November 18, 200915 yr Digital Spy interview: Well, this young lady hardly needs an introduction, does she? She's the contestant who proved The X Factor can create superstars, the first British recording artist to enter the US charts at No.1 with their debut album, and if her new single 'Happy' is anything to go by, probably the most gifted pop singer in the world at the moment. Oh, and as your DS reporter has just found out, she still rings up interviewers herself. What a woman! 'Happy' has a very powerful lyric. What inspired the song? "I wrote it with Ryan Tedder and Evan Bogart and I wanted it to have quite a universal message. Everyone's always striving for happiness and sometimes it's not an easy road getting there, so we kind of developed that idea and that's how we came up with the song. There's definitely a personal aspect to it too - in terms of taking risks and not always staying on the safe side." Is it a good introduction to Echo, your new album? "Definitely, but it's only song in 14 and all of the songs on there are so, so different. This album's more diverse than Spirit. It's kind of got a bigger sound and there are more live instruments on there. It's still got an R&B feel in places, but there's definitely more of a live band feel too." You've co-written more than half the songs on the album. Is it more personal? "Well, there was a process to choosing the songs for the album - Simon Cowell and Clive Davis were very involved in that - but I just wanted songs that I could connect with, whether I'd written them for not. But luckily I had more time for this album, so I was able to express myself more in terms of the songwriting side of things." How many songs did you record in total? How did you choose the final 14? "In total we recorded about 30 songs. It's a hard process and there are some songs that I really love that didn't make the album, but hopefully they'll get used again. Simon will have songs he's drawn to, Clive will have his and I'll have mine. We just kind of figure out which ones work together best and which one's all of us are really passionate about." Who gets the final say? "Well, you're always going to have a difference of opinion along the road somewhere, but you just have to reach a compromise somehow. Obviously with me being the artist, I kind of get my say in what I want on my album, but I do usually take the advice of Simon and Clive because they've been in the industry for such a long time." A lot of the songs on the album are about breaking up. What draws you to that kind of material, do you think? "I think it's because a lot of people relate to break-ups and heartache. Love is a very powerful emotion and when a break-up is unexpected, it's very hard to get over. 'Better In Time' from my first album was such a powerful song and a lot of people related to it, so I wanted more songs like that because I really felt people connecting with those lyrics." How does your boyfriend feel about you singing break-up songs all the time? "Hahaha! I haven't actually asked him... and he's never asked me that question either. I should probably find out!" What made you want to cover Oasis's 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out'? "I just like doing covers and singing great songs. I wanted to do a song by a band and I love Oasis. I love Snow Patrol as well which is why I covered 'Run' for the repackage of Spirit. But the idea to cover 'Stop Crying My Heart Out' came from Simon. He said, 'Why don't you try this song?' and we both loved it, which is probably why he keeps getting people on The X Factor to sing it!" Have you decided on the next single yet? Is 'Outta My Head' a contender? "Not yet. We're still at the early stages. It's very possible that 'Outta My Head' could be a single as it's such a strong song. A lot of people have picked up on that song, because it's definitely something unexpected from me. I get to have some fun with it and do some movement too, which is really exciting. 'I Got You' and 'Love Letter' are strong contenders too, but everyone has a favourite so it's just a matter of sitting down and picking really." You've just announced details of your first tour. How are you feeling about that? "So excited! Doing the gig at Hackney Empire really helped, because I did a lot of rehearsal and preparation with my director, William Baker, who's going to work with me on the tour. I think it's going to be ethereal, contemporary and something different to what people have seen before." What do you think of The X Factor this year? "It's just so entertaining! Every year it gets bigger and bigger. The production values weren't nearly as big when I was on there. There's so much happening onstage now and I definitely think the contestants should use that to their benefit and make the most of the learning experience. I just can't pick someone to win though, because I've been in their position and I feel weird and bad about choosing! But some really strong people have already gone out. I really liked Rachel and Lucie actually." Finally, a less positive question unfortunately. Has what happened at the book signing last month affected your confidence? "No, it hasn't affected my confidence at all. Obviously it was very shocking and it was a horrible thing for anyone to have to go through, but I'm kind of getting over it now. It was so isolated and such a rare thing to happen, but unfortunately it happened to me. I'm moving forward though. You know, bad stuff happens and it wasn't some random thug who did it. It was someone who was very, very ill and needs help really, so that's kind of helped me sleep at night. I could have gone all negative and scared, but I'm a positive person and I've got good people around me." Have you stepped up your security? "Um... Obviously I'm more aware of what's going on around me now. I had security there with me on the day, but you could never have anticipated it. Whether I had one person around me or a million, it still would have happened. I don't want to go round having loads of people around me though, because that's just not really me." Echo by Leona Lewis is out now.
