This is a strong debut album from X-Factor winner Leona Lewis, the only potential problems being a surfeit of ballads, and a large dose of overexposure. The British born singer/songwriter is of Guyanese/Welsh parentage, and was no stranger to performing before catching the eye of Simon Cowell, who moved heaven, earth and Clive Davis to ensure that this album had all the backing it needed.

Even before the album was released, she already had a hit single with her version of the Kelly Clarkson song "A Moment Like This", which can be found as a bonus on the UK version of the album. Please note that the track listing for the UK Version is different to the US and Canadian releases. The songs "Forgive Me" (produced by Akon) and "Misses Glass" on this version take the place of "Homeless" (a slow R&B ballad) and "The Best You Never Had" (a slightly faster ballad).

Songs of interest are "Bleeding Love", the first single from the album; "Better in Time", the second single (pop/R&B) which reminds me of Alicia Keys "No One"; "I Will Be", a cover of the Avril Lavigne song; "Yesterday", a pop/R&B track where she sounds like Mariah Carey; "Take A Bow", a radio-friendly R&B track; and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", a cover of the Roberta Flack hit written by Ewan MacColl. Lewis also co-wrote the songs "Whatever It Takes", a mid-tempo R&B track, and "Here I Am", a pop ballad.

Special mention should be made of the powerful and emotional ballad "Footprints in the Sand" inspired by the famous poem by Mary Stevenson, which ends:

The Lord replied

"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,

Is when I carried you."

Undoubtedly talented, strikingly photogenic, and with a lovely voice, it seems a bit early for all the comparisons to Mariah Carey and early Whitney Houston, but I do believe that we'll be hearing a lot more from Leona Lewis.

Amanda Richards, May 8, 2008

I'm really happy to see that this CD has finally been released in the US. This is an exciting time for Leona Lewis. She hit the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 recently - the first UK female artiste to do it in over 20 years and only the fourth to do it ever. She relinquished the spot to Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" last week but to my surprise, I just heard on the news - BBC News 24, no less - that she's taken it back and that this album is #1 on the Billboard Top 200 as well, making her the first UK artiste to debut at the top US album spot ever! I expected her to do well in the US with this product but I honestly never dreamed she'd do THIS well!

I originally reviewed the album back in December last year, when it was released on Amazon on (no longer available) UK import. I definitely feel the review merits a repost here. This is the original (slightly edited) review as it appeared in December 2007:

"The 2006 "X Factor" winner's debut album is barely out of the blocks and it's already a record breaker. ("X Factor" is the UK version of "American Idol"). It sold over 375,000 copies in its first week, beating the record previously set by the Arctic Monkeys by about 12,000. That might not sound much in an American context but in this country, that's huge potatoes. You go, honey.

Her follow-up single "Bleeding Heart" has also now stood at the top of the UK singles charts for an impressive five weeks. The lead single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" was released last year when she won "X Factor" and that was at the top of the charts for what seemed like ages as well. Simon Cowell and Clive Davis definitely seem to know what they're doing.

Judging by the number of absolute belters on offer here, she's clearly got her eyes on Mariah's fan base (I would've said Mariah and Whitney but I guess we all know why I didn't) and I say good luck to her. I don't usually go for albums put out by talent show winners ("American Idol" 'loser' Chris Daughtry's was the first I ever bought and this is only my second) but I've always thought Leona was a special talent right from the first moment I saw her on the show. Every performance she gave was diamond, in my opinion. Vocally, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston are in a class of their own but it's not totally ridiculous to compare Leona to them, as she demonstrated when she performed some of their hits on the show.

Thankfully, the album isn't the usual collection of dreadful covers. The Clarkson song is (of course) on this UK version of the album but isn't likely to appear on the US version when it finally gets released. Only one other sneaks in and while I would've loved it to be "Summertime" - the version she delivered on "X Factor" still gives me shivers anytime I watch it on YouTube - she's gone for the Roberta Flack classic "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and to give her the credit she's due, she owns the song. Treading the line carefully between r&b and pop, the album is a bit samey in places but if breathless diva is your thing, this one is definitely for you.

