Esther Winterbourne
Esther Winterbourne | |
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 Esther Winterbourne performing at Llalta Fest 2020 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | July 29, 2001 Lilliannes, Llalta |
| Genres | |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2016–present |
| Labels | Atlantia Records |
Esther Winterbourne (born July 29, 2001) is a Llaltese singer, songwriter and record producer. Following her success in the WorldVision Song Contest and World Hit Festival, Winterbourne has become Llalta's most prominent and best-selling musical artist of all time. Winterbourne is considered the first Llaltese artist to successfully break into international markets, and has been recognised as being the sole figure in introducing and popularising Llaltese music and culture to the world. Representing Llalta, she won the 82nd WorldVision Song Contest, with her entry "Fate".
Born in Lilliannes, Llalta, Esther began to take piano lessons at age six from Evergreen's John Marshall, who would later advise Winterbourne to take up singing and songwriting after seeing her potential. At 14, Winterbourne released her debut single "Place I Call Home" without a label, releasing her debut EP Hometown Stories later that year. Though the EPs two singles sold poorly, the album sold over 50 copies in its debut week, the album debuting at 3 on the Llaltese charts as well as receiving critical acclaim. In 2018, Winterbourne participated in the 40th World Hit Festival in Mousiki, Izmedu, representing Llalta with her entry "Free". Though she failed to reach the final, placing 8th in the semi and 17th overall, the song topped the charts. Her following WorldVision and World Hit Festival participations received far better results, entering the contests 3 and 5 times respectively, placing top 3 on multiple occasions, including a win. Her debut album, Like Memories topped the charts for over 10 weeks following its release, the longest streak in Llaltese chart history. Her next album, Bouquet, sold over one thousand copies in its debut week, the highest first week sales for any Llaltese artist, and has remained on the Llaltese charts since release.
Due to her success in WorldVision and the World Hit Festival, Winterbourne has become synonymous with Llaltese music internationally. Having sold over five hundred thousand units, Winterbourne is Llalta's highest selling artist. She holds many other records, such as most number-one hits and most consecutive number-one hits. Her success has also popularised Llaltese music internationally, Winterbourne being responsible for the rise in Llaltese singers and in revenue for the Llaltese music industry, which has increased exponentially since Winterbourne's World Hit Festival debut in 2018.
Life and Career
2001-2014: Early Life and beginnings
Esther Winterbourne was born on July 29, 2001 in Lilliannes, Llalta. The first of three children, Winterbourne grew up in a cottage with her mother, her father a sailor who spent much of Winterbourne's childhood at sea. Growing up under her mother, she was taught traditional sea shanties and Llaltese ballads, growing a passion for music at a young age. At age four she attended St. Christopher's Academy.
At age six, Winterbourne began to learn the piano from Evergreen's John Marshall, who would later become one of her key collaborators and producers. Under the advice of Marhsall, Winterbourne later began to take singing and songwriting lessons in her free time. To pay for her lessons, Winterbourne often traveled to St. Christopher to perform covers at inns and events, where would sometimes meet her father, returned from sea. These performances were frequent, always receiving praise from locals.
Following the advice of her music teacher, Winterbourne began to write songs in her spare time. At age eleven, she wrote her first song, which she debuted to an enthusiastic crowd at Llalta Fest 2012. Receiving positive media attention for the first time, Winterbourne was prompted to continue writing her own material for her performances.
2015-2016: Debut and Hometown Stories
Following the success of her self written songs, Winterbourne began to write material for her debut EP Hometown Stories in early 2015, collaborating with John Marshall, who would later produce the project. Inspired by her own experiences in the isolated cultures of Llalta, as well as the music her mother had taught her growing up. The EP consisted mostly of acoustic folk tracks, with lyrics heavily referencing Llaltese folklore and her strong pride in her home. She also began to record demo tapes to send to Britonisea in an attempt to be signed. However, she was rejected by every single label, Winterbourne describing her experience as "feeling small for the first time". Set back by the rejection, she took a small hiatus from the project and instead focused on her school work for the latter half of 2015.
