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Spirit (Leona Lewis album)

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Spirit
Spirit cover
Studio album by Leona Lewis
Released November 9, 2007 (2007-11-09)
(see release history)
Recorded 2006–2007
London, England
Atlanta, Georgia
Los Angeles, California
Miami, Florida
New York, New York
Genre R&B, pop, soul
Length 56:49
Label Sony BMG, Syco Records
Producer Walter Afanasieff, Josh Alexander, Dallas Austin, Louis Biancaniello, Simon Cowell (executive), Clive Davis (executive), Dr. Luke, Eric Hudson, The Jam, Steve Mac, Michael Mani, Novel, Jordan Omley, J. R. Rotem, The Runaways, Stargate, Billy Steinberg, Ryan Tedder, Sam Watters, Wayne Wilkins
Professional reviews
Leona Lewis chronology
Twilight
(unreleased)		 Spirit
(2007)		 Best Kept Secret
(2007)
Singles from Spirit
  1. "Bleeding Love"
    Released: 22 October 2007

Spirit is the debut album by British singer and winner of the third series of The X Factor, Leona Lewis.[1][2] On 25 April 2007, a press release was sent out revealing that Simon Cowell and Clive Davis would work together in a first-of-its-kind partnership on both the song and producer selection for the album.[3] The album was said to have a September 2007 deadline,[4] however, the UK release date was 12 November 2007 (see release history). It will be released in other European countries[5] and in the United States on 18 March 2008.[6] The release of the album marks Lewis as the first winner of a major television talent show in both the UK and USA to be given a major global launch with a debut album.[3] The title of the album was announced on 3 October 2007. Lewis says she named the album Spirit because "it is my heart and soul and the voice within that says everything is possible."[2]

Contents

Production and songs

The album took six months to complete and was finished in mid-August 2007.[7] The album was delayed due to Lewis suffering from tonsilitis[4] and waiting for producers to become available.[7] Simon Cowell has commented that the album is as good as early Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston.[8] On the time it has taken to release the album, Cowell said:

“ We could have gone into the studio for a month, made the record quick, thrown it out. It would have been the wrong thing to do. We made a very public commitment to Leona.[9] ”

On the same subject, Lewis said:

“ I know some people are asking, 'Where has she gone?' But I wanted everyone who has supported and worked with me to have an album they're proud of, one that is credible and one with songs that people can connect to. I'm working hard to make sure that I'm around for a long time to come. It's going to surprise people.[10] ”

