Leona Lewis is officially back on the scene. After a few tracks from her upcoming album, Echo, leaked some weeks ago, we now have the official lead single. Leona co-wrote Happy with Ryan Tedder and Evan Bogart, but ten seconds into the track and you could have figured that out for yourself. It's so very irritating when one producer gets branded a "hitmaker;" it only translates to monotony on the radio. Happy is filthy with Tedder's footprints; his formula for creating a stellar, striking pop song is clearly perfected, but the sad reality is we've heard it too many times before. Case in point: after I heard Happy for the first time, I had Bleeding Love stuck in my head.
"Happy is filthy with Ryan Tedder's footprints."
With all that said, Happy is almost certainly Leona's next big hit. The track saddles the fence between Bleeding Love and Better in Time -- two singles I found to be oddly polarizing amongst friends, so everyone should be 'happy' this time around. Even with its blatant similarities to Bleeding Love and Jordin Sparks' Battlefield, there's no denying the pull of that sudden, booming chorus or Leona's pitch-perfect vocals. These mid-tempo, power pop ballads are clearly Leona's bread and butter. I'd be astonished if she didn't give an amazing performance complete with fog and moody lighting at the upcoming Divas special on VH1 to quiet all the whispers of her mistaken inclusion. While she may be lacking the diva flair in personality, Leona is still at the very pinnacle of the game vocally -- the Mariah to Christina Aguilera's Whitney.
"Mid-tempo, power pop ballads are Leona's bread and butter; Happy is almost certainly her next big hit."
Leona's sophomore album Echo is slated for a November release. You'll be listening to Happy for the next year or so -- you may as well take the plunge now. Enjoy.
Leona is on a mission to re-sing every song ever sung. Correctly. Kidding, but she does enjoy the covers, doesn't she? Leona and her team are pushing I Will Be as her next single in the US instead of Run, something I've only recently come to terms with. She enlisted the aid of ex It-Boy, Chace Crawford (dethroned, of course, by Robert Pattinson -- requisite swoon) for the video, which quite frankly, I don't understand. But, when presented with eye candy, I find it best to simply drool. You can pretty much peg the nature of the song by its title; I will be all that you aren't, yada yada. But, for a former Avril Lavigne song (former because it's totally Leona's now), it's very pretty and, like I've mentioned before, Leona can sing the phone book brilliantly. It's not as fabulous as Run, but not as slow either and considering the average American attention span, perhaps she's made the right single choice. Check out the video and a live performance below.
A few international acts took to the stage to perform before the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. And I'm sure neither one of them knew who any of the performers were.
Don't Cha/I Hate this Part/When I Grow Up
Is it me or are the Dolls just not as entertaining as before? Nicole just isn't as beautiful as she used to be, her voice not as solid, and you can only watch five b****es jump around in knee-high boots and catsuits so many times. Don't get me wrong -- PCD will still blow Britney out of the water as her opening act next year -- they've just lost their novelty.
Run
Leona gave her usual, stunning performance. Fierce dress, girl. Her management finally got with the program and released Run as a single in the US a couple days ago. Now she can take over the world again. Love it, love it.
Take a Bow
With Beyoncé stealing some of the shine, Rihanna's not looking as bright. Granted, she probably is the artist of 2008, but 2008 is damn near over. Time for a new album, sweetie. Live performances are not her forte, but I liked the mask and the dress.
It would seem that going to the UK to sing on X-Factor is becoming the standard these days. Beyoncé snagged the finale, though, so tough noogies for the artists who didn't make it on the show in time. Check out yet another performance of If I Were a Boy:
As tired as I am of seeing her perform this song and Single Ladies, I have to say this is one of the best I've seen. I liked the late-80s/early 90s rock arrangement, Beyoncé's vocals were on point, and I actually found her band engaging for once. Another check in the 'Success' column, B can sit comfortably next to Leona and look down upon Mariah and Britney of the 'Hot Mess' column. Beyoncé also performed a duet with this year's winner Alexandra Burke. Have a look at Listen below:
Props to Alexandra -- that girl was emotional and she still handled business. Lovely, overall. That was probably the best Beyoncé ever sounded singing that song; every performance I'd seen prior was underwhelming. Alexandra really reminds me of Jazmine Sullivan. Like a lot. They look alike and their voices are similar as well. While that's not the worst thing in the world -- Jazmine is up for five Grammys next year and generally awesome -- it limits Alexandra's crossover potential. One thing Americans can't stand is a look-alike. (Leona's haters still brand her a Mariah wannabe). I don't think she'll see the type of worldwide success Leona enjoys but she's definitely talented.
