Why do people need to slate other artists to try build another up? No need for Alex to be brought up here.

 

Looking forward to MOBO's if Leona is getting a performance slot.

It might be the biggest problem but it's not the ONLY problem. If it was, she wouldn't have the exact same standing in other countries.

I've supported Leona as much as possible throughout this campaign but you can't deny that it's been nothing short of a failure.

 

Island / American Label have saved money as they've not had to pay for recording as she recorded it by herself but from what they've saved from recording they seem to have spent for promotional slots. Her promotion in the UK for 'Fire (Under My Feet)' was very good, ' I am' was very poor but the Radio 2 backing should have been sufficient enough for the album to go top 10 (based upon her name also) and the single to go top 200 in the official charts.

 

The US has been nothing short of disastrous and disheartening, I'm incredibly doubtful that she will get another chance at the US market because for 'Thunder' to perform the way it did with such huge promotion is horrendous. The album spent one week in the top 200 is the most embarrassing part of it all considering that she had Ellen, Late Late Show, Kelly & Micheal the following week, she's basically been on every possible promotion slot in America and she's flopped horrendously, and that's me being nice. The US public are not here for here and she needs a much stronger song, I mean look at The Saturdays 'What About Us', it wasn't sent to any possible radio and with two performances it went #101 on iTunes which is far more than Leona managed.

 

I'm not sure what Leona / her management could do but if Leona's label are serious about making her work maybe it would be good to send her to the recording studio with Ryan Tedder / Max Martin etc and make her be involved in a smash with a re-release of the album because the promotional opportunity in America and the UK in the next two months could help this album pass 200,000 sales overall worldwide, not the best but it's the best possible outcome for Leona.

I hate it when a thread descends to immaturity, both with an attack and a corresponding response. Please, it's so unnecessary. Better to simply focus on constructive debate. Days ago, I was going to go on a rant against Def Jam, for not having sent a song to Top 40 thus far. But than BuzzJack was down, and I also realized I've possibly said everything there is about the situation. I'm also realizing that ignoring - or being in the dark - about Leona's personal wishes for the album kinda muddles the debate. She could be fine with the performances of things so far, and here her fans are in sheer meltdown. It may be hard to do, but it's probably best if a lot of frequent posters stopped imposing personal ideas of her success upon her. It's a bit pointless considering that it is her own fate in question. It's not easy: getting back in business with either of her labels without an I AM sales revival would be super-naive to me, but it is her own game; she gets to call the shots.

 

As a newcomer on here, I have tried to keep silent on some of the comments on the last couple of pages. I do feel though, that Low Hanging Peen really provoked this situation by saying Leona shouldn't embarrass herself by releasing albums. For me I am album is really lovely and it is sad that it is not getting recognition.

 

I have particular love for Power, Ladders, IGY and Thick Skin. Would love to hear Power live.

Why record pop music? Maybe because that's what she wants to record - that's the whole point of her leaving Syco... because she wants to have more creative control. And she doesn't have public support? You make out as though the public are against her. Leona has shown on numerous occasions that with the right platform, she can get the public onside - 'Hurt' shot to #2 on iTunes with just one XF performance (zero radio support, no music video), 'One More Sleep' rockets into the top 3 despite a lack of radio support prior to the XF performance - there's a clear pattern developing here: radio doesn't support Leona, Leona finds way of giving the material exposure, public supports Leona. Leona's relationship with the public isn't the problem, the material isn't the problem - UK radio is the problem.

 

That's not true though, there is a general lack of interest for her music among the public. I've heard mainly negative things about her music anytime it gets a play and very few of the people around me actually like the music, people are just not connecting with it. The fact that it's underperforming WW shows it's more than just radio that's the problem.

Hasn't Leona had the same radio support as Will Young, Stereophonics, Brandon Flowers - which is strong Radio 2 support, but nothing more? All of those artists have hugely out-performed Leona.

All those local flops slaying *.*

That's not true though, there is a general lack of interest for her music among the public. I've heard mainly negative things about her music anytime it gets a play and very few of the people around me actually like the music, people are just not connecting with it. The fact that it's underperforming WW shows it's more than just radio that's the problem.

 

That's once again down to wrong single choices. For me, I Am is one of the worst songs on the album and Thunder isn't distinctive enough for the US market. The fact the FUMF also underperformed due to that silly release strategy means radio was never going to support the next single. It's such a shame.

