I suspect the answer is two words - Clive Davis.

Simon has never been strong musically; Clive is a genius at making the most out of very little.
For me Leona has very little but Clive has yet again made a silk purse out of the sow's ear.

She's pretty talented JK and all of a sudden just recently lots of people I speak to reckon she's great. Funny that 'cause 6 months ago I don't remember hearing it. Good PR work obviously but also she has got talent.

I actually think she has no talent at all... just ability, the ability to sing in tune and follow prearranged vocal patterns, rather like Mariah Carey.

Many may look at Mariah's sales and say - with ability like that, who needs talent?

Talent to me is interpretation. Anyone with basic abilities can obey instructions and money can buy hit songs, productions, arrangements, promotion...

But only talented executives (like Clive creatively in music and Simon creatively in marketing) know where to spend the money.

If she was covering songs or singing new ones like other artists I would agree. In the X-Factor shows she mimicked, she did it well mind you, not many people can mimic the top artists so well, watch X-Factor for the proof! I think the decision to hold her back for a year a let her develop was a good one, she's certainly sounding more like an individual than a clone now.

Leona Lewis has a weak voice. Her version of Kelly Clarkson's 'A Moment Like This' was weak, as was her rendering of 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' on Saturday Night Divas. This is what she can achieve when she records and mimes. I think a live performance would be very poor. Her new song is just a slowed down Whitney Houston clone. She also appears to have no songwriting ability, no charisma and certainly no x factor! Probably a very sweet girl but as usual in this country everyone falls for the hype. You can fool some of the people some of the time ... and the praise that the judges lavish on the present X Factor contestants is ridiculous. Do they not hear the excrutiating flat and sharp notes and mangled versions of difficult parts in songs. As they clearly don't, are they fit to judge? But then who agrees that the X Factor is a genuine talent show.

Leona Lewis is a very average singer who's at Number One with an instantly forgettable song. Definately some talent behind her to make that happen. A lot to do with the timing, making sure her single coincides with the showing of the current X-Factor.

X-Factor is about the judges more than about the singers. Each week we hear them competing against each other rather than working together to help choose the best performer.

JK2006 wrote:


Talent to me is interpretation. Anyone with basic abilities can obey instructions and money can buy hit songs, productions, arrangements, promotion...


That comment hits the nail bang on the head on every level and sums up 21st century life. Music, TV, media, whatever, people now are conditioned to like what they know, rather than knowing what they like. It's all about conforming to some sort of safe and uninspired standard.

There's not much call for talent at the moment.

I believe that people do want talent but don't get to see it. The tv/media is completely sewn up and talent cannot get in. Therefore the general public do not realise what is going on. If real talent was shown, the rubbish that we see would be exposed for what it really is.

She is a deeply forgettable, identikit "diva". JK hit it right on the nail with that MC analogy.

She's successful because of marketing and timing-simple as that. Her PR campaign has been on 'simmer' for a while (various leaked stories in nationals about her working on an album for a year, being a bit mad, losing her voice all the time, poor Leona etc etc), and now, with the X-Factor juggernaut rolling back into town, it's all systems go for mega exposure.

In fact, X-Factor this year is poor, isn't it?
I can't pick one star out of the lot of them.

Although, tonight I will, likely as not, play a gig to 5 people in a bar, come home, fire up the Sky+ and dial in X-Factor, drink a bottle or two of whatever's lying around and wonder, just how high a price can be put on "artistic integrity"...

After much deep and detailed investigation on both sides of the Atlantic we discover that the person who should get most of the credit for the Leona Lewis success is neither Simon Cowell nor Clive Davis but Sonny Takhar, who I remember as a very junior A&R guy at BMG but who is now Simon's Managing Director at Syco.

I hear he found the song and put most of the project in place.

Well done Sonny.

I'm really not impressed by Leona or the song.

My Altzheimer watch friends (a rapidly growing army) tell me Sonny was in marketing under David Joseph when Simon spotted him at RCA.

Not A&R.