Lewis confirmed in a radio interview that the album contains thirteen songs, plus one bonus track.[11] It was also said that, apart from one song — a cover of the Ewan MacColl song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — the album is made up of entirely new material.[12] However, "Homeless" and "I Will Be" are both cover versions. Lewis's debut single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment like This", was confirmed as the bonus track, to be only featured on the UK release. Lewis recorded and wrote the album in several locations, the first being London, England, where she worked with Steve Mac,[10] who produced the songs "Homeless" and "Footprints in the Sand".[13] "Footprints in the Sand", a "massive power ballad",[14] was played on an episode of the fourth series of The X Factor and was written by Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, Richard Page[15] and Simon Cowell.[13] It was influenced by the poem "Footprints". "Homeless" is a song written by Jörgen Elofsson, previously recorded by Swedish singer Darin,[16] and has been described as "a moody piano-heavy trembler"[17] and a "haunting, blues-style ballad".[14] Most of the songs were recorded in Los Angeles, California. There, Lewis teamed up with OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder, with whom she recorded two songs, "Bleeding Love" and "Take a Bow". "Bleeding Love" was written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney and produced by Tedder.[18] It was the first song confirmed to be appearing on the album, and was released as the album's lead single, which went straight to number one in both the UK and Irish Singles Charts.[19] "Take a Bow" was written and produced by Tedder, Louis Biancaniello, Wayne Wilkins, Sam Watters[20] and The Runaways.[13] It has been described as starting with an "ice-cool synth riff" and having "big, crunchy beats and powerhouse chorus".[14] Watters, Biancaniello and The Runaways also wrote "Yesterday", with Jordan Omley, Michael Mani, The Jam, and Nina Woodford.[13] Yesterday has been described as "a smoochy R&B slow jam".[17] "Better in Time" was also recorded in Los Angeles with producer J. R. Rotem, who wrote the song along with Andrea Martin.[13] Lewis also co-wrote "Here I Am" with Walter Afanasieff and Brett James in LA.[13][21] "I Will Be" is a cover of an Avril Lavigne song, written by Lavigne, Dr. Luke and Max Martin,[13] that was released as an iTunes bonus track and on the special edition of her album The Best Damn Thing.[16] "The Best You Never Had", which was written and produced by Billy Steinberg and Josh Alexander,[22] was also recorded in LA. In Atlanta, Georgia, Lewis worked with producers Alonzo "Novel" Stevenson and Dallas Austin[10][21] on the song "Whatever It Takes", which Lewis co-wrote together with Novel and Tony Reyes.[13] The song has been described as a "chipper slice of soul-pop, anchored by a surprisingly bone-shaking beat".[17] "I'm You" was recorded in Atlanta with Ne-Yo,[23] who provided backing vocals.[24] The song features "delicate harps, echoey vocals and skittering beats".[14] "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" was recorded in both Atlanta and Los Angeles. It was produced by Wayne Wilkins, Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello and The Runaways.[13] In Miami, Florida, Lewis worked with Salaam Remi,[10][21] and "Forgiveness" was recorded. It was written by Lewis, Remi and Kara DioGuardi, but was chosen as the B-side to "Bleeding Love" rather than an album track on the UK edition. "Angel", a Stargate production, was written by Stargate and Johnta Austin, and recorded in New York.[13] Lewis says she was allowed to be herself when working on the album, and not made to follow a set formula.[10] She has described the album's style as "classic songs with a contemporary edge," containing both ballads and up-tempo songs[10] and having an American sound.[5] There are some 1980s sounds, however, the songs are not beat-driven or following the latest trends, but are songs that can be performed acoustically.[10] Syco managing director, Sonny Takhar, states that they have at least five singles from the record, and that "every track is a potential single — we really are spoiled for choice."[12]

Track listing

  1. "Bleeding Love" (Ryan Tedder, Jesse McCartney) – 4:23
  2. "Whatever It Takes" (Alonzo "Novel" Stevenson, Tony Reyes, Leona Lewis) – 3:27
  3. "Homeless" (Jörgen Elofsson) – 3:50
  4. "Better in Time" (Jonathan Rotem, Andrea Martin) – 3:54
  5. "Yesterday" (Jordan Omley, Michael Mani, The Jam, Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello, The Runaways, Nina Woodford) – 3:54
  6. "Take a Bow" (The Runaways, Watters, Wayne Wilkins, Biancaniello, Tedder) – 3:54
  7. "I Will Be" (Avril Lavigne, Max Martin, Lukasz Gottwald) – 3:59
  8. "Angel" (Johnta Austin, Mikkel Eriksen, Tor Hermansen) – 4:14
  9. "Here I Am" (Walter Afanasieff, Brett James, Lewis) – 4:52
  10. "I'm You" (Eric Hudson, Shaffer Smith) – 3:48
  11. "The Best You Never Had" (Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg) – 3:43
  12. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (Ewan MacColl) – 4:26
  13. "Footprints in the Sand" (Richard Page, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, Simon Cowell) – 4:08
UK bonus track
  1. "A Moment like This" (Elofsson, John Reid) – 4:17

