:: Leona Lewis - Spirit

Leona Lewis

This is the debut album from rising star Leona Lewis. Already, her first single “Bleeding Love” hit international success and she has become the first British female singer to hit No.1 in the USA in the last twenty years. It is a great achievement and she's made a remarkable impact in a short time. For Leona there has been a huge buzz for some time. Put it this way, legendary US music mogul Clive Davis doesn't offer his services to just anyone and he set himself to make Leona a star. Seeing her perform beautifully at the San Remo Song Festival in Italy showed how classy a singer she is. Therefore, her album has been hotly anticipated. I don't believe the other tracks rival “Bleeding Love” in power or originality. However, a couple of others such as “Whatever it Takes” and “Better in Time” will do well for her. Davis was keen to lure the help of chart-toppers Ne-Yo, Akon, Stargate and Max Martin to pen lush, semi-hip hop, semi-pop ballads. Maybe, though, there are too many similar-sounding cuts that drag the quality down a little. The whole album's feel doesn't really establish Leona's personality and style, though she has a wonderful uplifting voice. One thing: she doesn't have to go into a vocal frenzy to pull off the songs unlike some others. Near the end of the album, Leona tackles the classic “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (originally sung by Roberta Flack). She neatly covers the song without changing too much from the original or adding anything of her own, yet it works. “Footprints in the Sand” closes the album. This pretty ballad, one of the more pleasant tracks about lasting friendships, has done well in the British charts. I think we'll better measure Leona in her next album. Here, “Bleeding Love” and “Better In Time” will become the mainstays. Leona Lewis has the great voice and great looks. Perhaps on subsequent albums she'll be able to break free from how she was first cast, and become a true star.