Esmée Denters is an artist that I wish would catch on here in the States. She’s the uber-talented Dutch popstar who caught the attention of Justin Timberlake, who went on to sign her to his new label Tennman Records (via Interscope). Looks like she’s finally catching attention of the mainstream U.S. media, being featured in this weeks edition of Mashup Monday on Billboard.com. Singing a cover of Stevie Wonder’s 1977 single “As.” Denters shows off her pipes in a stripped down performance of Wonder’s song.
With Timberlake serving as Executive Producer, Denters released her debut album, Outta Here, internationally in May of 2009. The album saw the release of 3 singles – “Outta Here,” “Admit It” and “Love Dealer” featuring Mr. Timberlake himself. To date, “Outta Here” has been her most successful single (reaching #7 on the UK charts, #3 in the Netherlands and #9 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play Chart) but “Love Dealer” could bring the singer to new heights. Backed by the popular Justin Timberlake, this could be the single Denters needs to crack the ever elusive U.S. market. The song is currently climbing the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts where it currently sits at #36, rising 8 spots since last week. This is good news, considering the single isn’t released in the UK until July 12th. I’m crossing my fingers. U.S. audiences need to know about Esmée Denters.