  Esmée Denters seen arriving at the 2009 MTV European Music Awards at the O2 World Arena in Berlin. Denters, 21, is one of the first artists signed to Justin Timberlake's Tennman Records. (WENN.COM) |
TORONTO – Going from singing songs in your bedroom to landing a recording deal with Justin Timberlake is almost like winning the lottery.
Just ask new artist Esmée Denters.
"I was studying social work and working in a pancake house, but I'd always loved singing," the bubbly 21-year-old says over coffee at a Queen East café.
"Then one day I discovered YouTube and I was like, this is cool. I can post a video and see what people think of my voice. So I uploaded a video of me singing TLC's 'Waterfalls' and in about a week I got all these [positive] comments and so I started uploading more videos."
Raised by her parents on a steady diet of Destiny's Child, Janet Jackson and the Beatles, Denters painted a vast pop canvas on YouTube, covering everyone from Alicia Keys to Lenny Kravitz and Ne-Yo.
Shortly afterwards, record companies starting sending her e-mails.
"They saw I had so many hits and they were calling my house in the Netherlands at two in the morning," she says. "At one point I went over to the U.S. to see how serious they were and all of a sudden Justin Timberlake heard what I was doing and wanted to meet me."
It was that simple?
"I played him Prince's 'How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?' and was signed to [his new label] Tennman Records a month later," she says.
Sandwiching catchy Beyonce homages ("Admit It") between bits of torchy, blue-eyed soul ("The First Thing") and zippy dance (the Timberlake-infused "Love Dealer"), Denters' soon-to-be-released debut, "Outta Here," boasts a voice that seems at home in the Top 40.
That doesn't mean she wasn't nervous. Slouching into a deep-seated leather couch, Denters admits being the protégé of such a well-known star was a little daunting.
"At the beginning I was definitely nervous writing with him in the studio. But he was very open to what I had to say," she says. "I'm an artist and he's an artist and he definitely understands that as an artist you have your own taste; you want to do what you want to do."
In between songwriting spurts, Timberlake pushed her from the safety of her bedroom to the stage where she opened select dates on his 2007 FutureSex/LoveShow tour and appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey Show."
"He said, 'You've got three songs, perform them,'" she smiles. "A lot of people get time to develop, but I went from singing in my bedroom to singing in front of thousands of people."
Just like winning the lottery.
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On the Net: esmeeworld.com
