Better In Time: A look back through Leona's career

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Better In Time: A look back through Leona's career, 2007 posted

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April View member profile	25th September 2014, 02:43 PM Post #1
changed the game with that digital drop Joined: 26 September 2010 Posts: 13,000 User: 11,905	Over the next 8 weeks, I'll be taking a look back at Leona's amazing career since right from the start to present day. I'll be recapping music releases, TV appearances and other projects as well as happenings in her personal life and achievements at awards ceremonies. In June 2006, a 21 year old receptionist from Hackney unknowingly kickstarted a glittering career in an audition for the third series of The X Factor. Leona impressed the judges with a cover of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and breezed through to bootcamp with four yeses. After impressing Simon and Sinitta with "I Have Nothing", "With You" and "Hero" - she was put through to the final 7 at judges houses. Simon was yet again impressed, stating she was "in a different league" to the other contestants. Leona easily made the final 4 of the category and gave constant hit performances in the live shows. 0sR5hZ6FdNU Leona closed the first live show with a performance of "I'll Be There". She easily made it through to the final of the competition - the only contestant to never find herself in the bottom 2 after the public vote. She graced the final with three performances - "I Will Always Love You", "All by Myself" and "A Million Love Songs" with Take That. Leona closed the show with her version of "A Moment Like This". 1iiRKv_C5Zs 2006 ended with the release of her debut single "A Moment Like This" which debuted at #1 on Christmas week. Leona broke the world record for fastest selling single in 30 minutes - it was downloaded 50,000 times, according to The Sun. The song has sold 900,000 copies to date - the fourth biggest selling winner's single in X Factor history. The song sold 571,253 copies in its first week to claim Christmas number one. Single releases "A Moment Like This" (Released: 17th December 2006) 01 UK [1-1-1-1-6-12-18-33-32-49-66-x-x-55-71-x-x-74-x-] 01 Ireland [1-1-1-1-1-1-4-4-10-18-24-38-41-48-x-] 900,000 copies sold to date ______________________________________________________________ sxbX-z5-QHs Please share your thoughts on Leona's 2006, your memories from the events at the time and opinions looking back at her successful X Factor journey.


Envoirment View member profile	25th September 2014, 07:16 PM Post #2
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 21 November 2009 Posts: 8,585 User: 10,030	I remember routing for her from day one and found out that she was my dad's friend's daughter which made it seem all the more amazing! She started off the live shows a bit wobbly, but as the show progressed she grew and grew. To me, Leona has been the best live contestant the show has had, delivering amazing performances week after week after week even when ill. The show really pushed Leona's voice and think helped her explore it more and start to refine it. Was so happy when "A Moment Like This" hit #1 and her stunning performances of it on the final. Can't wait for the next 8 weeks when you look over her career.


April View member profile	25th September 2014, 07:52 PM Post #3
changed the game with that digital drop Joined: 26 September 2010 Posts: 13,000 User: 11,905	I'll just add that "I Will Always Love You" performance is incredible. It's so on point, and the moment when she goes for the big note was just amazing!


UltraCruelSummer View member profile	25th September 2014, 10:04 PM Post #4
It's a cruel summer. Joined: 26 May 2014 Posts: 35,259 User: 20,947	I loved her on X-Factor, I remember my grandma voted for her like 20 times every week A Moment Like This is still probably my 2nd favourite winners single ever. Can't wait to read the other parts April


star.shine View member profile	30th November 2014, 06:26 PM Post #5
swimming in the stars Joined: 20 August 2010 Posts: 3,039 User: 11,697	Thanks for doing this, I look forward to the remainder of her journey recap! A Moment Like This is absolutely beautiful; it really suits her voice and the production matches perfectly, unlike Kelly's original. That penultimate note is beautiful too!


