We are packed into the ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, a crowd of
music-industry luminaries and media. We are drinking champagne and eating
canapes, beef wellington and lobster ravioli. Later, we will be given a gift
pack with an MP3 player and a candle scented with geranium, West Indian bay
and myrrh, a smell that Leona apparently likes. It’s a better gift bag than
the one Elton John gave at the Oscar party.
We huddle in the elegant white room. We see pictures of Leona washed up on a
beach in California looking more Gisele than the gawky,
uncomfortable-in-her-own-shadow 21-year-old that we saw win the final of
ITV1’s The X Factor last year. The music starts. Behind the screen is
a silhouette: elegant, poised. The hand points and curls. It could be Celine
Dion’s hand. The screen is swooped away and the voice that sweeps up is, of
course, Leona’s. It could be Whitney’s or Mariah’s or Celine’s. Her voice
is the child of all of these women. Women she has admired, and one of these
women, Houston, was the charge and creation of the record-industry mogul
Clive Davis, who has just appeared on a video screen seeming to say that now
he’s found the greatest voice of all.
Beyond the hype and the business of commercialising Leona stands Leona
herself, a reluctant diva. But there she is on stage, devouring every
second, emoting every emotion she’s ever felt within the range of five
songs. Her voice soars: it is seamless and effortless. She dares to take on
the song made famous by Roberta Flack – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.
Some people are crying, and not just her mum. By the time she performs her
single Bleeding Love, the hard-bitten room is won over. A star has been
born, or at least manufactured.
The Leona in front of us had the same voice as the X Factor winner, but none
of the nerves and crippling lack of confidence. This woman had poise and a
confidence that she wasn’t born with, a confidence given to her or bought
for her by nine months of being in the studio with the world’s best pop
producers and songwriters. She worked with Dallas Austin in Atlanta;
Soulshock and Karlin, Jam and Lewis in Los Angeles; Walter Afanasieff and
Salaam Remi in Miami; Steve Mac in London. These producers have worked with
the likes of Aretha Franklin, Michael and Janet Jackson, TLC, Destiny’s
Child, Usher, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.
If this new album had been a movie it would have been Titanic – enough money
and star names to ensure it was never going to sink. There have been other X
Factor winners: the useless Steve Brookstein and the gorgeous Shayne Ward.
They were not offered the money and top creatives. Simon Cowell says that
Leona is the best contestant that either The X Factor or American Idol has
ever produced. One can argue that Leona was so special she might have made
it without The X Factor; it just would have taken a lot longer. One could
also argue that The X Factor and American Idol would not have made it
without Leona. They needed a serious star.
There is no doubt that her voice is one-off beautiful. In the audience was her
singing coach, Yvie Burnett, who coaches everyone on The X Factor. Did she
know her voice was that special? Did she see her as a world star?
“To be honest, I don’t know if I did. But I see that she is. I’m her singing
teacher and, look, her voice has so much emotion it’s even made me cry.
She’s fulfilled the potential and gone way beyond it.” She’s certainly
gone way beyond being a girl who couldn’t look at the camera, who was
defined by her own nervousness.
The plan from Syco, the record label that Simon Cowell runs within Sony BMG,
was to ignore the usual speculation, rumours and the desire for instant
gratification that surrounds a TV winner and to hold out. It would have been
easy for her to have given a mouthful of sound bite to the 3am Girls and
some photo opportunities to the tabloids, but Leona didn’t go near them. In
fact, this showcase launch party was jointly sponsored by Harper’s Bazaar,
who ran several pages of beautiful photos and a quote from Clive Davis
saying to Cowell: “You may have a Whitney Houston on your hands.”
"In all The X Factors of the past,” responds Cowell, “I’ve never had a phone
call from Clive Davis prior to the show finishing and saying, ‘I will sign
this girl whatever happens.’"
I ask Cowell if he is really ready to see Leona as the next Houston, and if
so, how would he prevent the crash and burn that Houston did so publicly and
tragically?
“We are never going to get another Leona, and Gary Barlow’s words ring in my
ears. They were, ‘You have a responsibility.’ And I take that responsibility
very seriously. We could have rushed out a record in three months. It would
have probably done a million. But you cannot make an incredible record with
original material in less than a year. So when everyone was saying ‘What
happened to Leona?’ we said, ‘We are making the record we said we’d make.
