Estelle singer biography maxwell

Grammy Award-winning artists Maxwell, Estelle, Trey Songz and Hezekiah Walker will headline The Road to Essence Festival, a free concert sponsored by Walmart.

The event starts at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 14 at Orchards Park in Bentonville. The park, which is east of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, is located at the corner of John DeShields Boulevard and Northeast J Street.

Those traveling to Bentonville on Interstate 540 will want to use Exit 88, and go west on Central Avenue. Following the city’s wayfinding signs that point drivers to the museum will lead them right to the Road to Essence site.

Walmart has sponsored Road to Essence events in other communities in previous years, including Memphis, Birmingham and Atlanta.

“Walmart is working hard to ensure that Northwest Arkansas is a great place to live and raise a family,” siad Sharonda L. Britton, director of multicultural marketing at Walmart. “We are finding new ways to bring the kinds of entertainment and activities that we know our associates and their families want – right in their own backyard. By hosting the Road to Essence Festival to Northwest Arkansas, we are giving the community an opportunity to see a great show without having to make a special trip to a major city.”

R&B singer Maxwell won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2010 for “Pretty Wings,” a tribute to Michael Jackson, and his work has received 11 Grammy nominations. Maxwell won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Male Artist that same year. His biggest hit was “Fortunate,” which was recognized as the Best R&B Single of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards in 1999.

The London-born Estelle released her debut album in 2004. In 2009, she won the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for her song “American Boy.” The song was in the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

“Walmart’s invitation to Hezekiah Walker, Maxwell, Tre

Estelle Swaray — she of the megahit “American Boy” — has learned a thing or two about music and fashion. Regarding the former, the West London native knows to skip over her ballad “Back in Love” during her concerts (“I did it one time and I think I put the audience and myself to sleep”) and to end with her most famous, Grammy-winning jam (“I can sell them [“American Boy”] through the whole show”). Sartorially speaking, Swaray, who uses only her given name professionally, realized “that you shouldn’t wear silks, satins, those kind of materials, ’cause once they start sticking and you start seeing sweat patches, it’s the most unattractive thing on the planet.”

Exclusive WWD Video: Behind the scenes with Estelle

There have, of course, been myriad other lessons learned since Swaray’s first U.S. album, “Shine,” dropped last year, catapulting the rapper-R&B singer to top 40 stardom and onto the pages of glossies including Interview, Elle and Vogue. Chief among those lessons: the value of an original look. For Swaray, this meant hewing to sexed-up Fifties polish — think upper-thigh-grazing shifts; poufy, cleavage-bearing frocks; trench coats, flashy baubles and an asymmetric haircut. “Audrey Pepa” is what she calls her stylistic hybrid: Audrey Hepburn’s crisp elegance crossed with Salt-N-Pepa’s brash vibe. “I’ve always dug Audrey Hepburn,” she says. “I think she’s one of the classic beauties. And Salt-N-Pepa is just me and my outspoken, need-to-say-some-s–t side.”

Clearly for Swaray, fashion speaks volumes. “When I started my whole thing, I was like, ‘I want to have a look,’” says the singer, who left London for Manhattan shortly after she scored a record deal with John Legend’s HomeSchool Re

For the American documentary film, see The Way I See It (film).

2008 studio album by Raphael Saadiq

The Way I See It is the third album by American R&B singer, songwriter, and producer Raphael Saadiq. It was released on September 16, 2008, by Columbia Records – his first for the label. Prior to signing with Columbia, Saadiq had independently released his 2004 album Ray Ray, recorded with the songwriting and production duo Jake and the Phatman. He developed a creative partnership with their colleague, audio engineer Charles Brungardt, who shared Saadiq's fascination with historic recording techniques and equipment. In 2008, the singer returned from a vacation that had inspired him to pursue classic soul music and recorded The Way I See It primarily at his North Hollywood studio with Brungardt.

Saadiq and Brungardt disregarded their previous experience in recording production while making The Way I See It. Instead, they experimented with older recording techniques in an attempt to recreate the Motown music aesthetic of the 1960s, producing a traditional soul album that emphasizes upbeat hooks and draws on the Motown Sound and Philadelphia soul styles. Saadiq, whose lyrics mostly deal with romantic subject matter, described it as a series of love songs about music and remaining faithful to it despite trends. The album's title reflects his singular vision for the music, while the packaging is fashione