Leona Lewis has, in many ways, single-handedly turned The X Factor into a global concern. Launched in the UK by Simon Cowell in 2004, the first two series produced barely serviceable winners in the shape of Steve Brookstein, a sort of Michael Bublé for the Pizza Express touring circuit, and a low-cost Justin Timberlake in the form of Shayne Ward. While they both achieved moderate success in Britain, their chances of cracking the US seemed about as likely as Sharon Osbourne having a nice word to say about Dannii Minogue. So when Lewis, an office assistant from east London, was crowned the winner in 2006, it looked as if she and her impeccable voice would become nothing more than the Argos alternative to Mariah Carey. Then something amazing happened: her potential was transformed into actual stardom.
By the end of 2007, Lewis was, as her press releases still maintain, a global superstar: her debut single Bleeding Love topped the charts in 35 countries, including the US, where it sold 4m copies, and it was the biggest-selling single of 2007 in the UK. Her subsequent album, Spirit, became the fastest-selling debut album of all time in the UK going on to sell more than 3m copies in Britain and 8m worldwide. The X Factor was suddenly responsible for a legitimate global phenomenon, cementing its reason for being – and saddling Lewis with a curse she’s never quite shaken off. Since Bleeding Love, it’s been a case of ever-diminishing returns for Lewis, with her new single, Fire Under My Feet – the first to be taken from her forthcoming fifth album, I Am, and the first released outside of her contract with Syco – limping into the charts at No 51.
So what went wrong? Let’s start with Bleeding Love, one of the greatest, most immaculate songs of the past 20 years. From its church organ intro to that booming, relatable chorus, Bleeding Love’s perfection is undiminished. But how do you follow such a blockbuster hit? Well, you don’t. In fact, Lewis should have retired the day it came out. While subsequent singles from Spirit performed well in the UK, it remains her only US top 10 hit, and its ubiquity has haunted her ever since.