Watch this performance and tell me you don't get chills down your spine. Phenomenal. Leona is hands down the best technical vocalist in the pop game right now. And this is her most beautiful performance to date. Her camp recently re-released her debut album Spirit and they need to push this single out to promote it. This could be her second Bleeding Love.
I can't tell you the last time I watched the AMAs, but this year's show had a lineup I couldn't miss! Just about every big name in pop music performed (and I'm sure you noticed, most of them were divas). Unfortunately, just about every performance was negatively affected by incompetent sound people, and many performers were competing with the music to be heard. That blip aside, it was a great show and next year's Grammys will have a hard time coming up with something better. My girl Christina opened the show with a medley of hit songs from her career.
I know she's promoting the greatest hits CD, but I think I would have preferred her to do just one or two songs, even if it was Keeps Gettin' Better. The medley was fun to watch for me as a fan, but because she only sang each song for a minute, I feel like she never really got into any of the songs and caught a stride. The costume was versatile and awesome, though. And while it wasn't the best day she's ever had vocally, plenty of artists still wish they had her pipes.
P!nk was awesome. Her mike wasn't loud enough, but her voice is still amazing. While not a powerhouse, that raspy quality adds that uniqueness to her music and gives her a signature sound. Her duet with Sarah McLachlan later in the show was beautiful, as well. Still not exactly feeling Sober, though.
Leona Lewis looked great and sounded great. She did all the riffs I thought she should have done in the studio version of Better In Time. I still think the song, while pretty, is rather bland and didn't make for an engrossing performance.
Now, I really don't care much for Miley Cyrus. But, this was a great performance. She's clearly not the most talented vocalist, but she played to her strengths and engaged the audience. I loved the billboard people. Kudos, Miley.
I am officially a Beyoncé fan again... but not because of this performance. I've seen the video for Single Ladies so many times and seen a few live performances, and now it's just kinda boring. Case in point: I know the choreography so well that I noticed her f*** it up at one point. Also, is it me, or did her legs look weird? All that said, it was still a great performance. She wielded that ponytail like a deadly weapon. Though, I do wish Justin could have replaced one of her dancers.
PCD has fallen off. They seemed determined to stay relevant with When I Grow Up, but ever since then the ship has been slowly sinking. While I Hate This Part has definitely grown on me, the live rendition wasn't exactly impressive. And then Nicole went on to that incredibly long, incredibly sour note before the dance breakdown. Back to the drawing board, ladies. Away. I LOVED Nicole's dress on the red carpet, though. Fabulous, Christian, just fabulous.
Finally, a "merit" award recipient that doesn't put me to sleep! Annie Lennox is so f***ing awesome. Like, seriously. Enough said.
Natasha shut it down. Her voice is incredible. My only complaint is that she didn't sing enough of Soulmate, my favorite (and her favorite) track off of her most recent album. But, damn, she was amazing. She killed Pocketful of Sunshine. Best vocals of the night, IMO. And that's saying something because it's me and Christina performed. OK.
Yes! Yes! Amazing way to close the show. Uh, LOVE Queen Latifah! (I'd love her more if she just CAME OUT ALREADY, but still). What a performance. I was like "Who the hell is Kathleen Battle?" And then she came out and my roommate and I were like "Oh, opera singer." It was awesome. Way to go, Alicia, repping for the sistas. She had too much make-up on all night, but I still love her to death. She can do no wrong.
Other performers:
New Kids on the Block: More like Old Farts on the Stage. They looked, sounded and moved like s***. Please retire. Forever this time.
Taylor Swift: What's the big deal with this girl? The most interesting thing about her is that she dated a Jonas. And, trust me, she knows. That's why she can't stop talking about it. I don't get it.
