The Official Leona Lewis Thread

[Ayappe]

I love Spirit. Is an awesome debut album!! She's got the voice for sure.
I hate compairison, I don't understand why comparing Mariah to Leona...! Mariah is a star and Leona is in her debut era... this is my opinion ^^

[fanmail]

Originally Posted by dddaiyamondo

No, they're not releasing on the same week. Leona wouldn't dare.

Was that neccessary?

Anyway, I knew she would become a success in the US. I just had the feeling she would.

[Luv ~Venus~]

^Well, of course she would. Bleeding Heart has been played endlessly since early this year. Once a song like that is played continuously and its a luv song, expect great sells.

.....and where is this Mariah and Leona battle coming from?

[fanmail]

Originally Posted by Luv ~Venus~

^Well, of course she would. Bleeding Heart has been played endlessly since early this year. Once a song like that is played continuously and its a luv song, expect great sells.

.....and where is this Mariah and Leona battle coming from?

Even so, British acts never have success over there. But I had a feeling Leona would, her style just seems so appropriate and approachable.

Girl, I have no idea.

[Ayappe]

I dunno... =_=
Bleeding Love is a huge single, that's why it sells so much!
Sure radio overplayed it too much XD but... it's an awesome song <3

[Halla]

the whole Leona vs Mariah(/Whitney) thing has been brought on by media, I've seen Leona called as the "new Mariah" or "new Whitney" plenty of times.

I think Leona & current Mariah is not a very accurate comparison, Mariah first three albums would be a better choice to compare to. I think current Mariah is just more "pop"-"hip-hop" than Leona's music.

I liked Bleeding Love myself at first too, but it got so overplayed & old soon. and unfortunately I don't think Leona's album has a song good enough to follow up on that success.

I don't think in the US debut week sales are that significant anyways, it only hints about the existing fanbase. for a successful album you need several hit singles and a very long chartlife.

[Luv ~Venus~]

^ Something I think Leona can't do. Mariah is still on the top of her game. She just broke Elvis's played out record and I'm betting her next single will give her her 19th #1 single. Most new acts now can't even still in the music biz for no longer than 5 years. I honestly don't care for most new acts now. They just copycat each other and think that it's something new they are bringing to the table (ie Hannah Banana).

Originally Posted by Halla

I liked Bleeding Love myself at first too, but it got so overplayed & old soon. and unfortunately I don't think Leona's album has a song good enough to follow up on that success.

I don't think in the US debut week sales are that significant anyways, it only hints about the existing fanbase. for a successful album you need several hit singles and a very long chartlife.

I agree, it will be really interesting to see how the album does in the following weeks.

I definitely agree that the media is the one who has been instigating this Mariah vs. Leona thing. They've been calling her the "new Mariah" which is just upsetting Mariah fans who think MC isn't ready to have a successor. I just don't think you can compare Leona and new Mariah. One just got her first #1 single, the other has 18 of them. And if you're trying to compare Leona to old school Mariah, that might be a little difficult too, as Mariah's first CD had 4 #1 singles and sold 18 million copies worldwide.

[Cyria]

Originally Posted by dddaiyamondo

I definitely agree that the media is the one who has been instigating this Mariah vs. Leona thing. They've been calling her the "new Mariah" which is just upsetting Mariah fans who think MC isn't ready to have a successor. I just don't think you can compare Leona and new Mariah. One just got her first #1 single, the other has 18 of them. And if you're trying to compare Leona to old school Mariah, that might be a little difficult too, as Mariah's first CD had 4 #1 singles and sold 18 million copies worldwide.

Yeah, I think it's possible to compare their voices but their music and positions in their career are very different. Leona is only starting out and she's more pop, plus the definitions of success have changed: thanks to iTunes, the net, etc., it's tough for any artist to get the massive sales figures of the 90s. I'm not sure I can see any artist selling 20+ million physical copies of their album in the late 00s.

Originally Posted by Cyria

Yeah, I think it's possible to compare their voices but their music and positions in their career are very different. Leona is only starting out and she's more pop, plus the definitions of success have changed: thanks to iTunes, the net, etc., it's tough for any artist to get the massive sales figures of the 90s. I'm not sure I can see any artist selling 20+ million physical copies of their album in the late 00s.

You're going to be treading dangerous waters if you start comparing Leona's voice to either Mariah's or Whitney's. I was watching both her version and Mariah's version of "Without You," and it was quite interesting. I think you know who won that though And while 90s sales versus 2000s sales might be very different, singles rankings are still very much the same. If I see Leona get another 3 #1 singles off this album the way MC did on her first, I will forever give up being a Mariah fan and convert to the ways of Leonaism!

[Cyria]

Originally Posted by dddaiyamondo

You're going to be treading dangerous waters if you start comparing Leona's voice to either Mariah's or Whitney's. I was watching both her version and Mariah's version of "Without You," and it was quite interesting. I think you know who won that though

Why wouldn't it be possible to compare voices? It's possible to compare Britney's voice to Mariah's. The answer would be "Definitely not in the same league if we're talking about vocal range", but it's still a comparison. I don't think "compare" has to be the same as "equal", it can just be talking about what Leona/Mariah/Whitney can do with their voices without saying something very personal like "She's better because she does pop/R&B". And while I haven't seen Leona's Without You, I prefer Dolly Parton's version of I Will Always Love You - I just find it more emotional and pleasant to listen to than Whitney's vocally impressive version. So for me, a great voice doesn't guarantee a great song or performance.

^Totally, Dolly Parton's version is head and shoulders above Whitney's (or Leona's, or anyone who tries to do the Whitney version).

