DALLAS -- In interviews, British sensation Estelle describes her Grammy-winning Stateside breakthrough Shine as an appetizer, a chance for U.S. audiences to become familiar with her playful, polyglot sound, itself an eclectic, stylish blend of R&B, pop, soul and rap.
In concert, she furthers the notion of bite-size samples, doling out a variety of moods and styles, but leaving the audience wanting more. Estelle's debut headlining tour brought her to Dallas' House of Blues Monday night, where, not long after taking the stage, she copped to having "the worst flu ever" and apologized in advance for any "bumps."
"It's my first time doing Dallas, so I couldn't not come out," the 29-year-old London native explained matter-of-factly, between swigs of hot tea.
Clad in a smart black blazer and simple, no-fuss blue jeans and backed by a live quartet, three back-up singers and a DJ, Estelle powered through a lean, 55-minute set as though nothing was wrong, seeming to feed off the spare but engaged crowd's energy. She brought a gaggle of eager volunteers on stage to grind their way through Come Over and dispensed plenty of profane relationship advice, taking a page from the Mary J. Blige empowerment playbook.
Veering from one distinct genre to another over the course of nine songs -- reggae to rap to rock to soul and back again; fair play for pulling off spot-on interpolations of Temptations and Coldplay tunes -- she projected a cool confidence and a down-to-earth calm, running through much of Shine.
The final song of the night was, of course, her smash, Kanye West-assisted single American Boy, which, ailing or not, she informed the room she was "absolutely sick of singing." Not that she needed to share -- her performance would've easily betrayed her indifference. More or less chucking the song into a sonic blender, dicing it almost to the point of incoherence and letting the crowd sing most of it was the only dud moment in an otherwise quietly fiery evening.
Estelle may already be tired of her signature hit, but she needs to tough it out a bit longer; it's called, as Darrell Royal so famously said, dancing "with the one who brung you."
Preston Jones is the Star-Telegram pop music critic, 817-390-7713.