She has transcended expectations.’ ” So how did you transform her from
impossibly shy girl to baby diva? “She did have a confidence issue on the
show. What I did was try to encourage the best in the world to come up with
the best material in the world and give it to her. Not easy. But from the
minute they met her and heard her sing, they were jumping up and down to do
it.
“Right now, for Sony BMG, she is one of the most important artists in the
world. She has a proper commitment from Clive Davis. We treat her exactly as
we would have treated Whitney Houston when she first started recording. The
difference is, Leona has her feet on the ground. She hasn’t changed. She is
very polite and respectful but she knows what she wants. She has the
confidence to speak her mind. She knows the difference between good and bad.
It’s a positive thing, not an obnoxious thing.”
Even to Cowell her uniqueness unfolded gradually. “It was Rod Stewart who said
to me on the second show, ‘There’s one clear star here, and that’s Leona
Lewis. She is in a different league to everybody else.’ I didn’t pick up on
that until the third live show, when she started to come out of her shell.”
His plan is to continue to attract the best songwriting and producing
talent. “But it’s all about chemistry. Some people instantly got her, some
people didn’t. It’s a long time since any of these so-called divas have come
out with an incredible record. Maybe since Christina Aguilera put out
Beautiful. I think this album is incredible, phenomenal. It is the best
record I have ever been involved in. She knows that she put in a massive
contribution to the record. We allowed her to follow her own instincts. I
think she’s proud of that and I think that’s also given her the confidence
she needed.”
Why did last year’s X Factor winner, Shayne Ward, who was a much more
confident performer, not warrant the Leona treatment? “We didn’t get the
commitment from America. When that happens it’s a whole new ball game. We
will be at the point soon where we no longer think of Leona Lewis as the
winner of X Factor, but as one of the best female singers ever to come out
of this country.”
Clive Davis tells me that signing her had little to do with her success on The
X Factor. “She auditioned for me cold, and I thought she had a worldwide
talent. It was a no-brainer. The plan was that she would release in the US
early next year, but the single Bleeding Love has already had such good
initial feedback, we might bring it out earlier. Before she can take a tour
in the US, we must break her on record, radio, video, TV. Then she may
headline at theatre venues or go out as a special guest of someone else. You
can never predict anything that’s going to happen. But if she doesn’t make
it with this album, we will just keep trying; there is no doubt that
eventually she will.” Her album is released in the UK in November,
followed by a tour.
Over the past few weeks, Leona and I have met a few times. Firstly in the
offices of her management company in London, and later in Los Angeles, where
she had already become part of what Joni Mitchell called “the star-making
machine”. When we first met she was dressed in black jeans, a purple top,
not much make-up, fake Ugg boots. She was adamant: no leather. I noticed in
her a determination that I hadn’t seen on The X Factor. It’s a determination
that’s covered in softness. It’s not obvious, blatant or scary. I was struck
that this was a woman who knows what she wants and maybe always has done.
Before The X Factor, as well as working as a receptionist for a mortgage
broker and as a waitress, she’d written songs and performed acoustic gigs.
Even though her parents are not rich – her mother is a social worker and her
father a youth-offenders officer – they put her through both Sylvia Young
and Italia Conti stage schools. She was always destined to perform. She’d
always been groomed for it.
Her charisma is a quiet one, a slow burn. I’m wondering why, with this amazing
voice and stage-school training, she was a nervous wreck on The X Factor.
“Oh, it’s the going on TV and knowing millions of people are watching you.
And there’s the 400 people in the audience, and there’s Simon, Sharon and
Louis sitting in front of you, and you’re going to be judged on two minutes
of singing a song. I think if Simon had said one bad thing about me, I would
have just cried.” But Simon didn’t say a bad thing. Not once. “I know,” she
says, eyes widening with gratitude. “I think the worst thing he said was,
‘You need to be a bit more confident.’
“It was nerve-racking being judged, having to prove yourself. If I was just
doing a gig I wouldn’t have been so nervous; I would have just been
performing. I’ve always been slow to settle in different situations, so the
butterflies would always come up. You’d see the people going out there and
you’d hear them saying this was bad, but it was a good experience because it
made me more self-confident,” she says. She has nothing bad to say about the
X Factor experience.
“I think I am so lucky Simon believed in me.”
It takes a lot of belief not to want to instantly capitalise on the success of
a TV-show winner. “It was fundamental for the album to be something of
substance, something that I could be involved in creatively as an artist, so
I could go from The X Factor on to writing songs and just working on myself,
developing in every possible way. I am proud of this album and I want
everybody else to be proud of the album. People spent money picking up the
phone and voting for me; they deserve something great,” she says. And the
thing is, she means it. She cares.