November 18, 200915 yr Mids: #1 - 75.7k :) Has Leona sold more than JLS and Robbie, when they were at this stage last week? Edited November 18, 200915 yr by DanielMiles17
November 18, 200915 yr Has Leona sold more than JLS and Robbie, when they were at this stage last week? Nope she hasn't
November 18, 200915 yr Nope she hasn't Oh well still great sales. Edited November 18, 200915 yr by DanielMiles17
November 18, 200915 yr Author Some people are taking the album title too seriously. Echo echo echo.. :lol:
November 18, 200915 yr :lol: nice sales, and a great lead over #2 now too! oh wait...:kink: I checked on the system where I work (Asda) how many copies of Leona we sold yesterday compared to JLS and it was something like 55 to 37 which was encouraging :D
November 18, 200915 yr I see from that interview that shes considering Love Letter as a single!! Thats one of my least favourite songs on the album, it just hasnt really clicked with me :( oh and those are great sales for Echo, with a nice lead over #2 :kink:
November 18, 200915 yr Echo is now only £5.98 on Amazon. Thats shockingly low :o What a bargain! I wonder why they lowered the price so drastically?
November 18, 200915 yr Apparently expecting 60-65k in US in first week... fair way off Spirit, but still pretty good debut... may end up higher with the promotion she's now doin there :-)
November 18, 200915 yr Yup thats the HDD prediction. Hopefully can push for 75k with the promo as she did promote last night on DWTS so its effect isn't included.
November 18, 200915 yr Echo is now only £5.98 on Amazon. Thats shockingly low :o What a bargain! I wonder why they lowered the price so drastically? 'cos like, people aren't buying it :unsure: (compared to the sucess of 'Spirit' anyway) Well, I just bought it from Amazon! I was gonna buy it from ASDA but this is 2p cheaper, haha. But I'll have to buy the inevitable 'deluxe' edition this time next year as well!
November 18, 200915 yr Author Apparently expecting 60-65k in US in first week... fair way off Spirit, but still pretty good debut... may end up higher with the promotion she's now doin there :-) Much better than I expected all things considered. Jordin sold less than 50k with a top 10 hit single and America is her home country. I'll happily take those sales. :)
November 19, 200915 yr I see from that interview that shes considering Love Letter as a single!! Thats one of my least favourite songs on the album, it just hasnt really clicked with me :( oh and those are great sales for Echo, with a nice lead over #2 :kink:'Love Letter' would do brilliantly in the US as a single I think. It's kinda Taylor Swift-y, Pop-Country but not obvious country (If that makes sense :lol:) It'd also bring her in with country fans and stuff. Oooh nice sales for US. Where abouts is that in the chart? Heading for Top 5 at a push? :unsure: Don't forget sales in general are also FAR lower than when 'Spirit' was first released last year...
November 19, 200915 yr Much better than I expected all things considered. Jordin sold less than 50k with a top 10 hit single and America is her home country. I'll happily take those sales. :) Why are people comparing her to Jordin?!?! :rolleyes: Jordin never had Leona's sales. And her single went top 10 AFTER her album was released, 2 weeks later I think!
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