April View member profile	4th January 2015, 11:46 PM Post #6
changed the game with that digital drop Joined: 26 September 2010 Posts: 13,000 User: 11,905	2007 After winning The X Factor in December 2006, it was announced in February 2007 that Leona had signed a joint deal between Simon Cowell's label in the UK and J Records in the USA. Everything remained quiet until "Bleeding Love" was premiered by Radio 1 on 16th September 2007. The song received massive radio support from day one, with her promotion beginning in October with appearances on This Morning and The X Factor's first live show. The song was critically acclaimed by a large number of people. The song was originally written by Ryan Tedder for Jesse McCartney, however, it was rewritten for Leona after he rejected the song. "Bleeding Love" sold a massive 218,805 copies in its first week to debut at #1, the fastest selling single of 2007 until the release of Leon Jackson's winners single in December. The song also remained at #1 for 7 weeks, the second longest running #1 single of 2007 after Rihanna's "Umbrella" dominated during the Summer for 10 weeks. The single was followed with the release of her debut album 'Spirit' in November 2007. The album received largely positive reviews from the music industry experts. In the charts, 'Spirit' debuted at #1 with 375,852 copies sold in its first week. This marked the fastest selling debut album of all-time until Susan Boyle's in November 2009. Leona achieved the massive accolade of 'Spirit' selling over 100k copies for its first 7 weeks in the chart - later beaten by Adele's '21' in 2011 with 12 weeks. Single releases "Bleeding Love" (Released: 21st October 2007) 01 UK [1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-3-2-3-12-17-16-28-33-37-33-33-41-40-43-38-45-53-54-69-68-x-] 01 US [85-62-41-21-8-1-4-2-1-2-1-1-2-2-2-2-3-4-3-3-4-5-6-9-14-15-18-20-25-26-30-31-32-35-39-40-41-45-47-x-] 01 Ireland [1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-5-9-15-17-22-24-30-38-45-47-x-] 01 NZ [9-8-3-1-2-1-1-1-1-2-2-3-3-3-3-4-8-8-10-12-16-20-22-21-19-27-28-35-40-x-] 01 Australia [9-7-3-2-1-1-1-1-2-1-2-3-3-3-4-8-12-13-16-8-15-18-20-22-28-32-35-41-38-43-44-x-x-43-48-x-] 01 Germany [1-1-1-1-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-6-8-7-7-10-15-18-21-27-36-35-56-57-x-50-61-61-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-85-97-100-78-76-64-76-66-55-x-] 01 Austria [1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-2-4-5-7-8-9-14-16-22-24-36-35-39-40-46-44-52-48-50-58-67-55-65-71-75-x-x-59-69-69-63-x-] 01 Belgium (Flanders) [23-8-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-3-4-5-7-8-9-10-18-21-19-31-25-39-42-44-x-] 01 Holland [49-16-3-2-2-2-1-4-5-4-4-5-10-15-13-24-25-37-28-39-44-64-72-89-x-] 01 Norway [5-13-15-15-9-5-5-6-4-1-1-2-4-4-3-3-6-6-7-5-8-12-15-x-] 01 Switzerland [7-5-5-5-3-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-2-2-4-5-6-12-14-17-17-21-23-30-33-33-31-28-30-39-45-45-54-48-49-51-70-73-73-89-60-83-89-72-68-75-60-75-54-47-39-42-45-52-61-60-62-58-73-78-93-x-] 01 France [1-3-5-8-12-16-17-21-23-22-26-23-22-21-23-27-29-37-39-42-47-53-54-60-63-74-85-x-85-94-97-x-] 01 Canada 02 Italy [17-8-4-3-3-2-3-5-4-7-3-5-10-13-6-10-10-13-x-] 02 Finland [4-2-3-4-3-4-3-10-8-6-17-17-18-11-16-18-x-] 02 Denmark [4-4-3-3-3-3-3-3-4-2-2-2-3-4-5-5-8-11-10-13-15-22-28-26-35-40-26-24-23-23-25-32-35-x-] 02 Sweden [7-4-5-5-3-3-3-5-5-5-2-3-6-18-31-43-53-49-46-52-45-48-47-51-56-x-x-x-x-x-x-54-32-43-60-x-51-x-x-37-44-x-41-46-55-x-] 04 Belgium (Wallonia) [24-18-18-14-16-17-6-8-9-4-8-7-9-11-14-16-22-22-22-26-32-x-40-35-31-x-] 1,000,000 copies sold to date ______________________________________________________________ Album releases 'Spirit' (Released 17th November 2007) 01 UK [1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-10-14-17-21-31-30-23-15-16-4-4-4-3-5-2-3-8-15-19-19-24-33-45-53-27-49-57-59-66-57-47-52-49-64-66-66-(x9)-1-4-3-2-2-2-4-4-7-19-20-29-29-42-49-59-46-54-(x13)-69-64-48-43-45-48-50-63-(x12)-59-31-42-72-51-30-47-60-60-57-58-53-45-48-52-52-51-53-58-54-61-72-75-x-] 01 Ireland 01 Australia [1-2-4-3-6-8-11-13-15-27-19-18-16-7-5-5-8-8-9-13-16-16-15-20-25-32-39-42-31-49-(x2)-43-x-40-32-38-49-x-] 01 Switzerland [1-3-5-3-4-4-4-10-8-14-14-13-12-19-14-19-16-12-13-11-15-15-15-17-12-13-14-11-13-14-20-33-33-40-52-59-63-52-61-70-67-85-34-35-34-28-22-12-15-10-9-9-8-10-11-16-19-29-29-38-53-57-63-65-76-64-91-93-x-] 01 Austria [1-5-4-4-4-4-4-7-8-18-24-25-18-29-20-22-17-13-12-14-16-22-18-18-19-25-21-30-24-23-31-40-50-52-65-72-x-x-x-x-x-x-73-67-66-22-21-15-19-16-20-18-8-9-12-16-16-28-29-50-40-46-55-67-61-75-x-] 01 NZ [1-2-4-5-5-7-7-9-11-13-13-11-15-13-9-12-11-13-15-14-18-20-26-18-35-34-x-38-x-] 01 Germany [1-4-3-4-3-3-4-7-7-16-19-21-20-26-18-19-24-22-19-16-18-16-17-14-12-13-18-16-14-12-22-30-33-39-55-57-67-71-88-x-x-x-x-61-49-36-43-45-40-42-30-32-32-31-37-45-59-61-81-86-x-] 01 US 01 Canada 02 Sweden [4-13-12-17-26-28-38-51-59-x-60-46-44-49-35-43-x-55-x-59-55-x-59-19-2-4-3-4-7-11-21-24-36-41-47-49-x-x-x-x-x-x-41-34-37-42-35-45-42-60-x-x-x-56-x-] 03 Denmark [3-4-13-12-11-23-18-26-30-35-35-35-x-37-31-32-24-28-25-27-29-28-34-36-35-30-33-36-29-38-35-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-39-x-] 04 Holland [4-5-6-12-19-19-25-25-28-34-32-26-20-14-13-12-15-17-13-17-17-16-17-16-21-24-25-31-37-50-73-72-82-92-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-86-87-x-x-x-94-98-x-] 04 Poland 05 Belgium (Flanders) [90-90-15-7-6-5-7-7-11-18-18-22-26-25-29-22-24-27-10-6-9-13-15-18-19-22-26-19-17-23-28-37-44-48-55-70-64-57-70-89-97-86-53-65-67-57-64-65-69-64-99-67-66-65-74-x-x-74-95-90-x-] 05 Italy [14-17-17-12-5-11-9-10-11-19-17-20-18-x-] 05 Japan 06 Brasil 08 Greece 10 Norway [14-11-10-17-24-31-25-24-26-x-x-38-x-] 11 Czech Republic 12 Portugal [17-13-22-12-12-22-23-26-28-29-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-25-26-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-23-23-24-x-x-x-x-22-27-24-x-] 14 Finland [19-14-18-16-24-x-x-x-37-x-34-34-28-36-x-26-22-24-18-19-x-28-24-32-32-27-38-x-31-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-33-28-26-x-] 21 France [21-26-36-51-58-62-75-89-83-77-79-57-49-56-37-40-35-30-35-34-29-32-31-42-47-43-51-53-30-36-31-34-52-71-83-94-74-98-96-112-128-134-144-155-162-162-172-x-x-192-118-97-98-100-128-148-153-170-166-199-x-] 21 Belgium (Wallonia) [95-44-49-41-44-52-66-71-64-69-66-63-64-56-92-66-53-32-34-34-40-38-27-28-21-22-24-28-34-25-35-63-51-65-46-38-43-62-83-72-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-88-x-] 22 Hungary 26 Spain [26-26-36-42-46-54-79-93-65-70-74-78-85-x-x-x-58-63-66-89-x-92-90-73-68-90-81-76-82-80-84-91-77-88-81-83-99-99-x-39-46-55-63-63-66-72-56-33-42-41-32-43-54-47-64-88-84-91-99-73-89-83-87-76-87-91-99-x-] 69 Mexico [69-91-88-x-] 3,115,366 copies sold to date ______________________________________________________________ Best live performance of 2007 5NDo0zUajww Please share your thoughts on Leona's 2007, your memories from the events at the time and opinions looking back at her successful breakthrough into the music industry. This post has been edited by April: 5th January 2015, 02:12 PM


Theonix View member profile	5th January 2015, 12:32 PM Post #7
BUY Phoenix on Amazon / STREAM Phoenix on Spotify Joined: 12 April 2009 Posts: 27,431 User: 8,661	I remember "Bleeding Love" being absolutely everything back in the day, from the radio to all my friend's Myspace pages and I had no idea who it was by for ages! It was incredible to think that an X Factor would go on to be so successful. I still absolutely love the album, I most recently heard half of the track played to me down the phone at work whilst holding I know it's more related to 2008 but I never knew that the single returned to #1 twice! That's incredible!


Envoirment View member profile	6th January 2015, 05:10 AM Post #8
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 21 November 2009 Posts: 8,585 User: 10,030	Great read, thanks April! I still cannot believe how huge "Bleeding Love" and subsequently Spirit were. Just mind boggling and then "Better In Time" did really well too across the world. Was a great time to be a fan.


365 View member profile	7th January 2015, 10:42 AM Post #9
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 11 October 2013 Posts: 31,028 User: 19,931	Bleeding Love is one of my all time favourite songs. It's undeniably huge, and will be featuring highly on my end of the past 10 years/ decade chart. Jesse McCartney must be livid.