Leona is doing great in the UK, but the question is will she be successful in the states. Bleeding Love is an amazing song, and it's great that the UK and recognizing this, but the U.S. may think otherwise. Sadly, we are compelled to more flavor of th moment sounds. If Bleeding Love was released in the 90's when I Will Always Love You and One Sweet Day ruled the charts, it would have been a monster. But sadly, times have changed, and any song close to those who ruled the 90's rarely make the top 40. Now Soujja Boy rules the charts, and the only good song in the top ten with any substance is Alicia Keys' "No One". So good advice for Leona is to re-work her album from a more Adult Contemporary to a more up to date sound. Sure Leona has talent but she needs to know how to market material where it matters most.

Edited November 13, 200717 yr by meagan

Leona is doing great in the UK, but the question is will she be successful in the states. Bleeding Love is an amazing song, and it's great that the UK and recognizing this, but the U.S. may think otherwise. Sadly, we are compelled to more flavor of th moment sounds. If Bleeding Love was released in the 90's when I Will Always Love You and One Sweet Day ruled the charts, it would have been a monster. But sadly, times have changed, and any song close to those who ruled the 90's rarely make the top 40. Now Soujja Boy rules the charts, and the only good song in the top ten with any substance is Alicia Keys' "No One". So good advice for Leona is to re-work her album from a more Adult Contemporary to a more up to date sound. Sure Leona has talent but she needs to know how to market material where it matters most.

 

I think she'll be massive in the States. Apart from her solid voice Simon Cowell will want to win ... he won't let her down and she won't let him down. Plus Clive Davis is very firmly in the frame and if he's impressed ... then she must have something.

 

Norma

 

Well the reason I think it'd be a sad for music is the difference between how much of an ARTIST Leona is compared to Arctic Monkeys. Arctics were four ordinary lads from Sheffield who formed a band, wrote some brilliant songs and they got all their hype and the reason why so many people bought their album was because of the MUSIC which was all wrote by THEM. To me Leona is just another typical no personality with a decent voice product of the great BUSINESSMAN Simon Cowell, the album has three covers on it and in general she's basically contributed absoultely NOTHING apart from singing in her diet-Mariah Carey voice. The only way she'll last after this album is if she can gain control over what she does (like Will Young did) or instead be the product of someone who can write some great pop songs for her (like Girls Aloud did with Xenomania)

 

Notice a pattern here? Simon Cowell knows how to make a quick buck, dreary ballads and covers which have done thousands of times as people buy them. Notice something else? The reality TV stars who have survived (i.e. Girls Aloud, Will Young and Lemar) are the ones who escaped the clutches of Simon Cowell's repetitive strategy and Will and Lemar made a career out of what people in music should be, being ARTISTS! Girls Aloud however I can't knock as Xenomania just make them make good solid pop music which I personally don't think Leona is making right now.

 

I'm interested in what Leona can do afterwards because she COULD be decent but I think she's the type who needs to be told what to do personally. Also I am aware Arctics beat Hear'say before anyone says :P

 

This post isn't made to offend Leona fans or anything, I'm just trying to put my point across.

 

I said something very similar earlier in this thread. But unfortunately I was slaughtered by Leona Lewis fans for making this balanced conclusion. (I'm probably not helped that I'm the only GM or higher here who thinks Leona Lewis' album is another one of Simon Cowell's emperors new clothes. Especially ironic since I supported her all the way from the beginning of the last series of X-Factor. I remember well saying back then that she was by far the best singer to ever appear on a UK reality TV show and got attacked by Will Young & Shayne Ward fans for my opinions. <_< ).

 

I thought Bleeding Love was (it still is) a superb single for the album, and therefore increased my expectations for this album. However, it is an exercise in superb technical singing over a predictably slick set of productions with songs that sound like they were written by numbers. I was very disappointed as I anticipated some more up-to-date uptempo sounding tracks a la Alicia Keys, Beyonce or Rihanna.

 

I challenge all the Leona fans to get a copy of Whitney Houston's debut album & Mariah Carey's debut album. Because forget the voice comparisons they had a stronger set of songs on their respective debut albums. There is nothing on Leona's album to compare with a "I Don't Want To Cry", "How Will I Know", "Someday", "All At Once", "Vision Of Love" or "Greatest Love Of All" (which improved on a 1970s classic (by George Benson) in stark contrast with Leona's reading of the Roberta Flack standard (The First Time I Saw Her Face).