In early 2016, Winterbourne reconciled with her feelings of inadequacy and began to work on the project once more, working with John Marshall to perfect and produce the EP, drawing from her feelings of unimportance and rejection to improve upon the EP. She released her debut single "Place I Call Home" to little success, burning the CD singles using her mother's computer with money saved up from the past few years of gigs. Despite the few sales, her debut received positive reviews. The following single, "Signal Flags" was more successful, debuting at 23 on the Llaltese charts. She released her debut EP Hometown Stories in October, selling over 50 copies in the first week. The EP debuted at 3 on the charts, and received critical acclaim for its tender lyrics and classic sound.
2017-2018: Like Memories, the World Hit Festival and WorldVision
Following the success of her first EP, Winterbourne began to work on her second project, which would become her first studio album.
In 2018, Esther participated in the 40th World Hit Festival in Mousiki, Izmedu, representing Llalta with her entry "Free". Though she almost reached the final, placing 8th in the semi and 17th overall, the song was her second time on top of the charts. She then went on to participate in the following 41st edition in Polumisec, Izmedu with her entry "Like Memories" which placed 2nd with 36 points, surpassing "Free" on the charts and also her first single to chart internationally. Near the end of 2018, Esther further participated in the 42nd World Hit Festival with her entry "Start A Fire", which also placed 2nd. She became the first Llaltese participant of the World Hit Festival, and subsequently the singer with the most entries in Llalta, with three participations by the end of 2018. She also became internationally famous as a result, garnering many fans from across the world. She also became the third singer in Llalta to have top the chart for more than 20 weeks consecutively, her three singles of late 2018 consecutively reaching number one. At her peak, she had four singles in the Top 10 at a time. After the success of World Hit Festival, she released her first album at the end of 2018, Like Memories which peaked at first on the Llaltese charts, and became the best-selling album of 2018.
Following her World Hit Festival success of late 2018, she entered the 69th and 71st WorldVision Song Contest, with "Like Memories" and "Start A Fire" respectively, placing 5th and 9th. After taking a short hiatus in order to study, in early 2020 she participated in the 49th World Hit Festival with her entry "Fonn Amháin" which placed 3rd. It also topped the charts, though fell off due to the popularity of Chiara Albanthia's winning entry, "Timeless" which had won the 47th World Hit Festival in Alshkan, Estogium. However, shortly after, she topped the charts once again with her 50th World Hit Festival entry, "Yours Truly" which placed 8th out of 30 overall and became the biggest single of early 2020. Later that year however, she entered the 82nd WorldVision Song Contest held in Tiferet, Ertzei Kishim with her entry "Fate". The entry went on to win the prestigious contest with 284 points; the most points of any WorldVision Song Contest winner. It also ended up topping the charts for 22 weeks straight, and became the biggest Llaltese song of 2020. In 2021, Esther released her second studio album, Bouquet which has remained first on the LBN charts since it was released in December 12, the lead single Blooming also having topped the charts since release, with six other tracks including "Fate" re-entering or debuting in the Top 10 at one time.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak positions | Sales | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LLA | BRI | ||||
| Like Memories |
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1 | - |
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| Bouquet |
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1 | 5 |
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Compilation albums
| Title | Album details | Peak positions | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| LLA | |||
| Esther Winterbourne: WV & WHF Collection |
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2 |
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Live albums
| Title | Album Details | Peak position | Sales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LLA | BRI | |||
| Live & Last |
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1 | 42 |
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Extended plays
| Title | Album Details | Peak position | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| LLA | |||
| Hometown Stories |
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3 |
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Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart position | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LLA | IZM | BRI | |||
| "Place I Call Home" | 2016 | — | — | — | Hometown Stories |
| "Signal Flags" | 23 | — | — | ||
| "When I See Your Boat Again" | 2017 | 4 | — | — | Like Memories |
| "Free" | 2018 | 1 | — | — | |
| "Like Memories" | 1 | 5 | — | ||
| "Start A Fire" | 1 | — | — | ||
| "Fonn Amháin" | 2019 | 1 | — | 71 | Non-album Single |
| "Yours Truly" | 2020 | 1 | — | 89 | Bouquet |
| "Blooming" | 1 | — | 52 | ||
| "Fate" | 1 | 7 | 12 | ||
| "Shine" | 2021 | 1 | — | 21 | Non-album Single |
| "Fairytale Of St. Christopher" | 1 | — | — | Bouquet | |
| "My Resolve" | 2022 | 1 | — | 93 | Non-album Single |