Review: Leona Lewis – Glassheart

With a new sound and a change of beat, Leona is back stronger than ever. 

Ingvild Olaussen

If you ever doubted you would hear the name Leona Lewis and dubstep in the same sentence, you are about to be proved wrong.

Leona’s new album Glassheart, originally scheduled to be released last year, hit the stores on Monday October 15. Her fans will definitely not be disappointed by this great mash-up of an album.

Glassheart, despite being a departure from previous albums, still captures the essence of Leona’s strong vocal and heartfelt pop. There are several light-hearted head nodding tracks reminding us of her Keep Bleeding years.

However, you can no longer categorise the X Factor winner’s new album along with songstresses such as Kelly Clarkson and Celine Dion on your CD shelf.

On this album, Leona has created some songs you can dance to while drinking at Oceana. With a heavy bass, an electric beat and a little bit of grimy dubstep, songs such as Come Alive and Glassheart are club-worthy.

These experimental tracks definitely works for Leona. Instead of having 12 pop ballads on the album blending into a love song marathon, these chart-friendly hits will definitely make you want to put on your dancing shoes.

After winning the third series of X Factor, Leona has released two albums, which sold nine million copies worldwide. She is also a three-time Grammy Award nominee. Maybe all of this has led to the maturity we can hear on the new album?

The first track on the album, Trouble, is an ear-pleasing ballad featuring Leona’s deep, empowered vocals. However, it has a more sombre feel rather than her usual upbeat pop rhythms. When listening to it, it feels like Leona is opening up to her listeners, showing vulnerability and fragility through her voice in a way that we have never heard before.

3.5 out of 5 stars