Coldplay: Chris Martin was loopy like always, but it was awesome. Love their sound.
Mariah Carey: How about this, Mimi? How about you just put up a cardboard cut-out of yourself up on stage and save the trip. I mean, it's not like you're going to move or sing anyway.
Rihanna: While Rehab will definitely be another notch on Riri's belt of hits, she still needs to learn a thing or two about stage presence. She looked hot, though.
Kanye: I'm sorry, I tried, but I'm not feeling any of his new music. And while watching him give an acceptance speech is a nail-biter, watching him perform is a yawn.
Leona Lewis, booted off the top of the Billboard 200 this week by none other than Mariah, performed on the most-watched TV show in America, American Idol, exactly one week after Mariah guest starred. She shut it down. She added her special libs and riffs and brought in pyrotechnics to make sure the audience payed attention. And compared with Mariah's questionable performance from last week...well, there is no comparison. Check it out.
Leona's stay at the top of the charts was brief, and it seems Mariah's will be as well with Madonna's much-hyped Hard Candy (which sounds a lot like it could be Gwen Stefani's third solo album) set to drop next week.
Just to be clear, before I receive hate mail, Mariah is a tremendous talent, that much is undeniable. But, her performance on last week's AI was, in short, not what one expects from arguably one of the world's greatest singers. It was pitchy, seemingly difficult for her, and I couldn't even tell you what was going on at the end, but it didn't sound good, or genuine. Watching Leona, it's just "Wow."
Happy April Fools!! You foolish b***es!! The claws are coming out this April. Madonna, Mariah, and Leona (Lewis; you really just can't say Leona yet) are all dropping their albums this month, and I personally can't wait. I love Leona's new Misses Glass, Mariah's Migrate is actually starting to grow on me (when I manage to block her horrible SNL performance from memory) and Madonna... No, I can't actually say I'm feeling any of Madge's new material, but I'm sure she'll bring something good to the table with Hard Candy.
Spirit - April 8th E=MC² - April 15th Hard Candy - April 29th
Yes, another post on Leona. I've been listening to the leaked track Misses Glass on repeat for the last half hour. Leona's people knew that her ballad-ridden album that's as bland as pasta with no sauce was going to need some umph if she wanted any play on American radio after Bleeding Love. And Madd Scientist, who also produced the hot Super Villain for Nicole Scherzinger, really delivered on this new track for the American release of Spirit. The beat is a jumper, but doesn't necessarily sound like everything else on the radio; it has character. And the song is clearly another one of her introspective ballads -- which honestly may be the closest thing to a personality or signature style Leona can muster -- just sped up. Misses Glass is slated to be the follow-up to Bleeding Love and I think Leona's onto another hit.
Leona zooms to #1 on this week's Hot 100! Meanwhile, Mariah still hasn't cracked the top ten, actually falling a spot to #15 this week. Mariah's album will definitely be better and probably perform better on the album charts when the ladies release their albums next month, so Leona better enjoy being on top while it lasts!
Bleeding Love jumped from #21 to the #8 spot on the Hot 100 this week! Seems like she's finally building steam. For the sake of the rivalry I've been playing up, Mariah is moving up the chart as well, currently at #14 with Touch My Body. I've been playing Bleeding Love for months now, so it's a little weird that it's going head to head with the new Mariah single, at least for me. But, I'm glad it's catching on; it's a great track. Which single do you like better?
Both Mariah Carey and Leona Lewis debuted new music videos today for their singles Touch My Body and Footprints in the Sand, respectively. The sparring singers have albums slated to release a week apart from one another in April. Leona seems to have taken aim at viewers' hearts with her effort, and Mariah apparently tried to go for laughs and men's penises. Have a look.
She's here, and she's fierce! Check out this new clip for her first single, Bleeding Love, already a hit in most of the world, and #3 on my best of '07 list. Her make-up artist needs a raise or tenure; she looks flawless. Leona's recording two new tracks for her U.S. debut to be released in April. Arguably, Leona made her claim to fame singing other diva's songs and now she's taking one of them on; Mariah's That Chick (goodness, is she really sticking with that title?!) is also scheduled to drop in April. Get her, Leona!
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