She cares about upsetting people. She cares about animals. She cares that if
you are a vegetarian and don’t want to wear leather, you might not be able
to afford Stella McCartney. Before long, you realise that when she says “I
put my heart and soul into this”, she means that too.
There were songs written for her and songs she helped work on. “At every
moment I had a choice. I could say yes to this, or no to this. If there was
a great song and I really felt it, then I’m definitely going to want to sing
it. I want it to represent me and the journey I’ve had, not just from The X
Factor but before it, trying to get into the music industry. People
criticise The X Factor and say it’s just reality TV, but it gives people
like me a chance to be seen and heard.”
The album itself is not middle-of-the-road Saturday night. It has some retro
sounds. It has edge. It’s taken her a long way from The X Factor. Does she
feel that she would have made it without The X Factor? “I don’t know. I
always felt that performing was a happy experience. I never earned lots of
money. I always had jobs that were part-time, and paid for studio time, but
lived with my parents. I would have done whatever came along to put myself
out there. The year Shayne Ward won it I thought, maybe I’ll do an audition.
My boyfriend sent off for the forms, and we went together. He’s not a singer
– he just did it to be with me, and he didn’t get past the first audition.
You see producers first before you see the judges. It’s a big old process.”
Her boyfriend is Lou Al-Chamaa, an electrician. They have known each other
since they were 10, and have been a couple since she was 17, five years ago.
Tabloid speculation that she had left him to move to America was unfounded.
Usually he travels with her, as he has flexible working hours. She talks
loyally about his support and how much it means to her. The only time they
have any trouble is when they hit American immigration. “They don’t like his
surname, so he gets quarantined. I don’t mean he’s naked, sprayed down and
prodded.
They just put him in a room and ask him loads of questions for three hours.”
For someone who seems to have such an ordinary, uncomplicated background, she
is quite extraordinary. It’s an odd combination, humility and determination.
She wanted to go to stage school. Everyone else in her class was richer than
she was. Some were chauffeur-driven. Was that weird? “It was weird. I
remember one of my good friends, when I went to her house I said, ‘My house
is the size of your kitchen.’ There were lots of well-off people but I
didn’t feel left out, I just concentrated on my singing.
“At one point, my mum was a ballet teacher and my dad was a DJ part-time.
They’ve always been into music and they worked hard to get me there. They
were so supportive, I’m really lucky.”
She has two brothers: Kyle, 21, is a mechanic, and Bradley, 26, is an editor
at MTV. “My younger brother did go to Sylvia Young, but there was no
football pitch, so he didn’t stay.”
Her father, Joe, is Guyanese and one of 12 children. Her mother, Maria, grew
up in Wales with an Irish father and Italian mother. Which one of her
parents is she most like? “Both. I’m like my mum because we are very
sensitive and it’s easy for us to cry, and I’m like my dad because he’s very
ambitious.” One of them usually accompanied her to recording-studio visits
abroad. Her mother was indeed crying with pride at the showcase.
Her extended family seem to have been involved in various dramas and
tragedies. A cousin from her father’s side, who she says she hardly knows
because she’s got so many (“at least 60”), Adrian Henry, led a gang that
raped a tourist in 1996. He was then only 14. Her cousin Billie died from
leukaemia when she was 14, and another cousin, Niasha, died of cancer in
2000, aged 17. Billie’s mum had MS and died soon after her daughter. Of all
of these, she was closest to Billie, and sang at her funeral.
Did all this death make you feel you must seize the day? Did this affect your
determination? “I don’t know, because it happened over a period of years.
I’ve always been driven and seized the moment. You’ve always got to take
life by the horns. Billie was only 14, but I try and draw on the positives.
She had such a wonderful impact on so many people. She was such a ray of
light. When I sang Over the Rainbow, it was for Billie, because I sang it at
her funeral and that was a way of remembering her. My family are strong and
have drawn the positives from the experience, which is better than lingering
in the sadness of it.”
There is something about Leona. Most of the time you think she’s very young
for her age, then suddenly she’ll seem much, much older. I think that she
analyses her pain only when she’s singing. She doesn’t analyse much or seem
to mind that paparazzi already follow her and people make stuff up about
her. At the moment she thinks it’s funny. She’s not really excited by the
spoils of the star-making machine. Her supposed £5m deal from the UK and US
has not sent her into a spending frenzy. She does not own her own home,
although she jokes: “I do know how to
fill out the forms for a mortgage. I can’t see me doing it, though.” She still
lives in Hackney, east London, with her parents, but has treated herself to
a black Mini.