Personnel

  • Leona Lewis – vocals, backing vocals
  • Ryan Tedder – keyboard, all instruments on "Bleeding Love"
  • J. R. Rotem – all instruments on "Better in Time"
  • Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen, all intruments on "Angel" (except guitar)
  • Eric Hudson – all instruments on "I'm You"
  • Tony Reyes – guitar
  • Espen Lind – guitar
  • Fridrik "Frissy" Karsson – guitar
  • Dr. Luke – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
  • Steve Pearce – bass
  • Jack Daley – bass
  • Philip Lowman – drums
  • Stephen Ferrera – drums
  • Ian Thomas – drums
  • Chris Laws – drums
  • Neal Wilkinson – drums
  • Stephen Woolf – drums, percussion
  • Novel – keyboard
  • Steve Mac – keyboard, synthesiser
  • Wayne Wilkins – keyboard
  • Louis Biancaniello – keyboard
  • Josh Alexander – keyboard, guitar
  • Dave Arch – piano, organ
  • Max Martin – piano
  • Kenn Wagner – violin
  • Olga Shpitko – violin
  • Amy Chang – violin
  • William Pu – violin
  • Karen Freer – cello
  • Daniel Laufer – cello
  • Tawatha Agee – choir
  • Vaneese Thomas – choir
  • Cindy Mizelle – choir
  • Michelle Cobbs – choir
  • Robin Clark – choir
  • 'Biti' Straughn – choir
  • Tammy Lucas – choir
  • Billy Porter – choir
  • Bennie Diggs – choir
  • Fonzi Thornton – choir
  • The Tuff Session Singers – choir
  • Carmen Reese – backing vocals
  • Ravaughn Brown – backing vocals
  • Mone't – backing vocals
  • Tavia Ivey – backing vocals

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalogue
Republic of Ireland 9 November 2007 Syco Music CD
United Kingdom 12 November 2007 Syco CD 88697185262
Sweden[25] 25 January 2008 CD
Italy CD
Hong Kong[26] 28 January 2008 Syco CD 88697222432
Poland[27] SonyBMG CD 88697222432
Spain 11 February 2008 SonyBMG CD 88697222432
Australia[28] 23 February 2008 CD
United States 18 March 2008 J Records CD
Canada CD

Promotion

On 24 September 2007, Lewis performed a special album launch party at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, London. She performed "Bleeding Love", "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Homeless" and "Whatever It Takes".[17][29][30] Lewis went on a two-day regional radio tour to promote the album and single "Bleeding Love" on 11 and 12 October.[31] This was followed by an appearance on This Morning on 15 October. Lewis performed "Bleeding Love" live on the fourth series of The X Factor on 20 October 2007,[32] and made appearances on T4, GMTV and several other TV and radio shows, including the 2007 event of BBC's Children in Need on 16 November.[33] From 29 October 2007, Spirit was BBC Radio 2's Album of the Week. Sonny Takhar states that Lewis will not be touring until "the tail end of 2008", so she can focus on the album.[12]

Critical reception

Reaction to Lewis's debut album have mostly been positive. However, there have been some criticisms. BBC Music summed up their reaction to the album by saying, "Spirit is just the sound of a generic diva", adding that "It's almost a shame all that effort went into crafting a bland pop album strong on mid-tempo balladry and spiralling vocal gyrations, but short on hooks, innovation and personality."[34] The Mirror found it to be quite average, their review also acknowledging that the songs, whilst good, are nothing special: "Who knows what Leona can do in the future. With the right people she could produce something really spectacular. The fact is that Britain is full of potential soul shakers."[35] The Times and The Guardian each gave the album a two-star (out of five) rating. The Times review concluded by saying, "If Lewis is looking for the greatest love of all — public adoration — she will have to do better than this."[36] The Guardian was equally disappointed by saying Lewis "has clearly invested every scrap of energy into these songs [...] but being able to belt 'em out is only half the story, and if there's a personality here, it's well hidden."[37] The Daily Star's review was more positive, saying, "Fans of her sweet, soaring vocals and power ballads won't be disappointed."[14] The Evening Standard review said that Spirit will be "a very successful album with some much-needed grit."[38] MSN Entertainment's review stated that the album was worth the wait and that Spirit was a "highly impressive debut".[39] Popjustice's review was brief, summing up that "There are no totally chronic songs on Spirit apart from "A Moment like This."[40] Digital Spy gave it four out of five stars, claiming that although Lewis had a pallet of different producers working with her, they managed to prevent her from sounding "too fusty or old-fashioned."[41]

