Leona Lewis debuts new track 'GlassHeart' at London's G-A-Y

In many ways, Leona Lewis is a changed woman from the young songstress who we saw crowned one of the greatest ever winners of The X Factor back in 2006. But at the heart of it all lies the one thing that remains forever the same - that beautiful, angelic voice.

That voice is the thread that holds the various facets of Leona 'The Popstar' together, winding through personality, style, and whatever other part of herself that manifests itself as part of her career.

This weekend we saw something tantalisingly new, impossibly exciting - the edgy, opinionated Leona. In her brilliant interview with the Guardian she branded the London rioters 'hoodrats' and 'little shits', expressing with such passion her views on the matter you could scarce believe it was that same young woman who had always seemed so shy on the X Factor live shows.

But its feisty comments like these that are sure to win Leona a whole legion of new fans, as will her latest single Collide. Her previous album Echo had hinted at the up-tempo dance direction she could take if she put her mind to it, but it's with collide that she really makes the dancefloor her new domain.

And so, taking to the stage at London's G-A-Y, the venue seemed a natural extension of Leona's new force of personality. Labyrinthine and colourfully fantastical - just like her sell-out tour of last year - the delights of playing 'under the arches' in the underbelly of Charing Cross lent itself to that mystical quality Leona's voice can so effortlessly conjure up.

And on walked Leona - a woman transformed. Dressed in a figure-hugging black dress accentuated with a massive red heart across the breast, her hair tied back and topping it all off with a towering pair of red stilettos, Leona channelled a kind of sexy-secretary look. The crowd promptly went wild. Leona Lewis - officially Well Hot.

Collide was every bit as fantastic in the live setting, Leona beaming as she worked in some cute little dance moves. She also impressed with a super-sultry cover of the Eurythmics Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), previously part of the set list for her Labyrinth tour.

The highlight had to be the debut performance of her new album's title track though. GlassHeart, the song, is quite simply spectacular. If you thought Collide was dancey, just wait till you hear GlassHeart. Packing all the full-on synth wallop of The Saturdays All Fired Up, but paired with Leona's epic, gorgeous vocals, the song becomes the ultimate in majestic dance-pop drama.

There's a wonderful snatch of lyrics from the song, "Baby if you love me, let me know... every time we touch, touch, turning cold..." - it's that cold fragility of a flawed relationship, painted on a backdrop of apocalyptic, thundering bassline.

Topless male dancers emerged in the track's explosive middle-eight, spraying water all over themselves, and the front rows of the audience; which they seemed to enjoy rather a lot. Decadence, passion, all are encompassed by the new Leona.

But more than anything, she's all about the Love. Closing her four-song set with her career-defining Number One, Bleeding Love, she told the audience "Thank you from the bottom of my heart" - and never have those words felt more genuine from a pop artist.

Thinking back, to when we all first heard the first of those pounding industrial beats and that soaring beauty of a chorus, Bleeding Love is the song that raised the ante for The X Factor. And in the process, it transformed Leona into a true superstar.

And as the balloons and confetti sprayed down over the crowd, that red, sequined heart on Leona's dress seemed to say it all. To love, and be loved in return - tonight Leona was both. An audience of hearts won by her, enchanted, completely.

Collide is available to download from iTunes now.