“I have nothing bling about me. I stay away from diamonds – you don’t know
where they’ve come from. I am vegetarian, so I don’t have clothes, shoes or
bags made from leather or suede or any animal products. Shoes are hard to
find. These are fake Uggs. And I’ve got a pair of vintage boots, which are
PVC. I love Stella McCartney. But she’s very expensive. I’m on a mission. I
would love to promote a line of non-leather bags and shoes that are
affordable. I think more needs to be available and not as expensive.”
She has been a vegetarian since she was 12 and equated sausage with pig. “I
stopped eating meat; got really ill because I didn’t know what else to eat.
The process of killing animals is cruel. That’s my belief. I don’t push it
on anyone else. But it would be nice if people could have the option of not
buying something that’s leather.”
Leona’s attitude to being a vegetarian sums her up. She’s radical and
determined and extremely soft and gentle. No, she doesn’t push it on anyone
else. She would just like to have a part in everybody having a choice. It’s
a subtle kind of determination and it’s really quite clever.
She says her goal in life is to meet David Bowie, because he was in her
favourite movie, Labyrinth.
“I love that movie. I’m very into fantasy.” There is something fantastical and
ethereal about her. Especially when you see pictures of her swept up on a
beach in a chiffon ballgown and feather headpiece. “I loved that photo shoot
because it was all fairy-taleish – long dresses in the water; really
mermaidy.” Within the girlie-girl mermaid fantasy there’s an earthiness, and
it’s that determination that realises the fantasy.
The next time we meet we are in LA. Another LA beach, another photo shoot.
Another fantasy with the same stylist and photographer. Anne-Marie Thomson,
the head of media for Syco, Simon Cowell’s production company, says that she
felt it was key to have a team of the right people around Leona. “People who
allow her to feel herself and feel comfortable. Leona loves nature. She’s
passionate about it. So that’s why we chose beaches, the outdoors. Some
celebrities make the mistake of trying to change themselves to get where
they want to go, but it’s more important for her to express herself and have
people around her who believe in her. Not just experts but people who care
about her. She has the most incredible aura, and that’s not something that
any team of experts can create. What they can do is help, so that it can be
expressed in the right kind of photographs.
“When we were doing the photo shoot for the album, we invited the photographer
Ralph Mecke into the studio first, so he could see how passionate she was in
her singing, and that helped him translate that depth and strength into the
photographs.” His pictures are quite fantastic. Ethereal and sensual. “I got
this when she started singing. I fell in love. Her body language was very
sensual, very erotic. She took direction like a model. You can see in the
picture if somebody fakes it, you can see it in the eyes,” he says.
Her stylist is Alison Edmond, who has worked with British Vogue, American
Harper’s Bazaar and now British Harper’s. Alison has a distinctive look.
Long blonde hair. Long dark skirt. Part gypsy, part maîtresse. “I told her
to fall in love with the camera, and she did.” Most recently, Alison has
worked with Sarah Jessica Parker, Cameron Diaz, Naomi Watts and Cate
Blanchett. How does Leona measure up? “You’d expect incredible actors to be
able to do it. Whereas Leona is 22 years old and not used to wearing a
designer dress. She transformed. It was amazing to watch. She turned into
this incredibly graceful creature. She’s got a tiny waist and beautiful
shoulders. But what was incredible was her ability to connect with the
camera. I’ve worked with plenty of celebs who just can’t do that.”
We are in a hotel suite in Westwood, Los Angeles, where one room is taken up
with shoes: Jimmy Choos and Christian Louboutins, in preparation for the
shoot. Leona’s favourite thing is to wear no shoes. She likes to feel the
earth beneath her feet. She may not even wear them. In the other rooms there
are rows of gorgeous dresses: Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto
Cavalli. Leona is sitting by the pool. Her dad is with her. He seems
protective, sweet. She is wearing a strappy sundress. She has just flown in.
She has jet lag. She can’t perk herself up with caffeine, she doesn’t drink
coffee – or alcohol, for that matter. She has had media training. A media
trainer I met said he trained people by asking them the hardest questions.