Sales and chart performance

In its first day of release in the UK, Spirit was reported to be outselling its nearest rival, the Spice Girls' Greatest Hits album, by two-to-one. It sold over 130,000 copies on 12 November 2007,[42] and entered the UK Albums Chart on 18 November 2007 at number one, having sold 375,872 copies.[43][44] It was the fastest selling debut album in the UK since records began, beating Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, and the fourth fastest selling album of all time.[44] The album sales in the first week averaged at 200 per minute.[45] In its fourth week of release, Spirit sold around 180,000 copies.[46] In its fifth week it sold around 228,000 copies[47] and in its sixth it sold around 286,000.[48] Spirit has so far stayed at the top of the UK Albums Chart for seven weeks,[49] and has so far sold 1,590,000 copies in the UK.[50] The album became the second biggest selling album in the UK of 2007[50] and the fastest million-seller by a solo female in the UK in just 29 days. Several of the album's non-single tracks also charted in the UK Singles Chart on 18 November 2007, due to digital download sales. These were "Whatever It Takes" at number 61,[51] "Footprints in the Sand" at 65[52] and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" at 73.[53] Spirit entered the Irish Albums Chart at number one, breaking a record by being the fastest selling debut album ever, beating the Arctic Monkeys by a margin of 6,000 sales.[54] It remained at the top of the chart for two weeks before being knocked off by Shayne Ward's Breathless.[49] Spirit entered the United World Chart at number three, selling 391,000 copies in the first week of release,[55] however, the album fell to nine in the second week selling 202,000 copies.[56] It then went to number eight, selling 167,000,[57] and then number nine, selling 184,000 in its fourth week.[58] In its fifth week it dropped one more place to number ten, selling 234,000.[59] In week six the album sold 293,000 copies, its second highests week sales, dropping to number 13.[60] The following week it sold 120,000 copies, giving it the number 16 chart position and bringing its total worldwide sales to 1,591,000.[61] It charted 32nd on the 2007 end of year chart.[62]

Charts and certifications

Chart (2007) Providers Peak
position		 Year end
position		 Certification Sales
Irish Albums Chart[49] IRMA 1 6× platinum 90,000+
European Top 100 Albums[63] Billboard 7
UK Albums Chart[49] BPI/OCC 1 2 3× platinum[64] 1,590,000[50]
United World Chart[49] Media Traffic 3 32 1,591,000
Preceded by
"Back Home" by Westlife		 Irish Album Chart number-one album
8 November 2007 – 22 November 2007		 Succeeded by
"Breathless" by Shayne Ward
UK Album Chart number-one album
19 November 2007 –		 Succeeded by
incumbent

