Continuing our profiles of people who shaped the decade in music, some more women who shaped the 2000s…
ESTELLE
If at first... West London's Estelle originally emerged in 2004 with the inescapable summer hit 1980, but due to record company palavers went quiet for a few years until re-emerging in 2008 with Kanye West for the chart-topping American Boy. It was her appearance on Band Aid 20's remake of Do They Know It's Christmas which catapulted her where she rightfully belonged as one of the UK's leading R&B stars of the last 10 years. She's currently recording a new album at Red Bull's studios. www.estellemusic.com
KYLIE MINOGUE
After a few years dabbling with the indie in the late 1990s, Kylie returned triumphantly to her pop roots by donning her hotpants and reclaiming the top spot with Spinning Around in 2000. With that and accompanying album Light Years, she established her 'queen of pop' crown. She reaffirmed her comeback with the colossal Can’t Get You Out Of My Head the year after, and went supernova when it hit internationally. By 2004 she was touring the arenas with an extraordinary live spectacle, with dancers galore and an embracing of some of earlier hits. In 2005 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent treatment successfully, then returned in 2007 with a resumed tour and a new album, X, and the chart-topping 2 Hearts. She's currently working on an album with the likes of Jake Shears, Calvin Harris and Stuart Price for 2010. www.kylie.com
MIA
English, though of Tamil Sri Lankan origin, Maya Arulpragasm set off on the path to showbiz after a meeting with Elastica's Justine Frischmann, to create artwork for the band's album The Menace, Arulpragasam followed the band on their US tour, and soon found herself inspired by the chosen support act Peaches to create her own music. Back in London, and renamed MIA, she released six songs on a demo to ignite interest, and in the track Galang, she found a sound unique to herself which soon began a bidding war. Releasing her debut album Arular in 2005, rave reviews and award nominations flowed in, and MIA was suddenly very much the hottest artist on the planet. Her second album, 2007s Kala included blog favourites Bird Flu and Boys, and also was home to her breakthrough single Paper Planes, which became a sleeper hit, but widely exposed when used on the soundtrack to the smash-hit move Slumdog Millionaire. This led to both Oscar and Grammy nominations, the latter of which saw the then heavily pregnant star perform the song with a host of star rappers at the ceremony in 2009. www.miauk.com
LADY GAGA
Literally unheard-of in Europe until 18 months ago, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta exploded in 2009 with a succession of number one smashes with Just Dance, Poker Face and Bad Romance as well as just about every other track on her album The Fame having some form of chart action. Armed with her teacup, fright wigs and exploding bras, Gaga took to the festivals delivering memorable show after show, and is currently inescapable as far as pop stars go. She’s even performed for the Queen of England, albeit in a red rubber Tudor ensemble, playing a piano on Dali-esque stilts. Obviously. www.ladygaga.com
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