一个22岁新女声 改写了全英流行音乐史…… 穿透心灵的不思议歌声 英国星光美声新天后 歌喉不思议 改写选秀纪录 英国歌唱选秀节目The X Factor第三季冠军，毒舌评审赞誉：「英国歌唱比赛有史以来最优秀歌手！」、「注定要发光发亮的明日之星！」、「我们听到的歌声来自她的灵魂深处！」 这位爱唱的的小妮子Leona Lewis，她的音乐传奇故事已经在英国迅速蔓延，锐不可挡地往国际舞台延烧。成为英伦歌唱选秀节目The X Factor第三季冠军而展露头角，翻唱Americn Idol美国偶像第一季冠军Kelly Clarkson（凯莉克莱森）的成名曲”A Moment Like This”，以网路下载的形式抢先发行，立刻在30分钟内被下载五万次，入主最新金氏世界纪录，打破有史以来销售最快的单曲成绩，第一个礼拜便开出571,253张惊人红盘，短短不到两个礼拜，即稳稳占据2006年全英整年度销售第二名位置。 Leona的魅力席捲整个欧洲外，就连美国都看好这块瑰宝，捧红惠特妮休斯顿、艾丽西亚凯斯等巨星的音乐界教父Clive Davis，以九百七十万美金签下Leona，准备为她全力开拓美国市场，就连师姐惠特妮都直夸她将成为下一位举世瞩目的国际巨星！出生于英国伦敦，混有意大利、爱尔兰血统的Leona，五岁时进入艺术院校大展与生俱来的音乐天份，12岁便开始创作歌曲。离开学校后，曾在比萨店当女服务生，为了赚钱租借录音室录制Demo带。当音乐生涯四处碰壁，心灰意冷想要放弃之时，经男友的鼓励参加The X Factor，终于让这位黑珍珠闪亮发光，提早预约天后宝座的席位！ 比赛结束后酝酿一年时间问世《Spirit》，英美两大巨头Simon Cowell和Clive Davis执行制作，动员多位才气音乐人齐力操盘，直接空降英国金榜冠军，七个礼拜大破一百五十九万张，成为英国史上销售最快专辑第四名。第一波主打”Bleeding Love”，由美国创作偶像才子杰西麦卡尼，以及嘻哈界全方位制作金童Timbaland提携的五人摇滚新贵OneRepublic主唱Ryan Tedder联手撰写，开卖第一天创下六万六千张纪录，霸占英国金榜No.1长达七周之久，成为英国单曲史上获冠周数最长的女歌手；架构在节奏蓝调与弦乐辅佐之”Whatever It Takes”，后段以福音式的合音呈现，加强辽阔澎湃激昂的气流，Leona更参与此曲的创作；着重钢琴演出的动听小品”Better In Time”和”Yesterday”，真假音漂亮转换且不耍过度花腔的演出，回归玛丽亚凯莉刚出道时的音质感动，”Here I Am”更散发”Hero”时期绝美的真挚情感；包覆浓厚美式节奏蓝调旋律之”Angel”，吉他不温不火的伴随弹奏出如同碧昂丝冠军金曲”Irreplaceable”相似音场；轻快中板的”The Best You Never Had”，是支满溢性感滑顺且浪漫悦耳的柔性曲目；”The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”则是翻唱灵魂乐女伶Roberta Flack于1972年缔造的冠军单曲。Leona不断在破英国音乐史纪录，并入选美国权威影剧杂志娱乐周刊/Entertainment Weekly「2008年值得你关注的八位人物」之列、「2007年度最佳演出」以及「下一位玛丽亚凯莉」等好评，毫无疑问的，这个效应将在全球各地快速传开！ (by KKBOX) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spirit is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Leona Lewis, released by Syco Music in November 2007 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, followed by a worldwide release during early 2008. After winning the third series of reality singing contest The X Factor in December 2006, Lewis began recording the album in Sweden, UK and the United States, working with a variety of writers and producers. Critics praised the album for creating a contemporary album using such a variety of producers, and for showcasing Lewis's voice, though criticised her "lack of personality". The release of the album marked Lewis as the first winner of a major television talent show in both the UK and U.S. to be given a major global launch with a debut album. The album debuted at number one in nine countries, including the United Kingdom, United States and Germany, and peaked in the top five in a further eight countries. It held the record for the biggest digital album sales in a week ever for a new artist. The album was the 6th biggest selling of 2008 in the world, as according to the IFPI. It has gone on to sell over eight million copies worldwide, and was the 4th best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK, where it has since sold over 3 million copies and remains the best-selling debut album by a female artist. Spirit spawned seven singles, including two from a re-release of the album. Lead international single "Bleeding Love" went on to top the charts in 34 countries, becoming one of the best selling singles by a female of all time. It was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record of the Year at the 51st Grammy Awards, and British Single at the 2008 BRIT Awards. Follow-up single "Better in Time" also fared well, charting in the top ten in thirteen countries and reaching number eleven in the US. After a well received performance of Snow Patrol's "Run" whilst promoting Spirit, Lewis recorded a studio version for the re-release of the album, Spirit - The Deluxe Edition, which was released as a download only single in the UK, where it charted at number one, going on to be the third platinum selling single from Spirit, following X Factor winner's single "A Moment Like This" and "Bleeding Love". (wiki) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ by Stephen Thomas Erlewine The truest test of Simon Cowell's power within the music industry circa 2008 was not whether American Idol could produce a star in its seventh season or if its U.K. cousin, The X Factor, would have another success in its fifth season -- it was whether he could turn Leona Lewis into the international superstar he so clearly believed she is. Lewis was the third winner of The X Factor -- the