Pop Quiz: Esthero

Pop Quiz: Esthero

Aidin Vaziri | It's been seven years since Esthero released her quarter-million- selling debut CD, "Breath From Another," and then seemingly disappeared. After grappling with writer's block, television addiction and seeing her head- spinning sound co-opted by Nelly Furtado and the Black Eyed Peas, she finally returns with a new CD, "Wikked Lil' Grrrls," featuring Sean Lennon and OutKast's Andre 3000. We asked the Canadian singer about the delay and her pirate girlfriends.

Esthero
Q: There were a lot of rumors about you while you were gone. One, that you were supposed to be the short, loud chick in the Black Eyed Peas.
A: Fergie? I love her. I adore her. No. I was a guest on one of their songs, and I'm a member of their collective. I never wanted to be in the band. No one asked me to be in the band. That's just my family. It was like people forgot I actually have my own career.
Q: Well, when you take seven years off ...
A: They thought I was out of a job? I just wanted to be alone and live life and gather ammunition. It was very deliberate.
Q: There were rumors of breakdowns.
A: I definitely had my own struggles, but it was just about trying to find my way and find my sound. There was a point when I didn't want to write or do anything. I wanted to take time off and be a hook girl.
Q: Wait, did you say hooker or hook girl?
A: I wanted to be that girl who sang hooks on everybody else's s -- and got paid and had no ego. I didn't want to be in charge.
Q: People also said you went broke.
A: I lost my house. I mean, I'm not wanting now. I'm not suffering. When you take that long, finances get tight. You're only supposed to take a year and a half to make a record.
Q: Losing your house didn't make you want to work a little faster?