CD: Leona Lewis, Spirit

# Pop and rock

(RCA)

Obnoxiously, Simon Cowell was right - after a year of training and tweaking, 2006's X Factor winner has produced an album that says "actual career" rather than "lightning trip to Number One, then hello Burger King". Engorged with glossy 90s-style production by expensive US names like Salaam Remi and Dallas Austin, Spirit could even win Lewis bona fide stardom in America. And good for her. She has clearly invested every scrap of energy into these songs, and deserves to make it big in the market where no ballad is ever too sincere, no crescendo too histrionic and no lyric too reminiscent of a desperate day at the Mills & Boon factory. But being able to belt 'em out is only half the story, and if there's a personality here, it's well hidden.

Contributor

Caroline Sullivan

The GuardianTramp

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