In the history of unlikely cover versions, Leona Lewis taking on Nine Inch Nails ranks as potentially one of the most unexpected combinations... but then again, considering she's already tackled Snow Patrol and Oasis, it's fair to say she has at least some experience in the 'rock' sphere.
Of course, much of the popularity of Hurt has to be attributed to the Johnny Cash version, but remarkably, amazingly, Leona's version of Hurt actually begins sounding far more like the NIN original. The central discordant piano hook is there, as is the haunting whistle of blowing wind. Leona's vocals suit the dark sensuality of the track perfectly.
As the track builds and builds, it morphs more into generic Leona EpicBallad territory - but with its soaring string sections and flanged guitar riffs, it stands a rousing take on the original that manages to carve out its own merits.
(Part of me hoped she'd sing the infamous 'crown of shit' line... but of course, she doesn't. This is strictly PG rated. But still, rather amazing.)
Leona's cover of Hurt features on the forthcoming EP of the same name alongside other cover version, including the Goo Goo Dolls' Iris.
We love a charitable popstar - it they don't come much more charitable than the lovely Leona Lewis!
The Collide singer is teaming up with Hopefield Animal Sanctuary in Essex and to raise money she's throwing a fancy part in LA this weekend with loads of celeb pals set to attend.
Expect the likes of Natasha Bedingfield, Nicole Scherzinger, Steve Jones and Matthew Morrison. Leona will perform a selection of tracks while the party-goers enjoy booze and nibbles! Sounds like a perfect night out!
This follows Leona's other admirable recent charity work like her sponsered walk which managed to raise a staggering £14,000.
Imagine you’re a budding young fashion designer. Now imagine global megastar wearing a jaw-droppingly gorgeous dress that you’ve designed, stepping out onto a stage, the comically overblown classical refrain of X Factor ‘drama’ music playing out.
This is not just a fantasy – for one lucky winner, it could be stone cold reality. Leona will personally handpick the winning design and wear it for an upcoming promotional performance. If we were entering this competition, our nerves would be jangling with tension already.
Leona's new sultry look goes hand in hand with her new dancey direction. It's bold, exciting - exactly the kind of eye-catching statement you'd expect to see from a worldwide superstar.
A week after appearing on Simon Cowell's new gambling-inspired extravaganza Red or Black, it looks like Leona has been taking a bit of stylistic inspiration from the show too - With a lacy black top and baroque red dress, the star looks half Final Fantasy character, half Renaissance beauty.
This shot forms part of Leona's cover feature for Rollacoaster magazine, out next week. The accompanying interview features another amazing 'hoodrats' quote from Leona about the London riots:
"You have to remember (Hackney) is a very poor area and they're taking away funding for youth programmes but I just think (rioting) was literally some hoodrats that jumped on the bandwagon to go a bit insane. There are actually some really lovely areas in Hackney."
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 singleCollide. 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.
What with all the attention afforded to the rather unsavory dispute between Leona Lewis and Avicii over 'that' sample, it's easy to forget just how good a track Collide actually is.
The more you hear it, the more it grows on you, just as the track itself builds and builds within itself to a jaw-dropping crescendo.
Listening to it on some flash speakers or headphones, you can really appreciate that thundering bassline in all its majesty - and above it, that piano riff soaring and crashing like waves breaking on a distant beach... which leads us nicely on to the first of these gorgeous stills from the track's upcoming video:
Stunning! The full video premieres later this week - we can't wait! As many others have commented, Collide is kind of what you imagine Coldplay would come out with if they 'went all dancey' - and this is a very good thing indeed.
What's more, Leona has always been in possession of a truly peerless vocal, but on Collide - removed from the epic balladry of her first and second albums - you appreciate new subtleties, new textures to it.
Here's another shot - Leona looking very hot as she takes a ride in a sporty classic car. Nice!
You can't accuse Leona of not taking chances - well, in this latest incarnation at least. You see, it would have been so easy for her to come back with another epic ballad of the kind she clearly does so well. The trouble is, it would never be as good as Bleeding Love.
That track, both her making and her undoing. Bleeding Love stands as one of the greatest pop tracks of the last decade, spending an incomprehensible amount of time at Number 1, and enchanting a host of people on both sides of the Atlantic.
But it also means that everything Leona has done afterwards will be compared to it and weakened due to the simple fact that it just won't live up to those dizzying heights of Bleeding Love.
What to do then for her third album? Traditional the make or break point for most pop acts, Leona has made the spot-on decision by going and doing something completely 'out there'. Well, as 'out there' as you can get with Leona. And you know what? It's damn good.
Collide is pure dance-floor beauty, the summer club anthem with class. Riding on an enchanting piano hook that repeats again and again throughout the song, there's a music-box-like quality to the track, a mechanical precision that rather than sounding overly-produced, seems so exquisitly crafted and buffed to a sheen that you find yourself asking, is this the same Leona?
But then, that's the point. This is Leona proving all the doubters wrong, proving that she has more than one trick in her bag. Collide is like Coldplay given the 200% dance overhaul, accentuated beautifully with African-esque chants that remind me of Dario G's Sunchyme.
I'll admit, I wasn't convinced initially; but as the track builds and builds, properly kicking in with the second chorus, you know what you're looking at - a bonafide smash hit. And Leona pulls it off with considerable aplomb - well done indeed, Miss Lewis.
There's such an abundance of female singer-songwriters around at the moment that you're almost spoilt for choice. But Clare Maguire is the real thing. The genuine article. I've been in love with the scattering of free downloads and EPs she's released previously but now comes the debut album, the real test of her talent.
And you know what, for my penny's worth, this is a better album than those by Jessie J and Adele that are floating around in the shops at the moment. Both of those also represent extremely strong efforts, but with Clare Maguire, she makes things seem effortless. For her, the music becomes one and the same with her. Her sound is magical, deeply soulful, and comes back to the solid core of pure beauty that are her vocals. And boy are they amazing.
There's something of a Leona Lewis to Clare's voice, that husky deepness that speaks of raw passion and lends itself so well to big power ballads. Imagine the likes of Bonnie Tyler and Alison Moyet; those big female 80s voices you just don't get anymore. Clare is all this and more.
The 80s vibe manifests itself across the album which blends icy electronics and thunderous, industrial beats with piano. The Last Dance sees Clare at her most delicate and catchy, a pop gem as strong as anything Ellie Goulding can throw out.
In terms of highlights, they comes towards the end of the album; look out for the stunning You're Electric and the title track. Both see Clare at her most epic - so much so that they become almost filmic. There's this breathtaking futuristic/gothic feeling to the sound, music to sweep up and around the arches and halls of churches and cathedrals... and then on, higher and higher to the stars... onwards to the very limits of the universe.
Light After Dark is an album without bounds. It is vastly inventive, with Clare's talent laid bare for all to see. The sound is cold, but the emotions are infinitely open; tapping into memories we've all experienced. This is music on a universal scale, and Clare most definitely has what it takes to carry it.
