Every once in a while, an artist comes along whose talent is so undeniable that it inspires everyone who encounters it. British singer and songwriter Leona Lewis is such an artist. Her striking beauty, charmingly down-to-earth personality, and huge, soaring voice has taken over the UK, where her debut Spirit entered the album chart at Number One and became Britain’s fastest-selling debut of all time. Spirit’s lead-off single “Bleeding Love” —co-written and produced by OneRepublic frontman Ryan “Alias” Tedder — claimed the Number One spot for seven weeks, and the album sold over 1 million copies in the UK in just 5 weeks. Ushering in 2008, Leona received four prestigious Brit Award nominations, the UK equivalent of the Grammy Awards.
Spirit will be released in the US by J Records/Syco on April 8, 2008. Written and produced by an array of top-notch hit-makers, the album is a showcase for Lewis’ powerhouse voice — which has evoked comparisons to Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Céline Dion. (Warned Entertainment Weekly: “Divas, watch out!”)“Those women are the true divas,” Lewis insists. “They’re amazing performers whom I’ve listened to for years. These are the people who’ve inspired me to sing, so it’s flattering that I’m being compared to them. But I have a lot of hard work to do first!”
Such disarming modesty is part of what has endeared Lewis to her fans, who watched her journey to stardom on television each week on The X Factor, a British talent show executive-produced by American Idol’s Simon Cowell, who is also a judge. She won the 2006 competition handily, stunning the notoriously critical Cowell into silence who said: “I think she’s one of the best singers we’ve seen in this country for a long, long time.”
Knowing a superstar when he heard it, Cowell phoned legendary music executive and J Records founder Clive Davis and told him: “You might have the next Whitney Houston on your hands.” For the first time, the two teamed up and signed Lewis to J Records/ SyCo Music (Cowell's joint venture with Sony BMG). “I was immediately knocked out by her range, her versatility, and the pure beauty of her voice,” said Davis. “She is an artist who will be a true star for many years to come.”
Davis and Cowell have made sure of it by introducing Lewis to an all-star roster of collaborators to bring out her best on Spirit, including Tedder (currently enjoying his own hit with the ubiquitous “Apologize”), singer/songwriters Akon (Gwen Stefani, T-Pain) and Ne-Yo (Rihanna, Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson), songwriters Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg (Madonna, Whitney Houston, Céline Dion), and songwriter/producers Dallas Austin (Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Pink), Stargate (Rihanna, Beyoncé, Ne-Yo), J.R. Rotem (Britney Spears, Ashley Tisdale), and Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald (Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne).
“It was quite daunting at first to work with such well-known people,” Lewis admits, “but they gave me their full attention and really wanted to do their best. They were all really lovely and I learned something different from each one of them.”
For Lewis, making a solo album was the chance to realize a dream she’s had since the tender age of 5, when her parents (father is Guyanese/mother is Welsh) enrolled her into London’s prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School. Lewis then attended the performing arts academy The BRIT School, where she honed her songwriting and production skills. Encouraged by winning several talent contests as a teen, she left school and took part-time jobs — including working in Pizza Hut as a waitress — to earn money to pay for studio time. “It was about doing my music,” she says. “It has always been my passion to be a singer and songwriter.”
In 2006, Lewis auditioned for The X Factor and won in a landslide on December 16th. Her first single broke a world record when it was downloaded 50,000 times in 30 minutes and subsequently outsold the rest of the U.K.’s Top 40 singles combined. Leona mania had taken hold of Britain.
Now Lewis hopes to do the same in the U.S. “I wanted to make an album that was totally me,” Lewis says. “Each song is about something that either I’ve gone through or that someone around me has gone through. The lyrics reflect things that I’m really passionate about. I have to be able to put myself in the song for it to ring true to me. If it doesn’t ring true to me, it’s not going to be believable to anyone else.”
Indeed Lewis’ passion for singing comes through loud and clear. “My love for music is my main motivation as an artist,” she says. “I’ve found that you can help so many people with your songs. I’ve received a lot of letters from people saying that ‘Bleeding Love’ really helped them. I think if you can do that, it makes it all worth it.”
