Ester Dean
Dean in 2017
Dean in 2017
Background information
Birth nameEsther Renay Dean
BornMuskogee, Oklahoma, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active2006–present
Labels

Esther[1] Renay Dean (born April 15, 1986), known professionally as Ester Dean, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to prominence as a pop songwriter in the late 2000s and wrote numerous hit songs for singers including Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Beyoncé through the 2010s. She has acted in numerous films, including the 2012 musical comedy Pitch Perfect and its sequels.

Life and career

Esther Renay Dean was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma to single mother Hester Dean, and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma as the youngest of five children.[2][3] She began singing at a young age. [4] At the age of 15, her mother moved Dean and her sister Deandria to Omaha, Nebraska, where she began working as a session singer and writing for local musicians. At the age of 20, Dean moved to Atlanta with $500 to pursue a career as a songwriter and record producer. She was discovered by music producer Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, who overheard Dean singing along in the crowd of a Gap Band concert.[5] On the strength of her voice and songwriting ability, Tricky signed Dean for a publishing contract.[6]

Dean later parted ways with Tricky and relocated to Los Angeles, where she was introduced to Polow da Don and signed a deal with Zone 4 Records under the aegis of Interscope Records.[5] In 2009, Dean released her debut single as a lead artist, "Drop It Low", which featured singer Chris Brown and production by Polow da Don; the song peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became her only Top 40 single as a lead artist.

Dean's commercial breakthrough came when she collaborated with Stargate on the number one Rihanna single "Rude Boy". She continued to write hit songs for Rihanna, including "What's My Name" and "Where Have You Been", as well as Katy Perry's "Firework" and Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass".

In 2011, Dean contributed to the soundtrack for the animated film, Rio by Blue Sky Studios.

She has written, and sometimes produced, Top 40 hits for artists including Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Florence + The Machine, Beyoncé, Drake, Selena Gomez, Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson, Ciara, The Pussycat Dolls, Usher, Kelly Rowland, R. Kelly, Britney Spears, and Lil Wayne.

She appeared as Cynthia Rose in Pitch Perfect, released in 2012, and reprised the role in the sequels Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) and Pitch Perfect 3 (2017).

In 2022, she was on the jury panel for American Song Contest representing Oklahoma.[7]

Artistry

Voice

Dean possesses a mezzo-soprano range. Her vocals were described by Billboard as "raw, energetic vocals [that] cover a wide range: from club banger to melodic doo-wop/hip-hop."[8] Dean's vocals have also been described as similar to Rihanna and Nicki Minaj. "The songwriter's voice is pitched dead center between two artists. The first is frequent collaborator Rihanna...the other is Nicki Minaj when she sings."[9]

Songwriting style

In a 2012 article in The New Yorker, Dean described her preferred method of songwriting: "I go into the booth and I scream and I sing and I yell, and sometimes it's words but most time [sic] it's not...and I just see when I get this little chill [on her upper arm, below the shoulder] and then I'm, like, 'Yeah, that's the hook.'"[5]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
2011 Rio Boy in Gondola (voice)
2012 Ice Age: Continental Drift Sloth Siren and Gutt's Siren (voice)
Pitch Perfect Cynthia-Rose Adams
2015 Pitch Perfect 2
2017 Pitch Perfect 3
2020 Trolls World Tour Legsly (voice)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Vanessa Episode: "That Text Was Not Meant for Josh!"
RuPaul's Drag Race Guest Judge (season 8) Episode: "Bitch Perfect"
2019–2020 Songland Herself - Judge
2020 The Voice Herself - Guest Judge Episode: "Live Final Top 5 Performances"
2020–present Central Park Hazel (voice) 7 episodes
2021 Clash of the Cover Bands Herself - Judge Season 1
2021 Trolls: Holiday in Harmony Legsly (voice) short Christmas special
2022 American Song Contest Herself - Oklahoma Judge 8 episodes