Leona looks shocked. “She just told me how to get my point across. She was a
really nice lady. The worst interview I ever had? Hmm. I had one woman who
was not very nice. She didn’t seem interested in me. She just read a list of
questions like, ‘What’s the worst present you’ve ever had?’ And I said, ‘I
don’t know, it’s the thought that counts.’ ” Leona must have killed the
interviewer with her genuine niceness.
I had asked her if there was anywhere she’d like to go in LA: lunch at the
Ivy, shopping in Rodeo Drive, or to go to Hyde, the hangout for young
Hollywood? She paused: “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to come and visit
your cats. I love animals.” Obviously this is completely endearing.
Will this creature of such sweetness be tainted and twisted by an industry
known for its cruelty and instant gratification? “Look,” she says, ordering
a grilled-cheese sandwich. “The fact that people say my name and Whitney
Houston in the same sentence is just lovely. I don’t know what it is she
went through. I wasn’t there. But I do know that I have all my family and my
friends around me. I’ll be true to myself and not get taken away by all the
other stuff.”
How do you feel about being part of this whole machine? Do you worry you can’t
control it? “When you put it like that, I think a lot of people would think,
‘Oh my gosh, she’s such a shy girl, she’ll get caught up in the whirlwind,
go out of control.’ But there are some things I’m sure about. I’ll give you
an example. A track was made for Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and I said
musically I just wasn’t feeling it. I’d rather not sing the song than take
it away from its true origins. Musically, I have very strong opinions and my
management listen to me. I’m not going to do anything I’m not comfortable
with because it will come across. I have been involved with all the styling
of the shoots that I’ve done.”
What does she feel about Kelly Clarkson, the winner of the first American
Idol, who recently came to loggerheads with Clive Davis, the man who is
ultimately at the head of her career, because she wanted to put out songs
that she had written, and work with less commercial producers? Can she see
herself having a similar conversation with Davis down the line? “First of
all, I hope I’m in the position to have a third album and be as successful
as her. I hope I will also be allowed artistic freedom. I don’t take
anything for granted. I don’t want to worry about what is going to happen.
This could be my last week.” While this is not false modesty, she knows it
probably won’t be. One of the producers that Syco set up for her had already
contacted her via MySpace before she was even on The X Factor. If you ask
her what sets her apart, she says: “Determination, and parents who support
me. I come from a true place when I’m singing. I put my all into it. It’s a
different place that I go to, and that’s why the music is so important to
me. It’s a way to express myself.”
Soon she will have her first break for nine months. She is going to a spa in
Wales with her mum because her mum likes that sort of thing.
“I have never had a facial or a massage because I don’t like people
touching me, but I want my mum to enjoy it.” Now it’s time for her to
prepare for her photo shoot. She says she’s looking forward to lots of lace,
big gowns and bare feet. You hope that she can stay true to herself. You
expect that she probably will s
Leona Lewis’s album, Spirit, is released on November 5. Her single Bleeding
Love is out on October 22
What a beautiful article Chrissy,
Well done! Long Life for Leona,she deserve it!
Notime, Quebec, Canada
Leona you're an absolute 'REAL GEM' -stay the way ur are.dont everchange....huraay for 'vegetarian..whitney,mariah,celine being compared to you..(they are my idol too)they all are DIVA in their own special way...but YOU LEONA..add the list..footprints in the sand,the best!!
josephine , penampang, malaysia
She's an absolute sweetheart and her album is incredible! As for the person that said they were no longer a fan due to the wait for the album, I'm the opposite. I'm thrilled that they took their time with her. So many new artists fire out CD's in quick succession and they are dreadful. She's a gem!
Jenna, Chch, New Zealand
I also have to say, it's a sad world when someone says that people can't possibly be that genuine, or that nice. I think those that say Leona has an aura about her have it spot on, she does light up a room, and whenever I watch her perform, I can't help but smile. I wish her all the best, sincerely.
Jenna, Chch, New Zealand
hello leona lewis'i hear you every day in my head when i go to school,i cant get your fabulous music out of my head!!!!!!you are my dream singer!!!!!!keep up the good work!xxSchana from FRANCE.
Schana sweet from france, locmalo, france
I believed in Leona the first time I heard her on x factor. She is truly gifted and her sincerity comes through when she sings. Her album is terrific and I wish her a long and blessed career.
Michelle, Reading,
Absolutley refrshing article, confirming everythought I had about Leona. She is going to be around for a long time and if, if she can stays grounded what a role model she can make for young girls across the world.
The alum is fantastic, her performances stunning and how I am looking forward to a concert.