Spirit will be released in the US by J Records/Syco on April 8, 2008. Written and produced by an array of top-notch hit-makers, the album is a showcase for Lewis’ powerhouse voice — which has evoked comparisons to Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Céline Dion. (Warned Entertainment Weekly: “Divas, watch out!”)“Those women are the true divas,” Lewis insists. “They’re amazing performers whom I’ve listened to for years. These are the people who’ve inspired me to sing, so it’s flattering that I’m being compared to them. But I have a lot of hard work to do first!”
Such disarming modesty is part of what has endeared Lewis to her fans, who watched her journey to stardom on television each week on The X Factor, a British talent show executive-produced by American Idol’s Simon Cowell, who is also a judge. She won the 2006 competition handily, stunning the notoriously critical Cowell into silence who said: “I think she’s one of the best singers we’ve seen in this country for a long, long time.”
Knowing a superstar when he heard it, Cowell phoned legendary music executive and J Records founder Clive Davis and told him: “You might have the next Whitney Houston on your hands.” For the first time, the two teamed up and signed Lewis to J Records/ SyCo Music (Cowell's joint venture with Sony BMG). “I was immediately knocked out by her range, her versatility, and the pure beauty of her voice,” said Davis. “She is an artist who will be a true star for many years to come.”
Davis and Cowell have made sure of it by introducing Lewis to an all-star roster of collaborators to bring out her best on Spirit, including Tedder (currently enjoying his own hit with the ubiquitous “Apologize”), singer/songwriters Akon (Gwen Stefani, T-Pain) and Ne-Yo (Rihanna, Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson), songwriters Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg (Madonna, Whitney Houston, Céline Dion), and songwriter/producers Dallas Austin (Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Pink), Stargate (Rihanna, Beyoncé, Ne-Yo), J.R. Rotem (Britney Spears, Ashley Tisdale), and Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald (Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne).
“It was quite daunting at first to work with such well-known people,” Lewis admits, “but they gave me their full attention and really wanted to do their best. They were all really lovely and I learned something different from each one of them.”
For Lewis, making a solo album was the chance to realize a dream she’s had since the tender age of 5, when her parents (father is Guyanese/mother is Welsh) enrolled her into London’s prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School. Lewis then attended the performing arts academy The BRIT School, where she honed her songwriting and production skills. Encouraged by winning several talent contests as a teen, she left school and took part-time jobs — including working in Pizza Hut as a waitress — to earn money to pay for studio time. “It was about doing my music,” she says. “It has always been my passion to be a singer and songwriter.”
In 2006, Lewis auditioned for The X Factor and won in a landslide on December 16th. Her first single broke a world record when it was downloaded 50,000 times in 30 minutes and subsequently outsold the rest of the U.K.’s Top 40 singles combined. Leona mania had taken hold of Britain.
Now Lewis hopes to do the same in the U.S. “I wanted to make an album that was totally me,” Lewis says. “Each song is about something that either I’ve gone through or that someone around me has gone through. The lyrics reflect things that I’m really passionate about. I have to be able to put myself in the song for it to ring true to me. If it doesn’t ring true to me, it’s not going to be believable to anyone else.”
Indeed Lewis’ passion for singing comes through loud and clear. “My love for music is my main motivation as an artist,” she says. “I’ve found that you can help so many people with your songs. I’ve received a lot of letters from people saying that ‘Bleeding Love’ really helped them. I think if you can do that, it makes it all worth it.”
Bleeding Love
Closed off from love
I didn’t need the pain
Once or twice was enough
And it was all in vain
Time starts to pass
Before you know it you’re frozen
But something happened
For the very first time with you
My heart melts into the ground
Found something true
And everyone’s looking round
Thinking I’m going crazy
But I don’t care what they say
I’m in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don’t know the truth
My heart’s crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open
Trying hard not to hear
But they talk so loud
Their piercing sounds fill my ears
Try to fill me with doubt
Yet I know that the goal
Is to keep me from falling
But nothing’s greater
Than the rush that comes with your embrace
And in this world of loneliness
I see your face
Yet everyone around me
Thinks that I’m going crazy, maybe, maybe
But I don’t care what they say
I’m in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don’t know the truth
My heart’s crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I....
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open
And it’s draining all of me
Oh they find it hard to believe
I’ll be wearing these scars
For everyone to see
I don’t care what they say
I’m in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don’t know the truth
My heart’s crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I....
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I....
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
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