LOOK AT ME NOW: Singer Estelle thanks record label for dropping her!

British rapper/singer ESTELLE is glad she was dropped by the record label which released her debut album - insisting the knock-back has made her stronger. The star was dumped by V2 Records after her first single 1980 failed to make the U.K. chart's top ten in 2004. She failed to make a major impact on the British music charts until her latest hit American Boy shot to the number one spot in March (08).

And the star, who was quickly signed by John Legend's Homeschool label after her departure from V2, is thankful the set-back happened - stating singers must first struggle in order to "prosper". She says, "I look at it like building a mountain. If you get placed at the top at the start, you'd fall down quickly. You have to be confident to survive in this industry. "You have to be screwed greatly by one label to prosper."