References

  1. ^ "Album title revealed", leonalewismusic.co.uk, 4 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-05. 
  2. ^ a b "Leona glams up for vid", The Mirror, 03 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-03. 
  3. ^ a b "Clive Davis and Simon Cowell work on X Factor's Leona Lewis release (25.04.07).", prnewswire.com, 25 March 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-13. 
  4. ^ a b "Sick Leona flies home from Los Angeles", Digital Spy, 13 May 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-13. 
  5. ^ a b "Leona vows to stay in UK?", thisisnorthscotland.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-09-30. 
  6. ^ "Leona in high spirits", 19 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. 
  7. ^ a b "No more Leonly nights", Sunday Mirror, 19 August 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-19. 
  8. ^ "Cowell Defends Leona Lewis Chart Absence", Product-Reviews, 16 August 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-10. 
  9. ^ "Cowell defends Lewis' chart absence", Digital Spy, 16 August 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-22. 
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "Leona Is Back!", RCA Label Group, 20 August 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-20. 
  11. ^ Leona Lewis interview. 96.6 Radio Aire. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  12. ^ a b c "Leona Lewis Spirit (Syco)", 01 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j (2007) Album notes for Spirit by Leona Lewis [CD album]. Sony BMG (88697185262).
  14. ^ a b c d e "LEONA LEWIS: SPIRIT", Daily Star, 1 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-01. 
  15. ^ Footprints in the Sand. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
  16. ^ a b Snippets leaked. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
  17. ^ a b c d "Long wait for Leonaarrrgghh!", The Sun, 26 September 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-26. [dead link]
  18. ^ "Leona Lewis: Basically a press release presented as "news"", Popjustice, 16 August 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-16. 
  19. ^ Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love. aCharts.us. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
  20. ^ Take a Bow. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
  21. ^ a b c "The transformation of Leona Lewis", The Times, 14 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  22. ^ "Lewis Gets The Best From Steinberg & Alexander", 11 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  23. ^ Greetings from Atlanta (31 August 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  24. ^ I'm back! (4 September 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  25. ^ Leona Lewis fick vänta på framgången. Meny (2007-12-18). Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  26. ^ Leona Lewis - Spirit. HMV.hk. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  27. ^ Leona Lewis - Spirit. SonyMusic.pl. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  28. ^ "Leona Lewis' 'Spirit' becomes fastest selling debut album ever", top-40charts.com, 2007-11-22. Retrieved on 2007-11-23. 
  29. ^ Leona blows us away. Closer.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  30. ^ "Leona launches new single", Virgin Media. Retrieved on 2007-09-25. 
  31. ^ "Regional radio tour", RCA Label Group, 10 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-18. 
  32. ^ "Leona Lewis: Leona to perform on The X Factor", Unreality TV, 16 August 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-16. 
  33. ^ "Children in Need", RCA Label Group, 2007-11-16. Retrieved on 2007-11-17. 
  34. ^ Leona Lewis, Spirit. BBC (2 November 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
  35. ^ New albums this week. The Mirror (2 November 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
  36. ^ Leona Lewis: Spirit. The Times (2 November 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
  37. ^ Leona Lewis, Spirit. The Guardian (2 November 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
  38. ^ CDs of the week. Evening Standard (2 November 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
  39. ^ Leona Lewis: "Spirit". MSN (2007-11-09). Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  40. ^ Reviewing a watermarked copy of the Leona Lewis album because BBC News can't. Popjustice (2007-11-07). Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
  41. ^ Review:Leona Lewis - Spirit. Digital Spy (2007-11-12). Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
  42. ^ "Leona Outperforms Expectations with Massive First Day Sales to Challenge Arctic's UK Record for Fastest-selling Debut Album", allmediaSCOTLAND.com, 2007-11-13. Retrieved on 2007-11-13. 
  43. ^ "Leona in high spirits", 19 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. 
  44. ^ a b "Singer Lewis grabs record debut", BBC News, 2007-11-18. Retrieved on 2007-11-18. 
  45. ^ "Leona sets the record for fastest-selling debut album", The Daily Mail, 18 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. 
  46. ^ "Leona nearing 1 million album sales", Digital Spy, 2007-12-09. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. 
  47. ^ "Leona tops 1 million album sales", Digital Spy, 2007-12-16. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. 
  48. ^ "Leona tops Christmas albums chart", Digital Spy, 2007-12-23. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. 
  49. ^ a b c d e Leona Lewis - Spirit. aCharts.us. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
  50. ^ a b c Winehouse and Lewis head charts. BBC (30 December 2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  51. ^ Whatever It Takes. aCharts.us. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  52. ^ Leona Lewis - Footprints In The Sand. aCharts.us. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  53. ^ Leona Lewis - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. aCharts.us. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  54. ^ "High Spirits", Chart Track, 2007-11-16. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. 
  55. ^ United World Chart Albums week 48 / 2007 - December 1. MediaTraffic (2007-12-01). Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  56. ^ United World Chart Albums week 49 / 2007 - December 8. MediaTraffic (2007-12-08). Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  57. ^ United World Chart Albums week 50 / 2007 - December 15. MediaTraffic (2007-12-15). Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  58. ^ United World Chart Albums week 51 / 2007 - December 22. MediaTraffic (2007-12-22). Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  59. ^ United World Chart Albums week 52 / 2007 - December 29. MediaTraffic (2007-12-29). Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  60. ^ United World Chart Albums week 01 / 2008 - January 5. MediaTraffic (2008-01-05). Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  61. ^ United World Chart Albums week 02 / 2008 - January 12. MediaTraffic (2008-01-12). Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
  62. ^ United World Chart Albums Countdown 2007. MediaTraffic. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  63. ^ European Top 100 Albums. Billboard.com (2007-12-01). Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  64. ^ Album and single success. leonalewismusic.co.uk (2007-12-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-03.

External links

 •  • e
Leona Lewis
Albums Spirit
Other albums Best Kept Secret
Singles "A Moment like This" · "It's All for You" · "Bleeding Love"
Related articles The X Factor · Sony BMG · J Records · Simon Cowell · Clive Davis

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