American Boy

"American Boy” is a song by British singer and rapper Estelle featuring American rapper Kanye West from the former's second studio album Shine (2008). The song was written by the artists, alongside Ethan Hendrickson, will.i.am, John Legend (who provides additional background vocals), Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, and Keith Harris. It was produced by will.i.am, and uses the instrumental from "Impatient" from his own third studio album Songs About Girls (2007). "American Boy" is a breezy R&B and disco-funk song that lyrically describes a romance with an American suitor. The song's conception came after Legend, Estelle's mentor, suggested she write a song about meeting a man from the United States. "American Boy" was released by Atlantic Records as the album's second single on 31 March 2008. The song received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its fresh sound and production. The song reached the top five in many European and Oceanic markets, and peaked at number-one in Belgium and Estelle's native United Kingdom. It also achieved success in the United States, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming Estelle's breakout song in the country. The song earned many nominations, and ultimately won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The music video, featuring a variety of celebrity guests, earned a Video Music Award nomination for Best UK Video. Estelle and West performed the song at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards and 2008 Grammy Awards. Background and composition "American Boy" was written by Estelle, will.i.am, John Legend, Kanye West, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir and Keith Harris. It was also produced by will.i.am and recorded over the instrumental of his song "Impatient", from his third studio album Songs About Girls (2007). The credits of Lopez, Speir, and Harris were the result of this sampling. In a 2008 interview with Pete Lewis of Blues & Soul, Estelle explained how the song came to fruition: "We were just messing about in the studio, joking around. And John (Legend) just said to me 'Why don't you write a song about meeting an American boy?'. So I was like 'Well, that's pretty easy' - because I have a lot of male friends out there in New York. And I unwittingly ended up creating a new ladies' anthem!" She also spoke about West's involvement on the song, commenting "Kanye basically just brought his own cheeky self to the track, his own sense of humour.