There are only four real stand out numbers here (with "Take A Bow" likely to be the track labelled 'best on album') but with people like Walter Afanasieff Dallas Austin, Jam & Lewis, Soulshock & Carlin, Salaam Remi and Ne-Yo involved, Spirit is going to be huge, especially in that lucrative yet elusive American market the album is so obviously aimed at. The sooner it gets a proper (and reasonably priced) release there, the better. Leona is young, she's pretty and she oozes a natural sweetness and charm. As Simon Cowell might say, "I think people will like her."

But most importantly, she has a voice to kill for. As long as she doesn't end up becoming another self-important diva and as long as she eventually ditches the über producers and gets to be herself, this is one lady who is going to go far. She's definitely one to look out for; definitely one worth checking out."

I don't know why a lot of CDs of British artists are always released later in the United States, but obviously this deluxe edition of Leona Lewis' Spirit is released late for a reason.

For the DVD, the US version contains one more music video "Run" and a live performance of "I Will Be" that are not included in the international version, for the release of the international version is earlier than that of the "Run" video. Nevertheless, "The Making of the Video Forgive Me" is not available in the US version, but as this is a music product, I guess more music videos are better.

For the CD, they used the original revised US track list for the standard part, but they changed "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand" into single mixes. Both of the single mixes are quite different from the album versions. For example, in "Better in Time", the piano intro was extended, and the main melody only came in for the chorus, while in the album version, the main melody came in as soon as Lewis started to sing. The difference of the versions of "Footprints in the Sand" is even more evident. Among the four bonus tracks, three of them are unique compared with the international version. "Myself", which is a duet between Lewis and Novel, is exclusive in this US release; "Run", which is an album version in the international release, is also a single mix in the US release; "Bleeding Love (Remix)", which is originally an iTune bonus track for the first US edition, is finally available as a shorter version on physical CDs.

Deluxe Editions of CDs are always about making money, but this CD has six different tracks compared with the original US release, besides it came with a DVD. In addition, as I'm a buyer from China, who's now studying in the US, my copy of the first edition is the international version, which means it does not even have "Misses Glass" and the single "Forgive Me". Therefore, if you like Leona Lewis, buying this new edition is not so bad a choice.

I'm not bashing this girl at all, but Spirit - in my opinion - could've been better had it been chock full of better material as a whole rather than a handful of good tunes and tepid, by-the-numbers Hip Hop-inspired pop filling up the remainder. That's not detracting from Leona Lewis herself, who is undoubtedly a great and extremely talented singer (albeit devoid of much personality, but that's part of her appeal and marketability). I do think "Bleeding Love" is a decent song, and one of the album's highlights, however I think it could do with a better, catchier chorus besides simply "Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love"; repetition is good, and few lyrics during can be acceptable, especially during a chorus (Britney Spears' "Gimme More" became an international smash hit simply using the words "Gimme gimme more" over and over again), but although Lewis delivers a marvelous, lightly-sung vocal, there seems to be something missing here that would give it a magical finish. Other standouts include "I Will Be," which is somewhat cheesy but one of the best moments here, both production-wise as well as performance, and even the few upbeat tracks (the synth-driven "Whatever It Take" and "Take a Bow"), despite sounding somewhat bland in terms of originality (Lewis sells better as an amazing vocalist on ballads, not by-the-numbers Hip Hop beats). Despite its flaws, Spirit does showcase its artist's brilliant vocals, which seems to be the main selling point here; with a few better songs, I think Spirit could've lived up to Lewis herself.

I previewed the album and I've seen her on the various talk shows: GMA, Oprah and Jimmy Kimmel. She has a good live performance. Leona has a beautiful voice, but "SHE REMINDS ME OF MARIAH". Leona's music doesn't include the rap lyrics yet, but down the road she'll succumb like all the other top female artist. When I think of a debut artist who took your breath away, Toni Braxton, Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera come to mind. Her vocal sound does not stand out. I think over time she'll develop her style. It's a good debut album, all of the hot producers and songwriters they could find have put their thumbprint on it. As for her being labeled an R&B artist-not so much! This album is pure pop-sicle.