The SoulBounce Q&A: Estelle Keeps It 100 On Life, Music & Finding 'True Romance'

Estelle Sequin Blouse

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SB: “Conqueror” was one of the last songs you recorded on the album, correct?

E: I literally finished recording and my team was like, "We need one more song." And I was like, I don’t know what the hell to write. I went to my producers and said I want something simple. Don’t give me no 50 thousand words on the record. So they played me three records, and I was like, let’s do that one.

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SB: What was the thought behind choosing that song to represent courage?

E: Again, this is being very real, I just feel like that I go through enough, and travel enough, and I tour enough that I see that people sometimes, though they love the complicated metaphor verses, sometimes they just want something simple. It’s like, you go to this Cordon Bleu restaurant that serves you all these flavors and all you really want is mashed potatoes and sausage. It makes you feel good and makes you feel confident. That’s how I relate to “Conqueror,” it’s still effective, still one of those powerful moments. I get it, I understand, I don’t have to think too hard, let’s go.

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SB: Another song on the album about courage is "Something Good/Devotion." What was the idea behind creating that song? The song feels like "I’m just tired of being upset and frustrated and down all the time and I don’t care anymore," that type of courage.

E: It was, literally. I was on the road and singing “Thank You” everyday while recording this album, and I was not in that space anymore and the song had served its purpose. What do I do to quit dragging this up? But people still relate to the song and want to hear it. I believe you are what you say. I believe you are your intention, so I was writing songs to confirm that I was good. I don’t want to give any more credit to this situation. I don’t want to keep bringing him up and the situation and that energy up because it’s no longer relevant to me. It was like being on a Saturday afternoon in London, doing your things, shopping, being carefree. It’s that Chicago house, that feel good, that’s what it was for.

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SB: Now, with “Make Her Say,” while you have this pure white kitten on the single cover, the song is far from innocent. How has the explicit nature of the song been received?

E: I don’t know why people are surprised. I’ve talked about sex before. Look, every other song on the album is full of metaphors and thought out, and on the others, you just need to say exactly what it is. And I don’t know anyone who, after being in a relationship, doesn’t want to go out and have some great sex. It’s like the best form of validation after a breakup. Putting it down and being like, "Yup! My s**t still works." I don’t know anyone who’s like, "I’m going to be a virgin, I’m going to go back to being celibate." This is an ode to good sex. To me, it’s funny the space people put you in and expect you to tow that line. And I have no intention of towing anyone’s line but my own. I’m a human being. I have sex. I have a metaphor when I’m ready and I’m simple as s**t when I’m ready, too. I mean, does no one have sex? Does no one have good sex?

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SB: Well, there’s a lot of people having bad sex.

E: Who wants bad sex is the question, though. Who out there is like, "I want my sex to suck, and not in the good way. I want it to be terrible and that’s how I feel.” No one! We’re human. Good sex is needed.

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