Al, ROYSTON, eNGLAND
interesting to note that she i still with her chilhood boyfriend .God bless.
mary, sutton, uk
Yes it was a long article but interesting non the less. Leona is definitely gifted with a unique voice and apparent sincerity, which is something that is quite rarely seen in the world of the celebrity. I hope that Leona continues to remain true to herself as her creativity broadens and she grows in confidence/. Leona just don't let the spin doctors talk you into putting your good name to a perfume!!!
Sharon, Birmingham, West Midlands
I'm a grown man of 58, but when I hear Leona sing,with all that feeling, straight from her heart, it brings a lump to my throat,and tears to the eyes.
WOW, What a star.
Dave, Sunderland,
Leona do your best so that all our girls have a wonderful role model. You are sweet, special and strong and I am so happy that you are going to do so well. You deserve it.
saf, dg,
I had never watched X-Factor before until one evening mid way through the series I flicked on and Leona was signing. She made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck and I was hooked.
X-Factor may as well finish now because there will never be another star like Leona - this year's entrants are all mediocre.
Anne Foster, Seaham, UK
My skin tingles when i hear Leona sing, her voice is beautiful and she is a beautiful person. She is a true star and i wish her the very best. I cant wait to hear her album spirited Go girl
Sarah Frazer, sheffield, uk
No, I disagree. A thesis is much longer. Secondly, As far as Leona Lewis is concerned, can anyone show me a better pop singer in any language anywhere? I don't watch the X-Factor and have only happened across her singing on the web in the last week (16th Oct 2007) or so. I am absolutely amazed that no one picked up on her earlier in her career. I will buy the CD in November. Good luck, Leona.
John Holbrook, Manchester, UK
I had forgotten Leona by the time this years Xfactor came about. BUT WOW, she sang her new single BLEEDING LOVE and I was smitten all over again. How wonderful to read such a long sincere article, no frills, just as it was. I have never purchased music downloads, neither am I a great fan. Xfactor found a star in Will Young, they then found a protege in Leona. How refreshing to read that she is that lovely girl we all fell in love with on Xfactor. I have been listening to Bleeding Love ALL night, I cant help but marvel at how she has mantained that adorable style we all saw and heard last year. I have tried to find words to describe this song, it is beautiful, different; and I truely believe she will be far far better than the American Divas! I loved Maria Carey and Whitney. Leona I believe will exceed anything they have done. She is our true British Diva, and angel. I cant wait to hear her new album in November (It will be the first album I have bought since Will Young. She is a STAR.
Judy PaRRY, Manchester, England
I thinkChrissy has tapped into the spirit of who Leona is, instead of spinning her into something else. We can only respond to who Leona is today, not what she might become in the future. This article confirms the sense that I get about Leona: there is a genuineness to her. And if you listen to any of Leona's songs written before X factor, you see all the talent, all the sensitivity, the romantic, the fanciful. I have no difficulty believing that Chrissy Iley was writing her genuine impressions of Leona, and I am glad the article had length:
I read every word with anticipation. Many thanks!!
Jim McGrew, London,
May I understand why she's disappeare for a year?Wll,she could impress everyoe but I've lost all interest because I've waited more than a year just to her her single..so Leona, sorry,you lost a fan.
Mike, Manchester,
since i saw her win x factor i was certain she would be to use a horrid cliche a diva in the real sense.
to see a girl so obviously unaffected was a hughe bonus and a breath of fresh. crissy ileys story is very interesting.
she has answered all the many questions which will be asked about this diamond
g hughes, knottingley, uk
This article is far too long. It's like a thesis; and by the time you're halfway down, you've lost interest.
Jonathan, Cheltenham, United Kingdom
Leona has brought back to me what the magic of performing is all about she is incredible she is a true artist and has the ability to express the soul of the music she sings ! and that way she looks into the camers Oh boy !!
graham benson, leeds, england
She is something very special. She has raised the bar in terms of raw vocal talent that she leaves this year's X-Factors contestants trailing far behind. I hope she has a very successful debut album.
Van Dam, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
Leona sounds like an angel. She is a credit to her parents and I sincerely wish her all the best.
Richard Walton, Leeds, England
chrissey, why take such a one sided attitude. i do not buy this spin at all. all too calculated, and a too calculated 'manufactured' article. u cast zero doubt and totally buy the spin generated from the SYCO camp. however i wish the girl well irregardless of this PR crap churned out.
ronan daly, enniskillen, northern ireland