Cowell-driven replacement to Pop Idol in Britain, a replacement that came to be because he wanted to own a significant piece of the show -- and one of the key differences between Factor and Idol is that the judges can mentor the contestants and therefore have a stake in the outcome of the show, more than they do on Idol, where the judges merely comment. Rightly impressed by Lewis' multi-octave voice -- reminiscent of a warmer, earthbound Mariah Carey -- Cowell continued his mentorship after the conclusion of the show, making her the first contestant in the whole Idol/Factor enterprise that he personally shepherded through the major-label process. He struck a deal with Clive Davis -- the executive producer behind all the American Idol projects, the producer who publicly bristled when Kelly Clarkson tried to take control of her career through her original compositions -- and the two launched a grand plan to break Lewis in her native U.K. first, then slowly roll her out in the U.S. a few months later, via an appearance on Oprah and a slightly re-sequenced and remixed version of her debut, Spirit. That U.S. version drops the bonus track of Leona's version of "A Moment Like This," her first hit single that is not so coincidentally a cover of Kelly's first big single. If Kelly became a thorn in Davis' side, Leona Lewis seems happy, even eager, to play the major-label game, singing anything that comes her way, never lodging a complaint when she has to cut a couple R&B-flavored tracks to appeal to the American market. These tunes -- "Misses Glass" and "Forgive Me" -- are just slightly glitzier than the rest of Spirit, surely bearing heavier rhythms but not to the extent that the beats obscure Lewis' voice, as the whole point of Spirit is to showcase her singing, particularly those high glory notes that are all the rage on Idol/Factor. Unlike most Idol/Factor alumni, Lewis can hit those big notes but make it seem easy, never straining her voice and building nicely to the climax. Unlike most divas, there is a human quality to her voice, as she's singing to the song, not singing to her voice. Then again, this was also true of Mariah Carey on her 1990 debut, which Spirit greatly resembles in how the handful of R&B-oriented songs camouflages how this is almost entirely a stuffy middle-of-the-road pop record. Not only that, but Spirit is so old-fashioned it sounds as if it could have been released in 1990 and compete with Carey's debut for the top of the charts; her first single, "Bleeding Love," opens with a crawling organ that recalls the muted gospel of "Vision of Love," even if the skin-crawling lyric "you cut me open and I keep bleeding love" wouldn't have suited the Top 40 in 1990. That stultifying adult contemporary atmosphere may makes Spirit stilted, but it's also as savvy a move as you could expect from Cowell: ever since Mariah long ago abandoned AC for the clubs, there has been a gaping need for a vocalist like Leona Lewis, a singer who can belt it out but is safe and tame, having no interest in the perks of stardom that exist beyond the stage. And boy is Leona Lewis ever that -- she is blessed with a terrific voice but very little on-record personality, something the very professional, very inoffensive tunes emphasize. Thanks to this collection of calculatingly commercial tracks -- tunes crafted to appeal to everyone yet no one in particular -- Lewis merely comes across as the most talented and most willing singer to ever play Cowell's game, so no wonder he loves her. But this also points out the big difference between how Cowell has taken Leona Lewis under her wing and how Tommy Mottola watched over Mariah. Mottola married Carey, having both an emotional and financial stake in her career, but those mixed emotions helped obscure the machinery that drove her career. Cowell is only in it for the cash with Lewis, so the machinations are too apparent on this otherwise appealing debut. And that's too bad, because Spirit surely reveals a singer who has a richer tonal quality than any diva to come along in the past 15 years or so -- if she had gotten the tunes to match her voice, this would have been a killer record in addition to the international blockbuster that it was so carefully crafted to be.