[bondingo]

Originally Posted by Halla

I don't think in the US debut week sales are that significant anyways, it only hints about the existing fanbase. for a successful album you need several hit singles and a very long chartlife.

I agree with you there. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad had mildly decent sales in the first week, but eventually went on to sell over a million copies. And just look at Nelly Furtado's Loose: it started off relatively slow but has now sold over two million copies in the US alone. Depending on the popularity of the subsequent singles, this album could be huge. We can't really tell right now. At least we do know that Bleeding Love is hugely successful.

Originally Posted by Luv ~Venus~

^ Something I think Leona can't do. Mariah is still on the top of her game. She just broke Elvis's played out record and I'm betting her next single will give her her 19th #1 single. Most new acts now can't even still in the music biz for no longer than 5 years. I honestly don't care for most new acts now. They just copycat each other and think that it's something new they are bringing to the table (ie Hannah Banana).

I don't agree with that at all actually. Sure, there are some copycat acts out there, but to say that most of them do that is a pretty rash generalization. If you're talking about new acts, then how would you even know if they'll last beyond five years? They haven't even been around that long yet. As for those who have, there's (once again) Nelly Furtado. Her debut album was released in 2000 and she's still extremely successful. Her latest album was a huge success and she's working on a new album as we speak. Thats eight whole years. Then there's P!nk. Her debut was also in 2000, and her latest album was also quite successful. She's also working on a new album and this is her eighth year in the mainstream as well. I see Rihanna lasting for a long while as well. Her debut may have only come out in 2005, but she easily has at least another five years on her, probably more. I'm just saying, while you may not like these people, it doesn't mean that they aren't successful in the business.

Originally Posted by bondingo

I agree with you there. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad had mildly decent sales in the first week, but eventually went on to sell over a million copies. And just look at Nelly Furtado's Loose: it started off relatively slow but has now sold over two million copies in the US alone. Depending on the popularity of the subsequent singles, this album could be huge. We can't really tell right now. At least we do know that Bleeding Love is hugely successful.

If the album can sell more than 100k this week I'll be convinced that it will have legs. I just find it suspicious that she had a single as huge as "Bleeding Love" is but only sold 204k in her first week. Like I said, Danity Kane sold more than that, and their single bombed.

[drewbilation]

^ "Bleeding Love" itself is doing well on downloads, though. I think people'd rather just spend the 99 cents to download a song they know they like than risk 10-15 bucks on something they might hate. if that makes sense.

it's like Jordin Sparks, I guess - she has two million-selling digital singles, but her album has only sold around 500k physical copies.

[bondingo]

Originally Posted by dokidokisuru

^ "Bleeding Love" itself is doing well on downloads, though. I think people'd rather just spend the 99 cents to download a song they know they like than risk 10-15 bucks on something they might hate. if that makes sense.

it's like Jordin Sparks, I guess - she has two million-selling digital singles, but her album has only sold around 500k physical copies.

That's exactly what I was thinking

I knew I wasn't crazy thinking there was friction between these two:

Mariah Carey says fellow pop star Leona Lewis doesn't sound like her, sparking a potential feud between the two singers.

The chart-topping singer insists she "didn't really hear any similarity" between Leona's music and her own, and claims there will never be a "new" Mariah.

She said: "Honestly, there has been so many, 'This is the new her,' and I'm like, 'Okay, show me the new her. Can she come and work for me and be my double?'

"And I'm not particular talking about this girl Leona, because I only heard her once and I didn't really hear a true similarity, particularly in the style of music.

"It is what it is and critics have compared me to so many people who are not really singers, and they're certainly not writers."

Mariah says if she spent her time worrying about her chart rivals it would depress her.

She added to the Observer Music Monthly magazine: "If I was to focus on the comparisons and really dwell on that, it would bring me down so I just try to pray that I lose the sprit of jealousy, it's not a good one - envy is a really powerful thing."

Leona's debut LP Spirit hit the number one spot in America last week.

[bondingo]

^And since when does saying Leona doesn't sound like her mean that she's saying she can't sing. That hardly seems like friction to me. Spreading trash like that is what makes fans think there are issues between the artists when there isn't any whatsoever. Leona sounds nothing like Mariah, but that certainly does not mean she can't sing.

Originally Posted by bondingo

^And since when does saying Leona doesn't sound like her mean that she's saying she can't sing. That hardly seems like friction to me. Spreading trash like that is what makes fans think there are issues between the artists when there isn't any whatsoever. Leona sounds nothing like Mariah, but that certainly does not mean she can't sing.

Who said Leona can't sing? I love that she totally dissed Leona for not writing her own stuff like she does, though. But it seems like she really doesn't care, which is a good thing. Hopefully people can just get over the fact that there can be 2 light-skinned biracial butterflies in the music industry with great voices!

She sounded okay on AI tonight. Here's the link if anyone wants it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuhmmeG5CGI

[bondingo]

Originally Posted by dddaiyamondo

I love that she totally dissed Leona for not writing her own stuff like she does, though.

You loved the fact that Mariah dissed Leona for what reason? And what's your source for that fued article anyways?

I just think the relation of the two needs to stop. It was interesting to compare them at first, but now it's just getting really old. They're different artists and people should be able to appreciate both on their own. Leona may not have written anything on her album (besides co writing Whatever It Takes), but she certainly makes up for that with her performance. If Mariah is saying that Leona isn't a singer because she doesn't write her own material or for whatever other reason, then she's sorely mistaken. Last time I checked, Leona was a singer, and a damn good one at that. I love how Mariah can appreciate rappers that have crap for talent but can't appreciate someone who can actually sing.