Discography

Accolades

Year Ceremony Nominated Work Category Result Ref.
2011 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards "Hot Tottie" (as a writer) Award-Winning Urban Songs Won [10]
"I Am" (as a writer) Won
"Rude Boy" (as a writer) Won
"Sex Therapy" (as a writer) Won
2012 Grammy Awards Loud (as a producer and writer) Album of the Year Nominated [11]
BMI Pop Awards Herself Songwriter of the Year Won [12]
"Firework" (as a writer) Pop Song of the Year Won
Award-Winning Pop Songs Won
"Super Bass" (as a writer) Won
"Rude Boy" (as a writer) Won
"S&M" (as a writer) Won
"What's My Name?" (as a writer) Won
BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards "Super Bass" (as a writer) Urban Song of the Year Won [13]
Award-Winning Urban Songs Won
"What's My Name?" (as a writer) Won
2013 BMI Pop Awards "Mr. Know It All" (as a writer) Award-Winning Pop Songs Won [14]
"Turn Me On" (as a writer) Won
"Where Have You Been" (as a writer) Won
MTV Movie Awards Pitch Perfect (shared with the cast) Best Musical Moment Won [15]
Annie Awards Ice Age: Continental Drift (as a producer) Best Music in a Feature Production Nominated [16]
2015 Hollywood Music in Media Awards "Dancing in the Dark" (as a writer) Best Song – Animated Film Won [17][18]
2016 BMI London Awards "Hey Mama" (as a writer) Dance Award Won [19]
Award-Winning Pop Songs Won
BMI Pop Awards Award-Winning Pop Songs Won [20]
2021 Canadian Country Music Awards "Champagne Night" (as a writer) Songwriter of the Year Won [21]

References

  1. ↑ Dean, Ester [@esterdean] (December 13, 2014). "Lol my real name is Esther" (Tweet). Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ "Ester Dean Talks Debut Album & 'Pitch Perfect' Success". Billboard. January 14, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Melody Maker". Oklahoma Today. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Interview: Ester Dean – Singer and Songwriter". Blogcritics. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Seabrook, John (March 26, 2012). "The Song Machine". The New Yorker. Vol. LXXXVIII, no. 6. pp. 48–55. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Top Writer/Artist Ester Dean Talks About Her Hits With Rihanna, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj & Kelly Clarkson". Songwriter Universe. December 4, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  7. ↑ Maas, Jennifer (March 21, 2022). "How 'American Song Contest' Voting Will Work Via TikTok, and Who's on the 56-Member Jury Panel (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Ester Dean: Artists To Watch 2010". Billboard. January 15, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  9. ↑ "The Singles Bar: Ester Dean ft. Nicki Minaj, "Gimme Money"". Popdust. February 23, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Snoop Dog Honored At BMI Urban Awards". bmi.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  11. ↑ "ESTER DEAN: Grammy History". grammy.com. November 19, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Ester Dean, Benny Blanco and Pitbull share Songwriter of the Year crown; "Firework" named Song of the Year; Universal Music Publishing Group earns Publisher of the Year". bmi.com. May 16, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Ester Dean, Kane Beatz, Nicki Minaj and Pop Wansel also take top honors". bmi.com. September 8, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Ester Dean, Benny Blanco and Pitbull share Songwriter of the Year crown; "Firework" named Song of the Year; Universal Music Publishing Group earns Publisher of the Year". bmi.com. May 15, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Rebel Wilson and The Avengers dominate ceremony". Daily Telegraph. April 15, 2013. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  16. ↑ "2013 Annie Awards: Winners List". Deadline. February 3, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  17. ↑ Feinberg, Scott (November 12, 2015). "Hollywood Music in Media Awards: 'Hunting Ground,' 'Furious 7,' '50 Shades of Grey' Claim Top Prizes". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  18. ↑ "2015 winners". Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  19. ↑ "The hit was written by Giorgio Tuinfort, Afrojack, Sean Douglas, Ester Dean and Alan & John Lomax, and made famous by David Guetta, featuring Nicki Minaj and Bebe Rexha". bmi.com. October 10, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  20. ↑ "BMI Honors Taylor Swift and Legendary Songwriting Duo Mann & Weil at the 64th Annual BMI Pop Awards". bmi.com. May 11, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Dallas Smith cleans up at Canadian country music awards on historic night".
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