I have followed Leona's return with interest, reading threads on here, DS and Popjustice. I fail to see why comparisons are made to Will Young. Apart from both coming from a talent show and now being signed to Island their careers couldn't be more different. Unlike Leona, Will has always followed his own path, ditching Cowell in the first year of his career. He's worked hard to establish himself and build up a loyal fanbase and has reaped the rewards for his constant touring by being a consistent album seller. Even when not touring he has kept fans interested with his various forays into acting and a series of intimate jazz gigs. Now after a 4 year break he is still able to sell enough to satisfy his label and sell out a 23 date tour, despite his drop in radio support. Leona made the mistake of rushing off to conquer the world before establishing herself in the Uk and it looks as if she still hasn't learn't her lesson. No wonder there are so few UK fans left willing to invest in her. Her ridiculous tour prices will only alienate the fans she has left. Any artist's home fanbase are their bread and butter and should not be taken for granted.

That's not true though, there is a general lack of interest for her music among the public. I've heard mainly negative things about her music anytime it gets a play and very few of the people around me actually like the music, people are just not connecting with it. The fact that it's underperforming WW shows it's more than just radio that's the problem.

 

No, there's a general lack of awareness for her music among the public. The countless times I've seen tweets over the years saying "whatever happened to Leona Lewis?", "Leona just disappeared after Run", "Leona, when are you bringing out new music?" (a month before the release of her album)... It's underperformed (if you can call it that since it has done better than GH and CWL outside of the US and UK) worldwide because there's been practically no promotion outside of the UK and the US. It's not done well in the UK because the major players in radio aren't giving her music a chance. What artist who hasn't done extensive touring and hasn't got the support of Capital, Heart and Radio 1 has been successful in the UK? It was never going to do amazingly in the US when there was no song sent to Pop radio. HAC is a small radio format compared to Top 40.

 

I don't know why people seem to think that commercial success correlates with the quality of music. I can think of dozens of songs that just haven't taken off (even with some fairly major radio support) that are very good. Likewise, I can think of countless songs that are crap yet do very well in the charts. UK radio playlists are determined more by the artists' profiles rather than the individual songs themselves.

But the point is, the music is not being well received by those who DO hear it, and that will have an effect on how many people will buy it. Janet Jackson for example,

since i am listening to her now, has had next to no promo or airplay but the music is getting mainly overwhelmingly positive reviews. People might not be rushing to

buy it, but more people will take an interest due to the reviews. I know I did.

No, there's a general lack of awareness for her music among the public. The countless times I've seen tweets over the years saying "whatever happened to Leona Lewis?", "Leona just disappeared after Run", "Leona, when are you bringing out new music?" (a month before the release of her album)... It's underperformed (if you can call it that since it has done better than GH and CWL outside of the US and UK) worldwide because there's been practically no promotion outside of the UK and the US. It's not done well in the UK because the major players in radio aren't giving her music a chance. What artist who hasn't done extensive touring and hasn't got the support of Capital, Heart and Radio 1 has been successful in the UK? It was never going to do amazingly in the US when there was no song sent to Pop radio. HAC is a small radio format compared to Top 40.

 

I don't know why people seem to think that commercial success correlates with the quality of music. I can think of dozens of songs that just haven't taken off (even with some fairly major radio support) that are very good. Likewise, I can think of countless songs that are crap yet do very well in the charts. UK radio playlists are determined more by the artists' profiles rather than the individual songs themselves.

 

I find this argument odd. When artists have fans, they anticipate the music coming out, and scour the internet and so forth. The problem is, Leona has lost her fans, and I agree with Truly Talented, in that she hasn't given them enough to keep them interested, and the tour ticket costs are another kick in the teeth for the few that are left. The reason Will has done relatively so much better than her after a 4 year break is that he has retained that loyal fanbase. Also, of course, he puts out good albums, which helps.

 

Having said that, I thought Fire under my Feet was a sure hit when I first heard a short snippet, but the actual recorded song was a let down, and I Am is just boring. Neither is going to make many people go out and buy her album.

 

But the point is, the music is not being well received by those who DO hear it, and that will have an effect on how many people will buy it. Janet Jackson for example,

since i am listening to her now, has had next to no promo or airplay but the music is getting mainly overwhelmingly positive reviews. People might not be rushing to

buy it, but more people will take an interest due to the reviews. I know I did.

 

Janet Jackson has had an extremely long and successful music career. Her last album in 2008 went to #1 in America - a market that has an incredible influence in the world musically. Compare that with Leona whose last studio album wasn't even released in the US. Leona is also nowhere near as established as Janet on a worldwide level. But who says it hasn't been well received? There are some critics who don't like the album, and there are others who really do. The same can be said about the general public. I guess some could say 12.5k for an album is poor considering a radio audience total of a however many million in the UK. But then most artists are struggling to sell 100,000 copies in the UK even with blanket coverage airplay. Mark Ronson has "only" just sold over 100,000 copies despite having a monster hit in the shape of 'Uptown Funk' played every hour on Heart. Madonna has "only" sold 80,000 copies of her album despite a very highly publicised BRITs performance as well as having a very long and successful career which has helped her gain a strong and loyal fan base. I think people still have very huge expectations for Leona due to her stardom at the latter end of the last decade. #12 peak with just under 13,000 copies sold so far clearly isn't great but given that Heart, Capital and Radio 1 aren't supporting her, as well as the fact she's appeared on shows with a couple of million viewers at most, it is no wonder she hasn't sold more.

