Leona Lewis - Echo Review

Call Leona Lewis a diva of the old-fashioned variety: a singer who uses her rafter-rattling voice to dramatize female suffering. On her second album, the U.K. belter delivers synth arrangements that arc skyward, toward Simon Cowell's mountaintop redoubt. Lewis is technically flawless, but behind lyrics about "the scars on my heart," there's little personality — you miss a little of Mariah and Whitney's supersize ego....full text One begins listening to this second album from the 2006 X Factor winner hoping its title isn’t prophetic – nobody needs an echo of Lewis’s soporific, saccharine debut, Spirit.

While her 2007 album remains the fastest-selling debut release from a British artist – it outsold the Spice Girls’ greatest hits compilation by two to one – Spirit offered little beyond the anticipated. An assortment of big-lunged ballads, replete with lyrics about overcoming adversity, it ticked all necessary boxes and met audience expectations disappointingly perfectly.

More is expected of this 13-track set, which hasn’t quite hit the ground running as its lead single, Happy, failed to set charts alight internationally (though it's sure to perform better domestically). Recorded stateside over the course of nine months, Echo is undeniably a bolder affair than its predecessor, but still falls into the same trap of an over reliance on Lewis’s voice – not half as strong as her supporters might think – in favour of developed arrangements musically muscular enough to render attentions rapt....full text Leona Lewis prolly is the first winner of any reality competition to be given a massive break into the international music scene. After conquering each and every corner of the world with her first solo album, ‘Spirit’ – which became the fastest selling debut album ever in the United Kingdom in 2007, the British songstress is already up with her second album titled ‘Echo’. Although there isn’t a lot of excitement as most of the tracks in the album have leaked beforehand.

Her vocal abilities are not to be questioned as Leona gets on with some variety on her second offering. Apparently, comparing ‘Spirit’ and ‘Echo’ won’t be missed as we eagerly anticipate into what Leona can offer. Now, with the help of massive producers and the best songwriters in the industry, Leona presents a not-so-totally different perception of her music. It has a good-number of upbeat tracks that would totally knock the tracks off from ‘Spirit’s’ roster.

The magnificent LP opened with the current single, ‘Happy’ – some call it ‘Bleeding Love II’ but nonetheless, Leona’s capability of making a song as big as possible is unquestionable. I guess the song didn’t tell much of what ‘Echo’ will sound as we play along the much anticipated album of the record-breaking diva.

Lewis’ attempt to break away from ‘Spirit’s sound is noticeable. She ventures onto giving us some indulgent R&B tracks such as ‘Can’t Breathe’ and ‘I Got You’ and the sparkly ‘Love Letter’ in which she announces she’s happy as long as they’re together with her loved one. Lewis clearly got some inspiration from Coldplay with the rock-inspired anthem ‘Naked’ with its heavy electronic guitar undercurrents and inevitable synthesisers. Also having inspired with the alternative music scene is the collaboration with OneRepublic, co-penned by Tedder ‘Lost Then Found’ – which can sound very signature Ryan Tedder as it is as heavy as other tracks from the band can sound....full text