Leona Lewis is undoubtedly the most successful and prolific singer/songwriter to be discovered on the ever-addictive talent show, the X Factor. If you're looking for evidence of this, look no further than her latest single, ‘Happy’. Released as a digital download on September 15th, 2009, it managed to reach a peak of number 2 in the Official UK Charts. It's listed as the first track on Leona's second album, ‘Echo’, which followed her ever popular debut album ‘Spirit’. The melodies and lyrics are absolutely spot on for this track, touching deeply on the hearts of anyone who may have been in love before.
The song was written by Leona, but along the way she had help from producers Evan Bogart and Ryan Tedder. Tedder explained in an interview how ‘Happy’ was the "most beautiful song" he'd ever been part of and how the lyrics in particular were "hard hitting" and "emotional". This was perceived as quite a statement as the big time American singer and Grammy-nominated songwriter has worked with huge artists including Whitney Houston, Rihanna and Beyoncé. Daily Telegraph writer, Neil McCormick sums up Leona's performance in ‘Happy’ perfectly, stating that her soprano range allows her to take her melodies from "luxurious low notes" to "high flying falsetto", gliding with "elegant power" and "control".
The music video for ‘Happy’ was filmed in Cuba and directed by top music video director, Jake Nava. It shows Leona flirting with a man at the beginning of the video and gradually falling in love with him throughout – at least you think that's what's going on. Whereas people may assume that the song is joyful from the song title and an indication of ending up in love and happy from the video, Leona admits herself that the song is a "contradiction", stating that although it's called ‘Happy’, the song is "kind of dark" and even "a bit sombre". This is apparent in the end of the video when the man Leona is seen sharing moments and holding hands with throughout ends up getting married to another woman.
Free Music Video - Leona Lewis ‘Happy’
A free music video of Leona Lewis ‘Happy’ is available on Yahoo! Music or by clicking on the free music link here.
A free music video of Leona Lewis ‘Happy’ is also available on MyPlay or by clicking on the free music link here.
‘Echo’ is the second studio album by Leona and was released early in November 2009. The album is released by the record label, Syco, managed by Simon Cowell. The album has already received a good deal of praise, including a satisfying review from The Observer's Peter Robinson, who emphasised that "Echo hits its target". This review is not all that surprising however as a lot of work has gone into the album. Leona managed to put Echo together in 9 months with the help of Justin Timberlake, John Shanks, Danielle Brisebois and Oasis front man Noel Gallagher.
'Happy' is undoubtedly a track that is to be featured in Leona's Greatest Hits collection in years to come and is available now as free music video downloads at freemusicuk.com.
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