I remember those days (though clearly not in detail)... though not employed at BMG (I was consultant to Richard Griffiths when he became Chairman) I was a friend of music, convinced Preston not to fire Simon but to move him under Jeremy and Hugh at RCA from Arista when Simon fell out with Nigel and Chris, and was giving John advice when he was RCA MD under Peter Jameson all those years ago.

quite interesting reading all the above.

I think you can all speculate as much as you like, but may possibly be a few people with too much cynicism and time on their hands to let it show.

1) Leona Lewis has the 'ability' to sing extremely well, which is a 'Talent'. Thats what ability is?!? She proved this in the live shows last year. You simply cannot dispute that, or you are deaf. She may have no or little personality, but she has a voice, unlike so many others who use other means to sell themselves to hide their lack of 'ability/talent'. In the same way Kelly Clarkson was successful, but didnt shout about it.

2) Her profile was launched sky high by exposure on arguably the UK's biggest platform.

3) After the show finished, the public were left on a plateau of interest after the whole Clive Davis signing issue was banged about, so she kept in peoples minds.

4) Syco did their job and got her a great, instant, current song, and took their time, and then launched her when interest in the X factor was at its highest this year so she would be in mind, ie, also when she can perform her new single on the same show that got her there. Clever but simple.

5) They made a good video that is getting plenty of rotation to ensure that end is covered.

6) Press wise you couldnt ask for a better story.

7) She gets number one. End of story. Its obvious, doesnt really need so much deliberation surely?!

Right on most points MB (and I notice your post is the longest in the thread) but...

the important questions are...

1) Who found the strong song (easier asked than answered in this world where hits have many parents).? It sounds like a genuine global hit - quite rare and hard to find (unless you're Diane Warren).

The answer seems to be - SONNY.

2) Whilst she unquestionably has the ability to sing in tune (many do), surely the interpretive talent (and rarity of that these days) is an important discussion point?

Sinatra, Presley, Aretha... many had good voices, few had the brilliance of individual vocal skill.

So, Leona got to No.1. So did Crazy Frog.

There looks to be the makings of a story here. Unsung hero delivers his master's prize artist with a huge hit.
It will interesting to see if the very poor reviews of the album-because the quality of the other tracks is so poor-affect medium term sales leading up to Xmas.

I think Miss Lewis is being dealt rather a raw deal here. For a start she can sing the hind legs off a donkey and proved it week in week out within the confines of the live X-Factor show. And we're not just talking the minimal requirement of being in tune here, but goosebump-raising quality.

Interpretation? What sort of interpretation are you going to get on a show like that where every note has been scripted by the puppet masters? If you want to know whether she can take a song and, to use the cliche, "make it her own", then try and listen to her version of Snow Patrol's "Run" which was performed on Raio 1's Live Lounge a couple of weeks back. Stunning.

Bleeding Love is a cracking song as some have said. And it goes far beyond the hype others have suggested. It's a song you hear teenage girls singing along huddled around a mobile phone on the back of a bus. Or
you find a whole club singing along to the killer chorus. It's zeitgeitish to ruin a word. No hype can force mass displays of choral affection.

The song was written by Ryan Tedder of One Republic (whose Apologize with Timbaland is doing high numbers at the top end of the chart - his band's new album about to officially drop is excellent by the way) and was written after he'd heard her a recording of her singing. He's written/produced another track on the album called Take A Bow which will also chart big.

Many of the stellar cast of writers/producers on the album came on board after she did a live showcase for them out in LA organised by Clive Davis. Now you can always lead a horse to water, but you can't force it to write a song for you.

Her major problem remains her personality, or lack of it. She's just too nice for the business. But give her a song to sing live such as Homeless off the album and personality can take a long hike off a tall cliff.

I asked 100 people of varying ages 'Have you bought a Leona Lewis cd'. Guess what - not 1 had! Interesting survey I thought.
Anyway I must get out more ...

The Leona-Lewis-Fever has reached Germany.
Because of the great demand for "Bleeding Love", Sony BMG will rush release the single - in January 2008.

I bet theyve all seen one whilst shopping though.

Overkill perhaps?