 

However to be far to Leona, I remember both Whitney & Mariah starting off with rather bland, nice public images (who probably also used the words "lovely" and "amazing" in every other sentence like Leona does at the moment). Who both went on to make bigger and better records as they wrestled more control over their output (before they went into decline, although in Mariah's case her last album was a deservedly huge comeback triumph for her).

 

So how anyone on either side of the argument can say at this very early stage in her career either that Leona is the best thing since sliced bread or another over-hyped flash in the pan is being incredibly naive.

 

The jury will remain out until she delivers her second & third albums.

 

The only way she'll last after this album is if she can gain control over what she does (like Will Young did) or instead be the product of someone who can write some great pop songs for her (like Girls Aloud did with Xenomania)

 

Girls Aloud however I can't knock as Xenomania just make them make good solid pop music which I personally don't think Leona is making right now.

 

So to get this right, you're against manufactured artists who come out of TV shows on principal, unless they write their own material. Except for when you like the band in which case it's ok for them to have all their sound manufactured with all their songs written and produced by someone else?

 

<_<

Edited November 14, 200717 yr by 6weeksatnumber7

So how anyone on either side of the argument can say at this very early stage in her career either that Leona is the best thing since sliced bread or another over-hyped flash in the pan is being incredibly naive.

 

The jury will remain out until she delivers her second & third albums.

 

Sanest words in the thread. The world of music is scattered with artists who hit big and then faded away. And with those who've tried to crack the notoriously insular and protectionist American market.

 

Who knows how Leona will fare? The one thing she has in her favour is she can sing the hind legs off a donkey and performing live is the backbone of breaking the States. With the right approach and a lot of hard work she has a chance of breaking there.

 

But as thisispop says, categorically stating she'll become a world megastar is about as idiotic as saying she'll flop badly after this album. The world is far greyer than either of these monochrome alternatives.

I think with the right songs, she can do really well in the states!

i hope she cracks the states, to show them it's not just them that have powerful voices!

She has no charisma though, a total cold fish type person, put her on Letterman or Nightline or anything like that and she will embarrass herself, likewise she does not come across well in interviews however much technical vocal ability she has, she does not sell herself well in the media and her lack of charisma will count against her in the image conscious USA, she might have good technical ability even if she is cocooned in her own little ballad singing bubble but she does not have stage presence or personal charisma. I think she has a short shelf life in America no matter how hard Cowell tries to hype her

Just saw The Spice Girls advert for TESCO's and is really funny

Leona is doing great in the UK, but the question is will she be successful in the states. Bleeding Love is an amazing song, and it's great that the UK and recognizing this, but the U.S. may think otherwise. Sadly, we are compelled to more flavor of th moment sounds. If Bleeding Love was released in the 90's when I Will Always Love You and One Sweet Day ruled the charts, it would have been a monster. But sadly, times have changed, and any song close to those who ruled the 90's rarely make the top 40. Now Soujja Boy rules the charts, and the only good song in the top ten with any substance is Alicia Keys' "No One". So good advice for Leona is to re-work her album from a more Adult Contemporary to a more up to date sound. Sure Leona has talent but she needs to know how to market material where it matters most.

That just makes me glad to be British! and glad that our music charts are NOTHING like the US. Leona shouldn't change her style or her songs just to fit into the current vile sound of the US charts! if they don't like her then..... well they can stick with 50 Cent/Kanye West/SoujjaBoy?? :huh: /an the rest... <_<

She has no charisma though, a total cold fish type person, put her on Letterman or Nightline or anything like that and she will embarrass herself, likewise she does not come across well in interviews however much technical vocal ability she has, she does not sell herself well in the media and her lack of charisma will count against her in the image conscious USA, she might have good technical ability even if she is cocooned in her own little ballad singing bubble but she does not have stage presence or personal charisma. I think she has a short shelf life in America no matter how hard Cowell tries to hype her

 

Charisma only takes you so far. And unlike talent, charisma is something that can be grown and nurtured. Plenty of artists that are so called 'charismatic' are not naturally that way - they just learn to be that way in the industry. Leona can do the same.