bitch,” a standalone EP featuring six different remixes of the title track, plus the b-side “I Love You.” The EP led the way to Esthero’s 2005 full-length album on the Warner Bros. label, the decidedly jazzy Wikked Lil’ Grrrls, seven years following her debut album, to extremely mixed critical reaction.
РThe album features contributions from Sean Lennon, Andr̩ 3000, Shakari Nite, Gnarls Barkley, Jemeni, Jelleestone, and Cee-Lo Green of Goodie Mob.
– It was chosen as one of Amazon.com’s Top 100 Editor’s Picks of 2005.
– Her song “Wikked Lil’ Grrrls” has appeared in the film Miss Congeniality 2 and in commercial spots for Sex in the City and Desperate Housewives, on the TV shows Boston Legal, Smallville, and Las Vegas.