Edited October 12, 20159 yr by Scene

You keep skirting over the point I am trying to make here. The general public are the ones who buy music and a lot of those who has heard Leona's new stuff are

not impressed which is a bit part of why she is underperforming.

I find this argument odd. When artists have fans, they anticipate the music coming out, and scour the internet and so forth. The problem is, Leona has lost her fans, and I agree with Truly Talented, in that she hasn't given them enough to keep them interested, and the tour ticket costs are another kick in the teeth for the few that are left. The reason Will has done relatively so much better than her after a 4 year break is that he has retained that loyal fanbase. Also, of course, he puts out good albums, which helps.

 

Having said that, I thought Fire under my Feet was a sure hit when I first heard a short snippet, but the actual recorded song was a let down, and I Am is just boring. Neither is going to make many people go out and buy her album.

 

It's not an argument, it's the truth. I find it baffling too that people can't do a quick google search but nonetheless I still see those tweets. I do agree that her poor communication with fans at the peak of her career (2007-2010) is partially to blame for the decline of her commercial success. I do think the lack of touring and poor mismanagement by Syco were the main problems though. She should have toured between Spirit and Echo in order to maintain interest in her between albums but Syco weren't confident about her touring skills (which is ridiculous since she did the XF, as well as the tour, and there are so many artists (such as Adele) who don't need to dance around the stage in order to perform). Single choices have plagued Leona's career even as far back as Spirit. 'Better in Time' was a poor follow-up to 'Bleeding Love' - especially with the likes of 'Take A Bow' on the album. Then there was a massive gap between BIT and 'Forgive Me'. Then 'I Will Be' was released a single. Then when 'Happy' didn't show much staying power in the charts, it took Syco forever to follow it up with another bland track - completely ignoring fan-favourite 'Outta My Head' which would have worked in 2010's electro-pop climate. In the meantime, 'I See You' wasn't even pushed despite being the soundtrack to the highest-grossing film of all time. Then Syco misjudged the under-performance of Echo - thinking it was to do with Leona's sound rather than poor management. They alienated Leona's then-strong existing fanbase with the lyrically redundant 'Collide' and with a court case (don't they do their homework?) plaguing the song's chances, Syco got nervous and delayed the album for a year! They came back with 'Trouble' which was ultimately an Emeli Sande reject despite the fans calling for 'Glassheart'. Even when 'Trouble' didn't catch on (Capital didn't even touch this, and Radio 1 only B-Listed it with minimal play), the label still hadn't learnt their lesson and opted for the third dull follow-up single in a row with 'Lovebird'. When the label finally did get it right with 'One More Sleep' leading the Christmas album - and despite radio then being hesitant to touch it because of the f***-up that was Leona's career up until that point - with an XF performance it showed, with the right song, the public respond well to Leona. Now all of this history has shaped UK's relationship with Leona today. Poor single choices in the past have led to radio being cold towards Leona, which has led to her receiving less and less radio play which has resulted in her profile being very low. Unfortunately for Leona, she doesn't currently have a major platform - that's an alternative to radio - on which she can promote on.

Edited October 12, 20159 yr by Scene

You keep skirting over the point I am trying to make here. The general public are the ones who buy music and a lot of those who has heard Leona's new stuff are

not impressed which is a bit part of why she is underperforming.

 

You keep stating this but where's any substantial amount of evidence?

You only need to read through this thread and other ones across the internet. As I have already said, people in and around my life have said it too.

You are coming off across as very close minded and refuse to accept the fact that her music is not being universally adored and seem to be blaming everyone and

their gran for the failure of this era other than Leona and the music. At the end of the day, it's HER music and HER career. If at any point she was unhappy she could

have spoken up and done something about it, plenty of other artists have done this. She has a large portion of the blame here too.

You keep stating this but where's any substantial amount of evidence?

Well her singles have been playlisted by R2 and therefore people have heard them yet nobodys buying it? Is that not substantial enough? We can blame promo or compare to Alexandra or whatever but at the end lf the day she did promote the music and if people liked it they'd have streamed/bought. They didn't.

Okay, it can be assumed that the UK audience are not interested in her music. That's okay to allege. But what about all the other territories? What has been done about them as far as promo is concerned? Why hasn't anything from I AM got a standard pop radio release? These to me, are far more important questions. What works in one market will not necessarily flourish with another. Promotion in one market cannot be applied to another. There is really no excuse for the low sales now other than a rigid, short-sighted, unorthodox or maybe SUPER-SLOW approach to things. Nobody knows.