Leona Lewis
Glassheart
Sony
***
The songbird with the arena-huge voice has come a long way since winning The X Factor six years ago.
A lot has changed competition-wise since her Bleeding Love glory days back in 2008; there is now no shortage of big-voiced British songstresses (Adele, Jessie J, Emili Sandé) and the pressure is on for Lewis to assert herself artistically.
Her third album Glassheart, while satisfactory, lacks the punch that Lewis so desperately needs in order to stand out among her peers. Lewis attempts to cash in on the current dance-pop trend, her valiant efforts delivering mixed results.
The catchy title track marries a building dubstep beat with her big voice perfectly, while the watered-down Come Alive is uninspiring at best. Although she is more personal in this album than she has even been, she is again singing about the woes of heartbreak. As we have also come to expect of Lewis, her latest effort is filled with ballads.
Fireflies and I to You come off as uninspired, something a less gifted singer would take on. Despite the predictability of most of this album, Lewis reminds us why we all fell in love with her in the first place, with the heart wrenching Trouble and the vocally flawless Fingerprint.
