CLEAN brings you new music on the daily. We make sure you stay up to date with the latest releases you shouldn’t miss out on. However, every now and then, we like to take a little throwback. Whether it’s a song we believe you may have missed or a true blast from the past that once dominated the charts, these moments are here to remind us what today’s music is built on. We celebrate the hits of today — and revisit yesterday’s best tunes, like the one below.
We love it when fairy tales become reality. From singing covers on YouTube to becoming the first official signee to Justin Timberlake’s record label Tennman Records. We watched a down-to-earth Dutch girl grow into a young popstar right in front of our eyes. Esmée Denters became the blueprint for the American Dream in a time where YouTube was turning into a platform for artists to be discovered. With the help of Justin, who was at the absolute peak of his career at the time, she took over the world by storm.
Her debut album Outta Here is pure perfection if you ask Clean. It perfectly captures what pop music sounded like back in 2009. The era where artists like Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears were working with producers such as Timbaland and Danja. The sound instantly transports us back to the days when songs were still over four minutes long, good old times. The singles ‘Outta Here’, ‘Admit It’ and ‘Love Dealer’ became instant classics in our books. There is however one album deep cut we wish had gotten its flowers back then.
‘Bigger Than The World’ remains our absolute favorite song in Esmée’s discography. It’s no surprise she delivers vocally, after all, her voice is what made the world fall in love with her in the first place. What really caught us by surprise, however, is Justin’s work behind the scenes. We all know him for his flawless pop music and incredible voice, but here he proves he’s an excellent producer too. You can clearly hear the influence of his longtime collaborator Timbaland, as the production genuinely sounds like something he could have created. The production, the voice and the catchy lyrics make this an absolute banger to return to from time to time. To this day we keep falling in love with the song every single time we press play.