Over the last decade it's been more than proven that winning a TV talent show does not guarantee instant stardom. There are more Rueben Studdard's out there than there are Kelly Clarkson's.
She is now back with her second offering, Echo, aiming to prove that she can last the distance. First single and album opener Happy might have you believe that she would simply be cashing in on the Bleeding Love success by releasing an album of duplicates. It's another typical Ryan Tedder produced affair (ie. ballad with big drum beat) and you do get a sense of déjà vu on hearing it. To her credit though, 2/3 into the song Leona delivers possibly the best five seconds of vocal you will hear all year.
Thankfully the album does diverge a bit following this and Tedder is only given one other song, Lost Then Found a duet between Lewis and
Elsewhere the album is a little less R&B, a little more pop-rock in parts, and overall a little more upbeat, while still giving Lewis plenty of opportunity to showcase her massive voice.
Brave kicks off with some middle-eastern style strings and gradually builds to an explosive climax.
Outta My Head comes as a huge surprise. Produced by Max Martin (Britney Spears, Bacstreet Boys) it's a club-ready, almost euro-dance affair. It's a welcome aside from a woman who, outside of her singing, comes across as having little personality.
My Hands treads familiar big ballad territory. Leona's voice soars over an explosive chorus and choir (both used liberally throughout the album).
Love Letter and Naked are both upbeat numbers, taking their cue from Kelly Clarkson's pop-rock efforts (a good thing) with more radio friendly choruses and guitars backing Leona's consistently stunning vocals.
A cover of Oasis's Stop Crying Your Heart Out serves as this albums Run and while it's not bad, it doesn't do anything better than the original. It will no doubt get released as a single somewhere down the line, but its sole purpose is simply as a showcase for Leona's voice.
That's the case for much of the album. The general theme falls heavily on the side of break-ups, heartache and subsequent strength, but what's being sung here is not overly important opposed to who is doing the singing. There is no doubt that Leona has an incredible voice. It stands out on every track, never becoming just part of the production, soaring over everything the way Mariah and Whitney used to be able to do. Though in saying that, she never oversings for the sake of oversinging. Sure, most of the songs are overblown, over dramatic productions, but Leona isn't prone to vocal-acrobatics the way Mariah was often guilty of. She hits those big notes because that's what the songs demand of her, and she has the voice to do it.
As far as sophomore albums go, Echo is a solid effort that improves on the first, and while she's not likely to ever have another hit as big or as amazing as Bleeding Love, as long as she keeps releasing material as strong as this, she'll be around for a while.
It is thankful then that Leona Lewis who won the third series of X-Factor (what the
I Got You is a guitar driven mid-tempo pop-rock affair which is practically begging to be released as a single. It's about as radio-ready as a song could be.
